PLASC Meeting Minutes 2020 September 9

Public Library Archives & Special Collections Section Meeting

Society of American Archivists

September 9, 2020, 3pm EST

Minutes

Present: Angela Stanley, Patricia Delara, Heather Lanctot, Petrina Jackson, Catherine Oseas, Laura Carroll

Previous Minutes:

Approve July 14, 2020 meeting minutes. Approved unanimously.

Introductions: Members took a moment to introduce themselves since Laura Carroll is a new addition to the Section Steering Committee.

Chair Updates

• EOY report to SAA: Angela is still working on this report. She will send the EOY survey report to the rest of the steering committee for reference.

• Birmingham PL update and Advocacy partnership(s): Angela provided a substantial report on the situation surrounding the Birmingham Public Library’s threatened closing and furloughs. As of the time of the meeting, there has been a verbal promise that funding will be restored and no closings are imminent. However, there is nothing in writing, and Catherine reported that the only way to get information in Birmingham is to attend City Council meetings. Angela discussed her work with SAA’s Committee on Public Policy to possibly draft a statement to vehemently oppose the closing of the BPL. She also mentioned that we have a unique opportunity in this situation to focus on the unique characteristics of archives and local history collections, and how they can serve as the buoys for library systems that may be threatened in the future. 

• In addition, Angela discussed the possibility of future advocacy partnerships, particularly with SAA’s COPP. Their statement on the closing of archives will soon be revised. She also mentioned the development of a threshold mechanism for relevant national organizations to be activated when libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage organizations are threatened. 

Newsletter Update: Patricia Delara reported that the spring newsletter was a success. There was no summer issue. She will soon be putting out a call for the fall 2020 issue. Patricia asked if there was a possible way to get analytics for the newspaper views, and Laura suggested she get in touch with Matt Black at SAA. Possible themes, such as American Archives Month, Native American History Month and Queer Awareness Month.

Survey Working Group: Heather Lanctot reported that she has not fully analyzed the survey results. There were 115 participants. She suggested that because of everything that has been happening this year, the section send out the survey again. Committee members all agreed and suggested additional ways to spread awareness of the survey, including social media posts and different listservs.

Meeting adjourned 5:00 PM Eastern