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Annual Reports

Upstate New York Chapter
Jeannine Keefer, Chair
4 February 2008
VRA Annual Report

           
Accomplishments:
The Upstate NY Chapter fall meeting was held jointly with the Philadelphia Chapter at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Our meeting began with a presentation by the ??? of the Distance Learning department and their use of ARTstor, videoconferencing, and objects from the collection to deliver lessons to a variety of locations far beyond Philadelphia.  We then held separate business meetings.  The day concluded with a tour of the new Pearlman Building and new VR facilities.

Elections were held for the incoming Secretary.  This post will be held by Jesse Henderson of Colgate University.

Our chapter continues to support the National Association.  We have contributed $100 in support of the VRA Annual Conference.  Many of our members serve on VRA Committees, volunteer as mentors or generously share their expertise with others.  We have two members serving on the VRA Foundation Board of Directors and a VRA Co-Chair of SEI.

 

Goals:
We continue with our focus in expanding our base of meeting sites around the state in order to better serve our members.  We are planning a meeting at the National Conference in San Diego and a spring meeting in at Colgate University.  In October 2008 we will be co-hosting a 2-day mini-conference with VRA New England, ARLIS/NA Western NY and ARLIS/NA New England.

 

Financial Status Summary:
As of February 14, 2008 the Chapter’s balance was $412.82. 

 

Board Action Requested:
No action is requested at this time.

           
List of Chapter Members (cite names and Institution):

Medina, Jacquelyn Medina, Hamilton College; Carolyn Lucarelli, 
Penn State University; Marcia Focht, Binghamton University; 
John Hosford, Alfred University; Jeannine Keefer, Cornell University; 
Ann Thomas, Union College; Linda Reynolds, Williams College; 
Randi Millman-Brown, Ithaca College; Amy McKenna, Williams College; 
Heather Carroll, Williams College; David Seiler, ; 
Charles Paquette, Williams College; Lisa Joyce, SUNY Cortland; 
Jeanne Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Jesse Henderson, 
Colgate University; Caitlain Devereaux-Lewis, SUNY Albany; 
Leslie Melvin, Bard College

           
Respectfully submitted,

 

Jeannine Keefer
Chair, Upstate New York Chapter

 

 Upstate New York Chapter
Jeannine Keefer – Chair
19 February 2007
VRA Annual Report
           

Accomplishments:
The Upstate NY Chapter fall meeting was hosted by Caitlain Lewis at SUNY-Albany.  We held a business meeting in the morning and Marcia Focht gave a presentation on the XML Workshop she attended in Baltimore.

Elections were held for the incoming Vice Chair and Treasurer.  These posts will be held by Jeanne Keefe and Anne Thomas respectively. 

We awarded a travel award to a chapter member (Jeanne Keefe) in the amount of $175.00 to attend this year’s National Conference in Kansas City..

Our chapter continues to support the National Association.  We have contributed $50 towards the VRA Annual Conference/Development Committee.  One of our members continues to serve on the National Board (Linda Reynolds) and many of our members serve on VRA Committees, volunteer as mentors or generously share their expertise with others.

Treasury:  As of January 30, 2007 the Chapter’s balance was $212.82.

Goals:
We continue with our focus in expanding our base of meeting sites around the state in order to better serve our members.  We are planning a meeting at the Conference in Kansas City and a spring meeting in at SUNY-New Paltz. 

Board Action Requested:
No action is requested at this time.
           
List of Chapter Members (cite names and Institution):
Economos, Mandy, Alfred University; Focht, Marcia, Binghamton  University; Joyce, Lisa, SUNY Cortland; Keefe, Jeanne, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Keefer, Jeannine, Cornell University; Lewis, Caitlain, SUNY Albany; Lucarelli ,Carolyn, Penn State; Medina, Jackie, Hamilton College; Reynolds, Linda, Williams College; Thomas, Ann, Union College           

Respectfully submitted,


Jeannine Keefer
Chair – Upstate New York Chapter

 

Upstate New York Regional Chapter
25 January 2006 Annual Report 

Accomplishments:

Our chapter held three meetings this past year: VRA National Conference, Miami Beach

Wednesday, March 9, 2005, Alfred University, Alfred, NY Friday, May 20, 2005, Joint Meeting with VRA New England, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, Friday, October 21, 2005

We held Chapter Elections in December and David Seiler will continue as Chapter Secretary.

