Board members present: Coordinator Gary Ness, Deputy Coordinator George Parkinson, George Bain, Roland Baumann, Alice Cornell, Jonathan Dembo, Barbara Floyd, Dennis Harrison, Michael Lucas, James Oda, Carol Tomer

Staff present: Elizabeth Nelson

Coordinator Gary Ness called the meeting to order at 11:04 a.m. and acknowledged the presence of a quorum. The Coordinator welcomed the board members and thanked them for attending the opening of the National Archives exhibit "Winning the Peace" at the Ohio Historical Center. Deputy Coordinator George Parkinson reviewed the agenda.

George Bain moved to adopt the minutes of the 11 August 1995 board meeting as distributed. Roland Baumann seconded the motion, which passed by unanimous vote.

Gary Ness made some remarks about the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, which has yet to convene.

Elizabeth Nelson distributed a report of grant expenditures from 1 December 1993 through 30 November 1995. The board spend slightly more than half of the total grant funds. NHPRC approved a twelve-month extension of the grant through 30 November 1996. Remaining funds will cover four or more board meetings in 1996, printing and distribution of the board's strategic plan, and supplies and services.

George Parkinson reported on the status of the Ohio Historical Society's two grant applications. NHPRC did not fund the Archival Fellowship host institution application, and awarded only $10,000 of the $206,400 requested for the "Establishing the Ohio Electronic Records Archives" project. The board briefly discussed the proposals submitted against the October deadline by the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Jonathan Dembo shared with the board the register to the Bethesda Hospital and Deaconess Association/Rev. Louis and Ida E. Nippert Memorial Library and Museum of German Methodism in America and Germany Records (Nippert Collection). Cincinnati Historical Society received NHPRC funds to support the recently completed two-year processing project. The Nippert collection became the first of the Cincinnati Historical Society's manuscript collections to be described on OCLC.

The board discussed proposed revisions to The Ohio 2003 Plan. Board members agreed to submit written comments on the revised draft. Staff will work to prepare the plan for reprinting in the spring.

Elizabeth Nelson briefed the board on the progress of the Ohio Historical Society's automation project, "Access Through Automation," and on the society's request for capital funds to expand the project during the next biennium. Capital funding would allow the State Archives to accomplish the goals of its Electronic Records Initiative that NHPRC recently declined to fund in full. The society's recently hired electronic records archivist would work with an expanded State Archives staff to preserve and make accessible electronic public records.

Mike Lucas introduced the new electronic listserv Walter, named from Walter Brahm, former state librarian and a leader in preservation. The State Library of Ohio administers the list, a forum for discussion of news and issues related to documentary preservation in the state. Creating the list fulfills one goal of the Interim Preservation Office, to increase communication among preservation constituencies. [To subscribe to Walter, send an e-mail message to majordomo@winslo.ohio.gov. The body of the message should read subscribe walter .]

The board discussed the meeting schedule for 1996. One meeting, to be held Wednesday, 17 April 1996 in conjunction with the Society of Ohio Archivists' spring conference at the Ohio Historical Center, will be added to the schedule approved at the August board meeting. The board will meet: Wednesday, 17 April 1996, Friday, 21 June 1996, Friday, 9 August 1996, and Friday, 5 December 1996.

Dennis Harrison moved to adopt this schedule. George Bain seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.

The board considered a request for support made by a potential grant applicant, Clarence Wunderlin, editor of the papers of Robert A. Taft. Board members agreed that they required more information before they could recommend that Wunderlin develop an NHPRC application. George Parkinson will contact Wunderlin to request additional information and report back to the board.

Barbara Floyd agreed to serve on a subcommittee to develop ideas for an Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board World Wide Web home page. The board agreed that a Web page would help to increase awareness of the board, its activities, and the NHPRC grant program. Mike Lucas will also be asked to participate. The subcommittee will report to the board on what should be included on the home page.

George Parkinson asked for the board's input on what a survey of non-government records repositories should include. The Council of State Historical Records Coordinators will undertake a national survey in 1996 that will be a companion to the 1995 survey of government records repositories. The board enthusiastically endorsed the concept of the survey, which will assess the condition of historical records programs in the state, and will be the basis for a "State of the Ohio Record" report.

Roland Baumann moved to adjourn at 2:45 p.m. George Bain seconded the motion, and the board adjourned.

Respectfully submitted by

George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator