Minutes of the Archives Partnership Trust Board Meeting
3:00 pm, February 19, 2009
Cultural Education Center, 11th Floor Seminar Room, Albany, NY
Board Members Present
John Hanna, Jr., Chair; Barbara A. Brinkley, Secretary; John J. McEneny, and Rosemary S. Vietor.
By Telephone: George R. Hearst III, Vice Chair; Lawrence A. Staub, Jr., Treasurer; Nedda C. Allbray, Ann L. Buttenwieser, Bronwyn N. Hannon, Gary Smith, and Sandy Treadwel.
Staff Present
Christine Ward, Chief Executive Officer; Robert Bullock, President; Jill Rydberg, Assistant Treasurer and Administrative Officer/Director of Prospect Research; and Judith Van Allen, Development Assistant.
Board Members Excused
A. Laurie Brosnahan, Saul B. Cohen, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Arnold B. Gardner, Huyler C. Held, Harold Holzer, William F. Howard and Avi Schick.
Call to Order
Mr. Hanna called the meeting to order at 3:15pm. He welcomed Board members and staff to the meeting, noting the presence of a quorum.
News & Introductions
Mr. Hanna:
- introduced new Board member Rosemary S. Vietor, who is President of the Bowne House Historical Society in Flushing, New York;
- reported that Bernard F. Connors, who initially accepted an appointment to the Trust Board, had in the interim learned he would not be able to serve and regretfully submitted his resignation; and
- announced with sadness the resignation of Board member Henry “Jim” Eyre who is no longer able to serve on the Board.
Mr. Hanna reported that the Trust is a New York State public authority and each Board member is required to go through training on the responsibilities of being a member of a public board. He stated that Scott Fein of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna is authorized to do this training and has offered to do this as part of the Trust’s pro bono relationship with Whiteman Osterman & Hanna. The training is approximately 90 minutes long and can be done on the phone. The Board will need to set a date when most or all of the Board members are available for this required training. Ms. Brinkley asked if this was a one-time training and Mr. Hanna said he thought it had to be repeated periodically, maybe every three years. If a Board member sits on another state public authority board and has already had this training, there is no need to repeat it.
Administrative Items (Item 1.1)
Resolution for Approval of Minutes of October 7, 2008, Board Meeting (Item 2.1)
The
next item was a resolution to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2008, Board meeting. The motion to approve the minutes was made by Dr. Buttenwieser, seconded by Ms. Brinkley, and unanimously passed
.
Resolved, That the minutes of the October 7, 2008, Board meeting are hereby approved.
Financial Reports (Item 1.2)
Ms. Rydberg reported that, as of December 31, 2008, the Endowment Investment Account’s net equity value was $3,019,509, reflecting $402,382 in unrealized losses. The account for processing credit card transactions (established to keep such transactions apart from the main endowment account for security purposes) had a balance of $9,049.97. This revenue will be transferred to the main endowment account shortly. The Operations Account balance was $103,458.94 and the Projects Account balance, after income of $498,904.40 and expenses of $182,594.66, was $316,309.74. Mr. Hanna noted that the Financial Reports were presented for the Board’s information and no action is required.
Proposed Resolution for the Selection of the Nominating Committee Members (Item 1.3)
The next item was a resolution for the selection of the Nominating Committee members. Mr. Hanna proposed that Dr. Allbray, Ms. Hannon and Mr. Smith serve as Nominating Committee members. The motion to approve selecting Dr. Allbray, Ms. Hannon and Mr. Smith to serve on the Nominating Committee was made by Mr. McEneny, seconded by Mr. Staub, and unanimously passed.
Resolved, That pursuant to Article IV, Paragraph 4, of the Archives Partnership Trust By-Laws, as amended at the October 7, 2008, Board meeting, the Board selects the following members to serve on the Nominating Committee: Nedda Allbray, Chair, Bronwyn Hannon and Gary Smith.
Development Report (Item 2)
Mr. Bullock recognized the Trust staff for their help during the time he was working as Director of the Hudson Fulton Champlain Quadricentennial and also for the extra work they have taken on while Ms. Yaeger is out on maternity leave.
Membership in the Trust is near 1,950 and Annual Appeal donations stand at $50,000. There will be a 10,000 piece membership solicitation mailed out in the spring which should bring membership over 2,000.
Work Plan and Budget (Item 3)
FY2009-10 Work Plan (Draft) (Item 3.1)
Mr. Bullock presented the work plan for the fiscal year 2009-10.
He thanked Mr. Hanna for being the 3rd individual to designate a planned gift in support of the Trust. He also recognized Ms. Brinkley for her planned gift and her help in making the Barbara Andrews Brinkley Legacy Society a reality for the Trust.
Mr. Bullock outlined the many projects, conferences and programs the Trust has planned for FY2009-10 as they relate to the priorities in the proposed work plan.
The Trust has just learned that former Governor Mario Cuomo has agreed to be the recipient of the 2009 Empire State Archives and History Award, along with Board member Harold Holzer.
Ms. Brinkley asked for suggestions of ways Board members, particularly those living up-state, might help with some of these projects. Mr. Bullock will let them know how they can participate.
Mr. McEneny requested that a calendar be sent to Board members with dates of these activities in order to avoid conflicts. Mr. Bullock said he would do that.
Ms. Brinkley asked, concerning the original orchestral works performance with the Albany Symphony, who will own the copyright and will it be possible to play the music elsewhere. Mr. Bullock said he will be looking into this as well
FY2009-10 Budget (Draft) (Item 3.2)
Ms. Ward presented the proposed 2009-10 budget noting:
- The budget presentation reflects requirements of the Office of the State Comptroller to present budgets for the most recently completed fiscal year, the current fiscal year (approved and revised budgets), the proposed next fiscal year and the subsequent three fiscal years. Mr. Hanna pointed out the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (from which the Trust receives $300,000 annually in operating support) was made permanent in 2004 when the sunset was removed from the legislation. Ms. Ward cautioned that it is yet unknown whether the state will sweep money from the Trust’s $300,000; that the state had wanted $14,000 earlier in the fiscal year, but the Cultural Education Fund absorbed that on the Trust’s behalf.
- The budget reflects the new budget process which allocates staff-related costs between Operations and Special Projects in a more realistic manner. The draft Projects budget proposes using a conservative 4 ½ % of the endowment as has been done in the past, even though the Board approved using up to 5.0%. Mr. Hanna pointed out a lesser transfer from endowment could result in decreased money for programming. Ms. Ward said Mr. Bullock is committed to making up the differences in funding where needed and she is committed to keeping the endowment transfers as conservative as possible.
- The Sponsorship of Conferences income and expense line items include a one-time $25,000 conference dealing with executive records. The May 2010 conference is being planned in conjunction with Albany Law School and will highlight the importance of preserving executive records. Also appearing in both income and expense line items is $25,000 for Project Marketing which has not been in this budget before. Going forward, promotion of projects will be included in the project’s budget when submitting grant applications.
Mr. Hanna encouraged the Board members to ask any questions they may have or contact Ms. Ward. Ms. Ward reminded the Board that the Budget was presented for discussion at this meeting and will be voted on during the March meeting.
Mr. Treadwell asked if there are any issues created by postponing the FY2007/08 Annual Report to be part of a biennial report with FY2008/09. Ms. Ward said she did not anticipate any as the Trust’s annual “Partners in Success” report is not a requirement of the Comptroller’s office
Board Committees (Item 4)
Audit Committee
There was no Audit Committee Report.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee met in January and approved a new contract not to exceed $35,000 for freelance graphic design services, including the design of New York Archives magazine, with 2K Design. The contract is for one year, with four one-year renewals subject to Board approval.
Investment Committee
Mr. Staub reported that the Investment Committee met on January 22, 2009. The committee has been working with advisors on strategies to minimize impact of the market on investments.
Nominating Committee
Resolution to select members of the Nominating Committee was handled earlier under Administrative Items.
Executive Officer’s Report (Item 5)
Ms. Ward reported on pending Federal legislation, Preserving the American Historical Record (PAHR), which will be introduced in the House next month. It is sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey and, if passed, will provide $2.8 million to be regranted to states. New York’s portion would be disbursed through the State Archives to local governments and private repositories.
As time was running short, Ms. Ward said her complete report will be included (see Appendix I) with the meeting’s minutes.
Conclusion
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. McEneny, seconded by Ms. Brinkley, and unanimously passed. Mr. Hanna adjourned the meeting at 5:05 pm and thanked all for their participation
the meeting was made by Mr. Staub, seconded by Mr. Treadwell and unanimously passed. Mr. Hanna adjourned the meeting at 5:01 pm and thanked all for their participation.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Van Allen
Acting Assistant Secretary
March 5, 2009
CEO Report - Archives Partnership Trust Board meeting – February 19, 2009
Security Update
As a follow-up to last year’s theft incident, the Deputy Commissioner appointed an OCE Security Committee, which is developing policies and procedures and overseeing the security improvements. Installation of cameras and motion detection in the CEC is within weeks of completion. The State Archives has undertaken systematic searching of online auction sites to find and report the sale of alienated state and local government records. State Archives staff have made presentations about archival theft, sharing their lessons, at regional and national meetings. Finally, the State Historical Records Advisory Board and the State Archives have completed an application to NHPRC to bring web-based security resources and in-person training to New York's historical records community.
World Trade Center project
In an effort to respond to remote participants, the New York State Archives has developed a plan to adapt the successful training delivered in-person to the 9/11 community to a web-based format. This web-based resource would bring the same high quality, thoughtful instruction but in a way that could be accessible to individuals no matter where they are located. We expect to have this tool ready to launch by the eighth anniversary of the attacks, September 2009.
Trust supported intern in Archival Services
Kristine Boniello, a recent graduate of the Information Science program at SUNY Albany, and a former intern at the State Archives, has returned thanks to a generous grant by the Archives Partnership Trust. She will be working with staff from Collections Management, Access Services, and Reference Services to make accessible digital reproductions of photographic prints of former Governor Hugh L. Carey created by NYS from 1975-1982, as part of the Governor’s 90th Birthday celebrations. She will be adding the images to the Digital Management System (DMS) with metadata prepared by Bill Snyder, Carey’s former Press Secretary, and enhancing his descriptions.
New York Archives special Lincoln issue
Featuring two Pulitzer Prize winners and six other distinguished historians, the winter issue of New York Archives is devoted to exploring the connections between Abraham Lincoln and New York State. The guest editor of the 48-page special issue is Harold Holzer, one of this nation’s most prominent authorities on Abraham Lincoln, Civil War iconography and the political culture of 19th Century America, having authored 27 books and 400 articles on these and related subjects.
La Escuela Electronica (Time-Warner Project):
La Escuela Electronica, the innovative bilingual educational website aimed at bringing Latino history into the classroom, is completed. Following is an update on promotional activities:
Promotion:
- New York State Foreign Language Teachers Association in Saratoga Springs annual conference, Oct.
- Long Island Council for the Social Studies annual conference, Oct.
- Mid-Hudson Council for the Social Studies annual conference, Oct.
- North Colonie Central School District Superintendent’s Day, Nov.
- National Council for the Social Studies annual conference, Houston, TX, Nov.
- Greater Metropolitan NY Council for the Social Studies annual conference, Manhattan, Feb.
- National Council for History Education annual conference, Boston, Mar.
- New York State Council for the Social Studies annual conference, Saratoga Springs, Apr.
- Press Event Centro, NYC – (March/April)
Flash drives:
2,000 flash drives were purchased. When plugged into a computer, a text box pops up that allows the user to go directly to the Escuela website. To date, 700 flash drives have been distributed to teachers. 1300 flash drives will be distributed at conferences in 2009.
Postcards:
30,000 postcards were produced to promote the website. 2,200 postcards have been distributed to date via conferences, and presentations. 25,000 postcards will be mailed to NYS teachers in 09 (mailing list will include: all private schools, school library media specialists, Spanish teachers, English as a second language teachers, bilingual education teachers, social studies and language arts teachers, principals, teacher centers, and BOCES). The remaining postcards will be distributed at teachers’ conferences and presentations.
Promotion to NYS Schools via the State Education Department (SED):
On November 24, 2008 the NYSED Curriculum, Instruction & Instructional Technology (CI&IT) Team sent its monthly E-Blast to NYS schools and educators alerting them to new information and resources available through the State Education Department and others. The La Escuela Electronica website is featured in this E-Blast. http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/EBlasts/eblast.html
It is also available on the NYSED CI&IT homepage, http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/, by clicking on the bold text, "CI&IT E-Blast." (La Escuela was promoted a second time in an SED EBlast in January 2009.)
Response to the website:
Response from teachers for this new bilingual document based web resource has been overwhelmingly positive. Spanish language teachers were thrilled with having “realia” at their finger tips and liked the idea of having New York documents to use and a way to open the door to cooperative activities with other disciplines – like social studies and history as well as English Language Arts.
All teachers we talked with mentioned the increasing need for bilingual materials. Many school districts, some in New York State, and many more around the country, are seeing an increase in Latino student enrollment. But, no increase in literacy services for these students. Teachers were thrilled to know that the Escuela website included all content in both English and Spanish, allowing them to use the same materials for Spanish and English speaking students in their classrooms. They also mentioned the idea of creating an assignment using Escuela in English but providing a take home copy of the assignment in Spanish so that Spanish-speaking parents can assist their child with their assignment.
Social studies and history teachers mentioned the need for copies of documents, document-based questions, constructed response questions and thematic essays to use in their classrooms. All of which are available on the Escuela website. They especially liked the idea of incorporating documents from the Civil War, about immigration and other topics that provide a different cultural perspective than traditional information sources.
Hackman Research Residency Program
Twenty-eight applications were received for the 2009/10 year and have been considered by internal reviewers. The bulk of these were General Applications; one was a Public Historian Application, and one was a Teacher Application. Three applications are also eligible for a Quinn Fellowship. (The Quinn program supports research on New Netherland and the Dutch Colonial Atlantic World-- Dutch experience in the New World before 1800.)
After internal review, 23 applications will be forwarded to the Selection Committee for their consideration. Reviewers note the increase in the number of applications compared with last year, when twenty-one applications were received, of which fourteen were recommended to the Selection Committee. This may reflect the APT’s advertising strategy, a greater financial need of applicants, and/or a reduced pool of funds available for research grants generally.
Future Programming
The Archives is working with Albany Law School Government Law Center to develop a conference on Executive Records to be held in May 2010. We will be raising $25,000 to support this activity.
Preserving the American Historical Record (PAHR)
A bill that will provide funds to support historical records projects across the country will be introduced in the House next month. New York’s representatives are very supportive of this bill. If it passes, it will provide formula grants to every state and New York would receive approximately $2.8 million. The funds would be disbursed through the State Archives and would be available to both private repositories and local governments with archival records.