Organization > Chapters > Upstate New York > Minutes
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Fall meeting at St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York
05 November 2010
Minutes. VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting:
Attendance: Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Ann Thomas, Arline Wolfe, Carol Mathey, Cathy Tedford, John Hosford, Linda Reynolds, Jesse Henderson
The chapter members met in Noble Center Room 225. President John Hosford called the meeting to order at 10:29. There was a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes from the March meeting in Atlanta by Jesse; Marcia seconded.
Treasurer’s Report: Although the current Treasurer, Sanda Baker, was not in attendance, her report had been forwarded to John Hosford. It was reported that $30 in memberships had been added in July and we are now up to $412 total in our account. We have 26 members as of September 1, 2010.
Secretary’s Report: Nothing to report other than we collectively decided that the Meeting Minutes from our July meeting at Jeanne Keefe’s house did not need to be formally approved, as the meeting was not a formal one.
Discussion: Again we discussed as to whether the duties of the New Member Liaison should be tied into the Treasurer’s position. This was brought up because the duties of the Treasurer have been streamlined ever since the bundling of the accounts. However, it was decided by the group that the Treasurer position should remain as is and the New Member Liaison should just be a volunteer position, as it began. A formal change the duties of the Treasurer would require a rewrite of the by-laws and approval by the Executive Board. Jesse admitted that she just did not have the time to continue as the volunteer and Jeanne volunteered to take over.
Jeanne mentioned that she is still receiving the new member lists from VRA national, although they should go to the Treasurer and President, so she can easily contact new members since she has the updated roster. John offered that we should think of using Google Docs as a place to keep a working spreadsheet of our membership. Marcia mentioned that within Member Clicks there is a space where our chapter can keep and share documents and we should look into that service, since it is provided with our membership to VRA national.
We discussed continuing to offer travel awards for members of our own chapter and it was decided that we would again offer two $150 awards. Jeanne mentioned that priorities go to the officers or others who need to be at the conference and also financial need is taken into consideration. Jeanne will send out an email soon. Applications can be directed to her and include a statement as to why you are attending the conference and why you need the award.
The chapter also voted to contribute $50 to the VRA conference in support of the Welcome Party, as this is where the VRA Development Committee will be asking the chapters to contribute their donations.
Elections will be coming up for the Chair Elect and the Secretary Position. Call will go out via email.
Marcia relayed that the Executive Board wanted to know if there are any changes to our membership fees. She noted that many other chapters are charging $20 for regular members and $10 for students. Our current fees are $15 for regular members and $5 for students. Ours are probably the lowest of any chapter. It was also discussed that some chapters charge a registration fee for regular meetings, sometime $15 or $20. We discussed as to whether this was something that we needed to think about doing, which would be solely for the purpose of building up our bank account and then offering more travel awards to our members. No one in attendance was in favor of charging a registration fee for regular meetings. Marcia motioned to raise the membership fees to reflect what the other chapters are charging, $20 and $10. Jeanne seconded and the vote was unanimous in favor of raising the membership fee. However, the fees probably won’t be implemented until next year as the membership drive for this year has already begun.
The spring meeting for 2011 will be held at Alfred University. John mentioned that he and Sherman Clarke were planning a joint ARLIS Western NY/VRA Upstate NY meeting. This will perhaps be held around the 2nd week of June. We thought we could then approach Nancy Golden about holding the fall meeting for 2011 at Hartwick in Oneonta.
John motioned to adjourn the meeting at 11:03 and Linda seconded.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson
Minutes
Upstate New York Chapter Meeting
Visual Resources Association
Troy, NY
23 July 2010
Attendance: Chuck Paquette, Marcia Focht, Sandra Baker, Ann Thomas, Linda Reynolds, Jeanne Keefe, and Jesse Henderson
Discussion: The Chapter members met at Jeanne Keefe’s home in Troy at around 10:30. It was an informal meeting without an agenda. The first topic of discussion was one of concern regarding the absence of our current Upstate NY Chapter President, John Hosford, at the national conference, chapter meetings and his general lack of correspondence with the Upstate NY Chapter members and with the VRA national association so far this year. The Chapter’s annual report was not submitted this year by our Chapter President, but by our past-President, Jeanne Keefe, who was contacted when he did not respond to repeated requests by the national organization for the report.
Marcia Focht, who is the VRA National Secretary, mentioned that her emails to John regarding the submission of the report repeatedly went unanswered. Jeanne mentioned that she didn’t hear from him regarding topics for this summer meeting until the day before the meeting and he notified her that since he could not attend, as he was on vacation, could we discuss having the fall meeting at Alfred and determine what dates would be best. We don’t know the reason for his lack of correspondence and action within the Upstate NY Chapter, but we hope to find out soon.
The next topic was regarding our fall meeting. The members present stated that they’d really be interested in traveling up to St. Lawrence for the fall meeting if they were still willing to host. The President should be in charge of setting this up; Jeanne mentioned she would contact him regarding coordinating with St. Lawrence. If St. Lawrence is not a viable destination this fall, there is still the idea of visiting Hartwick in Oneonta and assessing Nancy Golden’s situation and providing her feedback. She is at the very beginning stages of going digital and would like to have us visit and has solicited advice from the Upstate NY Chapter members. Jesse Henderson mentioned she would contact Nancy regarding this idea. We’ll have to let John know that Hartwick is a good candidate for a back-up plan if we cannot meet at St. Lawrence this fall. A few dates thrown out by meeting attendees were October 29th or November 5th for the fall meeting.
Sandra Baker gave us an update on the membership: 23 members. This seems to be an all- time high for our chapter. It seems that having the dues bundled with the national dues has brought us a few more members. Again, we discussed tying in the duties of New Member Liaison in with the duties of the Treasurer since the Treasurer receives the membership report from VRA National. We need to re-write the description of the duties of the Treasurer and vote on this at some point in the future.
We also briefly discussed that the chapter had enough money to provide a travel award (maybe two) to our members for attendance at the national conference in March of 2011. We also mentioned that we should think about contributing something, as a group, to the silent auction which will be held during the conference. We’d wait to decide after we find out more information regarding how this will work considering this is a joint conference this year. Jesse mentioned she would keep the group informed since she is a co-Chair of the Development Committee this year. Marcia also relayed a message regarding the sponsorship of workshops and sessions during the joint conference by the chapters and that the national association is advising chapters to not provide sponsorship. She told us she would find out more at her upcoming board meeting and relay the information to the rest of us.
The meeting ended around 1:00 as we left Jeanne’s place to enjoy a lovely lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant called Garlic Lovers Corner.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson Secretary,
Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Curator
Department of Art & Art History
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
315.228.7594
jhenderson@colgate.edu
Minutes
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
National VRA Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
18 March 2010
Minutes. VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting:
Attendance: Sherman Clarke, Marcia Focht, Nancy Golden, Jesse Henderson, Amy Herman, Jeanne Keefe, Carolyn Lucarelli, Randi-Millman Brown, Liz Muller, Ann Thomas
Discussion: The chapter members met in meeting room Augusta 1 at 5:30 pm. The group had a very informal meeting as we did not have an agenda and our current president was absent. Jeanne Keefe began the meeting in John Hosford’s stead by addressing the topic of a spring meeting at St. Lawrence University. Sherman Clarke offered up Alfred University as an alternative location if a spring meeting at St. Lawrence does not work out or we can then meet at Alfred in the fall if we are able to meet in the spring at St. Lawrence.
The relationship of the local chapters to VRA national was discussed and how requests for reimbursements are now handled. Since the local chapter Treasurers’ duties have been significantly curtailed due to the national organization now handling many financial affairs, it was discussed as to whether the Treasurer for our chapter should also be the ‘New Member Liaison’ – a volunteer position held by the current Secretary.
Jeanne noted that she attended the Chapter Chairs meetings in John’s stead at VRA national this year.
Randi declared that she would start a Facebook page for the Upstate NY Chapter.
We welcomed a new potential member to the meeting, Nancy Golden, the VR curator at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. We discussed Nancy’s situation in her VR center at Hartwick.
The meeting was informally adjourned at approximately 6 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson
Secretary & New Member Liaison, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Curator
Department of Art & Art History
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
315.228.7594
jhenderson@colgate.edu
Visual Resources Association
Joint Meeting of the New England and Western NY Chapters of ARLIS and
New England and Upstate NY Chapters of VRA, Sterling and Francine Clark
Art Institute, Williamstown, MA
Friday, October 16, 2009
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting:
Attendance: Sandra Baker, Sherman Clarke, Peggy Collins, April Fernandez, Marcia Focht, Laurie Glover, John Hosford, Jeanne Keefe, Laura Montgomery, Chuck Paquette, Linda Reynolds, David Seiler, Ann Thomas.
Business Meeting: President Jeanne Keefe called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM in the ground floor office of the Clark Library. She welcomed UAlbany students who were in attendance and announced that this meeting was her last as president of the chapter. The next scheduled meeting is in Atlanta in March, 2010 during the national VRA conference, where John Hosford will take over as president of the chapter.
Secretary’s Report: No minutes were distributed from the chapter meeting held at the VRA conference in Toronto.
Treasurer's Report: Ann Thomas gave a check in the amount of $372.57 to Sandra Baker, the new treasurer, who in turn passed the funds on to Jane Darcovich, VRA treasurer, for deposit into the new bursar system. Dues, including chapter dues, will now be paid on-line through this system and will no longer be deposited at a local bank. Ann spent several minutes explaining the new system to the membership.
Discussion: Jeanne asked the membership for opinions about providing travel grants to the annual conference. After some discussion, it was decided that (2) $150.00 awards would be granted. Jeanne volunteered to review applications and noted that preference is given to chapter officers who apply. More information will be announced at a later date.
Discussion: Marcia Focht asked about a site for our spring meeting. Visiting Saint Lawrence was mentioned, but no members from Saint Lawrence were in attendance to discuss the issue. Several members asked about an alternative site and a proposed time frame. May or early June were the preferred times. John offered to host the meeting at Alfred. Several members were agreeable and noted that no meetings have taken place in the western region of the state for some time. The discussion was left unresolved. Further discussion ensued regarding a fall 2010 meeting site. Buffalo was mentioned. Jeanne said she would contact members of ARLIS Western NY to see if they are interested in a joint meeting.
Discussion: Jeanne initiated a discussion of the Summer Educational Institute (SEI), which is taking place at the University of New Mexico next year (June 8-11, 2010). She noted that SEI will be abbreviated to three days and will feature a more advanced curriculum which is focused on retooling and retraining people already working in the field.
Discussion: Laurie Glover initiated a discussion about job changes within the current economic environment. She spoke at length about the changes to her position at the Clark. Jeanne talked about changes to her position at RPI. Each person present then spoke about changes, layoffs, etc. happening at the institutions represented at the table. These discussions led into another about ARTstor, with members answering questions from other members about Shared Shelf, Hosting, etc.
Meeting adjourned 10:55 AM
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler
Secretary (filling in for Jesse Henderson),
Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Director, Visual Resources
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519
dseiler@skidmore.edu
Visual Resources Association
Fall Meeting, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
23 October, 2008
VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting
Attendance:
Members: David Seiler, Ann Thomas, Marci Focht, Linda Reynolds, Jeanne Keefe, Carole Mathey, Amy McKenna, Randi Millman-Brown, Catherine Tedford.
Non-Members: Margaret Webster, James Shea, Sandy Baker
Business Meeting: President Jeanne Keefe called the meeting to order at 10:50 am.
Secretary’s Report: The secretary (Jesse Henderson) was not present, and so Marcia Focht offered to take the minutes. No minutes were recorded from the July Planning Meeting.
Treasurer’s Report: Ann Thomas reported that the chapter had a balance of $492.82. Our Chapter contributed $250 to this meeting. We currently have a balance of $242.82 and 18 members. Two new members, Catherine Tedford and Carole Mathey joined today. Ann noted that dues are still $15. Anyone renewing is urged to send their payment to Ann. We discussed how to spend our Chapter funds. Annually a travel award for the Annual Conference has been awarded to a Chapter member and we contribute to the annual conference when we are able. This year we also contributed to this meeting.
Old Business: As discussed at the July Planning Meeting, National VRA has proposed a system of “bundling” the chapter and national banking. National would take over all of our banking and members could pay for their national and chapter memberships at the same time. This is proposed because some chapters have had problems with bank account transitions due to officers (and therefore banks) changing or walking away from their duties. However, we have not had banking problems and we generally use paperless transactions. Unlike larger chapters, our checking activity is minimal. One concern on our side is how quickly the National VRA side could get checks to us. On the plus side it might increase our membership if people were reminded of our Chapter as they renew their national membership, and it would save us the trouble of having to verify their current status as a national member.
Another issue that would arise with this change is that we would not necessarily need a treasurer. If that was the case we would have to change our bylaws. It was agreed that our response is that before we move to the new “bundling” structure we would need more of the details laid out.
New Business: The National election of Officers starts November 1st. Jeanne urged everyone to vote.
National VRA would like all chapters to modify their bylaws to be uniform following their suggestion. We should review our bylaws and ask the board to clarify what changes they are seeking. In addition we need to know if the changes would take place at the same time as the proposed bundling suggestion and therefore reflect a change in the Treasurer position. Bylaw changes are a lengthy process and if we need to do it we only want to go through it once.
Chapter elections are coming up in December. The position of Chairperson Elect/Vice Chair is up for election. We encourage self-nomination. Please send any nominations to Marcia.
Chapter travel awards were discussed. It was proposed that 2 awards at $150 each would be awarded under the contingency that our typical membership dues come in promptly. As usual, preference is given to chapter officers, presenters and those who do not have institutional funding. Margaret offered to collect applicants and nominate recipients for the awards.
The Education committee usually offers a workshop stipend to each chapter. Chapter officers are given first choice. The attendee must present the workshop content to the chapter within a year of the workshop.
Margaret offered to present the updated “Decision Trees” program at any upcoming Upstate Chapter meeting. This was presented at the Spring of 2008 meeting by Jesse Henderson with assistance from Jeannine Keefer.
Jeanne announced SEI upcoming June 7-13 at Simmons in Boston. This SEI will be more expensive than normal but the location should be very convenient. They plan to offer 40-45 spots. There is a proposal for future SEI to have a shorter “refresher” course offered. The SEI Advisory Group is discussing this. Please contact Sherman Clarke if you have any ideas.
Upcoming meetings were discussed. Our next meeting will be at the Conference in Toronto. Saint Lawrence University was suggested and is tentatively set for the 3rd or 4th week in May of 2009.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:40
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Focht
Curator of Visual Resources
Department of Art & Art History
Binghamton University
mfocht@binghamton.edu
Visual Resources Association
Spring Meeting at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
02 May 2008
Minutes. VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting:
Attendance: David Seiler, Ann Thomas, Jackie Medina, Marci Focht, Linda Reynolds, Jeanne Keefe, John Hosford, Jesse Henderson.
