The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board's
major accomplishment during the reporting
period was the publication of the board's
strategic plan, The Ohio 2003 Plan.
OHRAB met three times between 1 December 1994
and 31 May 1995. At its December meeting,
the board adopted a resolution in support
of Archives Week. George Parkinson and Gary
Ness carried the resolution to the February
1995 meeting of the Council of State Historical
Records Coordinators in Washington, D.C.,
where it was accepted by the council. At the
same meeting, OHRAB formally adopted The
Ohio 2003 Plan and dropped the word "draft"
from its title.
The board made implementation of the action agenda
To Outwit Time: Preserving Materials in Ohio's
Libraries and Archives one of its objectives.
The action agenda is the product of a grant from
the National Endowment for the Humanities. In
March, the board published The Ohio 2003 Plan
and To Outwit Time together in one booklet.
Nearly two thousand copies of the booklet were
mailed to libraries, archives, historical and
genealogical societies, museums, NEH project participants,
lawmakers, and professional groups.
OHRAB began to develop its first regrant application,
"Homefront and Battlefront: Ohioans Serve
the Nation," at its February meeting. The
Ohio Historical Society's Civil War Guide Project
served as a model for the regrant project. Through
"Homefront and Battlefront" the board
will encourage Ohio repositories to appraise,
inventory, process, microfilm, and prepare descriptive
guides to their best collections documenting life
in Ohio during times of war. Jonathan Dembo wrote
the first draft of the proposal. The application
will be completed by staff with assistance from
the board. It will be submitted to NHPRC against
the 1 October 1995 deadline.
The board invited Julie McMaster and Steve Nowak
of the Toledo Museum of Art to attend its May
meeting to discuss their proposal "Archives
and Records Management Program at the Toledo Museum
of Art." Although NHPRC did not fund the
project during the 1994 grant cycle, the board
encouraged the museum to resubmit a revised proposal
in 1995. Board members offered suggestions to
improve the proposal. Also at the May meeting,
Mary Bowman, President of the Ohio Genealogical
Society, who attends OHRAB meetings by invitation
of the board, reported on the annual meeting of
the society. Board member Barbara Floyd attended
the meeting to distribute the plan and answer
questions. In addition, the board encouraged the
Ohio Historical Society to submit its electronic
records grant proposal "Establishing the
Ohio Electronic Records Archives."
Grant spending was significantly lower than anticipated.
The grant budget calls for expenditures of $4,443.00
for travel, $624.00 for local costs, and $768.00
for services and supplies. During the reporting
period the board spent $1,543.42. Travel expenses
accounted for $1,126.96 of that total, local costs
for $410.60, and postage for $5.86.
The terms of board members Jonathan Dembo, Barbara
Floyd, and James Oda expired on 31 March 1995.
Governor Voinovich reappointed the three board
members 26 June 1995. They will serve terms expiring
on 31 March 1998.
In the remaining months of the grant, the board
will focus its attention on three tasks. First,
the board will complete its regrant application.
Second, OHRAB will begin to implement To Outwit
Time by directing the activities of the Interim
Preservation Office created and jointly administered
by the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Historical
Society. Finally, as stipulated in The Ohio
2003 Plan, the board will review the plan
and make changes as necessary.
Submitted by:
George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator
