Society of American Archivists University of Texas Student Chapter
Executive Board Meeting
April 3, 2007

Meeting Called to Order at 4:10pm by Adam Knowles.

In Attendance:
Amy Armstrong, Secretary
Amber Castor
Robert Gates
Amanda Graham
Melissa Guy, Vice President
Monica Haddad, Events Chair
Adam Knowles, President
Jennifer Lindley
Lisa Schmidt, Web Master
Ashlynn Wicke, Treasurer


I.  Announcements

iSchool Amazing Race – SASI has contacted SAA-UT to submit a clue for this event, which will be held, April 20,      2007.  Adam is submitting a clue and people are encouraged to attend this interesting and fun event.


II.  Archives Week 2007

The dates are confirmed: Monday October 15th  -  Saturday 20th

Nancy Zimmelman has confirmed her attendance

Questions concerning the ability to pay for the expenses of multiple out-of-town visitors was discussed.  Members           recollected that Nancy Zimmelman was not in need of expenses, as her flight and accommodations are being paid by       her agency, but this needs to be confirmed with Dr. Gracy.  Members are interested in approaching the two additional       speakers proposed via email as well, and want to ensure that the chapter can afford these expenses.  Ashlynn stated that the chapter currently has approximately $2500 and will be approaching other organizations to underwrite the cost of Archives Week.

Other Possible Speakers:

Donna Guy, historian in Latin American History at Ohio State University
Dr. Guy is able to speak about the use of archives under military dictatorships and has conducted research specifically     concerning Argentina’s Dirty War which took place during the 1960’s.  She is well-connected with archivists and can     speak a great deal about her personal experiences; therefore, she will approach the subject from the perspective of an         archives user.  Members were interested in Dr. Guy because of her international emphasis.  Melissa also believes that     SAA-UT can likely get financial support from other UT departments.  Melissa will approach Dr. Guy and invite her to     speak.

Speaker from National Security Archives
Amy heard the executive director, Thomas Blanton, speak about the Scooter Libby trial on NPR and offered it as a         suggestion.  The NSA is housed at George Washington University and is a private archives that receives no federal         funding.  Melissa stated that the archives was started in the 1980’s and is a well-respected political watchdog group,         particularly in the foreign policy arena.  Members thought a speaker from NSA would be entertaining, would be             appreciated by a wider audience, and additional funding may be possible from other UT departments.  Melissa stated     that the LBJ Rappaport Center for Human Rights recently co-sponsored a speaker from NSA to speak on issues             affecting Latin America.  

It was agreed that Melissa would approach Dr. Guy and Amy would contact NSA to inquire on the possibilities of         either or both attending Archives Week 2007.  Members thought it would be interesting to have each speaker give         their own presentation and then participate in a separate panel discussion event with all of the speakers included, but         this may not be possible depending on scheduling issues. 

Other Events:
People were interested in having a variety of events, perhaps some during the day. 

Forgery Presentation—Dr. Gracy’s presentation on forgery has traditionally been an event at Archives Week, but Dr.     Gracy has made it clear that it doesn’t have to be a part of this event and can take place at another time in the semester.

Panel—people appeared to enjoy last year’s panel due to its interactive nature.
    
Cocktail Party—this has been discussed in the past and could be a networking cocktail party with area archivists and         UT School of Information alumni invited to kick off Archives Week.  Due to this year’s theme, Amy suggested the         Erwin Atrium at the LBJ Library after recently visiting the library as part of the SAA-UT tour.  It might be nice to             have the event there, especially if we can get after-hours access to the exhibits.  Ashlynn, who works at the LBJ             Library, will inquire about this possibility.

Texas State University invited the SAA-UT chapter last year to a networking event.  It is unclear if this will be a             regular event, but this is something to consider in our planning; either as an opportunity for collaboration or something     to avoid so as not to compete by having a similar event.

Archives Clinic—Some members attended last year and thought it might be nice to have a different structure, perhaps     with a set schedule of actual events and with a shorter amount of time for the “drop in” open house advice section.          The program could include a formal brief welcome, a brief presentation on common issues in preserving personal             documents (for example), maybe something about preserving personal digital records, and then have the mingle/
question time.  Also it might be nice to have more preservation and conservation students there, as many archives             students didn’t feel equipped to answer people’s questions.

Fun and Funky T-Shirt contest—to raise money for Archives week, to raise awareness of archives, and improve the         image of archivists.  This contest could be open to the I-School or UT community.  The idea is to have a general             archives T-shirt that would be appealing to any archivist, not just SAA-UT archivists that we could sell to archivists         everywhere.  Members believed it would be easy to get initial funding to buy the t-shirts through GSA.

Funding Deadlines—UT Coop still hasn’t updated this year’s information.

 
III.  Other Activities
 
Other Speakers/Workshops
Jorge Canizares-Adam will contact about scheduling a brownbag lunch next semester.
Caroline Frick-Two ideas were discussed: a brownbag lunch and/or a “workshop.” 
At “Tea with the Dean,” students expressed interest in having workshops on professional issues or on specific techniques, and the Dean seemed receptive.  Further exploration of possible topics is needed.

Tours
Twelve people attended the LBJ Library tour, many of whom didn’t appear to be SAA-UT members.  The happy hour wasn’t as well attended, perhaps due to inclement weather and the fact that people didn’t know how to locate the SAA-UT group at Crown and Anchor.  It was suggested that in the future, we might want to bring some sort of sign or mascot so people can easily identify our group.

Monica has contacted Mark Duffy, of the Archives of the Episcopal Church, but hasn’t received a response.  The next tour is likely going to be of the Benson Latin American Collection, with more details to come.

Explore UT
The I School hasn’t previously participated and it seems this would be a good opportunity to market the school and the associated professions within the school.  Melissa has been corresponding with the coordinator.  The I School and its student organizations should collaborate on planning an activity or event, which can be as simple as just having a table to having an actual hands-on activity.  Members voted and agreed to participate and will plan an activity in the near future.

Summer
Several members will be in Austin over the summer and would like to have one or two events, such as tours, during this time.

Annual Meeting in Chicago
Some members will be attending the annual meeting, which will take place during the first week of class.  Members who are attending expressed interest in coordinating efforts in securing travel and accommodations.


IV.  Next Meeting
   
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 4pm, room TBA.

Meeting Adjourned: 5:30pm


Respectfully Submitted,

Amy E. Armstrong
Secretary
SAA-UT Student Chapter