Minutes, August 6, 2008

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Last updated: Oct 22, 2008Version comment
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Maryland History and Culture Collaborative (MHCC)
Hampton National Historic Site, Towson, MD
August 6, 2008

Attendees:
Ann Cober Reed (ACR), UMES
Aiden Faust (AF), UB
Alison Foley (AFO), St. Mary's Seminary and University
Ann Hudak (AH), UMCP
Amy Federman (AMF), MD Humanities, Jewish Historical of DC
Anne Turkos (AT), UMCP
Ann Wheeler (AW), MD Department of Natural Resources Library
Beth Alvarez (BA), UMCP
Bill Cady (BC), EPFL/SLRC, Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage
Barbara O'Brien (BO), McDaniel College
Charles Lockwood (CL), Loyola Notre Dame Library
Cynthia Requardt (CR), JHU
Doug McElrath (DM), UMCP
Elizabeth Howe (EH), Washington County Free Library
Gabrielle Dean (GD), JHU
Jill Craig (JC), Western MD Regional Library
Judy Dobbs (JD), MD Humanities Council
Jan Danek (JDA), MICA, MDHS
Julia Lehnert (JL), Hampton NHS
Jennie Levine (JLV), UMCP
Katherine Baer (KB), MD State Law Library
Kathy Cowan (KC), MICA
Laura Kopp (LK), UMCP
Lindsey Loeper (LL), UMBC
Liz McAllister (LM), UMCP
Leslie Simon (LS), NARA Mid-Atlantic
Margaret Burri (MB), JHU
Marilyn Benaderet (MBE), Afro-American Newspapers Archives
Mary Mannix (MM), Frederick County Public Library
Malissa Ruffner (MR), Hampton NHS
Martha Ruff (MRF), Prince George's County Public Library
Nadia Nasr (NN), Towson University
Nancy Perlman (NP), Loyola Notre Dame Library
Rich Behles (RB), UMB HS/HSL
Robin Emrich (RE), Columbia Archives
Rob Jenson (RJ), Montgomery County Historical Society
Rob Shindle (RS), UB
Rob Schoeberlein (RSC), MD State Archives
Tara Olivero (TO), Goucher College

I. Brief Introductions

JLV: This is the largest gathering since the group began in 2006, totaling 39 attendees.  Due to the large group there will be limited information sharing, but there are planned speakers scheduled for the first time.

All attendees briefly introduced themselves.

