Organization > Chapters > Mid-Atlantic > Minutes and Reports
VRA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting Minutes
Friday October 6, 2000
Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Md.
Attendees were welcomed by Kathy Cowan, Mellon Photograph Cataloger of the Maryland Historical Society Library of Maryland History, who hosted this event.
Attendees:
Kathe Albrecht (American U.)
Margie Chenoweth (MD Inst. Art)
Kathy Cowan (MD Hist.Soc.)
David DeLorenzo (MD Hist.Soc.)
Charles Lockwood (Enoch Pratt)
Sarah Miller (Univ.of Maryland)
Shelley Olds (NASA Goddard)
Susanne Ridenour, Sec../Treas. (National Aquar.in Balt.)
Adele Stevens (Nat'l Gallery)
Bob Willis, Pres. (Catholic U.)
Also present (as guest): Don Stevens, photographer (husband of Adele Stevens). In addition, the afternoon program was also attended by: Kathleen Adrian (Johns Hopkins Univ.) and Ann Woodward (Johns Hopkins Univ.)
Minutes of the Business Meeting
Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Md.
Friday October 6, 2000 11:25 A.M.-12:40 P.M.
VRA Business Meeting convened 11:25 A.M. as Chapter President Bob Willis began the meeting with introductions of attendees and announcements:
(1) Announcements:
Dues: As agreed at our previous meeting, our Chapter will resume collecting annual dues of $10, effective January 2001. Our Secretary will send out letters to our current mailing list at the beginning of the new year. (To be a Chapter member, one must simultaneously maintain membership in the national Visual Resources Association).
Next Meeting: Tina Updike is looking forward to hosting our next meeting at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA. It is tentatively scheduled for a Friday in June.
VRA: Ann Whiteside sent regrets that no one from the VRA Executive Board could attend today's meeting, since they always like to keep in touch with members at the chapter level.
(2) Discussion on VRA Listserv / Membership issue:
VRA is small yet very influential as an association - both VRA members and non-VRA members look to the Listserv for helpful information on professional standards. Nevertheless, it was observed that there is a direct relation between an open Listserv and a decreasing VRA membership. (From 1,000 down to 550 -- might other professional organizations be noting similar trends?) Yet, such an open list may also serve as a valuable marketing vehicle to encourage others to join.
Since VRA has always met with other related organizations (CAA ARLIS, SECAC, etc.), one possibility may be to investigate lower fees for membership in reciprocating associations.
Some options for VRA Listserv membership might be to offer: "trial subscriptions," second tier memberships (able to read but not to post), or a "for listserv only" subscriber level, or some other affiliate membership (such as "or "Friends of VRA" etc.). (Kathe Albrecht with call Ann with our options for VRA-list).
(3) PROJECTS:
Discussion then centered on the stewardship of our Chapter Funds -- toward which ends might we envision applying some of our funds? Interest was expressed in developing a chapter website or chapter listserv to promote communication and sense of community among members in our region. (Susi Ridenour has called Joe Romano at Oberlin to investigate these possibilities).
Another possibility included teaming with other institutions for publication of useful database or catalog (such a Baltimore Area Librarians' Coalition catalog of photo collections). We should also be aware of possible help from IMLS grants.
Hosting training or a workshop on a professionally-stimulating topic would seem feasible (possibly as part of a VRA-ARLIS joint meeting). Such sessions could also serve as outreach to students.
(4) Chapter President Election:
Our Secretary/Treasurer reported that 19 Ballots had been received from our chapter members, and that they were unanimous in voting Kathe Albrecht as our next Mid-Atlantic Chapter President. She will assume office beginning January, 2001.
(5) Future meetings/activities:
Interest was expressed in the possibility of holding at least an informal Chapter meeting in the interim before the National Conference. Such get-togethers have typically worked out best on a Saturday. They might even include such elements as a "gallery walk" , an all-day workshop (with a keynote speaker (as had been done at American University), or other substantial or hands-on content which would be attractive to our members. In addition, such workshops could also provide a back-up web-site (to be left up for several weeks) for the benefit of our attendees.
Any ideas for a workshop style or meeting site? (some suggestions included UMBC's photography collection and something similar to the all-day event held at Harper's Ferry).
We also need to start thinking of our Chapter's possible involvement with upcoming events in our area: Society of American Archivists (2001) in D.C., and ARLIS National Conference in Baltimore (2003) Please let us know your thoughts on possible meeting formats or sites.
Business Meeting adjourned 12:40 P.M.
A delicious lunch and refreshments were graciously provided by the Maryland Historical Society Library of Maryland History. Adele DeWerff Stevens was recognized for her upcoming retirement. More travel is on her agenda, as well as continuing with her VRA contacts and membership. Best of everything, Adele and Don!
Presentation
After Lunch, Kathy Cowan presented "Digital Programs on a Shoestring: An Historical Society Case" -- a fascinating view into the development of their digital library collection called Maryland Memory Projects.
Creative use of grants, interns, contracted technical support, and good planning featured strongly throughout. In addition to such 'normal' photo-cataloging issues as identifying, organizing, and the creation of finding aids, the digital aspects of the project created added technical demands such as documenting what they have learned into policy and procedure manuals (including how to scan, formats, resolutions, and other standards). All of these activities, fortunately, were boosted by the library's likewise proactive and vision-minded director, David DeLorenzo, who , seeing the need "to jump the 20th Century completely into the 21st " recognized the critical nature of "keeping the project's infrastructure alive all the way." The bottom line: an incredibly productive amount of work resulted in little over a year. (The Maryland Memory Projects may be viewed at: http://www.mdhs.org/library/MMPhome.html).
The Maryland Historical Society Library is also looking forward to collaborating with the Society's Education Department on curriculum-based web exhibits to complement existing Primary Resource Kits (analog!) which the educators provide to schools around the state.
Kathy plans to attend the 2001 VRA Conference in Chicago this spring , where she will continue the theme of stretching resources and enlisting support from different areas of the institution at a Roundtable presentation titled: "Making Stone Soup: Digital Programs at the Maryland Historical Society".
Kathy noted that at the June 2000 VRA Chapter meeting at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, she was impressed by the digital projects demonstrated to the group, and realized the importance of the web-module for digital materials, which guided the development of the Maryland Memory Projects web site as a setting for the MHS digital photographs. It is good to know that we may each expect to find similarly helpful insights and inspirations from among our regional circle of VRA colleagues.
Anyone having further questions for Kathy may e-mail her at:
kcowan@mdhs.org
or check the Maryland Historical Society website at:
http://www.mdhs.org/
Thanks to all Mid-Atlantic members and visitors who could attend. Once again, appreciation is also expressed to all those institutions which allowed their staff the time to take part in this opportunity for professional development as thus also providing visibility for their respective institutions. And finally, many thanks to Kathy Cowan and her colleagues at the Maryland Historical Society Library for their outstanding hospitality and program. It was certainly an inspiring day for all who attended.
Respectfully submitted,
Susanne L.M. Ridenour,
Secretary/Treasurer,
Mid-Atlantic Chapter,
Visual Resources Association
