CALM_2009_ALA_Midwinter_meeting_notes

ALA/SAA/AAM Joint Committee on Archives, Libraries and Museums (CALM) 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting Sunday, 25 January, 2009 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Grand Hyatt Denver, Mt Elbert Room 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado, USA 80202 Hotel: (303) 295-1234 / C Dupont cell: (434) 242-6096 www.GrandDenver.Hyatt.com Meeting Notes Representatives present: Christian Dupont (ALA co-chair / Atlas Systems); Leslie Waggener (SAA co-chair / University of Wyoming); Erin Coburn (AAM / J Paul Getty Museum); Susan Hamburger (SAA / Pennsylvania State University – via conference call); Susan Malbin (SAA / American Jewish Historical Society); Jeffrey Makala (ALA / University of South Carolina); Christine DeZelar-Tiedman (ALA / University of Minnesota); Mary Ghikas (ALA staff liaison) Representatives absent or unable to participate in conference call due to technical difficulties: Holly Witchey (AAM Co-Chair / Cleveland Museum of Art); Cathryn L Goodwin (AAM / Princeton University); Philip Katz (AAM Staff Liaison); Beverly A Cook (SAA / Chicago Public Library); Rosalye Settles (SAA / Department of the Treasury); Nancy Perkin Beaumont (SAA Staff Liaison); David M Hovde (ALA / Purdue University); Melissa Anne Torres (ALA / Rice University); Barbara Faye Harkins (ALA Intern / National Institutes of Health); Karen Ann Holt (ALA Intern / University of Houston); Karen Muller (ALA Staff Liaison) ALA Emerging Leaders Team present: Joshua Finnel; Lizette Guerra (UCLA); Jennifer Osorio (UCLA); (McNeese State); Melissa De Fino (Rutgers) ALA Emerging Leaders Team absent: Audra Eagle (Forsyth County Public Library) Former representatives and guests present: Amelia Abreu (University of Washington); Charlotte Brown (UCLA)Kevin Clair (Penn State University); Louise Jones (Ohio Historical Society); Joyce Ray (IMLS) Welcome, introductions, sign-in sheet, selection of recorder Dupont opened the meeting and started a round of introductions Coburn offered to assist with note-taking agw1667375268.doc Dupont expressed regret that technical difficulties with the conference call equipment prevented most callers from joining the meeting Review of CALM membership/appointments Waggener reported that SAA plans to appoint a new representative to fill the current vacancy Coburn reported that AAM is reviewing nominations for its two vacancies Dupont reported that ALA currently has its full complement of five representatives plus two interns Dupont also welcomed the ALA Emerging Project Team members who will be assisting CALM in its work through ALA Annual in July 2009 Review of notes from last meeting Dupont asked if there were any additions or corrections to the notes from the last meeting at SAA Annual None were mentioned All CALM meetings are posted to the CALM Wiki site (currently http://wikis.ala.org/CALM, soon to be: http://info.ala.org/CALM) Approval of agenda Dupont asked with there were any additional items that should be added to the agenda None were mentioned Announcements • From Committee Representatives o International NGO Working Group on Convergence [Coburn] Coburn noted that the International Federation of Library Institutions and Associations (IFLA) and the Bibliothèque nationale de France co-hosted a meeting of international associations for the cultural heritage sector to advance the convergence agenda from within the Libraries, Archives, Museums, Monuments and Sites community at non-government organizations (NGO) level According to the official communiqué,1 “IFLA, together with the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) have a longstanding relation of cooperation and now agreed to intensify possibilities of cooperation between their organisations in those areas where libraries, archives and museums have mutual interests and activities.” Information about this meeting has been added to the CALM wiki Coburn also circulated some additional materials about other organizations and initiatives committed to the intersection of museums, libraries and archives: http://www.ifla.org/III/announce/convergence-communique-200812-09.pdf agw1667375268.doc Collections Trust, UK “The Collection Trust is a small independent not-for-profit organization with a big ambition—to ensure that everyone has the right to access, use and learn from the unparalleled collections held by the UK archives, libraries, and museums.” “The Collection Trust believes that excellence, innovation and sustainability are more than short-term policy priorities and set the agenda for the way cultural services should be managed, delivered and funded Our aim is to promote the programmes we run, the standards we deliver and the partnerships we build.” MLA, England (note: more about providing services to England’s Museum, Libraries and Archives Council [MLA], and not necessarily focused on where they converge, although they address convergence) “The ‘new MLA’ is focused on promoting best practices and excellence Our objective is to target energies where they can be of greatest benefits to our sector We aim to support innovation and regeneration Our expertise and resources are available to advise