______________________________________________________________________
This grant was awarded to the Ohio Historical
Society to "pay expenses associated with
Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB)
meetings -- travel, lodging, supplies, and
meals for a two year period." More generally,
funds were to be used to support the Board
as it worked to implement The Ohio 2003
Plan/A Statement of Priorities and Preferred
Approaches for Historical Records Programs
in Ohio, drafted in anticipation of the
bicentennial of Ohio statehood. The award
letter highlighted five activities:
1. Submit in a timely manner complete reports
and three copies of the grant products as
specified in NHPRC guidelines and the grant
notification letter.
2. Hold eight meetings of the full Board.
3. Reestablish the state's local government
records program.
4. Conduct a survey of local government records.
5. Participate in the Ohio Memory project
for digitizing collections related to Ohio
history.
The original grant covered the period from
December 1999 to November 2001, but it was
extended to November 2002, meeting costs being
less than anticipated. This final narrative
report highlights and summarizes activities
for the full three-year period, during which
the board met nine times. The full scope and
content of board activities are detailed in
interim reports previously sent to NHPRC and
the minutes for these meetings, both of which
can be found on its website: <http://www.ohiojunction.net/ohrab/minutes/index.html>.
During the grant period, board size was increased
from eleven to thirteen members, expanding
its representation of Ohio's many historical
records communities. The Ohio Historical Society
Board of Trustees adopted Procedures Governing
Records of State Agencies Transferred to the
State Archives, designating the Ohio Historical
Records Advisory Board as an "advisor
to the state archivist on issues which may
arise in the application of these rules…."
(A copy of these procedures is attached as
Appendix A.) In June 2001 the board held a
retreat to take stock and plan its future,
near and long-term. It also maintained and
expanded the OHRAB website: ( <http://www.ohiojunction.net/ohrab/>).
Activities designed to "reestablish the
state's local government records program"
fell into three distinct areas. First, the
board endorsed the Local Government Records
Initiative (attached as Appendix B) as the
best means for funding the preservation of
and improved access to Ohio's local government
records. Secondly, the board promoted a revitalization
of the Ohio Network of American History Research
Centers as called for in The Ohio 2003
Plan. Among their other obligations network
centers hold regional local government records
of enduring historical value. In April 2002
the network met for the first time in four
years; it met again in November 2002. Lastly,
the board supported, using grant funds, the
work of the network subcommittee on access,
which drafted a plan for providing access
to all archival Ohio local government records
through the Ohio Historical Society's online
catalog. (The 12 February 2003 subcommittee
report is attached as Appendix C.)
The board both promoted and monitored a survey
of local government records. It began in November
2001, when 2,346 short survey forms were mailed
to all counties, municipalities and townships
in Ohio. The goal was to learn about records
management conditions at the local level to
improve service. There was a 20% response
rate, and as a follow-up, 273 detailed surveys
were distributed. (A February 2002 report
on the LGR surveys is attached as Appendix
D.)
During this reporting period, the Ohio
Memory Project achieved many successes.
It is a board-conceived idea that is specifically
mentioned in The Ohio 2003 Plan. Between 1995
and 2000, the Ohio Historical Society worked
with the board, the State Library of Ohio
<http://winslo.state.oh.us/>, the Ohio
Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
<http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/>, and the
Ohio Library Council <http://www.olc.org/>
to refine the concept and secure funding for
the project. In February 2000, OPLIN approved
a grant of $500,000 to the Ohio Historical
Society to launch the first phase of the Ohio
Memory Project.
The first phase concluded in June 2002. During
the two-year effort, more than 1,000 collections
from more than 250 institutions were selected
for inclusion in the scrapbook. More than
13,487 digital images were created and made
available via the website at <http://www.ohiomemory.org>.
Collections in the scrapbook represent a diversity
of formats, subjects, time periods, and geographic
areas. However, only items created before
1903 were accepted during Phase 1. In October
2002, Ohio Memory Project Phase 2 was launched,
thanks to support from the Ohio Bicentennial
Commission and the State Library of Ohio.
It will incorporate materials into the scrapbook
from the 1903 to 2003 period.
In these and other ways the board has been
about the implementation of its plan. One
measure of its success was selection of the
Ohio Historical Society as the recipient of
the Society of American Archivists' 2001 Distinguished
Service Award. Projects, such as Ohio Memory,
and others like it, called for by Ohio Historical
Records Advisory Board were cited specifically
as the reasons for this honor.
Respectfully submitted,
George Parkinson
Deputy State Coordinator OHRAB
