The board's activities during this time period
included two meetings, the continuation of
work on the "Ohio Memory" project,
the re-submission and funding of the Dayton
Art Institute grant proposal, and the release
of the HRRS report.
A meeting was held 4 December at the Ohio
Historical Center in Columbus. Following reports
by each member, the board heard from Elizabeth
Nelson on the "Ohio Memory" project.
Nelson reported that despite being turned
down for funding by the IMLS (Institute for
Museum Library Sciences), planning for the
project continues, including a presentation
to the Ohio Bicentennial Commission in March.
The goal of the project is to encourage and
coordinate the digitization of historical
records and artifacts that document state
history. Archives, museums, local historical
societies and libraries around the state will
be invited to participate by contributing
items to be digitized. Three products would
result from the project: a web site, book
and curriculum materials. American Memory,
an online collection of historical records
developed by the Library of Congress, will
serve as a model for the project and web site.
The board discussed the Dayton Art Institute
grant proposal. Resubmitted against the November
deadline, this marks the Institute's second
attempt at receiving support from the NHPRC.
The board supported the proposal.
The 19 March meeting was held at the John
M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, located
at Ashland University. Among the agenda items
were continued discussion on the status of
the "Ohio Memory" project and a
look at the final version of the HRRS report.
The board examined ways to capitalize on the
report in Ohio. Funding of the Dayton Art
Institute was discussed, and it was noted
that the Commission's assessment of the proposal
was in harmony with the board reviews.
Board member Lynn Jacobs, Assistant Lucas
County Prosecutor, announced that she would
be officially resigning from OHRAB when her
term is completed at the end of March. The
board thanked Jacobs for her service, and
recognized her work during the past term.
During the course of the reporting period,
the board continued to keep abreast of projects
and proposals that fulfill The Ohio 2003
Plan. At the two meetings, the board heard
reports on initiatives of the Ohio Historical
Society that support key objectives of The
Ohio 2003 Plan. The society installed
the Horizon library automation system, which
allowed the society to make its Online Collections
Catalog accessible to the public through society's
World Wide Web interface in March. As planned,
the Western Reserve Historical Society installed
the same system. Development of the Ohio Government
Information Locator System (GILS) continued,
paving the way for increased public access
to information about government records and
online records scheduling for agency officials.
The society also continued to pursue the Local
Government Records plan and the Electronic
Government Program. In addition, Laurie Gemmill
provided an online tour of "The African
American Experience in Ohio, 1850-1920,"
which makes the society's best collections
in this area accessible online.
The next OHRAB meeting was scheduled for
6 August at Campus Martius in Marietta.
Respectfully submitted,
George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator
