In this message I want to give a brief report on our programs and activities at the Annual Conference in Denver.

Our Division sponsored several programs and co-sponsored others with divisions and one association committee.  The Sunday evening reception, co-sponsored with the Education and Social Sciences divisions was an informal networking session.  Attendance was up from the last several years and as one group left another came.

Our Monday MAHDness program was very different this year.  We were joined by the Solo Librarians Division and the Retired Members Caucus and presented our own JoAn Segal in her one woman show.  She told stories from her life, sang, and recited poetry.  It was a truly wonderful session and there were very few dry eyes in the house when the performance ended.  It was designated as a “WOW” session by the Denver Planning Committee!

The annual Book and Author Luncheon was a huge success.  It normally attracts about 30 attendees and this year we had 70, including members from other divisions.  SLA President Rebecca Vargha even joined us briefly.  Our speaker, Dr. Theresa Szczurek, gave a very interesting presentation on working with passion.  Her book, Pursuit of Passionate Purpose, was available at the luncheon and later at the SLA Marketplace, a first for our Division.

Other programs sponsored or co-sponsored by MAHD included a session on the preservation of electronic records with DGI and KAPC, an encore presentation by the History Factory on managing the cultural assets and history of organizations, and a very well attended session on Wednesday afternoon on cataloging developments and special libraries co-sponsored with the Committee on Cataloging.

The Board Meeting and Annual Meeting of the Division were also held.

It was a very educational conference and I want to thank all the members of the Division who attended our programs.

John Shea
Chair

FUTURE CATALOGING DEVELOPMENTS AFFECTING SPECIAL LIBRARIES: SOME TOPICS DEALING WITH REVISION OF CATALOGING RULES AND SOME TRENDS IN PRACTICE

A session sponsored by MAHD with the SLA Committee on Cataloging, Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Moderator, Martha McPhail, San Diego State University

McPhail welcomed the nearly 50 attendees, gave appreciation to MAHD for the program slot, and overviewed the session. The intent was to have brief presentations by some Committee on Cataloging members, then to open the session to questions, comments, opinions, etc. from attendees.

Dorothy McGarry, SLA Fellow, presented background and recent developments on the creation of the Resource Description and Access (RDA), which is basically a revision of AACR2. Work began in 2003 with the expected publication date of 2009. RDA is being undertaken to generalize cataloging rules where possible, to make changes in the General Material Designation, and to take into account aspects of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. RDA is an attempt to make cataloging rules more international.

Various changes are being discussed, including more options (each library/group of libraries would have to agree on which options to use). There will be changes in some terminology: “Access point” instead of “Heading”, “Preferred access point” instead of “Authorized heading”, “Primary access point” instead of “Main entry”, etc. ISBD punctuation would be optional and would appear in an appendix; some examples in the text would appear with ISBD punctuation and others not. There will be a reduction in use of abbreviations (abbreviations will still be used for English language units of measurement.)

Several useful web addresses for further information were given by McGarry:

JSC site, including working documents, RDA drafts, outcomes of the JSC meetings, etc:             http://www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc
Documents from the ALA Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access            http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/otherdocs.html
Formal comments within the U.S via the website of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services. Formal comments from other countries may be sent to the Chair of the JSC.
http://www.ala.org/ALCTS
IFLA Classification and Indexing Section
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s29/index.htm
IFLA Cataloging Section 
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/index.htm 
IFLA Division of Bibliographic Control
http://www.ifla.org/VII/d4/dbc.htm 

Juli Beal of the Library of Congress gave an overview of developments with online Dewey. She also gave an update of the American Library Association ALCTS Subject Analysis Committee. A new SAC Subcommittee on the Future of Subject Headings was established at ALA Annual 2006. Its charge is: "To analyze the future of subject cataloging, with emphasis on Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), through the use of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, taking into consideration both internal forces within the library community and the external environment.”  A preliminary report will be made in 2008.  Its report can be located at http://www.ala.org/ala/alctscontent/catalogingsection/catcommittees/subjectanalysis/subjectanalysis.htm 

Martha McPhail discussed some recent cataloging developments which will impact all libraries. On June 1, 2006, the Library of Congress implemented its decision not to create/update series authority records and not to provide controlled series access points in its bibliographic records for resources in series. This generated great concern and discussion, but the decision has been made and will be implemented. An information page can be found at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/series.html.

Another controversial publication questions how the library catalog may appear in the future. “The Changing Nature of the Catalog” by Karen Calhoun at Cornell University can be read at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/calhoun-report-final.pdf.

