The board's activities during the reporting
period included 4 meetings, the completion
of the Historical Records Repository Survey,
and plans for a new regrant proposal.
In December, the board met with Steve George,
Executive Director of the Ohio Bicentennial
Commission. George reported on the status
of the Bicentennial Commission, and shared
his thoughts on the direction the upcoming
Bicentennial will take. George also stressed
that he views OHRAB as an active participant
in the Bicentennial, and expressed his interest
in endorsing The Ohio 2003 Plan as
part of the Bicentennial Commission's plans.
Also in December, the board heard from Deputy
Coordinator George Parkinson on some of the
ongoing projects involving the Ohio Historical
Society. These include:
"Access Through Automation," an
initiative that will result in a computerized
library system that integrates all of the
basic library functions of the Ohio Historical
Society and the Western Reserve Historical
Society into an online interactive system
using a common database and access procedures.
"Access Through Automation" fulfills
The Ohio 2003 Plan's call for improved
access through new technology, and for the
automation of access to public records. and
the recent grant proposal entitled
"The African American Experience in
Ohio," a recent grant proposal awarded
to the Society which when finished will present
a digitized chronological collection representing
the experiences of African Americans in Ohio
from 1850 to 1920.
J.D. Britton of the Ohio Historical Society's
Local History Office updated the board on
the progress of the HRRS: 1000 forms had been
sent out statewide. The board agreed to help
with the distribution of follow-up calls and
letters, as well as provide additional funds
to cover the costs of a new mailing. Parkinson
made a brief report on the rejection of "Homefront
and Battlefront" by the NHPRC, and suggested
that the board take up discussion on the status
of the regrant proposal at the 23 January
meeting.
The January meeting was held in conjunction
with the "Access Through Automation"
vendor demonstrations, to allow the board
members the opportunity to attend the system
demonstrations. Business addressed included
an update on the "Homefront and Battlefront"
regrant. The board heard from Parkinson that
Dick Cameron of the NHPRC offered to have
commission members read the regrant and provide
feedback. With that in mind, the board has
formally requested from the NHPRC that "Homefront
and Battlefront" be withdrawn from consideration
as a proposal until after the NHPRC response.
The board heard a brief report on the progress
of the 1996 Historical Records Repository
Survey's progress in Ohio; a second mailing
resulted in more than 500 additional responses.
The board also agreed to postpone the adoption
of the revised The Ohio 2003 Plan. Parkinson
reported that Steve George, Executive Director
of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, expressed
great interest in several of the board's recommendations
after meeting with OHRAB in December. George
is keeping The Ohio 2003 Plan in mind
as a possible key component of the Bicentennial
celebration.
The March meeting was held at the Toledo
Museum of Art in order to recognize the recent
completion of the museum's archives and records
management program. The project was made possible
through the cooperation of OHRAB and was funded
by a $53,392 grant from the NHPRC. The board
heard from State Coordinator Gary Ness on
the status of the Ohio Government Information
Locator Service. Chief among his concerns
was the impact of state funding on this project.
Ness stated that he had seen little evidence
that the Ohio House subcommittees are willing
to give additional money to underwrite such
initiatives. The board also heard from Parkinson
on the recent meeting between OHS staff and
network representatives. Issues discussed
included organizational plans to get the Ohio
Government Information Locator Service funded
and updated. Board member Barbara Floyd also
attended this meeting.
The board heard from Matthew Benz on the
progress of the Historical Records Repository
Survey. Benz reported that the data entry
segment of the project was underway through
the OHS Data Processing Department. Funds
granted by NHPRC underwrote some of these
costs. In order to allow the processing of
the surveys, Vicky Walch, coordinator of the
national survey, agreed to extend the deadline
to 25 April.
Regarding the withdrawn regrant proposal,
"Homefront and Battlefront", the
board considered possible next steps. The
decision was made to investigate what sort
of projects are receiving NHPRC approval and
funding with the intention of using a successful
grant application as a model for a new regrant
effort.
The board discussed revision of The 2003
Plan. It was decided that any changes made
reflect changes made to the NHPRC plan. The
board agreed to wait until the outcome of
the NHPRC decision.
Parkinson informed the board that NAGARA
(National Association of Government Archives
& Records Administrators) would like to
hold its 1999 meeting in Columbus. The board
agreed to endorse this meeting, and passed
a resolution of welcome and encouragement.
The December meeting closed with a reception
held in the Archives Department of the Toledo
Museum of Art. Julie McMaster, the museum's
Archivist, hosted the reception, where the
board met with museum staff and invited local
guests.
At the June meeting, business centered around
the board's decision to move ahead with a
new regrant proposal to replace Homefront
and Battlefront". Discussion opened with
a briefing on the status of the NHPRC plan.
Based on their understanding of the proposed
NHPRC plan, the board discussed preparing
a regrant proposal that incorporates either
electronic records or images. A committee
made up of Jonathan Dembo (chair), Michael
Lucas and James Oda was formed to organize
the board's approach to the regrant proposal
and develop it for further discussion. The
board also discussed the recent completion
of the board's support grant, which was submitted
to the NHPRC before the 1 June deadline. This
proposal will support board meetings over
the next two years.
The board heard a report on the recent completion
of the Historical Records Repository Survey.
With the data entry finished, the results
had been sent to Vicky Walch, project coordinator.
She returned a status report which confirmed
that Ohio had 414 completed forms. The board
discussed the possibility of mounting the
survey results on the OHRAB web page.
Respectfully submitted,
George Parkinson