Our chapter supports its members through informative programs at meetings (Workshops on Applying CCO and VRA Core 4.0, Scanning and Photoshop, Digitool, DSpace, and MDID).

Our chapter continues to support the National Association.  We contributed $50 towards the VRA Annual Conference/Development Committee.  Three of our members serve on the National Board (Jeanne Keefe, Ann Thomas and Linda Reynolds) and many of our members serve on VRA Committees, volunteer as mentors or generously share their expertise with others.

Treasury:  During the past year we switched to Citizen’s Bank. On October 21, 2005 the chapter had 15 members and the balance in the Upstate Chapter's account was $257.82.

Goals:

We will continue our efforts to support the Association and our chapter members.
           
Board Action Requested:
           
None

List of Chapter Members (cite names and Institution):

Mandy Economos, NY College of Ceramics at Alfred University
Nicole Finzer, Penn State University
Marcia Focht, Binghamton University
Jane Graves, Skidmore College
Lisa Joyce, SUNY Cortland
Jeanne Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jeannine Keefer, Cornell University
Carolyn Lucarelli, Penn State University
Randi Millman-Brown, Ithaca College
Linda Reynolds, Williams College
Carol Van Schaack, Colgate University
David Seiler, Skidmore College
Ann M. Thomas, Union College
Margaret Webster, Cornell University

           
Respectfully submitted,


Marcia Focht
Curator of Visual Resources
Binghamton University
Chair, Upstate New York Chapter,
Visual Resources Association

 

Upstate New York Regional Chapter
February 2005 Annual Report

Accomplishments:

Meetings: November 5, 2004 the Upstate New York Chapter had a joint meeting with ARLIS/VRA Upstate NY at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica VRA

National Elections and Activity: Three members of VRA Upstate now hold national office: Jeanne Keefe, Vice President for Conference Arrangements; Linda Reynolds, Secretary-elect; Ann Thomas, Treasurer. In addition, Marcia Focht was also on the slate for the office of Vice President for Conference Program. Marcia also heads the VRA Mentor Program as part of her duties on the Membership Committee. Susanne Warren and Margaret Webster serve on the Data Standards committee. Ann Thomas is on the Development committee and Chairs the Financial Advisory Committee. Randi Millman-Brown serves on the Digital Initiatives Advisory Committee. Our small chapter takes pride in our contributions to the National association.

Chapter Elections: Jeannine Keefer and Jeanne Keefe will assume the Chapter offices of Chair Elect/Chair and Treasurer respectively at the annual conference in Miami.

Treasurer's Report: On December 31 we had a balance of $157. The funds were successfully moved from CFCU Cortland to a totally free checking account at the Charter One Bank in Wynantskill, NY Archive: Secretary David Seiler suggested taking steps to consistently archive our Chapter records. We are currently investigating options in saving minutes, reports and correspondence.

Goals: We continue with our focus in expanding our base of meeting sites around the state in order to attract new members. To further this we have planned a meeting for the spring at SUNY-Alfred.

Board Action Requested: None

List of Chapter Members (cite names and Institution):
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 Polytechnic Institute Jeannine Keefer, Cornell University Jacquelyn Medina, Hamilton College Randi Millman-Brown, Ithaca College Romea Montanaro, Rochester Institute of Technology Linda Reynolds, Williams College Carol Van Schaack, Colgate University Jo Schaffer, Retired David Seiler, Skidmore College Ann M. Thomas, Union College Kathryn Vaughn, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Susanne Warren Margaret Webster, Cornell University Ann Wolf, University at Albany

Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Focht Curator of Visual Resources Binghamton University Chair, Upstate New York Chapter, Visual Resources Association

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VRA - Upstate New York Chapter
February 9, 2004 Annual Report

Accomplishments:

We had several meetings over the course of 2003. Please see the Mid-year report for meeting descriptions from Smith College in May 2003. Our Fall meeting took place at Dia:Beacon in Beacon, NY on October 10, 2003. This was a joint meeting between the Upstate New York and Greater New York chapters. We had 23 members in 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. 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 2 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. For more information and photos, please see our web site at; www.vrc.binghamton.edu/vrc/Upstate.htm

At the 2004 VRA Annual Conference in Portland, OR, we will have our conference chapter meeting and change to our new slate of officers. Randi Millman-Brown will step down as President, and Marcia Focht will become the new President. Jeanne Keefe will be the new Treasurer, and David Seiler will become the new Secretary. The officers will hold the positions through until the 2006 Annual meeting.

Goals: To increase membership throughout the Upstate New York region Board Action Requested: None at this time Budget Request: Description Amount Budget development to provide travel awards to members $100 OPTIONAL-- Miscellaneous (Financials, Membership Action Requests, etc): As of December 31, 2003, our balance was $198.38. As of February 9, 2004, we now have a total of $ 148.38 in our budget, due to a $50 contribution to the 2004 Portland Annual Conference Development committee.

List of Committee/Chapter/Task Force Members: 1. Cunningham, Lynn. Slide Curator 2. Economos, Mandy. Visual Resources Curator 3. Focht, Marcia. Curator of Visual Resources 4. Glover, Laurie. Visual Resources Librarian 5. Graves, Jane. Visual Resources, Arts Librarian 6. Joyce, Lisa. Visual Resources Curator 7. Keefe, Jeanne. Visual Resources Librarian 8. Medina, Jacquelyn. Visual Resources Curator 9. Millman-Brown, Randi. Visual Resources Curator

Submitted by Randi Millman-Brown

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Upstate New York Regional Chapter
February 5, 2003 Annual Report

A. Accomplishments
New Chapter officers were installed as of January 1, 2002. Randi Millman-Brown began her 2- year position of Chairperson and Lisa Joyce is continuing her 2 year term as Treasurer. Ann Wolf of SUNY Albany is Chapter Secretary for 2002-2003. Annual dues notices were sent out on December 1, 2002 and Chapter Treasurer, Lisa Joyce, reported that as of January 31, 2003 our account balance was $ 421.61. The annual membership fee will remain at $10.00 a year and dues for the year will now be due on the last day of each year. Institution of an annual travel award to a member of the local chapter to be used for attending the annual VRA conference. A Travel Awards committee (Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht and Sue Miller) was formed and they developed an application form using the VRA Travel Awards application as a guideline. Applications were solicited via the chapter's listserv. We expect to be able to continue this award every year.

B. Meetings
Winter 2002 - March 2002 - St. Louis A breakfast meeting was held in St. Louis during the annual conference this past March. Members discussed the upcoming chapter meeting in Syracuse, NY with the time/date to be announced. Spring 2002 - May 24, 2002 - Syracuse University

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 2002 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 barricading 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. 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.

Fall 2002 - October 25, 2002 - Skidmore College

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, which is being updated and maintained by Marcia Focht. The VRA Travel Award for $600 was mentioned, see- 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,

C. Goals: None

D: Board Action Requested: None

Membership
Dues-paying members as of January 2003.
Mandy Economos Marcia Focht Jane Graves Lisa Joyce (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Treasurer) Jeanne Keefe (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Travel Awards Committee) Elizabeth Kieffer Jacquelyn Medina Randi Millman-Brown (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Chair) Lynn Cunningham Susan Miller, (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Travel Awards Committee) Sue Nurse Linda Reynolds Romea Montonaro Barbara Opar Jo Schaffer David Seiler Ann M. Thomas Carol Van Schaack Kathryn Vaughn Susanne Warren Margaret Webster Ann Wolf (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Secretary)

Respectfully submitted, Randi Millman-Brown Chair, VRA Upstate New York Regional Chapter Department of Art History Ithaca College 1160 Gannett Center Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: 607.274.3198 Fax: 607.274.1774 February 5, 2003

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Upstate New York Regional Chapter
December 2002 Annual Report

A. Accomplishments
New Chapter officers were installed as of January 1, 2002. Randi Millman-Brown began her 2- year position of Chairperson and Lisa Joyce is continuing her 2 year term as Treasurer. Ann Wolf of SUNY Albany is Chapter Secretary for 2002-2003.

Annual dues notices were sent out on December 1, 2002 and Chapter Treasurer, Lisa Joyce, reported that as of January 31, 2003 our account balance was $ 421.61. The annual membership fee will remain at $10.00 a year and dues for the year will now be due on the last day of each year. Institution of an annual travel award to a member of the local chapter to be used for attending the annual VRA conference. A Travel Awards committee (Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht and Sue Miller) was formed and they developed an application form using the VRA Travel Awards application as a guideline. Applications were solicited via the chapter's listserv. We expect to be able to continue this award every year.

B. Meetings · Winter 2002 - March 2002 - St. Louis
A breakfast meeting was held in St. Louis during the annual conference this past March. Members discussed the upcoming chapter meeting in Syracuse, NY with the time/date to be announced.
Spring 2002 - May 24, 2002 - Syracuse University

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 2002 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 barricading 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. 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.

Fall 2002 - October 25, 2002 - Skidmore College

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,

C. Goals: None

D. Board Action Requested: None

E. Membership:
Dues-paying members as of January 2003. · Mandy Economos · Marcia Focht · Jane Graves · Lisa Joyce (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Treasurer) · Jeanne Keefe (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Travel Awards Committee) · Elizabeth Kieffer · Jacquelyn Medina · Randi Millman-Brown (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Chair) · Lynn Cunningham · Susan Miller, (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Travel Awards Committee) · Sue Nurse · Linda Reynolds · Romea Montonaro · Barbara Opar · Jo Schaffer · David Seiler · Ann M. Thomas · Carol Van Schaack · Kathryn Vaughn · Susanne Warren · Margaret Webster · Ann Wolf (VRA Upstate NY Chapter, Secretary)

Respectfully submitted, Randi Millman-Brown
Chair, VRA Upstate New York Regional Chapter
Department of Art History
Ithaca College
1160 Gannett Center
Ithaca, NY 14850
millman@ithaca.edu
Phone: 607.274.3198 Fax: 607.274.1774
January 31, 2003

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Visual Resources Association Upstate New York Regional Chapter
End of Year Report, December 2001

A. Accomplishments to date

New Chapter officers were installed as of January 1, 2001. Jeanne Keefe moved up into the position of Chairperson for the year 2001, Randi Millman-Brown began her 2 year tenure as Chairperson-Elect/Vice Chair and Lisa Joyce her 2 year term as Treasurer. Ann Thomas remains Chapter Secretary for the remainder of 2001and until we elect a new Chapter Secretary after the first of the year.

Annual dues notices were sent out on March 1, 2001 and Chapter Treasurer, Lisa Joyce, reported that as of April 18th, 2001 our account balance was $510.28. This total is enough for us to establish a fee-free account at any of the national banks such as Fleet, Charter One, HSBC or M&T and thereby making it easier to transfer our account to different parts of New York State as new treasurers are elected. On November 2, 2001 Lisa Joyce reported that the Chapter account balance was $606.09, that the annual membership fee would remain at $10.00 a year and that dues for the year 2002 will now be due on the last day of each year.

Institution of an annual travel award to a member of the local chapter to be used for attending the annual VRA conference. A Travel Awards committee (Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht and Sue Miller) was formed and they developed an application form using the Lurraine Tansey Travel Award application as a guideline. Applications were solicited via the chapter's listserv . Two applications were received by the December 15th deadline and the committee will review those applications and confer the award during the first week of January. We expect to be able to continue this award every year.

Meetings

Winter Meeting-Chicago-February 28, 2001 The winter meeting of the VRA Upstate NY Regional Chapter was held in the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago. Members met for breakfast and afterwards held a business meeting. Those attending were: Wendy Botting, Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Jacquelyn Medina, Randi Millman-Brown, Sue Nurse and Ann Thomas. In order to standardize the procedure for sending out annual dues notices, the attending membership decided that the notices would henceforth be sent out every year on March 1st. It was also the consensus of those present that some of the monies in the treasury be used as a travel award to help send one of our members to the VRA conference in St. Louis in 2002 or be used as an honorarium for a guest speaker.