Also established is an LC Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control. This is an invited group of experts who will present findings on how bibliographic control and other descriptive practices can effectively support management of and access to library materials in the evolving information and technology environment.  Their website is found at http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future.

There is a new website to provide a single source for all cataloging and acquisitions-related material available from the Library of Congress. The address is http://www.loc.gov/aba/

McPhail gave a brief overview with websites on FRBR, OCLC’s Open WorldCat, and creating Metadata. These sites may be found at:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/Que-es-FRBR.pdf
http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf
www.worldcat.org 

An open discussion with many questions and answers followed these brief presentations. Attendees expressed interest for future programs to address such challenges as cataloging objects/realia; cataloging oral histories; cataloging digital/electronic resources; or content authors creating their own metadata. Many of the attendees were librarians at museums or historical societies, but the range of disciplines was broad.

It was clear that SLA members do have interest in programs with cataloging content. Members want to be kept updated on recent developments that may affect them. They also want instruction on how to catalog certain materials or in specific formats.

For the SLA conference in Seattle, MAHD planner Cameron Trowbridge is inviting one of his colleagues at the Getty Conservation Institute. She may present on cataloging cultural objects, one of the main topics attendees at Denver were interested in.

This session on cataloging sponsored by MAHD concluded a very successful annual conference in Denver. 

Submitted by By Martha E. McPhail

Museums, Arts & Humanities Division
Special Libraries Association
Board Meeting Minutes
June 3, 2007
Denver, CO

Attendance was taken by sign-up sheet.  Present at the meeting were: John Shea, Chair; Cameron Trowbridge, Chair-Elect; Gerald Patout, Past Chair; Joyce Weaver, Treasurer; Tatum Preston, Secretary; Ann Shea, Membership Chair; John Leide, Martha McPhail, Jane Reed, Eliza Robertson, and Linda Wyman.

The meeting was called to order at 4:02 p.m. by MAHD chair John Shea.

Introductions were made, then the minutes of the 2006 Board Meeting, held at the SLA Annual Conference in Baltimore, were approved unanimously as written.

Joyce Weaver presented the Treasurer’s Report.  Overall, MAHD’s finances are healthy, with $10,256.79 in the checking account.  The division also has a pooled fund which is managed by SLA headquarters.  Over the past several years, expenses have been more than income, and for the past 2 years, the division has withdrawn approximately $3,000 each year from the pooled fund.  The dues allotment has increased from approximately $6,300 last year to $7,600 this year due to increased membership in the division. 

Joyce stated that there is no formal budget, and a discussion ensued about creating one.  3 main areas of spending were commented upon: conference attendance support for division leaders, conference programs, and scholarships.  Martha McPhail suggested we consider a line item budget and that we continue to support division leaders’ attendance at conferences.  Currently airfare and hotel are covered for leaders, provided the individual’s company will not financially support conference attendance. 

Joyce stated that we have spent approximately $8,000 per year the past 2 years on conference programs.  Gerald Patout reminded conference planners to be mindful of specific conference program costs (such as charges for a projector), and Martha suggested we continue efforts to secure corporate sponsorships for conference programs. 

Gerald suggested that scholarship monies be fixed into the budget every year.  In the past, the division held a dinner at conferences to support scholarships, but this proved hard to schedule and difficult to profit from due to the high cost of meals.  Eliza Robertson suggested we attempt to add $5 or so to the cost of ticketed programs to be earmarked for scholarships.  This discussion concluded with John Shea stating that he and Cameron Trowbridge will work on a budget for 2008.

John Shea then presented his Chair’s Report, starting with the Division programs at the Denver conference, which include:

·        Sunday, June 3: Joint Open House with the Social Sciences Division.  Partnering with another division and securing sponsorship from Elsevier allowed us to host a nicer reception with more food.

·        Monday, June 4: Book & Author Luncheon featuring Theresa M. Szczurek’s Pursuit of Passionate Purpose.  This book, featured in the SLA Marketplace, was advertised on a flyer in around 5,000 conference attendees’ bags.  Also on Monday, the Division hosts Monday MAHDness: One Woman Revue - One Old Broad Looks at Life and Death, featuring JoAn Segal and co-sponsored by the Retired Caucus and Solo Division.  The Retired Caucus contributed $100 and the Solo Division contributed $300 for an honorarium for Ms. Segal.  Gerald motioned that we contribute $100 towards the honorarium.  Martha seconded this motion and the motion was approved. 

