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Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP)

Business Meeting Minutes

Columbus, Ohio
November 14, 1997

The meeting was convened by Dan Britz as Chair, with Jill Young Coelho as Secretary.

Member institutions and representatives present: BOSTON UNIVERSITY(Gretchen Walsh, David Westley), CENTER FOR RESEARCH LIBRARIES (Marlys Rudeen), COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (Joseph Caruso), DUKE UNIVERSITY (Helene Baumann), HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Jill Young Coelho), INDIANA UNIVERSITY (Nancy Schmidt), LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (Ruth Thomas, Joanne Zellers), MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (Joseph Lauer), NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - SCHOMBURG CENTER (Andrew DeHeer), NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (Dan Britz, David Easterbrook, Patricia Ogedengbe, Mette Shayne), OHIO UNIVERSITY (Theodore Foster),STANFORD UNIVERSITY-HOOVER INSTITUTION (Karen Fung), UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA, BERKELEY (Phyllis Bischof, Simon Bockie), UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (Ruby Bell-Gam, Miki Goral), UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA(Peter Malanchuk, Razia Wanji), UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS (Al Kagan),UNIVERSITYOF PENNSYLVANIA (Dennis Hyde), YALE UNIVERSITY (Moore Crossey).

Guests present: Dr. Saliou Mbaye (Archives de Senegal), Ken Lorentz (University of Kansas)

CAMP members not represented: Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Emory University, Hebrew University - Harry S. Truman Research Institute, La Trobe University (Australia), New York University, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Ohio State University, Princeton University, Queen's University at Kingston(Ontario) , South African Library, Syracuse University, Temple University, University of Cambridge-African Studies Centre, University of Chicago, University of Kansas, University of Iowa, University of London - School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Minnesota, University of Rochester, University of Tasmania, University of Virginia, University of Western Australia, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Introductions: All attending introduced themselves. D Britz reminded the group that only member institutions could vote, and that each institution had only one vote.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTION - D. Britz announced that copies of ballots for open slots on the CAMP executive committee will be mailed to members. The candidates are:

CAMP Secretary: Helene Baumann (Duke University), Peter Malanchuk (University of Florida, Gainesville) CAMP Member-at-Large: Jill Coelho (Harvard University), Karen Fung (Stanford University) CAMP Faculty Representative: Dr. John Hanson (Indiana University), Dr. Ebere Onwudiwe (Central State University, Ohio)

I. CRL REPORT - MARLYS RUDEEN (Financial Report and list of commitments attached) Grant income and expenses are not tallied with the general funds. Revenues shown are through October 1997, and reflect the loss of the University of Rochester as a member. By the end of the present fiscal year, there will be $4000 more in revenues.

Commitments show what CAMP will have to pay for filming. $1500 needs to be added for Tanzanian newspapers.

The proceedings of the ASA general meeting for 1996 and forward will be available only on CD-ROM and therefore cannot be filmed. Joe Caruso will ask the ASA board about this problem.

Discussion: It was asked if Northwestern could ask for the originals of papers and keep them as long as necessary? D. Easterbrook, D. Britz agreed to do so. Another question was how library users would get copies of single papers. As the largest segment of ASA's publication customer base, the ALC needs to let the ASA know some of the issues raised by publishing indifferent formats. It was agreed that this was more of a question for ALC than for CAMP, and that the ALC liaison to the ASA Publications committee should provide input regarding the difficulties of using CD-ROM as the only form of publication. Marlys will keep the CD-ROM at CRL in the meantime.

On order: Drum is still on order, and there is no word from the filmer.

II. SYMPOSIUM ON ACCESS TO AND PRESERVATION OF GLOBAL NEWSPAPERS - MARLYS RUDEEN AND PHYLLIS BISCHOF The symposium was sponsored by CRL,ALC and LC and hosted by LC. The purpose of the symposium was to gather a group whose discussions would build a foundation for action on the general problem of newspapers. Librarians, bibliographers, micropublishers and faculty members each talked about their take on the problem. The decision was to form a task force to come up with specific action plans. Among the issues discussed: U.S. libraries are getting around 5% of world newspapers, and filming even fewer. Though the consensus is that filming is still the best preservation technology, digitization needs to be looked at. The NEH is willing to consider filming newspapers under its brittle books plan, and the ARL is publicizing its plan for Africa.

Discussion: Dan Britz asked about the respective roles of CAMP and CRL. Marlys replied that CAMP's role will be to continue its present filming programs, but has limits of staff and funds. If there were a funding campaign, CRL would have to partner with other institutions to get filming money and to locate big enough newspaper runs. A good springboard would be the proposed union list of newspapers that would let everyone know where papers are. David Easterbrook said that even though a list would be a necessary first step, it is a separate project and CAMP needs to submit at least a brief proposal to the Mellon Foundation through CRL as its permanent parent organization. Marlys added that any proposal to digitize should always include a microfilm copy as a safety net. It doesn't matter whether the material is scanned or filmed first, but filming is imperative. There are a number of ways to digitize a page. An image of the page itself can be made, it can be put through an OCR program to capture the text, or an image file can be linked to a text file. Some critical questions to be answered include the preservation of aspects of the image like the original typeface and advertisements, and problems of copyright for scanning and Web access.

