Autumn Meeting Minutes

Friday, November 7, 2008

Oakland Museum of California

The autumn meeting of the ARLIS/NA-Northern California Chapter (ARLIS/NA-NC) began at 9 a.m. with a lively walking tour of downtown Oakland's art deco architecture. Led by guide Matthew Prutsman, 17 attendees were treated to an introduction to art deco and discovered some of Oakland's remaining architectural gems, such as the current Innovative Bank building (360 14th Street), the neon signs at Ideal Cleaners (322 14th Street), and the Lake Merritt Hotel (1800 Madison Street). The walking tour ended at the impressive Alameda County Superior Court building (1225 Fallon Street), across the street from the Oakland Museum of California.

The Chapter's business meeting was held in the café of the Oakland Museum of California. Chapter Chair Ann Armstrong began the meeting promptly at 11 a.m. After the call to order, Secretary/Treasurer Kay Teel asked if there were corrections to the June 2008 meeting minutes, which had been distributed by e-mail prior to the meeting. There being no corrections, Elizabeth Douthitt Byrne moved to approve the meeting minutes, Abby Dansiger seconded, and the meeting minutes were unanimously approved.

Next, Kay presented the Secretary/Treasurer's report. She announced that four new members had joined the chapter since June: Lisa Conrad and Greg Borman, both students at San José State University, Louisa Roberts, student at Drexel University, and Dasha Dekleva. She stated that membership renewals would be mailed out soon, and reminded attendees that the chapter's dues for 2009 had not been increased ($20 for members and affiliates, $10 for students). Finally, she presented the chapter's finances. The chapter spent $121.47 for refreshments for the June 13, 2008, meeting, and collected $50 in dues between June 14 and November 6, 2008, bringing the chapter's bank balance on November 7, 2008, to $1469.25.

Following the Secretary/Treasurer's report, Ann called on Kay to report about the "California Connecting to Collections Project" planning meeting she attended on October 7, 2008, representing ARLIS/NA-NC. The California Connecting to Collections Project planning meetings were funded by a U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services grant as part of the IMLS Connecting to Collections initiative. The initiative aims to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders in each state to examine the preservation of cultural heritage collections and prioritize preservation efforts against the Heritage Health Index developed by the IMLS. Small and medium-sized institutions are particularly targeted. Kay briefly summarized the planning meeting's activities and passed around hand-outs from the meeting. She said that she would share more information about the project as she received it.

Ann announced that the next ARLIS/NA annual conference would be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 16-22, 2009. The Chapter would be asked to contribute to the conference Welcome Party, and Ann asked how much the Chapter should contribute. The Chapter did not contribute to the 2007 conference in Atlanta, and contributed $100 to the 2008 conference in Denver. Lisa Velarde, ARLIS/NA-NC Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, suggested $150. Barbara Rominski pointed out that the range of contributions from the chapters was $100 to $250, and asked if the Chapter could afford $150. After a brief discussion, attendees approved a contribution of $150 for the 2009 ARLIS/NA conference Welcome Party.

Ann then asked if there would be a need for the Ann Gilbert Travel Award for the Indianapolis conference. The award is given to Chapter officers to help them attend the ARLIS/NA conference. No award was given in 2008 because no officers applied for it. In response to a question as to whether the Chapter should continue setting aside funds for the award, Kay clarified that some members had designated donations specifically for the award. Lisa said she was planning to attend the Indianapolis conference and may apply for the award. Ann asked if $200 should be set aside for the Ann Gilbert Travel award for 2009, and attendees approved.

Barbara Rominski, ARLIS/NA Communications & Publications Liaison, was called upon to present updates from the ARLIS/NA Executive Board and from the ARLIS/NA-Southern California Chapter (ARLIS/NA-SC). She began with the news that the ARLIS/NA-SC had been approached to consider hosting the 2013 ARLIS/NA annual conference, with Pasadena as a possible site. The Southern California Chapter being significantly smaller than the Northern California Chapter, they asked if ARLIS/NA-NC would be willing to help during the conference with support for such things as registration desk, tours coordination, etc. Attendees agreed that they would be willing to help.