·        Tuesday, June 5: Annual Business Meeting.  Program entitled Digital Preservation for the Nation, highlighting pioneering projects by the U.S. National Archives and Government Printing Office and how information professionals will access digital records in the future, co-presented with the Government Information Division and the Archives & Preservation Caucus.

·        Wednesday, June 6: “Managing the Organization's Cultural Assets and History Revisited,” an encore program by the History Factory on unleashing the power of the past.  A second program, “Future Cataloging Developments Affecting Special Libraries,” will be co-presented with the Commission on Association Governance. 

John thanked Ann Shea and Martha McPhail for their help with conference programs planning. 

John announced that Nancy Adams, newsletter editor, has resigned, and that Linda Andrews has been appointed as interim editor, with her term finishing in December 2007.  The Division needs to recruit both a new editor and an assistant editor.  Gerald suggested recruiting a student from a SLIS program.  A call will also be issued at Division programs during the Denver conference.

Eliza Robertson reported on scholarships and travel grants.  She apologized that no scholarships were awarded last year and expressed a desire to resume the program this year.  In 2008, the Division will award its Neff scholarship, with Ann Shea chairing the project.  Martha McPhail also volunteered to help Eliza.  John Leide mentioned that there have been queries from SLA Europe and Asian chapters regarding whether they are eligible for the Neff scholarship, and suggested that scholarship guidelines need to be reviewed.  Joyce Weaver stated that we need to remind both members and sponsors about our scholarships and their purpose and meaning via our newsletter and other appropriate venues.

Ann Shea presented a membership report.  There are currently 676 members in the Division, a slight increase.  Around 30% of members are students.  Martha pointed out that we need to think about ways to retain student members.  Tatum suggested a digital format to appeal to students and to keep costs low.  John Leide suggested that we recruit historical society employees to be members.

Cameron Trowbridge reported on 2008/Seattle SLA Conference planning.  Plans are well underway and include a possible session with Murtha Baca of the Getty Research Institute and a session on visual literacy.  Jane Reed suggested an author’s luncheon with Joanne Oppenheim, author of Dear Miss Breed.  There are also various offsite/tour opportunities. 

Discussion moved to Division election of 2008 Officers.  John Shea explained that Lisl Zach would like to serve as Chair-Elect if she is not elected to SLA Chapter Cabinet in the fall of 2007.  We will need a backup plan; as Past Chair, Gerald Patout will be responsible for lining up other candidates.  Martha McPhail volunteered to help Gerald.  It was suggested that we try to find someone from the Washington, D.C. area since the annual conference will be held there in 2009.  Joyce Weaver will consider serving another term as Treasurer, staying on through 2009.  Tatum Preston will continue as Secretary through 2008. 

John Shea reminded everyone that articles are needed for the Division newsletter. 

Linda Wyman, of Evergreen, CO, welcomed us to Denver and the conference. 

There being no other business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tatum Preston

Museums, Arts & Humanities Division
Special Libraries Association
Membership Meeting Minutes
June 5, 2007
Denver, CO

Attendance was taken by sign-up sheet.  Present at the meeting were: John Shea, Chair; Cameron Trowbridge, Chair-Elect; Gerald Patout, Past Chair; Joyce Weaver, Treasurer; Tatum Preston, Secretary; Ann Shea, Membership Chair; Agnes K. Mattis, Board Liaison; John Leide, Martha McPhail, Jane Reed, Eliza Robertson, Renee Nuade, Lisl Zach, Andrew Berner, Esther Bierbaum, and Rachel Schneiderman.

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by MAHD chair John Shea.

Introductions were made around the room.  A motion was then made by Andrew Berner to approve the minutes of the 2006 Membership Meeting, held at the SLA Annual Conference in Baltimore.  This motion was seconded by John Leide and the minutes were approved unanimously as written.

Joyce Weaver presented the Treasurer’s Report.  Overall, MAHD’s finances are healthy, with $7,620 received as dues allotment for this year.  Spending on conference programs over the past several years has been approximately $8,000 per year.  Slightly less was spend this year, and we received a sponsorship of $100 from the Retired Caucus and a pledge of $300 from the Solo Division for the Monday MAHDness program.

John Shea then presented his Chair’s Report, starting with the Division programs at the Denver conference, which include:

·        Sunday, June 3: Joint Open House with the Social Sciences Division.  This event was well attended and received.

