Archives Task Force Meeting: May 6, 2024

Zoom / Conference Call

Members attending: Alex Altan (Prairie State College), Jeannette Bruno (City Colleges of Chicago), Rebecca Fitzsimmons (Illinois State University), Pam Hackbart-Dean, chair (University of Illinois Chicago), Ashley Howdeshell (Northeastern Illinois University), Marcella Lees (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Michelle Miller (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum), Elaine Fetyko Page (Elmhurst University), Meghan Ryan (National Louis University)

CARLI Staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage, Martin Kong, Sara Mercurio, Annie Serrano

Decisions

• The April 1, 2024 minutes were approved.

Tasks Assigned

• Minutes taken by Jeannette Bruno.
• Meghan, Marcella, and Pam will meet to outline suggestions for summer workshop and share updates in the June meeting.
• Elaine Fetyko Page will draft the Task Force Annual Report (due May 31).
  • example
• Ashley Howdeshell will review forms on the resource page.
• Ashley Howdeshell will add the form for deaccessioning.

Announcements

• Member Announcements:
  • Marcella Lees (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville): Dean of Library and Information Services search continues, candidates visit campus next week.
  • Pam Hackbart-Dean (University of Illinois Chicago): The UIC Special
  • Collections and Archives, Assistant Reference Archivist Position (link) closes next week and Manuscript Archivist position will be posted.
  • Rebecca Fitzsimmons (Illinois State University): Acquisition Librarian Position (link) and Head of Liaison Services (admin) are posted open through the end of the month.
• CARLI Announcements:
  • Disaster Planning 101 - An Interview with Chris Chylack, District Manager at Polygon US.
  • Funding to Preservation: A Digital Content Life Cycle Webinar Series -Webinar 6-part series with sessions on grant opportunities to fund digitization, workflows for processing born-digital materials, digitization best practices, digital preservation basics, and the importance of metadata in digital content.

Discussion

• Resource Page
  • What materials could still be added?
    • Processing manuals
    • Rules for the reading room
  • Distribution of information
    • Email list and newsletter could get a larger response
• Continuing Education Ideas (using survey results to inform topics)
  • Poison in the stacks presentation (find out about arsenic on books)
  • Session in the summer?
  • Members are asking for help setting up the archive “we have materials, what do we do now?”
  • Session on administration
    • Forms that need to be organized
    • Hierarchy organizational idea – starting an archive
    • Inventory location guide (for boxes that are everywhere)
  • Where do you begin? What do you have first before creating a mission
  • Priorities in beginning an archive
  • Digitization
  • Ask an Archivist
  • Host a series - summer workshop, then short videos, then in-person workshop, and let people see the process as it unfolds
  • How do you organize a session?
    • 4-6 weeks notice that it will happen
    • Identify speakers
    • Decide if there are slides/if they’re optional
    • If you’re going to record
    • Pick a date
    • Virtual programming – check the CARLI calendar, internal tracking calendar for conflicts
      • Record for 10-month contract folks
    • Choose the panel
  • In-person workshops next year
    • CARLI is creating their budget and needs to know expenses
      • Background pre-2020 - there was a budget for all the committees to do in-person programming
      • 4-hour minimum session to include a lunch
      • Registration limit is the room space limit
    • Open house visits to institutions
    • Example collection to work with so participants can begin to prepare a collection – hands-on experience
    • Where do you get supplies? How do you choose the company? How do you choose the right box for the right supplies?
      • Budget issues with different institutions
      • Prioritization of budget
      • Options for alternatives if you can’t get the right box
    • We could partner with the preservation committee for overlap in participant interest
• Questions
  • Do you get any discounts buying archival supplies through CARLI? No, CARLI doesn’t have this contract. RAILS does have member discounts.
  • Are there any other description tools outside of ContentDM?
    • CARLI used to host their own servers, now we work with vendors that host their own servers. Previously ARCON.
• Task Force membership for next year
  • Nay from Michelle, everyone else yes

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The Archives Task Force will meet next on June 10, 2024 at 10am.

Committee Meetings:
June 10, 2024: Minutes taker – to be determined

Deadlines:
May 31, 2024: Task Force Annual Report