• January 4, 2006
• February 7, 2006
• April 19, 2006
• May 31, 2006
• August 10, 2006
• October 10, 2006

President Suzanne Singleton called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.

Suzanne asked for approval of the previous minutes. Elizabeth seconded and the minutes were approved.

• Website

  Nancy Piester joined the meeting for a few minutes to discuss the website. She said that some of the updating of the site has already started. Kate said she was working with Geoff LoCicero to come up with a new design. Nancy mentioned that the site needs to comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements. She also suggested that the site be moved to a new server, perhaps that used by palmettohistory.org.

  Although the Board had decided at the January retreat to do away with the Resource Register page of the site for lack of use, Nancy mentioned that someone recently sent something in. Elizabeth said she thinks this contributor had talked with Henry Fulmer and that he was really trying to find a repository for his papers. Elizabeth will check with Henry about this. Nancy circulated a sample of the email that people get in response to sending something to the Resource Register. She thinks we should keep the Register in place on the site and perhaps just publicize it better and/or write new language for the site to make it clear that it is meant as an institutional resource. Alexia pointed out that some public institutions are not able to use the Resource Register, because anything that they have is public property. Additionally, if SCAA served as a middle man in any kind of inappropriate transaction, it could cause problems for SCAA. Suzanne suggested contacting Clara Hodges, the Resource Register contact at the College of Charleston, to discuss the matter with her before making a final decision. Nancy said she would do so and left the meeting. Elizabeth suggested that the listserv could easily replace the Resource Register and it was agreed that an item on the listserv would reach a broad audience immediately with no middle man, rather than having to pass through one person appointed as the contact. Suzanne said that she had submitted an item in the past and that nothing had happened. It was decided to move the function of the Resource Register to the Yahoo listserv and to put up a note so indicating on the website. Kate will draft the note and circulate it to the Board.




• Treasurer's Report

  Jim Cross was absent but Suzanne passed out copies of his report. A few more dues have been received. Jim plans to move $5,000 to a new account, as decided at previous meetings, but has not yet done so. We have obtained a better rate of 5.12% on our new CD, which will mature on January 30, 2007.

• Membership Report

  Henry Fulmer was absent. The new membership directory, which usually is published in June, was discussed. Suzanne said that the membership information had at one point been entered into an Access database, but that it was very outdated. However, Mike will try to salvage the information and update it for a new database that can be used to print mailing labels. Elizabeth said that Henry's version of the database was not up-to-date either, but that she or one of the student assistants at South Caroliniana Library could set up a new database in Excel and import the information from the old one. Suzanne asked that this be done as soon as possible, and suggested that future membership chairs should become familiar with the use of the new spreadsheet software so that it will be easier to keep the database updated.




• Director's Report

  Mike reported that the speakers for the October 10 conference are lined up. Laura, Judith Smith, and Mike have divided up the duties of planning. The plenary speaker will be Steven Hinckley, Associate Dean for Library and Information Technology at the USC Law School, who will discuss a topic of his choosing; Mike suggested copyright issues. The keynote speaker will be Rod Gragg. Laura is handling publicizing the poster sessions. The afternoon will feature concurrent sessions, with Beth Bilderback, Sharon Bennett, and Dennis Taylor discussing photographs, and Shelly Kelly and Dale Stuckey from the state Department of Education discussing Freedom of Information and federal education laws. The title of the conference will be “Law and Archival Order”. Laura, Judith, and Mike met on May 2 and planned to meet again after today's board meeting. The brochures should be ready to go soon. Kate will circulate an email asking for members to submit problems or questions concerning copyright so that our speaker will have specific examples to address. The lunch session will include the meal, our keynote speaker, the awards ceremony, elections, and the business meeting. Alexia suggested having a second plenary session in the afternoon, at 3 or 3:30, to allow Roy Tryon to speak and perhaps provide a summary of hurricane response activity, if this year turns out to be a busy hurricane season in the state. It was agreed to do this if necessary.




• Vice President's Report

  Elizabeth discussed the annual social. She mentioned that the Hagood Mill is open with special events on the third Saturday of each month. The summer months will be hotter, but in September and October we must be aware of heavy traffic for Clemson football games. September 16 features a fiddling event at the mill and Clemson's game is away that day, so this seems to be the consensus for the best day. The tentative plan is to meet in Pendleton, tour Ashtabula and/or Woodburn plantations, have lunch, and then go to the mill. Attendees will be able to spend the night ahead of time in Pendleton if they want to, and can leave for home from the mill. Elizabeth will find out more on exact prices and space limitations from the facilities and then we can decide if we will charge a flat, all-inclusive rate for each attendee, or if everyone will have to pay for his/her lunch separately.

  Elizabeth also reported that she asked Beth Bilderback to be on the Awards Committee, and will find one other person from outside USC. Alexia volunteered to serve.




• Newsletter (and Mailing Address)

  Kate said that the newsletter was coming out later than she hoped, but that she has proofread and corrected the latest issue and that it should be posted on the website in a few days. She will try to squeeze in the information on the social and the fall meeting. Geoff will then return to working on the web design. Kate will try to get a link to Geoff's test version and discuss the logos with him.

  Kate also mentioned that SCAA's listing on the state archives website directory of Historical Organizations (http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/historgs/county1.html) is out of date. It lists SCAA's mailing address as the Charleston Museum, because the listing was last updated when Sharon Bennett was president. The board discussed a permanent mailing address for SCAA. Dorothy mentioned that the bank notice for the renewal of the SCAA CD had been sent to the State Archives originally, and that someone there had anonymously forwarded it to her weeks later, which was not the ideal way to have that handled. Elizabeth suggested setting up a mailbox at a UPS Store-type location, with the only problem that the officers would change periodically and the address might not be convenient for them to collect the mail. Alexia suggested setting it up in Columbia and assigning mail pickup to whichever current board member lives in Columbia. Kate will add the Yahoo groups homepage as our email contact. Elizabeth will price getting a mailbox for SCAA.




• Scholarship Committee

  Suzanne said that the committee would meet for the first time following the Board meeting. Members include Robin Copp, Dennis Taylor, and Ann Evans. Suzanne has asked them to give recommendations for how to set up the scholarship program. She noted that this committee is a task force, not a permanent standing committee.




• Old Business

  A. Relic Room: Elizabeth reported that the staff of the Confederate Relic Room had been pleased with the letter of support she wrote on behalf of SCAA in regard to the Three Rivers Music Festival incident. They asked her to wait to see if the news story had any traction before she sent it, and since it did not, she did not send it. Other groups, including African-American groups, also contacted the Relic Room with words of support. The festival has been discontinued, so the point is somewhat moot.

  B. Audit: Suzanne asked her accountant about doing an audit of SCAA's books, but she is not a Certified Public Accountant, so she cannot. However, the accountant said that an audit would probably be very expensive. Jim got Suzanne in touch with Holly Herro, president of PALMCOP at the time of their audit, and Holly referred her to CJ Cambre of USC's University Libraries. CJ will be able to provide some guidelines. Alexia suggested that we get an estimate from a CPA before we decide, and that spending $2,000-$3,000 might be worthwhile, since we are over-committeed and that an external audit would be better for our own protection. Suzanne suggested establishing a schedule, like every five years. Elizabeth suggested asking Mike Hughey, retired auditor at Clemson, for advice.

  C. SAA Scholarship for Board Members: Dorothy asked about the decision made at an earlier meeting to provide $500 to Board members traveling to the SAA annual meeting. Mike said it should come out of the general operating fund, not the scholarship fund. Alexia suggested that the best idea might be to supply $500 toward a pre-conference session, if any are of interest, and that the Board member(s) attending such a session could then report back at an SCAA conference or write an article for the newsletter. She made a motion to this effect and Elizabeth seconded. The motion passed.




• New Business

  Suzanne reported that she was asked by Roy Tryon to serve on a SHRAB focus group about disaster planning and other issues. She also mentioned that she had heard from Heather South at the State Archives about preservation material kept on hand by SCDAH for loan or donation in case of emergency. Suzanne is not sure how the supplies would get to the affected areas. Kate suggested Suzanne look into it and possibly write on the subject for the newsletter.

  Kate asked about policies regarding the use of digital cameras in reading rooms. Laura said that the Historical Society did not allow them, unless there was a large item that the staff could not scan, in which case they still charged a fee. Mike said that at Clemson he allowed patrons to use scanners, either Clemson's or their own, for a fee, and that they could use a camera at no charge. Copyright issues were covered by the standard copyright form they have people sign. Alexia said that the State Archives reading room, to her knowledge, may allow it, probably at no charge, and that copyright issues did not apply since the documents were public.

  The next meeting will be August 10, unless conflicts develop. The backup date is August 8.

  Suzanne adjourned the meeting at 12:52 p.m.