II. Maryland History Day Projects

Judy Dobbs (JD) and Amy Federman (AMF) from the Maryland Humanities Council presented on Maryland History Day, particularly how to connect with teachers and students as well as how to participate as a judge.  http://www.mdhc.org/programs/maryland-history-day/
JD: History Day is a competition for middle school and high school students; participants select a topic from a central theme and create a project using 1 of 5 different formats (exhibit, documentary, etc).  "Individuals in History" is the theme for 2009.  Librarians, teachers, and archivists serve as judges at all levels; MM is a judge in Frederick County.  Students compete at county, state, and then national level.  The state competition is held annually at UMBC and attracts over 450 students (scheduled for April 25, 2009); the national competition attracts over 2500 students and is held at UMCP (scheduled for June 14-18, 2009). 
AMF: The goal of History Day is for the students to learn how to research, use primary sources, and learn how to contextualize historical events and persons.  60% of the judging rubric is about drawing a historical connection - moving past the "timeline mentality" to analyzing the Why's.  Presented a portion of a video, "The Lucky Dragon Incident: A Catalyst to Conflict and Compromise During the Nuclear Age," and shared several sample papers and bibliographies (for other media samples, see http://www.mdhc.org/programs/maryland-history-day/media).  Students are highly impressed with being able to work with, and touch, historical materials and objects.  History Day brings students and teachers into Maryland libraries; even though a lot of material is available online, librarians and archivists still provide the necessary context and interpretation.  Students choose their topics in September and October, the school level competitions are in January and February, and regional competitions are held in March. 
RE:  Has served as a judge and recommends it.  During Archives Week (October) RE had a HD presentation after school, but no students attended.  Has had increased success by sending outreach materials directly to the history teachers, suggesting collections that will connect with the yearly theme.
AMF:  JD has a listing of school coordinators and she can provide to those interested.
NP:  Has served as a judge, including serving as a middle school judge for the first time in 2008.  History Day shows students that history is accessible and it encourages a large range of skills.  She also suggests performing outreach directly to the schools.
JD: The National History Day is held in June at UMCP (scheduled for June 14-18, 2009). The quality in projects varies but the students are excited, engaged, and learn a lot.
JLV:  Would like to remind UMCP employees that National History Day is usually held the same weekend as Maryland Day.  Has learned through outreach at UMCP that going to class and speaking to students in person has a bigger effect than handouts and web pages.  Are there opportunities to meet with students while they are deciding on their topics?
JD: Montgomery County Historical Society has dates for meet and greets with librarians, documentary makers, and other workshops.  Should contact your county/district coordinator to arrange or attend a workshop.
MM:  Goes to 3-4 classes each year and they are all aimed at teachers - if you don't have the support or interest from teachers then the students usually don't participate or aren't aware about the competition.  Highly recommends MHCC members offer a workshop for teachers or participate as a judge.
AMF:  MHC likes to have librarians and archivists as judges because we are trained to critique resources and historical research, can bridge gaps in knowledge in other judges, are working directly in the field, and are aware of how to work with students and understand their maturity level.
LS: Has participated with National History Day when it was in Philadelphia for 3 years.  Working with the teachers is crucial, need their buy-in.  Participation has recently tripled, including the number of schools, teachers, and students involved.  The competition is now a 2 day event (one for high school, one for middle).  Almost all advertising is word of mouth and the coordinators work hard at outreach.  She has held how-to exhibit workshops for teachers, who then brought in their students for the same workshop.
AMF: Will send out a list of coordinators to MHCC.
MM:  Suggests providing a list of topics that connect the yearly theme to your collections.  This is particularly helpful for students who only have history class for ½ of the academic year.
 