local government and other bodies working to develop and integrate services and to build and strengthen communities.” ACTION: Coburn recommended that CALM make itself known to these organizations and initiatives Discussion and consensus favored her recommendation, resulting in the following two tasks TASK: CALM co-chairs will send an introductory letter to some of these organizations so that we either have an opportunity to participate in some of their activities, or at least are kept abreast of them In the meantime Coburn, through her affiliation with several of these organizations, will send and post updates to the wiki and listserv TASK: Coburn to relay to CIDOC an interest expressed by Ray from IMLS to be invited to the table for discussions that are happening either through the international leadership committee or through the MLA committee/efforts • From Guests There were no additional announcements from guests New Business agw1667375268.doc • Creating a Legislative Agenda for CALM ALA is charging each of its units to formulate such an agenda for the coming year, which actually plays well into the discussions we have been having about CALMs role in promoting and participating in relevant advocacy efforts We can refer to the attached “Legislative Assembly” background document for help in formulating our agenda [Dupont] Dupont introduced the topic by explaining that ALA has requested each of its units and committees to develop a legislative agenda, taking the “Legislative Assembly” background document as a guide Stielow commented that it isn’t really CALM’s place to develop its own agenda but rather that it should play more a liaison role on legislative issues to the organizations it represents He suggested that CALM designate representatives to serve as liaisons to the appropriate legislative committees of its respective organizations Dupont added that he will attend the ALA Legislative Assembly on Monday morning and that - he would serve as CALM’s liaison to that body Waggener shared information about how SAA is increasing its legislative advocacy efforts through the formation this past fall of a Government Affairs Working Group and the selection of Herbert Hartsook to chair it Malbin echoed Stielow’s comment that it is not within CALM’s charge to establish its own legislative agenda With Stielow she said that she viewed CALM’s role as channeling information to the ALA Legislative Assembly and Committee on Legislation and the appropriate committees in the other organizations and then to report back from these committees and share and re-channel information back out Hamburger commented that whatever process we establish be nimble enough so that we can respond quickly to issues, especially considering the quickness with which the Obama administration is approaching new legislation ACTION: Waggener recommended that CALM appoint a subcommittee to develop a plan for serving as a liaison to its parent organizations on legislative advocacy Discussion and consensus favored this recommendation Waggener volunteered to organize the subcommittee and to serve as the SAA member Makala volunteered to serve as the ALA member TASK: Waggener will consult with Witchey to identify an AAM member to serve on the legislative advocacy liaisonship subcommittee TASK: The subcommittee will explore and make recommendations on what relationships CALM should have with legislative advocacy bodies in its parent and related organizations The subcommittee will report back to CALM membership within six weeks (i.e., by mid-March), agw1667375268.doc • “ALA/SAA Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials in Special Collections and Archives” – hearing on revised draft held on Saturday, January 24, 10:30am12:00pm at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Denver (Sheraton Denver, Spruce) The draft is linked to the ACRL/RBMS home page at http://rbms.info; for previous versions and background, see: http://www.archivists.org/news/2008ALA_SAA.asp CALM committee members and guests are invited to review and comment on the revision Any comments should be sent to task force co-chairs Tim Murray (ALA; tdm@udel.edu) and Joe Anderson (SAA; njanderso@aip.org) [Dupont] Dupont summarized the history of this document, which was authored by an ALA/SAA joint task force in the 1970s, which in turn led to the establishment of a standing ALA/SAA joint committee Dupont explained the status of the current revision [see links above for details], noting that a public hearing on the revision was held yesterday by the joint task force that was appointed to work on it Waggener attended the hearing, which she said was attended by half a dozen people Discussion was minimal, she reported, because the task force had already considered the issues and questions that guests brought up Dupont summarized the key issues and revisions that the task force had introduced, which included specifying the scope of the document in the title (formerly: “ALA/SAA Joint Statement on Access to Original Research Materials,” now “ALA/SAA Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials in Archives and Special Collections Libraries”) as well as including some guidelines pertaining to access to