·        Monday, June 4: Book & Author Luncheon featuring Theresa M. Szczurek’s Pursuit of Passionate Purpose.  There were approximately 70 attendees, more than doubled from last year.  Martha McPhail inquired as to whether we made a profit on this event, and John told her that we did not.  Also on Monday, the Division hosted Monday MAHDness: One Woman Revue - One Old Broad Looks at Life and Death, featuring JoAn Segal and co-sponsored by the Retired Caucus and Solo Division.  This event attracted approximately 45 attendees.

·        Tuesday, June 5: The annual Business Meeting will be followed by a program entitled Digital Preservation for the Nation, highlighting pioneering projects by the U.S. National Archives and Government Printing Office and how information professionals will access digital records in the not-so-distant future, co-presented with the Government Information Division and the Archives & Preservation Caucus.  The Archives and Preservation Caucus will meet at 2:30.

·        Wednesday, June 6: “Managing the Organization's Cultural Assets and History Revisited,” an encore program by the History Factory on unleashing the power of the past, will be co-sponsored by the Cataloging Committee.  A second program, “Future Cataloging Developments Affecting Special Libraries,” will be co-presented with the Commission on Association Governance. 

John announced that Nancy Adams, newsletter editor, has resigned, and that Linda Andrews has been appointed as interim editor, with her term finishing in December 2007.  The Division needs to recruit both a new editor and an assistant editor.  A call will also be issued at Division programs during the Denver conference.

John also reported that no scholarship was awarded for this conference.  The Neff Scholarship will be awarded in 2008, chaired by Ann Shea.  International Scholarship will be awarded in 2009 for the Washington, D.C. conference, chaired by Eliza Robertson and Martha McPhail.

Cameron Trowbridge reported on 2008/Seattle SLA Conference planning.  Plans are well underway and include a possible session with Murtha Baca of the Getty Research Institute and a session on visual literacy co-sponsored by the Education Division, and a book and author’s luncheon.  Anyone interested in helping Cameron with planning should contact him.

Gerald Patout suggested collaborating with the Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Division to present a program on food history, the Seattle Public Market, the slow food movement, or a culinary historian.

John Shea announced that 40 members of the Southern California and San Diego Chapters toured the Getty Center in April, and that Ann Shea will host SLA members at the California African American Museum in July.  Other chapters could consider hosting tours of their museums.

Ethel Bierbaum announced the South Atlantic Regional Conference, to be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, in February 2008. 

John Shea announced that the Division’s archives have been stored with Gerald Patout at the Historic New Orleans Collection.  Gerald has emailed SLA headquarters to see why archives are not stored with them.  Also, Gerald wants to properly archive and store all records and develop an OCLC record for the archive.

Gerald recommended that the Division add “Archives” to its name, to attract the growing number of archives professionals to SLA.  This would change the name of the Division to Museums, Arts, Archives and Humanities, or MAAHD.  Gerald suggested a possible program at the Seattle conference on proper archival techniques for SLA records and stressed the importance of preserving our organization’s history. 

An Archives and Preservation Caucus currently exists with approximately 170 members.  Ann Shea is Convener of this Caucus and will ask at their business meeting if they want to become a Division, or would prefer to be a part of the MAHD Division.  Andrew Berner asked how many members of the Archives and Preservation Caucus are already members of MAHD, and also pointed out that this Caucus could become a section of MAHD.  John Leide pointed out that we could make the Caucus feel welcome by acting as a co-sponsor for conference programs.  Lisl Zach noted that archival programs or tracks are becoming more popular in SLIS programs and that students will join the Society of American Archivists (SAA) if we do not actively recruit them.  

Jane Reed asked if we wanted to begin now with changing our name.  Agnes Mattis, Board Liaison, explained the process/mechanism for a name change.  The request must first go through the By-Laws Committee, then be voted on (in person or online) by the members of the Division.  Ann Shea and Gerald Patout will mention this informally to the Archives and Preservation Caucus. 

Ann Shea presented a membership report.  There are currently 676 members in the Division, a slight increase. 

Discussion then moved to Division election of 2008 Officers.  The election will take place in the fall by mail or electronic ballot.  Officers’ terms will begin January 1, 2008.  MAHD has 2 candidates running for SLA Board positions, Martha McPhail and Lisl Zach.  Andrew Berner encouraged all MAHD members to vote for these candidates so that the Division will have representation at the international level.  Martha recognized Andrew for his work on the Nominating Committee.

Cameron Trowbridge thanked John Shea for his service as Chair and presented him with a small gift.  John thanked the Division for his gift and for a challenging and rewarding experience. 

There being no other business before the Division, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tatum Preston

MAHD Annual Book & Author Luncheon: Pursuit of Passionate Purpose  

Pictured are:

John Shea, Chair of MAHD
Rebecca B. Vargha, President of SLA
Dr. Theresa Szczurek, author of Pursuit of Passionate Purpose
 

Photograph taken by Ann Shea

Breaking Rules, Building Bridges: MAHD 2008 Seattle Conference Preview

The 2008 Seattle conference is still months off, but plans for a full slate of exciting and informative MAHD programs are well underway.  As your division chair-elect and 2008 program planner, I am very pleased to share with you a snapshot of the programs and activities being planned for Seattle.

Beginning with our Joint Division Open House, next year’s event is co-sponsored with the Social Sciences Division and will include a poster session.  In keeping with the SLA 2008 conference theme, “Breaking Rules, Building Bridges” the theme for the poster session is Building Bridges with Collaboration Tools. A call for proposals will be broadcast soon, so stay tuned. 

Another co-sponsored program is a session on critical visual literacy with the Education Division, entitled “I don't know art, but I know what I like".  The session will examine how museum educators and academic librarians explain and teach visual literacy in formal and informal settings.  Our speakers include: Dr. Martha Kellogg Smith from the University of British Columbia School of Library, Archival and Information Studies; Tamara Moats, Curator of Education at University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery; and Bridget Nowlin, Curator of Visual Resources and Adjunct Instructor at the Cornish College of the Arts.  The session moderator will be Dr. Lesley Farmer from the School of Education at the California State University, Long Beach.

A third co-sponsored program is with the Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition Division – a first time collaboration with this group.  The session is titled What’s Cooking?  Food Traditions, Culinary History, and the role of Special Libraries and will provide an overview of the culinary history movement and literature paying particular attention to the role Special Library collections play in identifying and preserving food traditions and customs.  The session will also examine the importance of public markets, such as the Pike Place Market, where many of our culinary traditions begin and take shape.  Speakers will include our own Gerald Patout, Head Librarian at the Williams Research Center/Historic New Orleans Collection and avid food enthusiast; Jacqueline Williams, Pacific Northwest culinary historian, author, and lecturer; and Shirley Collins, Pike Place Market preservationist, writer, consultant, and founder of Sur la Table, the national gourmet cooking retailer.

I am also pleased to share that I will be moderating a session with two of my J. Paul Getty Trust colleagues, Dr. Murtha Baca, Head of Digital Resources Standards and Digital Projects at the Getty Research Institute and Erin Coburn, Head of Collections Information & Access at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Joining them will be Dr. Martha Kellogg Smith.  The working title of the session is Accessing Cultural Objects.  The session will provide an overview of taxonomies and controlled vocabularies with an emphasis on museum and archival collections.  The panelists will also present recent research that looks at the beliefs and assumptions about art information and demonstrate how one museum attempts to bridge the gap between information that is created and used by and for the museum and how it is presented and conveyed to the museum visitor for public consumption.

The Book and Author Luncheon will feature Joanne Oppenheim who will discuss her award winning book, Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during WWII and a Librarian Who Made a Difference.  In her book, Joanne Oppenheim tells the compelling story of how one librarian’s actions made a powerful difference in the lives of so many others. It is also a story of courage and friendship told in the voices of those who lived through one of the darkest times in our country's history.

Next year’s Monday MAHDness event will be an exclusive tour of the Seattle Art Museum’s Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Library and new Painting Conservation Studio.  The tour will be conducted by Traci Timmons, Manager of Library Services and Nicholas Dorman, Chief Paintings Conservator.  The tour has limited capacity, so be sure to sign up early.

Finally, the Retired Members Caucus, and Archives and Preservation Caucus will join MAHD in sponsoring a behind the scenes tour of Seattle’s historic 1928 Paramount Theater.  Tour goers will be treated to a history of the landmarked theater, including its glorious restoration and rebirth as one of the city’s premiere live entertainment venues.  This tour also has limited capacity, so don’t wait until the last minute!

There is still quite a bit to be done to finalize programs, secure sponsorship for sessions, and fine tune the details, but it should prove to be a great conference. I look forward to seeing you in Seattle!

Cameron Trowbridge
Chair-elect
Museums, Art, and Humanities Division

New MAHD Members

(* denotes student member)