III. Baltimore City Archives

JLV: The Baltimore City Archives (BCA) are unknown to many.  AF is a soon-to-be grad at UMCP College of Information Studies and he wrote a research paper and timeline about the Baltimore City Archives for a class with John Fleckner; he will present what he found. 
RS: Posted a summary on the MHCC blog about the State Archivist's presentation at the Baltimore City Historical Society in May: http://www.lib.umd.edu/blogs/mhcc/?p=54
AF: For the research paper he wanted to investigate what happened and why, the history of the development of the BCA, and their current condition.  Resources used include publications by Richard Cox, clippings at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, interview with former employees from the 1980-90s, and a visit to the archives to gain experience using the holdings.  The BCA are located in Woodberry and have developed record groups; UB has a copy of the last listing of the RG#s (http://archives.ubalt.edu/lhrc/MunicipalArchives.pdf, 1984). There is only one person serving the reading room, the stacks are open to researchers, and there was evidence of water damage on the boxes. 
There has been declining support for the BCA over the last few decades; Richard Cox wanted to revive it in the 1980s but due to the eventual loss of political support, staffing, and budget cuts across grants, state, and local funding, in addition to increasingly strained city-state relations, little has been done.  The BCA was eventually placed under control of Legislative Reference.  They lack a defined user group and assist mostly genealogists.
AF wondered who they should be serving and who has defined user needs for the BCA?  He suggests that the location should be tied to the users.  Other cities have moved their archives to the office of information versus reference - this may be a way to reinvent or energize the BCA.  Other problems facing the BCA include the inherent cyclical nature of local politics and the fact that there are few city-based archival repositories that are well run (one exception may be the Seattle Municipal Archives http://www.seattle.gov/CityArchives/). The BCA needs greater ties to the Maryland archives community, an adequate building, increased staffing, and dedicated funding.
AW: Is the BCA still receiving records?
AF: The individual departments currently retain their own records.
RS: There are record retention schedules but they are not in use. 
CR: Is there talk of the State Archives taking control?
RS: No.  The State Archives has primacy over the County archives but this is not true for Baltimore City because the BCA was established prior to the State Archives program.
AW: Is there a mission statement?
AF:  Not a current one, although some of their outreach publications from the 1980s have a mission statement.
AF, RS, NP: Confirm that current archivist will be retiring in the near future.
RS: The Baltimore City Historical Society (http://www.historicbaltimore.org/ ) wanted to revive the Peale Museum and include the BCA at that institution.  (Per an email from RS, it is unclear if the BCHS is still investigating this option or if they are supporting Dr. Papenfuse's proposal.)
AT:  Decline at BCA began when they moved out of downtown.  The prior location was easily accessible from City Hall and moving the holdings to Woodberry decreased use and marginalized the BCA from downtown.
NP: How many dedicated staff work at the BCA?
RS: Two - an archivist and a technician
NP: This may be a good project for CLIS students, as interns and on-going projects.  If a formal program was implemented then students could use the BCA as a "laboratory" for study.  Program could incorporate archives innovators and fundraisers.
JLV: Noted that CLIS internships must be formerly supervised.
DM: The lack of sustainability is a problem for the BCA as it has not been given priority over other city problems.  The key would be linking the BCA to a more stable institution such as the State Archives or UB, etc.  It needs leadership from the outside to reassure city leaders that it can and will be sustained and that it deserves funding.  How can MHCC be involved in finding such a source?  Right now there are finite groups of records at the BCA because the city isn't sending new materials there, there are no new records coming in.  This would be an ideal time to get involved.
JLV:  Need to show the Baltimore City government that the BCA's holdings are important and that they have value.  How are city employees currently getting the information that is stored in the archives?
KB: The city often calls the UMB Law Library for assistance.
RJ: Suggests tying the BCA to a working records management program.  Attorneys are often concerned about records, and may not see the importance of archives until something is missing.  Need to locate a funding source.
MM:  The BCA and MHCC shouldn't downplay the role of the genealogy community; may wish to emphasize the amount of money they bring the community (for example when travelling in from out of town to research) and they have an organized voice.
AFO: Has heard complaints about the lack or difficulty of accessing the BCA.
RS: UB has found it works best to contact Legislative Reference (Avery Aisenstark) at 410-396-4730 or averya@baltimorecity.gov to get an appointment at the BCA.
JLV: Notes that we will not be able to determine a solution today, but encourages AF to publish his paper.
KC: Suggests that Mary Pat Clark (http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/district14/default.htm) may assist with this cause at the City Council as she has experience and an interest in Baltimore City history.  She also represents that area of Hampden/Woodberry where the BCA is located.
JLV: Suggests we continue the discussion on the blog, list serv, or possibly in smaller groups.  AF's paper would help to reach a larger audience.
AF: The archivist at the BCA declined to be interviewed for his paper.
JC: Why is the Enoch Pratt Free Library not involved?
RS: John Sondheim, who was the Pratt's Chief of the Central Library, has said that it was their policy to avoid taking in archival collections and to 'stay out of the archives business'.  May not still be their policy, unsure.