Business Meeting: President Jeanne Keefe called the meeting to order at 10:07 AM in room 201 of Little Hall.. Jeanne first asked for approval of the minutes from the March meeting at San Diego. Ann requested that the minutes be amended for the Treasurer’s report, as it was stated that no report was given. She had handed the report to former President Jeannine Keefer even though she was not able to attend the March meeting. Amendment was approved. Marcia moved to accept the minutes with the amendment, Linda seconded.
Secretary’s Report: Nothing to report.
Treasurer’s Report: Ann Thomas reported that the chapter currently had a balance of $477.82 and with the addition of dues from one new member, Megan Potts from Corning, the new total would be $492.82. It was noted that the total membership was now at 18 members.
Old Business: Fall meeting, tentatively the week of October 19th, would be held at RPI in Troy, NY and it would be a joint meeting with New England ARLIS and VRA and WNY ARLIS and Upstate NY VRA. It will last 2 days, Thursday and Friday, in the new Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, which will be opening soon before the meeting. This meeting will be conducted like a mini-conference with a registration fee which includes lunches for both days and a behind-the-scenes curator’s tour of the new Nicholas Grimshaw building. Definitive dates and fee will be solidified around June. Attendees will be on their own for dinner both nights and Jeanne recommends Ali Babas on 15th Street in Albany.
New Business: Ann mentioned that the membership for the Upstate NY Chapter could use a bit of boosting. Jeanne mentioned that, while advertising for the upcoming SEI, she had joined several library school listservs. This could be used as a way to reach out to library school students at Syracuse. The chapter should also look to Rochester, SUNY Brockport and other points in western NY who might be looking for a chapter. Jesse mentioned that the curator and her assistant from St. Lawrence are VRA members and should join our chapter. Ann mentioned that the best way would be to go through the member’s directory and start contacting current VRA members.
Marcia brought to everyone’s attention the news that the VR position at SUNY Cortland will be cut as of December and also that the position at SUNY Albany was no longer being supported. This lead to a discussion concerning diminishing support from institutions for VR positions as well as the pros and cons of being housed in a library versus within a department.
Jesse moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:15 and Jeanne seconded.
Programming: Jesse reported on the workshop she attended at the Annual VRA Conference in San Diego which was (is to be) reimbursed by the national association. The Workshop was titled Seeking the Right Path for Visual Resources Users and was conducted by the VR team at Cornell: Margaret Webster, Jeannine Keefer, Greta Bahnemann, Karen Brummund as well as Reference Librarian Martha Walker. The workshop consisted of detailed ‘Decision Trees’ which covered the topics: Finding Content, Organizing and Saving Content, Building a Personal Collection, Off-Campus Presenting, Online Study Collections, Classroom Lectures, and Writing a Paper. Each tree outlined questions to be asked as part of the reference interview and different paths that could be taken to achieve what is to be accomplished. Member of Upstate NY thought that these trees should be available as a publication for purchase through VRA in the form of a Special Paper or Bulletin.
After lunch the group enjoyed a tour of the Picker Art Gallery at Colgate, which is housed in the very strange and dangerous Dana Arts building, built in 1966 by Paul Rudolph. The new curator, Joachim Homann, gave the tour.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, VRA
Visual Resources Curator
Department of Art & Art History
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
315.228.7594
jhenderson@mail.colgate.edu
National VRA Conference, San Diego, CA
17 March 2008
The meeting was kept to a minimum due to the absence of several members. The chapter was unable to sufficiently meet due to conflicting schedules.
Attendance: Carolyn Lucarelli, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Nicole Finzer, Jesse Henderson, Laura Riskedahl.
Business Meeting: President Jeanne Keefe called the meeting to order at 9 AM in the lobby of the Westin Hotel, San Diego.
Treasurer’s Report: Balance at the time of the conference in San Diego was $477.82.
New Business: Spring meeting at Colgate was discussed.
Fall meeting was discussed at RPI, which will be a joint meeting with New England ARLIS & VRA and WNY ARLIS and Upstate NY VRA. Additionally, past joint meetings were discussed and remembered fondly.
Meeting was informally adjourned for bus and bike tours around San Diego.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Curator
Department of Art & Art History
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
315.228.7594
jhenderson@mail.colgate.edu
Visual Resources Association
Philadelphia Museum of Art, joint meeting with Greater Philadelphia Chapter
26 October 2007
Minutes. VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting:
Attendance: Randi Millman-Brown, Heather Carroll, Amy McKenna, Carolyn Lucarelli, Ann Thomas, Jeannine Keefer, Lisa Joyce, Jesse Henderson.
Business Meeting: President Jeannine Keefer called the meeting to order at 12:06 PM in the Perelman Building, room 4A, of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jeannine first asked for approval of the minutes from the June meeting at Bard. Ann made a motion to accept the minutes and Lisa seconded the motion.
Treasurer’s Report: Ann Thomas reported that the chapter currently had a balance of $317.82 and with the addition of dues from two members the new total was $347.82 as of October 26, 2007. It was noted that requests for dues for next year would be going out in December.
New Business:
Election. Jeannine showed everyone the master chart for position terms, which indicated that there would be a need for a new Secretary in December. It was noted that there would be a call for nominations in December. In San Diego Jeanne Keefe would assume the position of Chair. A Treasurer will not be elected until December 2008, as well as a Vice-Chair.
Spring Meeting: Jeannine looked to Jesse for a confirmation that Colgate would be the destination for the Spring 2008 meeting. Jesse indicated that this would be fine, but wasn’t sure about the programming. Jeannine suggested that a shortened version of the ‘Decision Tree’ being developed by members at Cornell could be an option. Ann also mentioned that the travel award recipient could present on a workshop attended at the National VRA conference in San Diego. Jesse mentioned that the “entertaining” program could possibly be an architectural tour of the campus, a tour of the three galleries on campus or a presentation by digital artist and Colgate faculty member Cary Peppermint on ‘Net Art’.
Fall Meeting: Jeannine mentioned that the Fall 2008 meeting will be held at RPI in conjunction with members of ARLIS/WNY
Web site updates: Jeannine informed us that our local chapter web site was being hosted by the national VRA web site and maintained by Marcia Focht. The chapter decided that so far the site is good and nothing currently needed to be changed.
Announcements:
Jeannine mentioned that there would be a VR position opening soon at Cornell.
Ann Thomas told everyone a bit about the VRA Foundation, of which she is a board member. The VRA Foundation was set up as a vehicle for receiving large funds/grants. The VRA currently cannot do this on its own because it is a 501C-6, which means donations to it are not tax-deductible. The VRA Foundation will be absorbing the educational part of VRA, including SEI. Cataloging Cultural Objects will be transferred to the VRA Foundation as well. In the future, there are hopes to have many educational sessions where members can travel and teach CCO.
Jesse moved to adjourn the meeting and Randi seconded.
Programming: Candace LeClare gave a presentation, prior to the business meetings, on her work with Distance Education with K-12 students. This program is part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Candace and her assistants give tailored lectures via live web-casts on objects in the museums holdings that are relevant to the coursework of a particular school/class. After business meetings and lunch the group was given an architectural tour of the new Perelman building. Next we received a talk in the Wachovia Educational Resources Center by Steve Wills on the issues of teaching visual literacy and the services of the center. The programming of the day concluded with a tour of the library/visual resources center of the museum.
Respectfully submitted,
Jesse Henderson, in the stead of David Seiler, Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Curator
Department of Art & Art History
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
315.228.7594
jhenderson@mail.colgate.edu
Ghery's Fisher Center at Bard
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Friday, June 15, 2007
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting.
Attendance: Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Leslie Melvin, Linda Reynolds, David Seiler, Ann Thomas. Guests: Heather Carroll, Amy McKenna and Chuck Paquette (all of Williams College)
Business Meeting: President Jeannine Keefer called the meeting to order at 9:25 AM in the Olin Language Center.
