SRMA Board Minutes of Meetings
January 9, 2004
The SRMA Board met on 09 January 2004 in a conference room at the National Wildlife Reserve Center (NWRC) in Fort Collins at 1000.
Members present: Kevin Anderson, Bridget Burke, Nancy Freeman, Holly Geist, Rebecca Lintz, Donna McCrea (conference call), and Brent Wagner.
Secretary’s Report: The minutes from the 03 October 2003 meeting in Fort Morgan passed without dissent.
Treasurer’s Report: Passed unanimously. SRMA made $156.43 during 2003 and maintains an account balance of $5913.47
Membership Report: SRMA membership appears to be on the decline. The Board are not sure why. Ideas to promote membership include purchasing mailing lists, getting out the word on listservs, buying space in newsletters, communicating with students and professors at area schools with library/archival programs, sending out questionnaires to non-renewing members to ascertain the reason (not unlike a method that SSA employs), and welcoming new professionals that land jobs in the area.
Membership might be on the wane due to increased retirement levels, ennui, and/or “saturation” with other activities. Since the Rocky Mountain West represents a sparsely populated region, it is possible that there are not too many other archival professionals in Colorado and Wyoming. For certain, though, participation by students, NARA, DPL, and UC-Boulder lacks.
At Kevin’s request, Jay Trask will compile statistics that chart past and present SRMA membership levels and present these findings at a future Board meeting.
Newsletter Report: Nancy, Holly, and Ginny will ensure that announcements regarding memberships, scholarships, and meetings get placed in the forthcoming January edition.
A*Census Status Report: Kevin turned over the membership list and SRMA appears on this collaborative effort by Utah archivists to concoct a universal member list.
Membership Fees: Due to an increase in postage/printing and a desire to attract high-caliber speakers for conference programs, the Board proposed to raise membership fees beginning in January of 2005 to the following levels:
Student = $10
Individual = $15
Institution = $30
Sustaining = $30
This proposal requires membership approval. The vote will take place during the next SRMA business meeting (June 2004) at the spring conference.
2005 Las Vegas Conference: Mark Shelstad continues to function as the SRMA contact for this multi-organizational event. Su Kim, from UNLV, will serve as the local arrangements chair. Tentatively, the conference will last three days. Mark’s memo indicates that SRMA should consider placing a call for volunteers in the next newsletter.
2004 Autumn Conference: The Board are considering late-September/early-October for a one-day event (probably to be held on a Friday in Golden at the American Alpine Club). Bridget will serve as the contact. Potential topics include: electronic records, records management for archivists, and Archives 101.
2003 Autumn Conference Follow-up: Based on criticism, during future conferences and events, Board members will wear special nametags and endeavor to mingle with all participants so everyone feels welcome.
Holly revised the comment sheet that will go into use for the spring conference.
2004 Spring Conference: The conference will occur on the 03rd and 04th of June in Laramie at the American Heritage Center. Workshops on rare books, conflict management, and volunteers will take center stage.
Holly secured a grant from Wyoming SHRAB to pay Larry White his fee for discussing conflict resolution.
To sit in on the rare books workshop offered by Ann Marie Lane, SRMA members must pay $25. Non-members will get charged $35.
The conference, itself, will cost $40 for members, $50 for non-members, and $20 for students with a valid I.D.
Nancy will attempt to procure funding from Metal Edge and/or Iron Mountain for refreshments.
A non-biased, unaffiliated list of restaurants and lodging options will get sent out with registration materials.
Due to travel concerns and timing, there will not be a formal reception, per se. Plenty of opportunities for socializing are built into the agenda, however.
By-laws: Donna and Nancy brought up the need to alter or adhere to existing SRMA by-laws. Questions arose about specific member responsibilities and voting rights. Donna will send an e-mail message to the Board about officer duties and Ginny will get the word out prior to upcoming elections in the newsletter.
A question remains: should SRMA expand the Board or, with proper communication, should duties be consolidated?
Elections: At least the following seats will become vacant before the spring conference: Vice President, Secretary, and Member-at-Large. Via the newsletter, voting is slated for April/May with results to take effect at the spring meeting in Laramie.
Archives Week: The Board recognized the need to promote Archives Week. Jody Georgeson submitted a proposal that the Board will discuss in detail at the next meeting.
Potential merger: Kevin will get together with Jeanne Abrams (President of the CPA) to finalize the terms of the Proposal Memorandum (dated 25 March 2003). These terms will be discussed at the next Board meeting with the hope of presenting the merger question to SRMA members at the 2004 spring conference.
Next Board meeting will occur during the first week of February at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver after Jeanne of CPA and Kevin (SRMA President) select a date. The idea is to meet jointly with the Board of CPA.
Meeting adjourned at 1315.
Respectfully submitted,
Brent Wagner
Secretary