Lunch

IV. Information Sharing

JL: Thanked the Hampton National Historic Site friend's group for providing lunch.  Reminded attendees that Hampton is open 7 days a week during the summer and Weds-Sun from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
JLV:  Asked for volunteers for 6th meeting or suggestions on a month.  Suggested using the list serv or blog to continue discussion.

a. COMAR and Electronic Records Management/State Archives
AT: Contacted Diane Krejsa in the UMCP Legal Office, she is part of a state-level committee reviewing state electronic records.  In September 2007 a policy was reviewed and opened for public comment.  This version of the policy has a deadline of September 14, 2008; at this time it will need to be re-proposed or withdrawn.  The policy will probably be withdrawn so that all public comments can be fully reviewed and to allow consideration of NARA's practices.  The committee will meet in the early fall and AT will provide updates as available.  The ultimate goal is to have a state policy but it must likely would not cover or serve as a model for university electronic records because universities have de facto control.

b. Maryland History and Culture Bibliography updates
JLV: The Maryland History and Culture Bibliography was a project managed by the Maryland Humanities Council that has since been moved to UMCP.  It is in a database format and includes annotated citations that can be searched by category, author, and date.  It is accessible from the UMCP Digital Collections webpage: http://www.lib.umd.edu/dcr/collections/mdhc/
Using the custom admin interface, AT is updating entries from 2001-2006.
AT:  There is an agreement with Maryland Historical Magazine and the most recent year cannot be included in the online Bibliography; once they publish 2008, then AT will add 2007 also.  Although 1973 is the first year that the bibliography was published, there are entries that pre-date 1973.  The database is not complete and after the most recent years are added then the next step will be to fill in the earlier missing entries.
JLV:  The Bibliography is a great History Day resource, although the citations are not linked so you cannot get full text.  The database has the capability to include location information, such as call number or subscription database, in the annotation field and this information may be included in the future.

c. Wiki
JLV: Initial purpose of the MHCC wiki would be to compile a directory of Maryland institutions, similar to the institutional descriptions that were being collected at the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
RJ:  The wiki would also be a good location to distribute information about History Day.  RJ will coordinate.
KC:  BAROC (Baltimore Art Research & Outreach Consortium http://www.marylandartsource.org/about/index.html) is compiling a directory of institutions with primary art holdings; would these two directories overlap?  Or could we incorporate the art-focused directory into the wiki?
JLV:  The wiki allows tagging and users could sort by assigned subject tags.
NN:  The institutional profiles collected by EPFL may still be accessible, although fewer than 10 were submitted.
NP:  The Maryland Humanities Council compiled an institutional directory in 2000 for Maryland History Day.  It included a profile, hours, holding summaries, etc.  NP will check on format, may be similar to directory compiled by Tom Hollowak.
JLV:  Wiki needs a coordinator to organize and work with users, suggested LL because the wiki is hosted at UMBC.
LL:  Accepted possible coordinator role and will investigate (with May Chang) log in access for MHCC members.

