PLASC Meeting Minutes 2017 December 13

Public Library Archives and Special Collections (PLASC)
Section of the Society of American Archivists

Meeting Minutes

Teleconference (WebEx)

Hosted by DC Public Library

December 13, 2017

In attendance: Lauren Algee, Amy Cooper Cary, Suzanne Im, Angela Stanley.

Purpose of Meeting: Brainstorm priorities for the next 8 months. Amy Cooper Cary to provide a quick overview of how the SAA Council could support a membership survey to help reinvigorate PLASC and better meet member needs.

1. Introductions

   1. Lauren Algee - Digital Curation Librarian at DC Public Libraries Special Collections and PLASC section chair as of November 2017.

   2. Amy Cooper Cary - Head of Special Collections at Marquette University Library and SAA Council liaison to PLASC. She is in her last year as council liaison. New liaison will start in August 2018.

   3. Suzanne Im - Metadata Librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Digitization and Special Collections department, and PLASC Secretary.

   4. Angela Stanley - Director of Georgia HomePLACE and PLASC Steering Committee member.

2. Updates and Call-to-Action

   1. PLASC had its highest-attended section meeting at ARCHIVES 2017, since Amy Cary has been its liaison. Prior to this, the section had been rather dormant. There is great potential to work with section members to devise more relevant future section meetings.

   2. One of the goals in any section of SAA is to move beyond programming at section meetings and to see what the group can do as a whole. PLASC has not undertaken this in some time.

   3. Cary encouraged PLASC Steering Committee to think of one good task the group can work on in the coming year, that will help section members (e.g., resource list, policy list, etc.).

3. Survey

   1. Cary thinks a survey would be a good starting point for working with section membership to determine what ideas members have about future directions and initiatives for PLASC. It would also be a way to galvanize members to become involved to help solidify PLASC contributions to SAA.

   2. Discussion of PLASC Member Survey results from January 2013: https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/SurveySummary_03112013.pdf

   3. Algee wants to launch a new survey because PLASC does not have any ongoing initiatives as of this time. Members can reimagine what the section is about. Stanley and Im agree that a new survey will be beneficial.

   4. First step in survey: Determine audience.

      1. PLASC can work with Felicia Owens to send a survey out to section members through listserv.

      2. Reaching librarians/archivists outside the realm of SAA can be more complicated.

   5. Second step in survey: Draft a short survey (10 questions at most) addressing what the committee wants to learn.

      1. Cary shared via email a draft survey from Archival Educators as an example.

   6. Im suggested aligning survey questions around the four goals in SAA Council’s strategic plan (https://www2.archivists.org/governance/strategic-plan)

   7. Algee brought up the possibility of writing a PLASC mission. PLASC description on SAA website: https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section9/list-of-saa-sections

4. Communication

   1. PLASC section listserv does not have a lot of activity. Subscription to PLASC listserv is unrestricted. Stanley thinks it would be a good way to reach folks, even those who are not members.

   2. Algee expressed the desire for ongoing connection with the PLASC community, whether through a blog and/or social media. Make best use of existing platforms on SAA website and add one form of social media, such as Twitter, for greater distribution. Two PLASC blogs currently exist:

      1. A PLASC blog created off of the SAA website: https://www2.archivists.org/groups/public-library-archivesspecial-collections-section

      2. A WordPress site with blog has not been updated recently, but contains resources on marketing: https://localhistoryrt.wordpress.com/

   3. PLASC does not currently have a web liaison. Cary stated, in order to maintain a strong web presence, must have someone assigned. Each SAA section approaches communication differently.

   4. SAA login provides access to edit PLASC section webpages.

5. Collaborations

   1. Algee looked at section roster and saw more people in PLASC than  expected. Wants to partner with ALA, PLA, think about broader distribution.

      1. Feature - What archival local history collections exist in public libraries?

6. Internal Documentation

   1. Algee has not received a continuity document for PLASC. Stanley interested in working on focusing efforts inward to create administrative documents for PLASC Steering Committee.

7. Action Items:

   1. Algee will create a Google document with sections laid out according to SAA strategic plan for Steering Committee to brainstorm survey questions.

   2. Algee will create a Google document to brainstorm the types of internal administrative documentation needed for the PLASC Steering Committee.

   3. Algee will send out a Doodle poll for the next PLASC Steering Committee meeting in January 2018.

   4. Cary will ask Felicia Owens about conducting a survey of PLASC members.

   5. Cary will ask Matt Black at SAA about how to access the PLASC WordPress site.

Minutes submitted by Suzanne Im. Correction made 12/18/2017.