Society of American Archivists - UT Student Chapter

Meeting Called to Order at 4:00pm by Adam Knowles.

In Attendance:
Amy Armstrong, Secretary
Robert Gates
Dr. David B. Gracy, Faculty Sponsor
Amanda Graham
Ben Grillot, Archivist, Austin History Center
Melissa Guy, Vice President
Monica Haddad, Events Chair
Adam Knowles, President
Jennifer Lindley
Lisa Schmidt, Web Master
Ashlynn Wicke, Treasurer

I.    Archives Week 2007

    •   Ben Grillot of the Austin History Center (AHC) will be working with the SAA-UT Chapter, along with new AHC         archivist, Susan Rittereizer, to coordinate aspects of Archives Week. This will include coordinating activities for the         Archives Clinic, held at the AHC, and scheduling the Mayoral Proclamation which has historically occurred on the         Thursday preceding Archives Week. Ben also agreed to work with the AHC graphic designer to design posters and         flyers for the Archives Clinic.

    •   Nancy Zimmelman and Dr. Donna Guy are officially confirmed as speakers and will speak on Monday, October 15          and Thursday, October 18, respectively, but this may change depending on other schedule considerations. Due to        financial and schedule constraints, members agreed that two speakers were sufficient and will not approach the                National Security Archives, as previously discussed.

    •   Panel Discussion—This event is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday of Archives Week. Members              discussed several possible speakers from the UT and Austin community, including scholars from the History and              Latin American Studies Departments. Members were asked to research local possibilities and submit them at the              next meeting.

    •    Cocktail Party—Ashlynn Wilke has contacted the special events coordinator at the LBJ Library about reserving               space and is awaiting a response. It was suggested that the cocktail party could take place after the mayoral                     proclamation, as an appropriate celebration to kick off archives week. This suggestion will need to be explored             further in upcoming planning meetings.

        Post Meeting Update: After this meeting, Ashlynn was told that SAA-UT was eligible to use the special events             space at no cost, providing it doesn’t conflict with another event.

    •    Other Event Suggestions:
          —Brown Bag Discussion during the day, perhaps with either Nancy or Donna, if interest and their schedules                     allow.
        —Dr. Gracy’s Forgery Presentation-In order to keep to the theme of government in archives, SAA-UT will host                 this presentation at another time during the semester.
        —In addition to the honorarium provided to the speakers, Dr. Gracy suggested other ceremonial accolades for                     consideration, one of which is the designation of “Honorary Texan” which can be requested through the                         Governor’s Office. Members liked this idea and will explore it further.

II.    Finances

Members discussed the chapter’s current financial status and the expenses for the previous board’s activities. Ashlynn confirmed that there is about $2,500 in the account, however, there isn’t sufficient documentation concerning the prior year’s expenses. Adam stated that he has the chapter’s previous two years records on disk and will circulate the information to the board members. The primary expense for the chapter is Archives Week and Dr. Gracy estimated speaker expenses for Archives Week at approximately $1,000 per speaker. In addition, we should contact Elizabeth soon for securing hotel reservations at the iSchool’s discounted and tax-free rate at the Doubletree in order to alleviate any possible booking problems. Adam agreed to complete the Co-op’s application for funding. Members considered appropriate timing for approaching other UT organizations for financial assistance and Dr. Gracy recommended early June, due to the start of the next fiscal year in September. Members explored other possible funding sources and agreed to approach Metal Edge.

III.    Other Activities

    •    Archives T-Shirts
        Ashlynn reported that the Senate of College Councils provides $200 for the purchase of organizational t-shirts, but         the shirts are intended to be purchased for promotional purposes and not sold, however many organizations do not         comply with this rule. Members estimated that $200 would purchase about 30 t-shirts, which should be adequate.         Members will need to explore this further and consider possible t-shirt designs.

    •    Latest issue of “Chapters and Loose Leaves” newsletter released
         Adam submitted an article about Archives Week 2006 written by previous SAA-UT Chapter President, Sarah                  Quigley, to this SAA student publication sponsored by the SAA-LSU Chapter.


IV.    Explore UT

Melissa met with Susan Clagett, Associate Vice President for Public Affairs, whose office sponsors Explore UT, and agreed to serve as the iSchool’s coordinator for the event in 2008. Melissa will be contacting other iSchool organizations and SAA-UT members for assistance in planning the iSchool’s activities.

V.    Summer

Most board and chapter members will be in Austin during the summer, therefore the chapter plans to schedule several events and meetings. Ben Grillot offered to provide a tour of the AHC. Adam suggested attending a Round Rock Express baseball game and many members expressed interest, perhaps in June. Plans also include a picnic or ice cream social in the latter part of summer.

VI.    Annual Meeting in Chicago

Though SAA hasn’t contacted Melissa regarding approval of the Chapter’s poster, many members saw it listed in the program on the SAA web site. It was agreed that the poster should contain the plans for Archives Week 2007, rather than focus on last year’s Archives Week.

VII.     Next Meeting

Members agreed to have a “casual” summer meeting at a local restaurant or café during the week of June 10th. Date, place, and time TBA.

Meeting Adjourned: 5:00pm

Respectfully Submitted,

Amy E. Armstrong
Secretary
SAA-UT Student Chapter