Secretary's Report: Minutes from the meeting in Kansas City were distributed to the members present for their approval. Jeanne made a motion to accept the minutes and Linda seconded the motion.
Treasurer's Report: Ann Thomas reported that the chapter has 15 members and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $302.82 as of June 15, 2007. Expenditures this year include $50.00 given to the VRA in support of the national conference and $175.00 to Marcia Focht, who was the recipient of the chapter's travel award for attendance to the national conference. Accounts are held in Citizen's Bank of Niskayuna, NY. Ann and Jeanne had the signature cards changed so that Ann has the ability to utilize the account for expenses. Bank drafts will be used for future expenses rather than maintaining a checking account, since the chapter writes few checks.
New Business: Fall 2007 meeting in Philadelphia: Jeannine announced that the Philadelphia Chapter will be offering two travel awards for $50.00 to offset the cost of transportation to the fall meeting. A discussion ensued about who would be attending, the cost of the train and carpooling. Jeannine is also working with local members in order to provide some accommodations for overnight travelers. A firm date is not in place but, after some discussion, October was viewed as the best month. The meeting will occur on a Friday and both the Greater New York and Mid-Atlantic Chapters have been invited as well.
Fall 2008 meeting at RPI: Jeanne gave a brief overview of the potential program, which will include touring the new EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), which is due to open around the time of our meeting. She is working with Fran Scott, Treasurer of ARLIS/NA, as this meeting will be joint program with ARLIS and Upstate VRA as well as New England VRA. A brief discussion of joint meetings with ARLIS followed and all participants agreed that such meetings should be infrequent.
Web site updates: The new VRA web site includes links to all chapters. Jeannine has the information necessary for updating our site. A new style sheet format must be followed. A brief discussion about who should be responsible for updating the site followed with some members suggesting that the secretary should be responsible. In the end, Marcia said she would continue to update the site as needed.
Spring 2008 meeting: Ann suggested somewhere in western New York since we have been meeting in the east lately. Jeannine suggested a visit to Colgate. She will contact Jesse Henderson about the possibility.
ARLIS collaboration: A brief discussion allowed members to voice their opinions about having joint meetings with ARLIS. Ann suggested that we not meet more than once every other year. Marcia noted that many of these meetings dilute our programming and that we should concentrate specifically on our own needs. Others in attendance agreed. Program requests for Philadelphia meeting: Jeannine asked the membership if they had any requests for particular programming. Most members would like a behind-the-scenes tour. David wanted to know more about their digital initiatives.
Budget request from national VRA: Jeannine asked if there were any budget requests that the chapter should make. Ann noted that most requests go unfunded. Jeanne asked about speaker support for local meetings. Jeannine said she would talk to Evan Towle of the Philadelphia Museum of Art about the upcoming program in order to determine if a special request for funding was warranted.
Meeting adjourned 9:55 AM
Program: After the meeting adjourned, Marcia gave a talk on collection hosting with ARTstor. Binghamton is now a participant in ARTstor's Institutional Collections Pilot Program. Jeannine then gave a report on the "Educating the Educators" workshop she attended at the 2007 National VRA Conference in Kansas City. After our lunch outing in Tivoli, we came back to campus for a tour of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts designed by Frank Gehry. Special thanks go to Leslie Melvin for hosting our meeting and to Jeannine Keefer and Marcia Focht for their lively program.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Director, Visual Resources
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519 dseiler@skidmore.edu
Williamstown Members lunching at great restaurant near Bard
Members at UAlbany Art Museum
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY
Friday, October 20, 2006
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting.
Attendance: Jessica Castaldo, Susan De Maio, Caitlain Devereaux Lewis, Marcia Focht, Hemalata Iyer, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Jeff Reynolds, David Seiler.
Business Meeting: President Jeannine Keefer called the meeting to order at 9:50 AM in the Visual Resources Library of the Fine Arts Building.
Secretary's Report: David Seiler distributed, and briefly read from, the minutes of the chapter meeting held at Cornell in June.
Treasurer's Report: Jeanne Keefe reported that the chapter has 15 members (1 was added at the meeting) and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $302.82 (excluding new member's fees) as of October 20, 2006. Expenditures this year include $50.00 given to the VRA in support of the national conference and $175.00 to Marcia Focht, who was the recipient of the chapter's travel award for attendance to the national conference. Accounts are held in Citizen's Bank of Wynantskill, NY. Jeanne will send an announcement for dues in December.
New Business: Membership: Jeannine expressed concern that we have few attendees to some of our meetings. Jeannine discussed recruiting some people working for her at Cornell. A short discussion followed, including the national VRA's role in sending information to local chapters about new members. Election of new VP and treasurer: Elections will be held in December. A new VP needs to be elected. The VP serves a one-year term (2007) shadowing the President of the chapter followed by a two-year term (2008-2010) as president. Marcia suggested self-nominations and Jeannine will send out an e-mail to the members.
Spring Meeting:Penn State will be unavailable for the spring of 2007 but might be a possibility when their new building is completed (2008). Jeanne suggested Williamstown and everyone agreed initially. After further discussion, which covered everyone's working conditions, New Paltz emerged as a better fit for us in the spring. Susan De Maio will host us and the program will possibly focus upon coupling the problems faced in given working conditions with real solutions. Susan will do some checking and get back to us.
Meeting adjourned 10:20 AM
Program: After the meeting adjourned, we had a tour of the UAlbany Art Museum's exhibits ("Flicker" and "Everything that Rises"). Marcia then gave a talk on an XML workshop she attended at the national conference in Baltimore. After lunch in the Patroon Room, we all headed downtown to the Albany Institute of History and Art, where we had a behind-the-scenes tour of the library and storage facilities. Special thanks go to Caitlain Devereaux Lewis for hosting our meeting, to Jeanne Keefe for helping with arrangements and to Marcia Focht for her lively program.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Director, Visual Resources
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519 dseiler@skidmore.edu
^ top of page
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Friday, June 2, 2006
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting: Attendance: Jessica Bailey, Susan De Maio, Marcia Focht, Jane Graves, Jesse Henderson, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Carol LaGrow, Carolyn Lucarelli, Randi Millman-Brown, Linda Reynolds, Jo Schaffer, David Seiler, Ann Thomas, Margaret Webster.
Business Meeting: President Jeannine Keefer called the meeting to order at 9:40 AM in the Fine Arts Library, Sibley Hall.
Secretary's Report: David Seiler distributed, and briefly read from, the minutes of the chapter meeting held at the national conference in Baltimore in March.
Treasurer's Report: The chapter has 16 members (4 were added at the meeting) and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $227.82 (excluding new member's fees) as of June 2, 2006. Expenditures this year include $50.00 given to the VRA in support of the national conference and $175.00 to Marcia Focht, who was the recipient of the chapter's travel award for attendance to the national conference. Accounts are held in Citizen's Bank of Wynantskill, NY.
New Business: Fall Meeting. Jeannine asked for suggestions from the members present. Jeanne suggested the Albany area with its points of interest, including the Albany Institute of History and Art, University at Albany, S.U.N.Y., the state library, city hall, the Empire State Art Collection displayed on the concourse, and the Capitol Building as possibilities. A discussion ensued with members agreeing on the Albany area for the fall meeting. A tentative date of October 6 was suggested and Jeanne will follow up with various local contacts in order to arrange for some of the programming. David offered to host visitors in his home in Albany, and Marcia will present her experiences from the XML workshop she attended at the VRA conference in Baltimore.