electronic records He added that the task force expects to finalize its draft revision in the next two weeks and submit it to the ACRL Standards and Accreditation Committee for approval at ALA Annual and that a similar approval process will take place simultaneously within SAA Council, leading to final approval at the SAA Annual meeting in August Dupont said that any comments on the draft revision should be sent immediately to task force co-chairs Tim Murray (ALA / University of Delaware) and Joe Anderson (SAA / American Institute of Physics) Hamburger asked what constitutes “reported” in the last sentence in the second paragraph (“The existence of original research materials should be reported, even if they are not fully accessible because they are not processed or because of restrictions.”) Since it does not indicate specific means or standards for reporting, does it give archives and libraries too much leeway in how and how well collections are to be publicized? Discussion followed about when “reporting” has to happen and what satisfies reporting Waggener mentioned that this issue was brought up at the hearing, and that the co-chairs explained that document is intended to be a statement of principles rather than specific guidelines The emphasis is on simply making collections known (the “hidden collections” agenda) without precisely prescribing how, even because some of the mechanisms at the network level, such as ArchiveGrid and WorldCat local are still in development Stielow commented on how well the original document and its 1995 revision had held up The current task force has kept much of the original text in place while agw1667375268.doc elaborating some portions Stielow also observed that the revolution in electronic access may require more radical changes in the statement as time goes forward The present revision seems to assume that electronic access means electronic access to catalog records and finding aids, but increasingly the collections themselves are being digitized and made accessible online How does that fact impact what we want to say about our responsibilities as archivists and librarians to providing access to research materials? The present revision does not yet address the nature of information in the networked environment, and represents what is ultimately an old-fashioned way of thinking about collections and access Ray inquired about whether or not AAM was invited to participate in the shaping of the joint document on access Christian explained that AAM was invited, but said it was not feasible to participate in the joint task force, both because a process for appointing members and approving such a statement within AAM was unclear and because it was not clear that the document could be written broadly enough to address access to the variety of research collections that museums manage (which can include everything from dinosaur bones to living specimens) and protocols for accessing them CALM does have a role to play in keeping AAM informed about the publication of the revised statement and offering AAM the possibility of participating or advising on the next revision Within ALA, such statements should be formally reviewed every five years • Report on 36th annual Museum Computer Network (MCN) conference, 1-15 November 2008, in Washington, DC (http://www.mcn.edu/conferences/index.asp) [Coburn] Coburn gave a brief verbal report on the conference, which she attended, and provided the following supplementary information for the meeting notes One of the most successful programming activities at the conference was a series of case studies, which kicked off the proceedings each day This plenary activity grouped together around a topic with five-minute presentations of a project followed by breakout discussions of each project at round tables Case study themes included: • Innovation • Collections • Open Source o Redesigning Your Intranet Using Open Source Technology National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution o Collection Space: A Next Generation Collections Management System Museum of the Moving Image o Omeka: Exhibit Collections Online in the Age of Web 2.0 Center for History and New Media at George Mason University Note: Omeka is a free open-source web-publishing platform intended for museum, libraries and archives; see http://omeka.org/ agw1667375268.doc RECOMMENDATION: Coburn commented that the MCN case study model was successful as an approach to conference programming and recommended that CALM consider using it for a CALM-sponsored program in which examples of museum, archives and library convergence was happening (like the program that RLG is organizing for this year) • Ideas for future programs and initiatives [All] Ray reported that Melissa Lavine has been in touch with her and Witchey about an idea to look at issues that cut across professions with respect to legal agreements A starting point would be the evaluation of existing documents, such as deeds of gift or exhibition loan forms Perhaps a CALM-sponsored program or publication that encapsulates this information would be useful to help raise standards and best practices (as examples, a northern library handling exhibit loans with no