Barbara then mentioned the idea of a possible regional meeting with ARLIS/NA-SC and the ARLIS/NA-Mountain West Chapter. ARLIS/NA-NC could not commit to a 2009 regional meeting when the idea arose at the June business meeting. Barbara said that 2010 was the new suggested year for a regional meeting, and the other chapters were interested in meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area. Elizabeth asked what time of year the regional meeting would be held. Barbara responded that any time of year, though not close to the ARLIS/NA annual conference. Lisa said that summer had been suggested. There followed a discussion of the responsibilities ARLIS/NA-NC would have being the host chapter, even with help from the other chapters. Kathryn Wayne asked if the Chapter could apply for funding from ARLIS/NA to help with the costs of a regional meeting. Barbara responded that the Chapter could apply for funding for a 2010 meeting. Eugenie Candau suggested that the Chapter assemble a liaison committee to communicate with the Southern California and Mountain West chapters. Lisa volunteered to be part of the committee, followed by Eugenie Candau, Barbara Rominski, Elizabeth Douthitt Byrne, and Kay Teel. Elizabeth asked how big the regional meeting would be. Barbara estimated that it would be around 80-100 attendees.

Barbara next presented news from the ARLIS/NA Executive Board, which met for its mid-year board meeting in New York City. She announced that the vote on ARLIS/NA dues increases had passed by a majority of 67%. She explained that the dues increase was a cost-of-living adjustment, and that when the Board examined the Society's finances, it discovered that dues should have been raised earlier to keep up with rising costs.

Barbara said that the Board had talked extensively about publicizing the benefits of being an ARLIS/NA member, and as an example, mentioned the recent announcement that Art Documentation would become a peer-reviewed journal, something the membership had requested. Other benefits will be PDF files of the occasional papers and technical papers available in the members-only section of the ARLIS/NA Web site. Ann asked if the Art Documentation book reviews would be peer-reviewed, and Barbara responded that they would not be. Barbara also mentioned that Art Documentation would be reaching out to ARLIS/NA members and colleagues to become peer reviewers.

Barbara highlighted more changes at ARLIS/NA, including the move of the Society's archives to the University of Illinois and the slate of nominees for the 2009/2010 Executive Board. She also mentioned that the Society's contract with its management firm, McPherson-Clarke, would be expiring, and the Executive Board had sent out RFPs to other management firms. Finding a management firm offering strong technological expertise was a high priority for the Board.

Ann moved that the Chapter hold its elections. The open offices for 2009 were Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer. Both offices are two-year commitments. Anna Fishaut from Stanford University's Art & Architecture Library volunteered for the office of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. Ann called for additional nominees. There being no other candidates, Ann called for a vote, and Anna Fishaut was unanimously elected Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. Ann next called for nominees for Secretary/Treasurer. Kay stated that she was willing to continue serving if there were no volunteers.

Ann asked for ideas for future Chapter meeting sites. Lisa said that someone had suggested the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and it could be a venue for an evening excursion. Elizabeth suggested the University of California, Berkeley, and said she would be willing to host a meeting at the UC Berkeley Environmental Design Library. She mentioned several sites to visit on the Berkeley campus, including its libraries and museums. Other meeting suggestions were the Di Rosa Preserve in Napa, the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, and Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma.

Lisa announced that the Chapter would need to move its Web site because it could not be hosted on the Academy of Art University Library's server after December 19, 2008. Linda Psomas said she could do the HTML editing for the site, but could not offer server space.

Ann opened the meeting for announcements. Mary V. Marsh announced Oakland's Art Murmur event, an art walk happening the first Friday of each month. There followed a discussion of the galleries and artists' collectives participating in the event.

After announcements, Ann thanked Matthew Prutsman for the art deco walking tour and thanked Lisa Velarde for her enthusiasm and energy as Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. Lisa thanked Ann for all her hard work as Chapter Chair.

Ann adjourned the business meeting at 11:45 a.m.

After the business meeting, attendees gathered in the art library of the Oakland Museum of California, which houses three distinct collections: art, history, and natural sciences. Each collection has its own curatorial department and library. Dr. Phil Linhares, chief curator of the art collection, met with attendees and explained the museum's history, the operations of the art library, and described some highlights, such as the Dorothea Lange archives held by the library.

Attendees then walked or drove to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland, part of the Oakland Public Library. Staff introduced the history and collection highlights of the library and archives, which has been called the "Schomburg of the West." Afterwards, curator Hanna Regev led attendees through the exhibit, "Banned & Recovered: Artists Respond to Censorship," with fascinating insights about each work. Mary V. Marsh, one of the artists (and ARLIS/NA-NC member), shared her own experience creating work for the exhibit.

The day concluded with some attendees planning to continue their art-filled visit to Oakland by joining the Art Murmur.

Submitted by Kay Teel, November 10, 2008