Meeting adjourned 10:00 AM
Program: After the meeting adjourned, Buzz Spector, chair of the art department, gave a lively talk to the group about his collection of artist's books and some of the issues related to the documentation of these visually complex materials. In the afternoon Marcia and Margaret gave an in-depth workshop on the forthcoming publication, "Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images" in the Uris Electronic Classroom, Uris Library.
Special thanks go to Jeannine Keefer and Margaret Webster for hosting our meeting, and to Buzz Spector, Marcia Focht and Margaret Webster for their contributions to such a lively program.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler Secretary,
Upstate NY Chapter,
Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Associate
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519
dseiler@skidmore.edu
^ top of page
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
25th Annual Conference
Intercontinental Hotel, Kansas City, MO
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting.
Attendance:Jessica Henderson, Jeannine Keefer, Jeanne Keefe, Linda Reynolds, Randi Millman-Brown, Carolyn Lucarelli, Ann Thomas, Marcia Focht, Caitlain Devereaux Lewis and Amy Golder-Cooper.
Business Meeting:President Jeannine Keefer called the meeting to order at 12:35 PM in the Oak Room Lounge.
Secretary's Report: Minutes from the Chapter Meeting, October 20, 2006, in Albany: Jeanne moved to approve the minutes as submitted, Marcia seconded, motion carried. Today's minutes were taken by visiting potential member Amy Golder-Cooper from Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
Treasurer's Report: Jeanne Keefe reported that the Chapter's account balance stands at $262 plus $15 dues received for a total of $277. Records will be turned over to Ann Thomas as newly elected treasurer next week. The Chapter's accounts will continue will be located at Citizens' Bank. Membership continues to stand at 16 members.
Old Business: Spring Meeting proposed for New Paltz with Susan De Maio hosting, as proposed at the October meeting, is not firm at this time. A potential replacement option was formulated for June 15 and 16 at Binghamton (if these dates don't conflict with the CIT Conference). Marcia would host, Jeannine would give her report on the "Educating the Educators" workshop for which she received the Education Committee's 2007 conference award. Marcia would also be able to speak on "The Ins and Outs of Hosted ARTstor" and Jeanne would be willing to speak on "Doing METS Records on the Fly." Marcia will also look into the possibility of touring the museum, and presentations would be delivered in their Art History classroom in the Fine Arts Building.
Carolyn Lucarelli proposed considering Penn State as the site for the Fall '08 Chapter Meeting since they should be in their new location then. The New England Chapter has also proposed another joint meeting with them, perhaps for Summer '08, and a joint meeting with the Greater Philadelphia Chapter may be considered.
New Business: Other newly elected officers are VP: Jeanne Keefe and Treasurer: Ann Thomas. David Seiler is our elected Secretary, although not in attendance at the national conference, unless the president is notified by him otherwise.Jeannine suggested a welcome letter should be drafted to send to all new members when their information is forwarded from annual VRA registration information.
Meeting adjourned at 1:05 PM, followed by lunch in the Oak Room restaurant.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Golder-Cooper
Substitute Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Curator
Art and Art History Dept.
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA 17837
570-577-3175
goldcoop@bucknell.edu
^ top of page
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Joint Meeting with VRA New England
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Friday, October 21, 2005
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting: Attendance: Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Linda Reynolds, David Seiler, Ann Thomas. Business Meeting: President Marcia Focht called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM in the Middlebury College Library.
Secretary's Report: David Seiler read the minutes from the chapter meeting held at Alfred University in May. Discussion: Marcia indicated that she was incorrect at our last meeting regarding which officers were up for election. She prepared a chart to demonstrate this point and each member in attendance had an opportunity to view the chart. The end result is that a new secretary will be elected in December of this year and a new treasurer and vice chair in December of 2006. (All positions are assumed at the national conference following the election.) An electronic ballot will be created for our web site, which each member must follow up with an e-mail confirmation. Marcia will send out a call for nominations.
Treasurer's Report: Jeanne Keefe informed us that the chapter has 15 members and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $257.82 as of October 21, 2005.
New Business: Spring meeting at Cornell. Jeannine is making arrangements for our meeting next year in Cornell. There are several possibilities for the program and Jeannine will keep us informed as the time approaches. No date has been set but after some discussion among the members present, the first week of June seemed the most likely time. Conference support and Travel Award: Marcia noted that our chapter contributed $50.00 to the National VRA for the Miami conference. No travel award was given due to lack of funds. After some discussion it was decided that it was very important to support a local member's attendance to the national conference and the award should reflect the registration fee of the conference. Next year the registration fee will be $175.00. In order to meet this amount, the members voted unanimously to raise our dues to $15.00 for 2006. Jeanne will send out reminders in December.
Discussion: A $175.00 travel award will be made for 2006, which can be used at the discretion of the recipient. Members discussed how to make the award. Someone mentioned that a committee existed in the past. It was decided that applications be made to Jeannine and David who will comprise the new committee. No deadline was set. Addenda: David indicated his willingness to run again for secretary. Marcia has updated our web site with minutes and annual reports and encourages members to make use of this material. Meeting adjourned 1:40 PM
Program: During the morning, Megan Battey took us on a tour of the Visual Resources Collection located within the Johnson Memorial Art Building. Later in the morning, Susan Jane Williams of Scholar's Resource gave a talk covering the implementation of CCO within a relational database. After the lunch meeting adjourned, we heard from various participants about the implementation of MDID, Dspace, Digitool, and software by Servoy. We toured the library and later Megan led us on a tour of the Middlebury College Museum of Art. A lively dinner at Mister Up's, complete with "Screaming Viking" drinks, capped a fun and informative day.
Special Thanks to Megan Battey and Dana Barrow for hosting our meeting, and to Christin Ronolder and Susan Jane Williams for arranging the program.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler Secretary,
Upstate NY Chapter,
Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Associate
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519
dseiler@skidmore.edu
 |
 |
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Friday, May 20, 2005
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting: Attendance: Mandy Economos, Nicole Finzer, Marcia Focht, Jane Graves, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Carolyn Lucarelli, David Seiler, Ann Thomas.
Business Meeting: President Marcia Focht called the meeting to order at 1:05 PM in the Terra Cotta Coffee House. Marcia welcomed the members and started the meeting by asking the members for any new discussion topics. None were stated.
Secretary's Report: David Seiler read the minutes from the chapter meeting held at the VRA National Conference, Miami Beach, FL in March.
Treasurer's Report: "Jeanne Keefe informed us that the chapter has 15 members and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $257.82 as of May 20, 2005. A $50.00 contribution was made to VRA for the 2005 national conference in Miami.
Discussion: Marcia explained why the $100.00-$150.00 usually made available to an Upstate VRA member as a travel award for the national conference was withheld this year. Participants also discussed why we had lost some members from the chapter. The founding of the New England Chapter of VRA was given as part of the reason.
Old Business: Marcia gave a brief overview of the Miami conference and then read a letter the chapter had received from Kathe Hicks Albrecht, President of the VRA. The letter expressed gratitude for the contributions made by the Upstate NY Chapter of the VRA.
Highlights: Upstate VRA is one of two chapters who regularly give monies to the national VRA conference. Additionally, we have 3 national board members from our chapter (Jeanne Keefe, Linda Reynolds, Ann Thomas), Marcia runs the mentoring program at the national conference and Carolyn Lucarelli is on the nomination committee. Marcia then read a letter, which was posted on VRA-L, from Christine Hilker regarding applications for the new Membership Services Coordinator position.
Discussion: Ann and Jeanne gave more specific details regarding the Membership Services Coordinator position and asked if members knew of anyone who might be interested. Marcia asked specific questions regarding salary, time, etc. Jeanne and Ann noted that some duties and salary were negotiable. They encouraged any interested member to submit a proposal.