covered loading dock was mentioned as well as exhibit loan agreements that prohibit institutions from putting images on the web while allowing them to be reproduced in print) Discussion suggested that LAMA might be a good group within ALA to work with on this ACTION: It was recommended that a subcommittee be formed to explore possibilities for organizing a program or publication around the topic TASK: Malbin volunteered to serve as an SAA representative on the subcommittee and offered to work with Witchey and Dupont to identify appropriate AAM and ALA representatives to work with her • Keeping “CALM” through a recession, or, how to deal with cuts in travel funding and keep the work of this committee moving forward [All] Ghikas encouraged us to consider what must happen during in-person meetings at scheduled conferences versus what can happen virtually It would be worth evaluating if the group can or should meet outside of the organizational annual conferences and come up with a broader array of strategies of when and how those virtual meetings can best be supported For example, it would be possible to host a CALM meeting outside the conference via the OPAL service that ALA can provide Virtual meeting can also be a good vehicle for subcommittees to use Hamburger encouraged us not to overlook the value of simple audio conference calls A lot of business can get done that way During the ensuing discussion, a number of Web 2.0 mechanisms for affordable communication were mentioned, including Skype, GoTo Web 2.0 (http://www.go2web20.net/), and Google Docs There was a consensus that we need to start using virtual means as a more economical and efficient way of communicating and functioning as a committee agw1667375268.doc ACTION: Co-chairs will continue to explore what their respective organizations can offer in terms of software support for conference calling and virtual meeting participation during and in addition to face-to-face meetings TASK: Dupont will check and report to CALM membership on the capabilities of ALA Connect and OPAL facilities by the end of February Old Business • Update on PROGRAM: “Libraries, Archives and Museums - Converging for Real,” to be presented under CALM’s sponsorship at the 2009 AAM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia (30 April-4 May 2009) and 2009 ALA Annual Meeting in Chicago (9-15 July 2009) – program dates/times/locations TBA [Dupont] o Description: Our users ask for access to information unhampered by arbitrary boundaries between libraries, archives and museums Yale, Princeton, the Smithsonian, the University of Edinburgh, and the Victoria and Albert Museum have been taking stock of their progress in breaking down the walls between their collections Each of these campus (or campus-like) institutions with responsibility for numerous libraries, archives, and museums strives to provide their audience with a holistic view of all collections regardless of where they are housed or how they are managed In workshops facilitated by RLG Programs, each organization assessed their current state and incubated compelling ideas to foster deep collaboration among their libraries, archives and museums both in the virtual and the brick-and-mortar realm Representatives from these institutions will report on their approaches to collaboration, obstacles to changes, and catalysts that may be applicable in other settings Schaffner expressed gratitude on behalf of RLG Programs for the opportunity to present this program as a CALM-sponsored session at the upcoming AAM/ALA/SAA annual meetings TASK: AAM needs to resolve programming conflict with the CALM-sponsored session and the CALM meeting An effort will be made to keep both on the same day to help reduce the cost for people who are coming from the outside to attend both • Update on PROJECT: ALA Emerging Leaders teams and maintenance of CALM wiki [Dupont] o CALM wiki: http://wikis.ala.org/CALM o Emerging Leaders 2009 project team: http://wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders/index.php/2009_Projects_Page  Group N of the 2009 ALA Emerging Leaders Program has been assigned to work with CALM to extend its impact in speaking on broad issues of access, preservation, and advocacy for the value of archives of all types The 2008 Emerging Leaders Group I developed our current wiki by gathering documents and policy statements from the three cooperating organizations Group I recommended continuing the relationship between this committee and the EL program agw1667375268.doc   Expected Outcomes: • Collaboration with the committee to identify policy areas needing research • Background research on the issues confronting the committee • Extension of wiki to support the collaborative work of the committee Project Team "N" Members • Audra Eagle • Joshua Finnell • Lizette Guerra • Jennifer Osorio • Melissa De Fino Dupont asked the Emerging Leader (EL) team members to introduce themselves and share what attracted them to working on this particular project He noted that there were several dozen projects for emerging leaders to select from, and expressed gratitude on behalf of CALM for having our project team member selecting our project In introducing themselves, the