d. Institutional projects and updates
MM: The Thurmont Center for Agricultural History at the Thurmont Regional Library has opened. (http://www.fcpl.org/information/programs/2008/trl.html) May be possible MHCC meeting location.  The fall 2009 Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) meeting will be held in Silver Spring, the program will be sent out soon.  The tour of Rockville is highly recommended.
DM: Is speaking about MHCC at MARAC as part of a session on collaborative groups, particularly the use of the blog and list serv.
LS: Will also be participating in the session with DM, presenting on the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) http://pacscl.org/. One project undertaken by PACSCL is PhillyResearch.net (http://www.pacscl.org/phillyresearch) which serves as a portal for finding aids.
The Mid-Atlantic Region of NARA is undertaking a major processing project using Greene-Meissner recommendations.  This Region is based in Philadelphia and has department records dating to 1780.  There are 95 record series relating to MD at Archives II in College Park, 217 at Archives I in DC, and 278 at the Mid-Atlantic Region facilities.  They plan to process 100% of series cataloged in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) by the end of FY2013, including creating series and appropriate level descriptions and stable housing.  There are in total 66,000 cubic feet of records, 5500 series, half of which are in ARC.  The ARC has a new interface.  The Mid-Atlantic Region recently hired a new Education Specialist.
JL:  Spoke with the Hampton general superintendent about the Civil War collaboration and they suggested an 1812 collaboration instead, given the upcoming 200th anniversary and the other state-wide Civil War collaborations in VA and PA.  Hampton has few holdings related to the battle of 1812.
CR: JHU will be having an 1812 exhibit.
DM: Maybe MHCC can do both.  The Civil War was selected because holdings are more available in MD organizations.  State funds may be available for an 1812 collaboration because of the 200th anniversary.
JLV:  Another use for the wiki could be to determine available holdings at MHCC organizations relating to both the Civil War and the battle of 1812.
AW:  The MD Department of Natural Resources does not have an archives but they have a library and are trying to collect MD DNR publications.  Would like input regarding collecting and managing digital publications, and is wondering about how to determine the number of CONTENTdm licenses required for a large organization (could they purchase one and divide by level of use?). 
KB: May be able to collaborate with MD DNR as their collecting areas overlap.  KB adds digital, state publications to CONTENTdm as part of the Chesapeake Project (http://cdm266901.cdmhost.com/).
DM: The State Archives and the Legislation are both maintaining a dark archive, but there is no central coordination.
RB:  Would like to recommend Local Web Archive (http://www.aignes.com/lwa.htm), an application that allows users to capture a website and store it on a server.  Unique in that it maintains the links included on the website so the object retains a multilevel structure.  Free and pay versions are available; UMB has been using the free version for about a year and is very satisfied.  Server space has not been a problem. RB is unsure what upgrades are available with the pay version (such as a timestamp).  Biggest challenge is remembering to capture the websites.
KB: Also recommends http://www.watchthatpage.com/ to monitor changes in webpages.
JLV:  May use wiki to share resources such as these, including links, reviews, and solutions.
RJ: The Montgomery County Historical Society just hired a new director.  He has heard that there will be an up-coming White Gloves Gang project (in which area archives professionals volunteer their time for a project, such as moving boxes to new storage at the MCHS). MARAC is organizing a project to assist the Peabody Room at the Georgetown branch of the DC Public Library.  The materials that were damaged there in the fire last year are returning from the freezers and they will need assistance.  Finally, the MCHS is considering compiling a union catalog of oral histories in the Montgomery County region - does anyone have advice or know of an existing project with a similar goal?
MM: Howard County began a similar project but it was never completed.  The forms may still be available at the Howard County Historical Society.
DM: Suggests contacting Elaine Eff at the Maryland Historic Trust.
MM: Suggests contacting Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region (OHMAR) http://www.ohmar.org/ .
MRF: Prince George's Public Library planned event for August 6, 2008 about the release of Black Cinema postage stamps.  MRF works at the Sojourner Truth Room at the Oxen Hill branch; it was recently renovated with new meeting spaces and is an option for a future MHCC meeting.  The Special Collections department also has a Maryland collection, a collection on Beltsville, and a collection on horse racing in Maryland.
RE: A book on the history of street names in Columbia is now available for purchase. "Oh, you must live in Columbia: The origins of place names in Columbia, Maryland," contains information on every street in Columbia, including the more recent developments. 
AH:  The Well-Dressed Book exhibit is on display in Hornbake Library until December.
JC:  The Western MD Regional Library focuses on western MD history.  They recently posted an online exhibit for their Presidential and Maryland Gubernatorial and Senatorial Campaign Buttons collection (http://www.whilbr.org/PresidentialCampaignButtons/index.aspx). 
BC:  Two new collections have recently been added to the Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage collections: The Winkler Collection: Historic Photographs of La Plata, MD from Charles County Public Library and Sachse's Bird's Eye View of the City of Baltimore 1869.  The Sachse's map was compiled from artist's renderings of the city and this is the first time that the map can be viewed as a whole.  The separate pieces of the map were scanned separately and joined together in Photoshop.  Users can view specific sections of the map or zoom in from the complete map view.  The EPFL featured a version of the map on the floor of their central room this summer.
LL:  UMBC will be launching their CONTENTdm site this fall.   The Digital Collections will include historic university photographs as well as the photography holdings already available to view from the Special Collections website, including Lewis Hine and George Bretz.