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South Carolina Archival Association Executive Board Minutes

Archives and History Center, Columbia, South Carolina

May 19, 2008

Present: Debra Bloom, Dorothy Hazelrigg, Susan Hoffius, Georgette Mayo, Kate Moore, Heather South, Elizabeth West

  • Welcome

    President Debbie Bloom called the meeting to order at 10:36 a.m.


  • Approval of Minutes

    There were no corrections to the minutes of the January 10 meeting. Kate moved that the minutes be approved and Susan seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.

  • Reports from Officers:

    A. Vice President: Susan reported that the printed brochures for the June 6 social have been distributed to various archival groups and will soon be mailed to SCAA members. Susan will also remind the members via email. We may be able to get messages posted on some of the listservs for the archival community and archival students. South Carolina State University's I.P. Stanback Museum, where the social will be, has a blog which is a good resource.

    B. Treasurer: Jim Cross was absent. He sent a report via email. The spring conference made less profit than usual, due to a smaller turnout and higher postage costs.

    C. Membership Officer Kate reported that the letter she sent to the membership got a good response. We now have 62 paid members for 2008. The next step will be a letter to prospective never-been-members, perhaps including members of SCLA, SAA, and SCPRA. She plans to send a cover letter and a brochure. Henry Fulmer gave Kate a box of back membership records, which include a folder of “Possibilities” (potential members). Susan asked if there were some way to automatically add new members to the listserv. As far as anyone knows, there is not, as you have to sign yourself up. Kate suggested phasing out the use of the SCAAzette email account for mass emails, in favor of using the listserv. Elizabeth suggested a “Welcome to membership” email with a clickable link to sign up for the listserv. The membership directory was discussed. Susan asked if a .pdf version would be sufficient. It has always been produced in a printed format and included in the fall conference packet. It was mentioned that some groups, like SGA, ask the members if they wish to be included in the directory. It was generally agreed that all members would be listed in our directory, especially since it is not accessible online, and that if someone wished to opt out, they could do so.

    D. Newsletter Editor: Laura Jowdy was absent. Everyone agreed that Laura's first newsletter looked very nice. It was discussed as to when the next issue should come out, and how it should be handled, since Geoff LoCicero, who had helped with layout, was no longer interested in doing it. The format was also discussed: to continue using a .pdf, or to make an html-based layout? Also, should we post it on the website, or email it to members? Kate said that she designs another newsletter in Word format, and it is not difficult. It was suggested that we recruit a volunteer newsletter designer from among the membership, separate from the editor. Kate volunteered to design an issue, but Debbie suggested that Kate would be too busy with the directory. It was agreed that Laura needed to be involved in the decisions. Debbie said she was most familiar with the Richland County Public Library newsletter, which was designed by graphic designers. She will speak with Laura about the fall issue and the future direction of the newsletter.

    E. Directors: Debbie thanked the directors for their work on the spring workshop. Despite the problem of the no-show speaker, the event was a success. Heather said that the evaluations had been good. Santi Thompson's lunchtime talk was well received.


  • New Business: Fall Conference

    For the fall, one of the evaluations requested an oral history workshop, although it seems that that has been done not too long ago. Elizabeth suggested that Nick Meriwether might be willing to speak if we repeat that. She also said she would check with Chicora about a presentation on environmental issues. Kate suggested a follow-up on our Archives Month theme. Perhaps this could be addressed by the lunch speaker, or members could share what they did/were doing to celebrate Archives Month. Another idea was an SCAA press release for Archives Month, perhaps spotlighting some of our members' institutions. Heather suggested some boilerplate SCAA press release language that members could use, adding a final paragraph about their own collections or events. Everyone liked this idea. Elizabeth said she would draft some language and an instruction sheet that would help members complete the press release, send it out, etc. Heather said she would let the Archives Month Committee know of the idea, and other groups may be interested as well. The theme for the fall conference was discussed. Debbie's idea was “What you didn't learn in library school”. Possible topics included: HVAC systems, personnel issues, public speaking (including giving tours, publicity, speaking to media), physical health and safety issues for archival workers. Georgette said that Jennifer Marshall at USC had proposed having some of her students make a presentation on their appraisal class.


  • Old Business: Website

    Debbie said she had emailed Jennifer Welch, Susan's colleague who may do the work on our website, and said we would get back to her. Jennifer is interested in doing the work for professional development reasons and would not charge a fee. Susan asked about any limits on web design/functionality that the Archives, which hosts our site, might place on it. Nancy Piester does the uploading of the site material, but is not otherwise involved. Susan said that Jennifer would ask for concepts, logos, and ideas we want on the site, and then would develop some samples for us to look at. Heather mentioned that accessibility is a requirement, since this is a state website. Jennifer will contact Nancy about those requirements. The logo was discussed. The idea of having the USC marketing class work on a logo for us as a class project did not work out, because the professor never got back in touch with Debbie. Someone else besides Jennifer Welch will probably be needed to work on the logo.

  • Date For Next Meeting

    The next meeting will be on June 6 at lunch before the SCAA social at South Carolina State University.


  • Adjournment

    The meeting was adjourned at 12:12 p.m.