ELs stated that they are still unclear about what CALM specifically would like them to in revising the wiki Dupont is serving as the mentor to this group and will ensure that they receive further explanations and clarifications to guide their project ACTION: Discussion favored having the EL team assist us with research on issues of common concern to archives, libraries and museums, including legislative and policy issues and to offer suggestions on how we might better organize and use the CALM wiki to communicate with our constituents TASK: To supplement information he has already provided, Dupont will schedule a conference call with the EL team members within about two weeks, following a conference call that the ELs will have on their own in the meantime Dupont reported that the CALM wiki has been transferred to a new server The new url is http://info.ala.org/CALM The new server is still using the MediaWiki software, but the configuration settings offer more tools and flexibility, including the possibility of adding more media types We will also be able to use the logo graphic that the co-chairs have been developing with the help of Holt (ALA intern) and a graphics designer Waggener works with at the University of Wyoming • Update on ISSUE: Need to resolve access to CALM website between AAM, ALA, SAA appointees, maintenance and currency of information, and how open it should be to CALM members and non-members; and ISSUE: Need to resolve who will host the wiki, and how any costs might be shared by the three organizations; and SUGGESTION: To have the CALM wiki serve as the “institutional home” for CALM and then have each parent organization link to the wiki [Co-chairs] agw1667375268.doc o Update on TASK: To see if AAM allocated funds to CALM can be used to host the wiki commercially and to explore options for good commercial hosting sites [Witchey, Coburn, Dupont] o Update on TASK: Perian Sully is building a resources page under the auspices of AAM’s Media & Technology Committee and is willing to work with CALM to better share resources and information (see: http://www.aamus.org/sp/mal.cfm) [Witchey, Sully] o Update on TASK: After wiki is set-up with a new host, each committee member will add something to the wiki At future committee meeting, add an agenda item to discuss how we want to better use this space [All] UPDATE: Wiki (MediaWiki) will be hosted by ALA; as long as we are happy with its services, there will be no charge to us UPDATE: It is assumed that the CALM wiki will become the collective home page for CALM, and that a large portion of it will be open, and that each organization will link to it though their individual front door CALM page (e.g similar to what AAM is doing now) • Update on SUGGESTION: Joint website that has cross-community events/conferences or an RSS Feed on CALM’s website for relevant events Interest to have more information about events on a local level that deal with the convergence of issues across libraries, archives, and museums UPDATE: New wiki will allow for setting up RSS feeds • Update on ACTION: Request to have remote access (conference call or other mechanism) for CALM committee members who are unable to attend meetings [Dupont, Waggener, Witchey] • Ideas for future programs and initiatives discussed at last meeting: o Update on PROPOSAL: To have CALM organize and sponsor a session that addresses convergence in library, archives and museum education, following up on IMLS-sponsored educators’ conference in Sarasota and IMLS Interconnections report (interconnections.org) [Dupont, Torres, Malbin] No update No progress made since last meeting o Update on PROPOSAL: To have CALM organize a session to showcase the resources, tool, standards and professional organizations available to small institutions [Waggener] No update No progress made since last meeting agw1667375268.doc o Update on PROPOSAL: To have CALM organize a program session on how libraries, archives, and museums are creating and using open source solutions, such as the Mellon-funded open source collections information system, CollectiveAccess (formerly known as OpenCollection; http://www.collectiveaccess.org/); could be based on MCN 2008 program “Opening It Up, Using Open Source Software” (http://www.mcn.edu/conferences/index.asp?subkey=2098) [Coburn] Coburn provided the following information for the meeting notes as supplementary material There was not sufficient time to share it at the meeting • Opening It Up, Using Open Source Software (MCN Session) Moderator: Mary Elings, Archivist for Digital Collections, The Bancroft Library Panelists: Christopher J Mackie, Associate Program Officer, Program in Research in Information Technology, The Andrew W Mellon Foundation; Brad Westbrook, Project Manager and Lead Analyst, Archivists’ Toolkit, University of California San Diego Libraries; Carl Goodman, Deputy Director and Director of Digital Media, Museum of the Moving Image; Carla Schroer, Executive Director, Cultural Heritage Imaging The use of open source software in museum, archive, and library information technology (IT) is growing Several efforts currently underway are increasing the potential use of open source solutions into the cultural heritage