Minutes
Ohio
Historical Records Advisory Board Meeting
4
December 1998
Ohio
Historical Society
Columbus
Board
members present:
Gary Ness, George Parkinson, Roland Baumann, Keith Corman, Jonathan
Dembo, Lynn Jacobs, Michael Lucas, Jim Oda, Carol Tomer
Board
members not present: Alice Cornell, Barbara Floyd
Staff
present: Charles Arp, Matthew Benz, Laurie Gemmill, Richard
Hite, Elizabeth Nelson, Jim Orbin, Andy Verhoff, Judy Walker
Guests
present: George Bain, Dave Larson
State
Coordinator Gary Ness called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
and welcomed the board and the day's guests.
The
board then reviewed and adopted as written the minutes of the
5 June 1998 meeting.
Ness
addressed the status of the Capitol Bill, which was recently passed
by the Ohio House and Senate. As of 4 December, the bill awaits
the signature of the Governor.
Members
of the board then reported on current events and projects from
their institutions and regions. James Oda, Director of the Piqua
Historical Society, informed the board that the Montgomery County
Historical Society recently acquired the National Cash Register
(NCR) archives. Composed of photographs and business papers, this
collection is one of the premier business archives available in
the state. NCR may contribute funds to process the collection,
and proposals call for a new facility to be built to house the
NCR Archives.
Michael
Lucas, State Librarian, reported on a recent meeting of 300 librarians
from around the state, both public and school librarians. The
purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Statewide Resource Sharing
Project, an on-line system that will enable schools to "talk"
with public libraries around the state. One of the goals of the
project is to allow for children in school to borrow materials
from public libraries via the World Wide Web, thus creating a
statewide delivery system.
Roland
Baumann, Archivist of Oberlin College, told the board of his involvement
in archival consulting and exhibition work, as well as an electronic
records workshop, held at the college, that was designed to devise
a strategy to set guidelines for employees involved in the use
of machine readable records. Baumann also outlined for the board
a proposal he is involved in for the creation of new space for
the Oberlin College Archives.
Lynn
Jacobs, Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor, informed the board
of a multi-million dollar renovation project for the main Lucas
County Library. She also described her involvement in public record
issues as Assistant Prosecutor.
Jonathan
Dembo, Archivist for the Cincinnati Museum Center, noted the opening
of the Children's Museum in November. Attendance so far has exceeded
all expectations. He also reported that Richard Glover, Cincinnati
Museum Center President, has announced his resignation after over
two years in that position. Glover feels that he has met all the
goals he set out to accomplish. Finally, Dembo has been named
to the Ohio Academy of History, where he will serve a term as
Chairman of the Public History Committee.
Keith
Corman, Hamilton County Court Bailiff, reported on his recent
contacts with the Hamilton County Recorder who is looking into
turning over the records there to a suitable archival facility,
such as the Cincinnati Historical Society. The board recommended
that Corman contact a Local Records Specialist at the Ohio Historical
Society, and Jonathan Dembo offered his assistance as well.
Dave
Larson, State Records Administrator, reported on a state government
review of the handling of the records of Ohio's elected representatives,
in light of media requests for data, as well as the upcoming term
limit restrictions. A discussion about the ramifications of the
archiving of Governor Vionovich's Papers at Ohio University followed,
with the board expressing concern over the current system for
handling the records of state officials.
Carol
Tomer, archivist for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, discussed
three major on-going building projects at the Clinic, one of which,
the Learner Research Institute will be opening in May of 1999.
Tomer is involved in the transfer of records to this new space.
She also told the board that the MAC/MIRMAC Conference would be
held in Cleveland in the fall of 2000.
George
Parkinson, Deputy State Coordinator, reported that the Archives
Library continues to fulfill the goals of The Ohio 2003 Plan.
With development of the Ohio GILS and an electronic records program,
and installation of the Horizon library automation system
several goals of the plan are being met. The Western Reserve Historical
Society and the Ohio Historical Society have both selected this
system, working together to customize its application to archives,
library, and museum collections. Participation of the Cincinnati
Historical Society in this joint effort remains doubtful but would
be welcome. Parkinson also reported on the steady rise of research
contacts, due in large part to the Ohio Historical Society website
[www.ohiohistory.org] A recent acquisition of collection of Thomas
Worthington papers was noted.
Elizabeth
Nelson reported on the "Ohio Memory Project". She explained that
the grant proposal to the IMLS was turned down for funding because
IMLS decided not to fund planning grants. Otherwise, the planning
continues, with the proposal set to be on the Ohio Bicentennial
Commission's agenda for their March meeting. The current goal
of the project is to "…undertake a statewide cooperative effort
that will digitize significant local historical documents, catalog
and organize them for direct subject access, and make them readily
available on the World Wide Web for use by students, scholars,
and the general public as Ohio celebrates its Bicentennial in
2003. In addition, this project will provide direct assistance
to selected local historical societies, will develop curriculum-related
bicentennial related materials which can be used in…Ohio's classrooms,
and will produce a print publication which documents Ohio's two
hundred years of statehood."
The
board turned its attention to the Dayton Art Institute grant proposal.
Resubmitted against the November deadline, this marks the Institute's
second attempt at receiving grant funding through the NHPRC. OHRAB
supported the proposal, and board reviews were returned to NHPRC
accordingly. Overall, the board's comments were favorable, although
new board members stressed that they felt uncomfortable with the
review process. The board discussed ways to address this issue.
While
discussing the DAI proposal, it was noted that the general lack
of grant proposals in Ohio must be addressed. It was suggested
that a full-time staff person involved in NHPRC matters would
greatly assist the board in such matters, as will the proposed
larger role for the board in local government issues. The board
also discussed the many problems involved in grant writing and
submission. These problems include rising expenses, the lack of
interest on the national level of funding processing proposals,
and less government money available for funding proposals. It
was suggested that perhaps institutions are hesitant to commit
money and staff time to a proposal when they know the proposal
might not recoup their investment. Also discussed was the feeling
that new proposals need to be more in keeping with the kind of
proposals that are currently being funded by the NHPRC.
Matthew
Benz provided a brief update on the current status of the HRRS
Survey. As of early December, the final printed version of the
report has yet to be received. According to Victoria Walch, Project
Coordinator, the final report is due by the first of the year.
Meeting
dates for 1999 were discussed. The board agreed to the following
tentative dates:
March
19th: Ashland College Archives
August
6th: Campus Martius, Marietta
December
3rd: Ohio Historical Center Archives Library
Following
lunch, the board reconvened to hear reports from guests and various
OHS staff regarding on-going projects. Richard Hite gave a brief
presentation on the upcoming NAGARA 1999 meeting, which will be
held in Columbus, July 14th-17th. OHS is
handling fundraising as well as local arrangements for the meeting,
and events planned so far include a reception at the State Capitol
building, a Barbecue in the Ohio Village, workshops and speakers.
The board asked that it be provided information on attending the
meeting when it becomes available.
Charles
Arp and Laurie Gemmell reported on the Library of Congress/Ameritech
grant, The African American Experience in Ohio, 1850 -1920,
which will be completed in February of 1999.
Andrew
Verhoff of the Local History Office reported that the office is
currently updating the Local History guide, Historical Organizations
in Ohio. It will be available in mid January. Verhoff also
reported that the Local History Office has regional meetings scheduled
for March and April of 1999. Verhoff closed with a brief report
on The Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums (OAHSM)
annual meeting, which was held at the Ohio Historical Society
in November.
George
Bain, Archivist for Ohio University, briefed the board on Archives
Week. Called for in the Ohio 2003 Plan, Archives Week has
been celebrated annually since 1993. Bain said that there will
be an Archives Week presence at NAGARA this summer, and that plans
are moving forward to establish a website that will celebrate
"a day in the life of Ohio," concentrating on various communities
throughout the state. Bain also emphasized that much of the planning
for Archives Week celebration and education relies upon local
community efforts. Lynn Jacobs offered to assist in organizing
efforts on behalf of Archives Week in the Toledo area.
The
meeting closed with demonstrations by OHS staff of the Ohio Government
Information Locator Service (GILS), which is in the developmental
stages, and the new Online Public Access Catalog, which will be
available for public use in 1999.
The
meeting was adjourned at 2:10.
Respectfully
submitted,
George
Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator
