Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board

Members present: Marilyn Chapman, Tony Crawford, Wilbur Ferguson, David Haury, Pat Michaelis, Mack Teasley, Ramon Powers

Others: Matt Veatch

1 Minutes of previous meeting

1.1 Pat called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. and asked for revisions and additions to the minutes for the March 12, 2001 meeting.

1.2 Marilyn observed that she had attended the March 12, 2001 meeting but was not listed in the minutes as being present.

1.3 Tony moved approval of the minutes as corrected, Wilbur seconded, and the motion passed.

2 Review of mentor applications

2.1 Pat stated that four mentor applications had been received.

2.1.1 She also indicated that Jason Wesco, former KSHS local records archivist, had submitted a letter expressing his interest in participating in the program as a mentor.

2.1.2 The group agreed with Pat's assessment that Jason would be a well-qualified mentor.

2.2 Tony indicated that one of his colleagues, Roger Adams, had intended to apply.

2.2.1 Tony telephoned Mr. Adams and Roger indicated that he had submitted the application several weeks ago.

2.2.2 Pat and Matt observed that they had not seen Mr. Adam’s application.

2.2.3 Based upon Tony’s description of Mr. Adam’s background, board members expressed confidence in his qualifications to be a mentor.

2.3 David raised some questions about Charlene Weber’s ability to perform the role of archival mentor.

2.3.1 David pointed out that Charlene's background is in municipal records management and that her archival background is limited.

2.3.2 The group agreed that while she had excellent government records management credentials, Charlene's qualifications did not match any of the institutions that had applied for assistance.

2.4 The board approved the mentor applications of five individuals:

2.4.1 Jerry Wallace

2.4.2 Janice Lee

2.4.3 John Thiesen

2.4.4 Jason Wesco

2.4.5 Roger Adams.

2.5 The group agreed to ask Janice Lee and/or Jerry Wallace to serve as a mentor to two institutions.

2.5.1 If neither of these individuals expresses interest in mentoring two institutions then the board will seek to recruit a sixth mentor.

3 Review of repository applications

3.1 The board used the following criteria as the basis for its consideration of repository applications:

3.1.1 Demonstrated need for assistance.

3.1.2 Evidence of historically significant unpublished material in the repository’s collection.

3.1.3 Capacity of the repository to build upon the mentoring assistance.

3.2 The board disapproved the following repository applications:

3.2.1 Hutchinson Public Library

3.2.1.1 Limited quantity of unpublished materials.

3.2.2 Leavenworth Public Library

3.2.2.1 Limited quantity of unpublished materials.

3.2.2.2 Already have some control over materials so less need for assistance.

3.2.3 Thomas County Historical Society

3.2.3.1 Limited need for assistance

3.2.4 Library District #1, Doniphan County

3.2.4.1 Limited quantity of unpublished materials

3.2.5 El Quartelejo Museum

3.2.5.1 Volume and nature of materials not clearly described in application.

3.2.6 Kansas Heritage Center

3.2.6.1 Limited quantity of unpublished materials

3.2.7 Harvey County Historical Society

3.2.7.1 Limited need for assistance

3.3 The board approved the following repository applications:

3.3.1 Meade County Historical Society

3.3.2 Augusta Historical Museum/Augusta Public Library

3.3.3 Seward County Historical Society

3.3.4 Butler County Historical Society/Kansas Oil Museum

3.3.5 McPherson County Old Mill Museum

3.3.6 Clay County Historical Society

3.4 The board approved the following repository as the first alternate in the event that one of the six selected institutions elects not to participate in the mentoring program:

3.4.1 El Quartelejo Museum

3.5 The board suggested the following matches between mentors and repositories:

3.5.1 Janice Lee -- Meade County Historical Society and Seward County Historical Society

3.5.2 Jason Wesco -- McPherson County Old Mill Museum

3.5.3 Roger Adams -- Clay County Historical Society

3.5.4 John Thiesen -- Butler County

3.5.5 Jerry Wallace -- Augusta Public Library/Augusta Historical Museum

4 Repository workshop

4.1 Pat reported that a workshop on basic archival methods would be held for the repositories selected for the mentoring program on November 28-30, 2001 at the KSHS.

4.2 She indicated that KSHS staff would be the instructors for the workshop.

4.3 Pat suggested that the group consider inviting the unsuccessful repository applicants to send a representative to attend the workshop.

4.3.1 She indicated that the board might be able to offer these repositories up to $100 for travel, depending upon the budget.

4.3.2 Mack expressed his support for this idea.

4.4 Board members reviewed a draft outline of workshop topics and offered the following suggested additions:

4.4.1 A discussion of retention and disposition schedules and other aspects of local government records management.

4.4.2 A section on fund raising

4.4.3 A discussion of recruiting and training volunteers.

4.4.4 Pat commented that Cheryl Collins of the Riley County Historical Society would be an appropriate speaker for the workshop.

4.5 Mentor workshop

4.5.1 Pat indicated that she had not yet identified a speaker who could address mentor-mentee relationships.

4.5.2 Board members suggested several possible sources of a speaker:

4.5.2.1 Local United Way

4.5.2.2 Washburn University

4.5.2.3 KU

4.5.2.4 Kansas Association of Counties education coordinator

4.5.3 David suggested ending the repository workshop with a luncheon during which the mentors and repository representatives could meet each other.

4.5.3.1 The mentor workshop could follow the luncheon.

4.5.4 Self-assessment tool

4.5.4.1 Pat suggested that Wisconsin's institutional self-assessment tool could be modified and used by the mentors and repositories.

4.5.4.2 The board agreed with her suggestion.

5 Future board activities

5.1 The board will need to meet again in February or March 2002 to discuss the next NHPRC grant application to be submitted in June 2002.

5.2 Local records grant proposal

5.2.1 The board discussed whether to resubmit the grant application that was submitted last year.

5.2.2 Tony asked whether the local records grant could or should be scaled back.

5.2.3 Pat stated that NHPRC had asked KSHRAB to scale it back a bit last year and that it could be scaled back again (fewer institutions and less time from the project archivist).

5.2.4 The board did not reach a decision on whether to resubmit the local records grant proposal.

5.3 David suggested that board members review the strategic plan before the next meeting.

6 The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Matt Veatch recorded the minutes.