2003-2004 Annual Report

Report from Privacy & Confidentiality Roundtable Chair Tim Pyatt, August 7, 2004 at the Boston annual business meeting

With much help from the roundtable leadership, we had a very productive year with several sessions created and accepted for the Boston program. These include:

• Executive Order 13292: The Progress and Pitfalls of Government Records Declassification; session #57, Saturday 1-2:30 pm
• From the Great Depression to the Great Society: A Look at Personal Information in 20th Century Presidential Records; not selected for main program, but being delivered today as our roundtable program

The Roundtable also endorsed the following sessions accepted for the 2004 program:

• The Impact of the USA Patriot Act on Archives and Archivists (submitted by the Manuscript Repositories section); session #2, Thursday 1:45-3:15 pmLiterary Manuscripts: An Introduction; session #37, Friday 4-5:30 pm
• Scandal in the Exhibit Hall: Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual History Exhibits and the People who Love Them (submitted by Gay and Lesbian Archives RT); session #60, Saturday, 1-2:30 pm

Special thanks goes to Tim Murray, Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, Connie Gallagher, and Deborah Richards for their assistance with program planning in addition to the steering committee members.

The Roundtable supplied SAA Council with several statements to help inform their decision making process. Together with the Manuscripts Repositories Section, and the Reference, Access, and Outreach Section, we drafted a statement for Council expressing concerns about the USA Patriot Act. The statement helped shape the annual conference from the Keynote speaker to session # 2 to SAA's website statement.

We also wrote a response paper for SAA President Tim Ericson concerning access to the records of state eugenics programs. A scholar approached Tim as President of SAA wanting SAA to take a stand on opening access to these records. We took the opposite stand citing HIPAA and a patient's right to privacy. We also stated that while these records should not be open to research, they are important legal and health care records and should not be destroyed.

SAA Council also requested a revision to last year's Survivor Privacy statement issued by the Roundtable. No public action was taken.

Jill Katte has done a terrific job creating and maintaining the Roundtable’s website, which includes leadership contacts, program information, and a bibliography. Suggestions and contributions for content are welcome.

The Roundtable extends thanks to outgoing steering committee members:

• Anita Weber
• Julie Herrada
• Aimee Felker (past-chair)

Continuing leadership includes:

• Incoming Chair Diane Winham Shaw
• Steering committee members Jackie Dean and Susan McElrath (2003-2005)
• Jill Katte, web liaison
• Tim Pyatt, immediate past chair, nominating committee

At the business meeting, the following individuals were elected to office:

• Julie Herrada, Vice Chair/Chair-elect
• 2004-2006 steering committee members Connell Gallagher and Arlene Schmuland