Members of the VRA Upstate NY Chapter were well represented at the conference in Chicago and on VRA National committees this year. Two members of Upstate NY (Marcia Focht and Ann Thomas) presented papers during Conference Session Five. Marcia, as Membership Committee Chair, conducted its meeting as well as the Meeting of Chapter Officers and offered welcoming remarks at the Continental Breakfast for New VRA Members and New Conference Attendees. She and Wendy Botting, as Membership Chair and Development Chair respectively, delivered reports at the Annual Business Meeting. Marcia serves on the Ad Hoc Professional Status Survey and the Distinguished Service Award Committees and serves as Chair of the Publications Advisory Committee for 2001. Wendy also served this past year on the By-Laws Committee and will serve on the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Committee for 2001. Margaret Webster completed terms on the Distinguished Service Award and the Data Standards Committees and will serve on the Ad Hoc Professional Status Survey Committee for 2001. Ann Thomas serves on the Membership Committee as "Conference Watch Dog" and is incoming chair of the Distinguished Service Award Committee.

Spring Meeting-Ithaca-April 19, 2001. The spring meeting was held at Ithaca College and was attended by Wendy Botting, Mandy Economos, Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe, Lisa Joyce, Susan Miller, Randi Millman-Brown, Linda Reynolds, Ann Thomas and Ann Wolf.

Jeanne Keefe called the business meeting to order after lunch at the Ithaca College Tower Club. Chapter Secretary Ann Thomas read the minutes of the meeting held in Chicago during the VRA Conference and Treasurer Lisa Joyce reported on membership dues received and our account balance.

Attendees discussed whether or not the Chapter wished to fund a member in good standing (of both the national organization and the Upstate NY Chapter) to attend the VRA Conference in St. Louis in 2002. The attendee would be expected to attend a special workshop (topic as yet undetermined) at the Conference and to subsequently make a relevant presentation at a meeting of the regional Chapter. Those present felt that an award in the neighborhood of $350 would be feasible and appropriate. In order to supplement the Chapter's funds Jeanne Keefe will submit an application for "professional development funds" to the VRA Executive Board for consideration at its June meeting. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to establish a Travel Award Committee. Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht, and Sue Miller will serve. They will establish guidelines, devise an application form and establish a mechanism for making the travel award.

After the business meeting adjourned Randi Millman-Brown opened the Visual Resources Collection, Room 108 Gannett Center, for an informal tour that was followed by a session in the W. M. Keck Visual Studies Classroom. Randi demonstrated the workings of the classroom, exhibiting Ithaca College Art History course materials and the Visual Resources Collection's Database. Jeanne Keefe illustrated how she has employed WebCT and materials from the visual resources collection to facilitate distance learning for architecture students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Summer Meeting-Troy-July 26, 2001 Marcia Focht, Jeanne Keefe (Chapter Chair), Ann Thomas (Chapter Secretary), and Ann Wolf met at Jeanne's home in Troy, NY. Ann Thomas read the minutes of the Spring Meeting which was held at Ithaca College on April 19, 2001.

Official business was conducted from NOON until 12:45pm, although professionally related topics were discussed throughout the day. A 2001-2002 meeting schedule was discussed. In addition to meeting at the Joint VRA-ARLIS/NA Conference in St Louis in March, 2002 the Chapter planned to meet in the Fall 2001 at a joint meeting with ARLIS/WNY to be held in Rochester in November. Possible sites for the Fall 2002 meeting were Saratoga Springs, NY and Bennington, Vt. Fall Meeting-Joint with ARLIS/WNY-Rocherster-November 2, 2001

The Fall Business Meeting of the VRA Upstate NY Chapter took place at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester before the first session of the joint meeting with ARLIS/WNY. Attending the business meeting were Mandy Economos, Marcia Focht, Lisa Joyce, Jeanne Keefe, Randi Millman-Brown, Ann Thomas and guests Carol La Gron, Susan Nurse, Martha Smith.

Jeanne Keefe called the meeting to order at approximately 9:15am in the Library. The meeting was opened to a discussion of questions and concerns. Items mentioned were: the possibility of awarding Chapter funds to members for education and professional development; the need for technical information on issues such as the preservation of CDs and migrating data to newly developing technologies; the benefits of subscribing to the listserve ARCHIVES-L or its DIGEST (contact Jeanne Keefe for information); issues of scanning and copyright; the possibility that the U.S. Post Office might soon be using new devices which might effect processed film.

The institution of a Chapter Travel Award was discussed and the concensus of the membership was that an award in the vicinity of $350 from our Treasury should be awarded to a member in good standing whose institution does not provide adequate funding for conference attendance. The award recipient will be expected to attend an appropriate workshop and to make a presentation of the material as a program at a future meeting of the Chapter. Jeanne Keefe will check the conference website and compile a list of suitable workshops. The Travel Award Committee ( Jeanne Keefe, Marcia Focht, and Sue Miller) will confer to develop an application form, set an application deadline (possibly December 1), and send the form to those interested in applying. Members who are interested may contact any member of the Committee.

Due to the uncertaintly of travel conditions winter meetings have been suspended by the Chapter. The Spring Meeting will take place during the joint VRA-ARLIS/NA Conference in St. Louis in March 2002 and the officers will again hold the planning meeting in Troy during the summer of 2002 Saratoga Springs is at the top of the list as a possible site for the Fall Meeting. Professionally related attractions there include Skidmore College's new Tang Teaching Museum and art and slide library facilites. Program - At 11:00 am Education Curator Marlene Hammann-Whitmore conducted a guided tour of American Spectrum: Paintings and Sculpture from Smith College Museum of Art.

Following lunch, Gallery staff presented programs on two components of recent Library and Visual Resource Center innovations. Susan Nurse, Visual Resources Coordinator, and Carol Yost, Education Department Teacher Laison, conducted a tour of the facility and provided an overview of the services which it provides to area teachers. In the Conference Room, Lu Harper, Director of Library Services, demonstrated how the Memorial Art Gallery is using EmbARK in a program entitled Harnessing Museum Information Resources with the EmbARK Collections Management System.

B. Goals

The Chapter intends to remain active for the remainder of 2001 and the year 2002. In an effort to expand our base of meeting sites around the state, and to attract new members, we hope to set up a meeting in Central or Western New York and have asked for volunteers from institutions so located to host a meeting. We have discussed the possibility that funding could be provided for an honorarium to an individual (non-member) to present a program, class, or workshop on a topic of professional interest at a future meeting of the Chapter.

C. The Chapter is not recommending any matters for Board Action

D. The Chapter has no formal proposal for general membership discussion.

E. Membership Officers: Jeanne M. Keefe, Chair Visual Resources Librarian Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Term Began Jan.1, 1999; Term Expires Dec. 31, 2001; Assumed Chair Jan.1, 2001 Randi Millman-Brown, Vice Chair/Chair Elect Visual Resources Curator Ithaca College Term began Jan.1, 2001; Term expires Dec 31, 2003 Ann M. Thomas, Secretary Slide Curator Union College Term Began Jan.1, 1999; Term Expires Dec.31, 2001 Lisa Joyce, Treasurer Visual Resources Curator SUNY Cortland Term began Jan.1, 2001; Term expires Dec 31, 2003 A new Secretary will need to be elected in early Spring 2001. Ann Thomas has graciously agreed to stay on until the new secretary takes office

Dues-Paying members for 2001 Wendy Botting, Botting Associates Mandy Economos, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University Marcia Focht, Binghamton University Jane Graves, Skidmore College Lisa Joyce, SUNY Cortland Jeanne Keefe, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Elizabeth Kieffer, Clark Art Institute Jacquelyn Medina, Hamilton College Susan Miller, Syracuse University Randi Millman-Brown, Ithaca College Romea Montanaro, RIT Linda Reynolds, Williams College Jo Schaffer, Cortland, NY Eric Schwab, Cornell University Ann M. Thomas, Union College Kathryn Vaughn, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Susanne Warren, Clark Art Institute Margaret Webster, Cornell University Ann Wolf, University at Albany

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne M. Keefe Chair, VRA Upstate New York Regional Chapter Architecture Library, Greene 306 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180 keefej@rpi.edu Phone: 518-276-2727 Fax: 518-276-6753 December 18, 2001

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Visual Resources Association
Upstate New York Chapter Annual Report 2000

A. Accomplishments to date.

B: Goals.

C. The Chapter is not suggesting any matters for Board action.

D. The Chapter is not recommending any matters for general membership discussion.

E. List of outgoing and incoming Chapter officers.

Ann M. Thomas, Secretary VRA Upstate New York Chapter Department of Visual Arts Arts Building Room 214 Union College Schenectady, NY 12308 Thomasa@union.edu Phone: 518 388-6565 Fax: 518 388-6567 Fax: 518 388-6003

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Visual Resources Association Upstate New York Chapter
Annual Report 1999

A. Accomplishments to date.
A bank account was established by former Treasurer, Suzanne Odgen. Membership forms were mailed to members and prospective members whose names appear on the list compiled by the Secretary of the Chapter. Dues were received from sixteen individuals,
all of whom are members of VRA.

Change in slate of officers: In the spring Suzanne Odgen submitted her resignation as Treasurer . Jane Graves volunteered to serve out her term of office.

CHAIR:
Marcia Focht, Curator of Visual Resources
Binghamton University, State University of New York
[will serve through December 2000]

CHAIR-ELECT/VICE-CHAIR:
Jeanne M. Keefe, Graphics Curator
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
[will serve through December 2000 and become Chair in January 2001]

SECRETARY:
Ann M. Thomas, Slide Curator
Union College
[will serve through December 2001]

TREASURER:
Jane Graves, Visual Resources/Arts Librarian
Skidmore College
[will serve through December 2000]

Several of our members have been, and will continue to be, active contributors to the VRA national. In April Wendy Botting will begin a term as Chair of the Development Committee and will continue to serve on the Bylaws Committee; Jeanne Keefe was among the nominees for Treasurer in the recent election; Marcia Focht has been appointed to the Membership Committee of the VRA and will assume responsibility for the mentoring program at the Annual Conference in San Francisco.

We note with pride that at VRA 1999 in Los Angeles a very high percentage of members of the Upstate New York Chapter participated as mentors.

Members of the Chapter convened in the Capitol District (RPI and Union) in January, in Cooperstown (New York State Historical Society) in October, and at the VRA Conference in Los Angeles in February. Accepting the invitation of ARLIS/WNY, the two groups met jointly at Cornell University in May. In July Chapter officers held a planning session at the home of Jeanne Keefe.

B: Goals.
The Chapter will elect a Vice Chair/Chair Elect and a Treasurer in November 2000.

C. Financial records: The Chapter has not received any funds from the Board.

D. The Chapter is not recommending any matters for Board action.

E. The Chapter has no proposals for general membership discussion.

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Visual Resources Association
Upstate New York Chapter
Annual Report 1998

A. Accomplishments to date.
In late June, culminating an effort which began in the late winter of 1997,
the Upstate New York Chapter Bylaws were passed by the VRA Executive Board.
A slate of officers was proposed for the newly official chapter and
ballots were mailed in October. On November 10 Wendy Botting, Chair of the
Nominating Committee, announced the results:

CHAIR: 1 yr. term
Marcia Focht (Poore), Curator of Visual Resources
Binghamton University, State University of New York

CHAIR-ELECT/VICE-CHAIR: 1 yr. term
Jeanne M. Keefe, Graphics Curator
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

SECRETARY: 2 yr. term
Ann M. Thomas, Slide Curator
Union College

TREASURER: 2 yr. term
Suzanne Ogden-Roberts, Visual Resources Curator
New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University

B: Goals.
During 1999 the Chapter anticipates increasing membership,
establishing a bank account with start-up funds provided by the national
chapter, and collecting dues.

C. The Chapter is not recommending any matters for Board action.

D. The Chapter has no proposals for general membership discussion.

Ann M. Thomas, Secretary

Last Revised 10/05 mfocht@binghamton.edu

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