New Business: Marcia announced our Fall Meeting will be a joint session with the New England chapter and will take place at Middlebury College on October 20 and 21. Megan Battey of Middlebury and Kristin Solias of UMass Boston are planning an extensive program, which will include tours of the facilities (including the new library and technology building), a CCO workshop, a reception at Megan's home and possible architectural tours or mountain hikes on Saturday for interested participants. More information will be forthcoming as the program is finalized.
Discussion: Jeannine offered to host, along with Margaret Webster, the Spring 2006 Upstate VRA chapter meeting at Cornell. She suggested a joint meeting with ARLIS and the attendees were very agreeable to this. Marcia then opened the meeting to a more general discussion. Jeanne asked questions about the fall election of officers in our chapter. Marcia responded that the Treasurer and Secretary's positions are open for election in the fall. Jeannine will take over as Chairperson at the Baltimore conference in 2006 along with the newly-elected Secretary and Treasurer. Invitation for nominations will be requested later this year.
Meeting adjourned 1:35 PM
Program: During the morning, Mandy tooks us on a tour of the art facilities, which included a glassblowing demonstration and later gave a tour of the Visual Resources Collection located within the Scholes Library. After the lunch meeting adjourned, we met in Binns-Merrill Hall where David gave a workshop on Adobe Photoshop CS. Special Thanks to Mandy Economos and the Scholes Library staff for hosting our meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Associate
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-580-5519
dseiler@skidmore.edu
Linda Reynolds, David Seiler and Marcia Focht at the New Member's Breakfast
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
VRA National Conference, Miami Beach
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Minutes: VRA Upstate NY Chapter Meeting: Attendance: Marcia Focht, Randi Millman-Brown, David Seiler, Ann Thomas, Carolyn Lucarelli, Nicole Finzer.
Business Meeting: President Marcia Focht called the meeting to order at 12:35 PM in the Castillion Room of the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort, Miami Beach, Florida. Marcia welcomed the members and started the meeting by introducing two prospective members from Pennsylvania State University (Carolyn Lucarelli and Nicole Finzer).
Secretary's Report: David Seiler read the minutes from the chapter meeting held at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica, NY in November.
Treasurer's Report: Marcia read the report submitted by Jeanne Keefe. The balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $227.82 as of March 2, 2005. Dues deposits of $120.00 (12 members have paid dues as of March 1) have been received and a $50.00 contribution was made to VRA for the 2005 national conference in Miami. Additionally, the $100.00-$150.00 usually made available to an Upstate VRA member as a travel award for the national conference was withheld this year due to lack of funds.
Old Business: Marcia initiated a brief discussion about the history of our chapter, including past meeting sites, its members, goals, etc. for the benefit of our two guests from Pennsylvania State University.
New Business: Membership Renewal: Marcia has sent notices to all past members of Upstate NY VRA who have not renewed. An attempt will be made to identify what past members are still in the geographic area. A brief discussion ensued about which members have left positions and are no longer in the area. Ann will check who is a national VRA member but not an Upstate NY VRA member in order that we may reach everyone.
Spring Meeting Site: Marcia announced that our spring meeting is to take place at Alfred University on Friday, May 20. The program is in the process of being finalized. Colleagues from SUNY, Buffalo have been invited. Discussion: Randi asked about inviting colleagues from Syracuse and Marcia said she would follow up. Marcia also mentioned she has talked to Megan Battey of Middlebury College about the possibility of holding a joint meeting with the New England VRA in the fall.
Marcia opened the floor for general discussion and started by announcing that David would receive the Education Award of $55.00 for his attendance to the Photoshop 202 workshop held later in the day. David gave a brief overview of the workshop and answered some general questions about the software from the group. David will present his experiences to the membership during the spring meeting at Alfred.
Meeting adjourned 1:05 PM
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler
Secretary, Upstate NY Chapter,
Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Associate
Lucy Scribner Library
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY
12866 518-580-5519
dseiler@skidmore.edu
Upstate New York Chapter
Visual Resources Association
Joint Meeting with ARLIS/VRA Upstate NY
Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica
November 5, 2004
Attendance: Kathy Corcoran, Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Jeannine Keefer, Jackie Medina, Randi Millman-Brown, David Seiler, Carol Van Schaack, Ann Thomas.
Business Meeting: President Marcia Focht called the meeting to order at 9:50 AM at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York. Marcia welcomed the members and started the meeting with a brief discussion and clarification of the membership list. Secretary's Report: David Seiler read the minutes from the chapter meeting held at the national VRA conference in Portland.
Treasurer's Report: Jeanne Keefe, Treasurer, reported that the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $157.82 as of November 5, 2004. Jeanne is in the process of finding a bank in which to deposit the chapter's funds. Bank of America was suggested. A $50.00 contribution will be made to VRA at the 2005 national conference in Miami. Additionally, $100.00-$150.00 should be available to an Upstate VRA member as a travel award for the national conference in Miami.
New Business: Announcements: VRA election results were announced. 3 members of VRA Upstate now hold national office: Jeanne Keefe, Vice President for Conference Arrangements; Linda Reynolds, Secretary-elect; Ann Thomas, Treasurer. Congratulations. FIT Conference: "Beyond the Slide Library," October 8, NYC. Marcia presented a paper at the conference. She and Randi, who was a conference attendee, gave a brief overview of their experiences. Membership renewal and elections: Jeanne will be sending membership renewal letters along with an election ballot in December. Since we have no formal address list for members, David was directed to compile a list from the VRA directory.
Two positions need to be filled: Treasurer (2 year appointment) and Vice President/President-elect (1 year as VP - 2 years as President). Appointments commence at the annual conference. Marcia called for self-nominations of officers with the deadline of December 1. Members can call (518-276-2727) or e-mail Jeanne (keefej@rpi.edu). A discussion ensued about balloting procedures. Specifically, a question was raised about the possibility of electronic voting. Jeanne was asked to check the by-laws.
Archive: The Upstate Chapter has no official policy regarding archiving materials related to our activities. A discussion of the issues ensued. Jeanne has copies of all e-mail correspondence. Some records are in paper and some electronic. A question arose as to whether the accumulated materials should follow each secretary and reside at that individual's institution. Jeanne volunteered locker space at RPI. What do we keep? Marcia asked David to scan old minutes and send digital files to her so they can be mounted to the web. Spring Meeting Site: Marcia announced an offer from Mandy Economos to host the spring meeting at Alfred University. May 20 is the tentative date. No program has been set.
Discussion: Randi and Marica shared their workshop experiences from the national conference in Portland. Both attended workshops involving the management of digital projects. Their discussion led to a broader one where each attending member shared their experiences with digital technologies. ARTstor was also discussed. Both Randi and David's institutions subscribe and they presented their experiences. Travel Award: Kathy Corcoran volunteered to be on the committee for the travel award. Jeanne estimated that we would be able to offer $100-$150 to a member to attend the conference and one workshop. The recipient is expected to give a report of the workshop at the spring meeting in Alfred, NY.
Education Committee Workshop: Marcia initiated a discussion of the workshop award. The award covers the cost for someone from the chapter to take a workshop at the VRA national conference. The recipient is asked to report the experiences of the workshop to the entire chapter following the conference. After some discussion it was suggested that the award be given to David if he is able to attend. Meeting adjourned
10:55 AM Program: After the meeting adjourned, we met with April Oswald, Curator of Education, who gave us a tour and overview of "Art Odyssey: An Interactive Gallery for All Ages." Special Thanks to Kathy Corcoran and the Munson-Williams-Proctor staff for hosting our meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
David Seiler Secretary,
Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association Visual Resources Associate Lucy Scribner Library Skidmore College 815 North Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518-580-5519 dseiler@skidmore.edu
Visual Resources Association Annual Conference
Portland, OR
VRA-Upstate NY Chapter Meeting
March 11, 2004
Minutes: Attending: Randi Millman-Brown, Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht, Lynn Cunningham, Linda Reynolds, Ann Thomas Meeting began at 12:30 pm.
Six members of the VRA-Upstate NY chapter met in Porltand, OR for a brief meeting during the annual conference. Randi Millman-Brown welcomed Marcia Focht as the new President, Jeanne Keefe as the new Treasurer, and David Seiler as the new Secretary (who was not present). These positions will be in place until the 2006 Annual Meeting, when a new slate of officers will be elected.
Our outgoing treasurer, Lisa Joyce, did not attend the conference but sent the following report. 1. There were two withdraws: $125 for the Upstate NY Travel Award (Marcia Focht) and $50 for our contribution to the VRA conference in Portland, OR. 2. Fourteen deposits for membership for a total of $140 3. The current balance is $157.12 4.
VRA Upstate currently has 19 members: · Lynn Cunningham, Bard College · Mandy Economos, NY College of Ceramics at Alfred University · Marcia Focht, Binghamton University · Laurie Glover, Clark Art Institute · Jane Graves, Skidmore College · Lisa Joyce, SUNY Cortland · Jeanne Keefe, Rensselaer Ploytechnic Institute · Jacquelyn Medina, Hamilton College · Randi Millman-Brown, Ithaca College · Linda Reynolds, Williams College · Romea Montanaro, Rochester Institute of Technology · Jo Schaffer, Retired · David Seiler, Skidmore College · Ann M. Thomas, Union College · Carol Van Schaack, Colgate University · Kathryn Vaughn, Hobart and William Smith Colleges · Susanne Warren · Margaret Webster, Cornell University · Ann Wolf, University at Albany
Randi reported on discussions that took place on March 10, 2004 at the VRA Chapter Chairs meeting. In conjunction with the mentor program, members would like to see the program expanded to the local level. Several chairs proposed that when a new member joins the national VRA, the local chapter chair would be contacted to make sure the new member is invited to the local chapter meetings. Several VRA members also suggested that the New members be invited to a tea, rather than a breakfast, to encourage longer and more in-depth discussions.
We started thinking about the location for our Fall chapter meeting. The Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute was suggested and this venue will be looked into for a possible October meeting. Check out the following web address for more information http://www.mwpai.org/.
Meeting adjourned at 1:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Randi Millman-Brown
Visual Resource Curator Ithaca College 1160 Gannett Center Ithaca, NY 14850
Visual Resources Association Upstate and Greater New York Chapters
Fall 2003 Meeting
October 10, 2003
DIA: BEACON
Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht, and Ann Thomas at DIA, Beacon
Attendance: Dustin Wees, Marcia Focht, Jane Graves, Ann Thomas, David Seiler, Jeanne Keefe, Martha Perry, Caleb Smith, Amy Chin, Ayesha Abdur-Rahman, Justin O'Connor, Polly Giragosian, Linda Reynolds, Ruth Janson, Laurie Glover, Susanne Warren, Ann Wolf, Romea Montanaro, Lisa Joyce, Carol Van Schaack, Lynn Cunningham, Randi Millman-Brown, Susan DeMaio.
Business Meeting: President Randi Millman-Brown called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM at the DIA: Beacon in Beacon, New York. Randi welcomed the Upstate and Greater New York Chapters to the meeting. Those attending introduced themselves and identified their institutions.
Treasurer's Report: Lisa Joyce, Treasurer, reported that the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account stands at $192.74 as of October 8, 2003. In February 2003, the Savings Bank of the Finger Lakes merged with First Niagara Bank and raised the balance of a business account over the Upstate Chapter's current balance. The account was closed and reopened with Cornell Fingerlakes Credit Union.
New Business: Randi handed out a Call For Nominations sheet to each member of the Upstate Chapter. Those not attending will receive a ballot in the mail. The deadline for nominations is October 24, 2003 and nominations should be mailed to the Secretary, Ann Wolf. Discussion: Randi gave a short lecture on creating a copyright policy for an institution. Last year Randi spearheaded an effort to draft a copyright policy for Ithaca College. A copyright committee consisting of Ithaca College Academic Computing, the Library, the Slide Library, a faculty member, and the Provost met about every 6 weeks and the result is a 14 page draft that is in the process of approval from various college sectors. Each member of the committee was given an area to research. Randi attended the workshop, "Creating Intellectual Property Policy and Guidelines for the VR Collection" at the Houston 2003 VRA Conference and reported that the speaker Georgia Harper had handed out other college policies that were too wordy, preachy, or negative. The speaker advocated articulating clearly the rationale for the copyright policy, and examining the college's rules and procedures of approval before presenting the final draft to the Board of Trustees. She also suggested linking a college's copyright website to the DMCA or the Teach Act. Randi handed out the Ithaca College draft and explained that the image section was basically about usage. It outlined what the faculty and students are allowed to do with an image.
Dustin Wees, Data Editor for ArtStor, then spoke about recent events at Artstor. The Clark Museum and Williams College are testing an early version of Artstor's 150,000-image database that is searchable through their website. Dustin thinks there will be about 400,000 images to search when Artstor completes scanning and loading all of the images from the acquired collections. One can find out more about the collections at www.artstor.org . Artstor had hoped to "go live" next summer, but is now unsure of that date. They are developing a Luna Insight Client-like software to create image groupings. Linda Reynolds from Williams College said she is looking for feedback from students and that she found it easy to move around the site. She noted that the faculty at Williams is not technologically oriented. A discussion ensued about faculty use of image databases and most people at the meeting agreed that faculty don't seem to use the Amico image collection very often. Jeanne Keefe described Portland and the hotels and urged everyone to attend the 2004 Portland Visual Resources Association Conference.
Program: After the meeting the group broke up into two smaller groups and toured DIA: Beacon with a guide.
Special Thanks to Randi for setting up the DIA: Beaon meeting site and tours.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Wolf, Secretary
Upstate NY Chapter,
Visual Resources Association.
Ann Elizabeth Wolf
Curator of Visual Resources
State University of New York at Albany
Fine Arts 121
1400 Washington Ave.
Albany, New York 1222
518.442.4018
awolf@albany.edu
Visual Resources Association Upstate New York Chapter
Spring 2003 Meeting
VRA Upstate New York
ARLIS/New England, ARLIS/Western New York
Joint Regional Meeting
Smith College
May 9, 2003
Attendance: Susan DeMaio (new member), Jennifer Edwards, Marcia Focht, Margaret Grant (new member), Jeanne Keefe, Elizabeth Kieffer, Elisa Lanzi, Jacquelyn Medina, Randi Millman-Brown, Sue Miller, Sherry Poirrier, Ann Thomas, Carol Van Schaack, Susanne Warren, Sheryl Wilhite, Ann Wolf.
Business Meeting: President Randi Millman-Brown brought the meeting to order at 10:05 in the Smith College, Hillyer Hall, Insight Study Room.
Treasurer's Report: Lisa Joyce was unable to attend the meeting. Lisa had previously communicated to Randi that the Upstate New York VRA account was not saving money at Charter One because the UNYVRA does not deposit monies on a monthly basis. The account is now active at the Cornell Fingerlakes Credit Union. Marcia Focht said she would look into M & T Bank for a free account.
New Business: Marcia Focht requested members send pictures from the Houston VRA Conference to her. She will post them on the Upstate New York VRA website - www.vrc.binghamton.edu/vrc.upstate.htm. Marcia thinks we can make the website more active with regular postings of member's accomplishments. Examples could be conference presentations, grant awards, and computer programs and databases that members work with at their institutions. The link might be called "Member's Corner".
The Greater New York Chapter and the Upstate New York Chapter had planned to meet at Vassar College for the Fall meeting. Because James Monteith has recently left Vassar, a backup plan was discussed. Possible sites included Bard College, DIA:Beacon, and Sarah Lawrence in New York. Randi said she would speak with Dustin Wees about the time and place. Marcia suggested that the Spring 2004 meeting be west of the Hudson Valley. She mentioned the Corning Museum or the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo. Jeanne pointed out that the Buffalo visual resource librarians don't attend our meetings and it was agreed that perhaps, personal invitations should be extended to the Buffalo members to encourage them to become more active in the Upstate New York Chapter of the VRA.
The President, Secretary, and Treasurer's terms are up in December. There will be a call for nominations for a new slate of candidates.
Jeanne reported that the Houston VRA Conference was judged by members to be very successful. Members liked the new schedule, but did request 15 minute breaks between sessions and longer lunches. Everyone liked the challenges and loved the NASA tours. There were approximately 77 first time attendees. Some new members felt that the New Members Breakfast should be held earlier in the week. Ideas for the Portland VRA Conference should be sent to Jeanne Keefe or Sheryl Wilhite before 23 May 2003. Some suggestions for Portland included a hands on, step by step building for digital collections and the workflows associated with them. Another suggestion was a 45 minute one on one session with a VRA member who is an expert in an area another member needs to understand or implement.
VRA members from the New England area attended our meeting and there was a discussion on starting a Boston area VRA or a New England VRA chapter. Randi adjourned the meeting at 11:45.
The day continued with a joint ARLIS/VRA lunch and afternoon programs in Hillyer Hall and the Brown Fine Arts Center. Special Thanks to Elisa Lanzi, and the staff of the Smith College Hillyer Art Library and the Brown Fine Arts Center for an informative and thoroughly enjoyable day.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Wolf,
Secretary Upstate NY Chapter,
Visual Resources Association.
Ann Elizabeth Wolf Curator of Visual Resources
State University of New York at Albany
Fine Arts 121
1400 Washington Ave.
Albany, New York 1222
518.442.4018
awolf@albany.edu
October 30, 2002 VRA Upstate NY
Chapter
Fall 2002 Meeting
Saratoga Springs, Skidmore College
Meeting Date: October 25, 2002
Attendance: Lynn Cunningham, Jane Graves, Jeanne Keefe, Lisa Joyce, Randi Millman-Brown, Linda Reynolds, David Seiler, Ann Thomas, Jen-hsuan Yu, Carol Van Schaak, Fran Scott, Susanne Warren
Business Meeting: Randi Millman-Brown called the meeting to order at 11;45 am.
Treasurer's Report: Lisa Joyce, Treasurer, reported that the balance in the Chapter's account was $320.20 as of October 24, 2002. She noted that the balance will increase as dues notices are being sent out in November. A memo will be sent out via e-mail regarding the availability of a travel award from the VRA-Upstate NY Chapter. We currently have 20 members (awaiting final figures after renewals).
Secretary's Report: Ann Wolf, Secretary, was unable to attend the meeting. There were no changes/additions to the Spring 2002 minutes.
Discussion: The chapter web site was noted - www.vrc.binghamton.edu/vrc/upstate.htm, which is being updated and maintained by Marcia Focht.
The VRA Travel Award for $600 was mentioned, see- www.vraweb.org for more information and the application form. Jeanne Keefe pointed out that there is also a $100 travel stipend available for leadership workshops. Contact VRA for more detailed information.
The VRA, CAA, and ARLIS are jointly working on an update to the Criteria for the Hiring and Retention of Visual Resources Professionals. It is currently being reviewed by the board.
Our next meeting will take place during the VRA annual conference in Houston, TX
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 noon, and was followed by a delicious lunch at a Thai restaurant in downtown Saratoga Springs.
The program took place before lunch and consisted of a presentation by David Seiler of the Visual Resources Center's database using Re:discovery software. The presentation was followed by tours of the Scribner Library, the Visual Resources Collection, and finally the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery.
Special thanks to Jane Graves and David Seiler for hosting the Fall meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Randi Millman-Brown,
Chair VRA Upstate NY Chapter Ithaca College Department of Art History 1160 Gannett Center Ithaca, NY 14850-7275 607.274.3198 millman@ithaca.edu
Visual Resources Association Upstate New York Chapter
Spring 2002 Meeting
May 24, 2002
Attendance: Kathy Corcoran, Martha Hanson, Lisa Joyce, Tom Mattern, Susan Miller, Susan Nurse, Barbara Opar, Ann Thomas, Ann Wolf.
Business Meeting: Ann Wolf filled in for President Randi-Millman-Brown and called the meeting to order at 10:45am in Bird Library at Syracuse University.
Secretary's Report: The Secretary, Ann Wolf, read the minutes from the Fall Business Meeting, November 2, 2001 at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. Ann Wolf was elected Secretary of the Upstate Chapter in December of 2001.
Treasurer's Report: Lisa Joyce, Treasurer, reported that the balance in the Chapter's account stands at $290.51 as of May 23, 2002. There were no transactions between March 18, 2002 and May 23, 2002.
New Business: The Officer's Meeting will be held in Troy in July. Members may attend if they wish. There was a discussion of Skidmore College as a possible meeting site for the Fall Meeting. Discussion: Those in attendance discussed the benefits of biannual Chapter meetings. All agreed that it had reduced the feeling of isolation among Upstate slide librarians. Sue Nurse discussed barcoding of slides and there was a general discussion of the Open Archives Initiative and Amico subscriptions. The greatest drawback to image databases, the group felt, was the lack of European works of art from Europe's major museums. Ann Thomas suggested we think of worthy topics for workshops or seminars for the Houston 2003 VRA conference. The meeting adjourned at 11:50 and was followed by a delicious lunch at the Syracuse University Goldstein Faculty Center.
Program: After lunch we returned to Bird Library to learn about disaster preparedness. Sue Miller, Slide Collection Supervisor at Bird Library, began by recounting the details of the flood that occurred in another building on Syracuse's campus where architecture slides are housed. She described the initial call and the steps the slide library took to rescue and preserve the slides.
Martha Hanson, Preservation Administrator for Syracuse University Library, then spoke about the general tenets of disaster planning. Martha stressed the importance of putting in place a preparation plan ahead of time. She also explained that part of the preparation was the development of relationships with the risk management people at one's institution. In a time of crisis, these people would facilitate the necessary action or funds or materials to salvage damaged items. She also told the group about New York State's legislated preservation program that allows for funding to establish a disaster plan or recover materials.
If members would like any of the handouts from the presentation, contact Sue Miller at smmiller@mailbox.syr.edu. We had a brief tour of the Safire Room, the Special Collections area, and then headed downstairs to the slide library. Tim Mattern, Slide Collection Staff member, demonstrated the web-based Syracuse University Library Fine Arts Department Slide Collection Guidebook for the group and he and Sue Miller talked about Syracuse's particular collection needs. We then looked at the ebook created by the slide library and the School of Architecture.
Special Thanks to Sue Miller for hosting a very informative and interesting meeting at Syracuse University.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Wolf,
Secretary Upstate NY Chapter, Visual Resources Association. Ann Elizabeth Wolf Curator of Visual Resources State University of New York at Albany Fine Arts 121 1400 Washington Ave. Albany, New York 1222 518.442.4018 awolf@albany.edu
Last Revised 7/07 mfocht@binghamton.edu
