The board's activities during the reporting
period included two meetings, the planning
of an online imaging project that will be
tied into the Ohio Bicentennial Celebration,
and the continuation of work on the Historical
Records Repository Survey (HRRS). These projects
and others all support The Ohio 2003 Plan.
The board meetings also took on a new format
that seeks to actively engage local members
of the archives and historical communities,
providing them the opportunity to meet with
the board in special sessions. Designed to
encourage grant submissions, these sessions
provide overviews of the various projects
OHRAB is currently involved in and open the
floor to questions from participants.
The board meetings also took on a new format
that seeks to actively engage local members
of the archives and historical communities,
providing them the opportunity to meet with
the board at each meeting in special sessions.
This period also saw the full appointment
of the board, with all vacancies filled. There
were a total of 5 re-appointments and one
new appointment: Keith Corman, a Hamilton
County Court Bailiff, was appointed in September
of 1997. He replaced outgoing member Dennis
Harrison (see attached roster).
On 5 December 1997, OHRAB met at the Ohio
Historical Center in Columbus for the first
time under the new support grant, which was
awarded by the NHPRC in November. The meeting
was the 5th meeting of the past fiscal year,
which included two prior meetings held outside
of Columbus, one at the Toledo Museum of Art
and one at the Youngstown Historical Center
of Labor & Industry.
The board discussed the standing of the Dayton
Art Institute's proposal, which was submitted
to the NHPRC for the November deadline. Also
under discussion was the regrant proposal
the "Bicentennial Scrapbook." As
drafted by a subcommittee of three board members,
the proposal centered on the creation of an
on-line digital image library. This library
would document the history of the state of
Ohio through the use of images and photographs.
The images would be submitted from libraries,
historical societies, archives and museums
from around the state. The board heard that
Greg Byerly of Kent State University agreed
to serve on the subcommittee and help draft
the final proposal. Carol Roddy, Director
of OPLIN (Ohio Public Library Information
Network), also agreed to serve on the subcommittee.
The board also heard reports on the Local
Government Records Program Initiative. The
LGILS is designed to increase accessibility
of local government information. It will also
improve management of resources devoted to
the management of local government information
in both paper and computer forms. The Ohio
Historical Records Advisory Board introduced
and has long supported the LGILS as part of
the implementation process of The Ohio
2003 Plan. The Executive Board of the
Ohio Historical Society Trustees endorsed
the proposal on 13 March, and response to
the proposal has been favorable around the
state.
The first meeting of 1998 was held 20 March
at the Oberlin College Archives in Oberlin.
The board heard a report from J.D. Britton
of the Ohio Historical Society's Local History
Office on the standing of the HRRS. The board
agreed to compile and analyze the Ohio results
of this survey with the aim of sharing the
results with not only the survey respondents,
but also all interested parties in the state.
Charlie Arp, Assistant State Archivist, reported
on the Electronic Records Initiative Program.
Called for in The Ohio 2003 Plan(1)
and evolved through a consultant grant
awarded by the NHPRC, the proposal was designed
to help the Society refine its plan to develop
an electronic records program and establish
the Electronic Records Archives. Arp presented
the final report, titled Establishing the
Ohio Electronic Records Archives. In the
report, Hedstrom recommended the most appropriate
methods for achieving the State Archives'
goals.
Arp then gave a demonstration to the board
of the proposed Ohio Government Information
Locator System (OGILS). The OGILS will allow
for the inputting of records retention data
directly from the field, and will also provide
the public with access to government records
information.
Arp spoke to the board on the Local Government
Records plan. Again, as called for in The
Ohio 2003 Plan(2)
, the proposal seeks to establish statewide
funding of the eight Local Government Records
Centers located around the state, create a
re-grant program, provide for staffing, and
establish guidelines and standards. It calls
for funding to come from a statewide surcharge
at the county level. The revenue will be divided
up, with 50% staying in the county, 25% going
to fund the program, and 25% for the re-grants.
Arp told the board that he has presented the
plan to various groups statewide, and so far,
the response has been enthusiastic. Arp and
the Local Government Records committee believe
that this program will help fund an "unfounded
mandate" of the state that called for
the establishment of the Local Government
Records Centers. Arp said that the money will
not meet all the current needs, but will correct
the glaring weak points of the State Archives
program. The board adopted a resolution of
support for the Local Government Records Initiative,
as drafted by the statewide Local Government
Records committee.
The board also agreed to the proposal that
the Local History Office of the Ohio Historical
Society become actively involved in assisting
OHRAB in the implementation of a stronger
grant program. Raising the awareness of the
NHPRC grant process is a key concern of the
board. J.D. Britton was named as official
liaison between OHRAB and the Local History
Office.
Discussion continued on the Ohio Bicentennial
Scrapbook project. Under the guidance of the
bard, a 13-member committee(3)
that reflects the wide interest shown by the
archival and library communities was named
to proceed with the project. Plans were discussed
for submission of a grant proposal to the
Institute for Museum Library Sciences (IMLS)
that would fund early stages of the project.
These would include digitalization demonstrations,
a publicity campaign, and a web site.
The board agreed to continue working with
the Dayton Art Institute on its plans to revise
and re-submit their proposal to the NHPRC.
The next OHRAB meetings were scheduled for
5 June at the National African American Museum
in Wilberforce, and 21 August at Campus Martius
in Marietta.
Respectfully submitted,
George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator
(1) Level-Two
Objective: "To work with interested
parties to ensure the preservation of electronic
records and to identify and reformat important
government records." (The Ohio 2003
Plan, March 1995)
(2)
Level-Four Objective: "To collaborate
with the Ohio Network of American History
Research Centers and other interested parties
to promote archival and records management
programming by and among state and local governments."
(The Ohio 2003 plan, March 1995)
(3)
Board members Jonathan Dembo; Michael Lucas;
Gary Ness; George Parkinson; and James Oda;
along with Sharon Antle and Jim Strider of
the Society; Greg Byerly of Kent State University;
Raimund Goerler of the Ohio State University
Archives; Fran Haley, Head of the Ohio Library
Council; Meribah Mansfield, Head of Worthington
Public Libraries; Kent Minor of the Ohio Department
of Education; and Carol Roddy, the Director
of the Ohio Public Information Network.