field, and we need to consider what this means on a practical level This panel will look at some of the specific costs and benefits – the how-to’s and why-to’s – of going open and highlight recent projects including OpenCollection for museum collections and the Archivists’ Toolkit for special collections, that are moving our IT solutions and our institutions into the open source arena Sponsored by Standards Special Interest Group (Standards SIG) • Update on TASK: Discussion of IMLS Interconnections report with Paul Marty (see: http://www.interconnectionsreport.org/) [Coburn] Coburn provided the following information for the meeting notes as supplementary material There was not sufficient time to share it at the meeting • “IMLS National Study on the Use of Libraries, Museums and the Internet” The study concluded, “the amount of use of the Internet is positively correlated with the number of in-person visits to museums and has a positive effect on in-person visits to public libraries.” agw1667375268.doc Further Conclusions: o Libraries and museums evoke consistent, extraordinary public trust among diverse adult users o Internet use is positively related to in-person visits to museums and libraries o Museums and public libraries, in-person and online, serve important and complementary roles in supporting a wide variety of information needs • Update on ISSUE: Better internal communication and workings On-going discussions to better distribute workload and to better understand one another’s organizations and PROPOSAL: Have sub-committees work before the regular meetings [All] While there was not sufficient time to discuss this issue, it was noted that during the meeting agreements had been made to form a subcommittee to make recommendations regarding CALM’s legislative liaison role and that several other assignments had been made to various CALM members In addition, there was consensus that the co-chairs should continue to explore ways of holding virtual meetings and conferences calls as a means of facilitating CALM’s work and membership participation Upcoming CALM Meetings • • • AAM Annual Meeting, 30 April-4 May 2009, in Philadelphia; CALM meets on Saturday, May 2009, 3:30pm-5:00pm, Marriot Philadelphia Downtown (room TBA) [Witchey] Coburn noted that AAM staff were aware that the CALM-sponsored program “Converging for Real” is currently scheduled at the same time AAM staff will reschedule either the meeting or the program TASK: AAM representatives will post details on scheduling changes to the CALM list and wiki when they have been decided ALA Annual Meeting, 9-15 July 2009, in Chicago – shall we schedule an informal CALM gathering like last year, even to review outcomes of the Emerging Leader Project Team on the wiki? Normal meeting time at ALA would be Sunday, 12 July 2009, 10:30am-12:00pm [Dupont] Dupont has requested that an informal CALM meeting be scheduled at the usual Sunday morning time SAA Annual Meeting, 11-16 August, 2009, in Austin; CALM meets on Wednesday, 12 August 2009, time and room TBA [Waggener] TASK: Waggener will post details on the SAA meeting date and time to the CALM list and wiki when they have been decided Other Upcoming Meetings of Interest agw1667375268.doc • DigCCurr 2009 Conference, 1-3 April 2009, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill The School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina is pleased to announce our second digital curation curriculum symposium “DigCCurr 2009: Digital Curation Practice, Promise and Prospects” is part of the “Preserving Access to Our Digital Future: Building an International Digital Curation Curriculum” (DigCCurr) project DigCCurr is a three-year (2006-2009), Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded collaboration between SILS and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) The primary goals of the DigCCurr project are to develop a graduatelevel curricular framework, course modules, and experiential components to prepare students for digital curation in various environments o http://ils.unc.edu/digccurr2009/ o • Museums and the Web, 15-18 April 2009, in Indianapolis o Museums and the Web addresses the social, cultural, design, technological, economic, and organizational issues of culture, science and heritage on-line Taking an international perspective, senior speakers with extensive experience in Web development review and analyze the issues and impacts of networked cultural, natural and scientific heritage o http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/ • • Museum Computer Network (MCN) 2009, 37th Annual Conference, 11-14 November, 2009, in Portland, Oregon o MCN supports museum information professionals and the greater community by providing opportunities to explore and disseminate new technologies and best practices in the field With an annual conference, special interest groups, listserv, and project registry, MCN is here to help you seek out and share knowledge about technology trends and issues you face every day o http://www.mcn.edu/ Others? No other upcoming meetings were mentioned Adjournment The meeting was adjourned shortly after noon Several attendees went to lunch together afterwards agw1667375268.doc