III. TITLE VI/CAMP SENEGALESE ARCHIVAL MICROFILMING PROJECT - JOE CARUSO

Filming is nearly complete on the pilot project. CRL has received 140 rolls of film, not yet checked, but CRL has worked hard with the Senegalese National Archives to assure standards. 30 more rolls will conclude the pilot project, which represents two-thirds of the complete collection of colonial court records.

Discussion: Dan Britz said that it would be good to continue the project even if the Title VI directors decide to do something else. Nancy Schmidt said that the Title VI directors are committed to 3 more years and that perhaps CAMP can top it off. Joe Caruso said that the cost for the pilot project to produce positive copy is $26,000, and we have asked Dr. Mbaye about selling a negative to CAMP purely for preservation . We would agree in our contract that Senegal's approval would be required for any copying. Dr. Mbaye said that they were pleased with the copyright provision, and that they are working to improve the technology. CAMP's standards make it possible to demand high quality of work from technicians. Another point raised was that other West African archives would benefit from this experience. It was asked how difficult it would be to expand into other countries. This has been the first successful program, and CAMP would be interested in hearing from Ghana, for example, regarding materials to film and equipment available.

IV. MALAWI NEWSPAPERS - RUTH THOMAS (moved from New Business because Ruth had to leave early)

Besides the funds already committed for funding Tanzanian newspapers, the Nairobi LC office is seeking CAMP funding to film the remaining Malawi newspapers. The most recent Nairobi office activity has been the "miscellaneous newspapers" not regularly filmed at LC. In June of 1997, it was agreed that Nairobi would send the miscellaneous newspapers to New Delhi for preservation filming with a minimum run of 50 issues. Filming would be exclusively for preservation. Though the film would be available for viewing at LC, permission from publishers would be required before it could be sold or lent.

Dan Britz asked the group to vote on the proposed allocation of $6,000 to film the remaining Malawi newspapers. ***APPROVED***

V. OLD BUSINESS

1. Results of the mail ballot (see attached report) - Marlys Rudeen Marlys explained the scoring of the votes. Almost everyone votes "yes", but the priorities assigned result in a weighted decision. Early years of apartheid is owned by several institutions, and does not get as high a score. Purchasing is not as urgent when film is commercially available. Marlys requested feedback on this method of setting priorities.

Discussion: Moore Crossey agreed that the balloting process is useful. Dan Britz voted "no" on Early Years of Apartheid because he thought it should be on the general CRL ballot and save CAMP some money. He then suggested passing over these items for now.

2. Judges' notebooks from Nigeria - Marlys Rudeen and Joe Caruso Marlys said that five reels had been received, and had "vinegar syndrome", a sign of decomposition. The pages were nearly illegible, and she recommended not going forward. The $10,000 allocated had all been spent. Joe Caruso said that the only way to communicate was through the USIS library, and that the post was vacant right now. This project had been a personal commitment of the former librarian.

Discussion: Marlys replied to a question that at this point there was no recourse. Dan Britz said that we simply had to move forward and learn from this that we must never again pay in advance. Some of the unique problems with this project included the need to keep starting over when judges with whom permission had been negotiated died or resigned. There were letters of commitment, but no formal contract with a government body, and everything was happening 3000 miles away. CAMP had initiated the project when we heard from a researcher that the collection was disintegrating. Among other points raised were that we need to work with a stable institution and one whose legitimacy is established. For example, the University of Lagos would have been a much better intermediary. It was suggested that we contact Dr. Banjo, head of the Nigerian Library Association, for help in any future projects in Nigeria. Joanne Zellers said that we should consider having a set of guidelines for projects which would include a required annual report and regular financial statements. This would help CAMP, the cooperating institution, and whoever is doing the work.

3. Bamenda Project - To be skipped for now. Mette Shayne mentioned that there is a camera in Cameroun, and that it is being checked out.

4. Preservation microfilming from Northwestern and Michigan State - Joe Lauer said that some materials are still in process at MSU. David Easterbrook said that Northwestern is expecting NEH funding in the fall of 1998, and is ready to go whenever the money is available.

Discussion: Dan Britz asked if it were worth doing at CAMP, and Marlys replied that it would cost around $1500. The total of the CIC and MSU projects for the preservation filming of brittle monographs and newspapers is about $15,000. The question rose whether CAMP funds should be used to buy film already at Northwestern and MSU, and whether CAMP should buy only the film of newspapers. Regarding individual citations, Marlys said that MSU's films came with OCLC copy, but Northwestern's did not. She said that CRL could catalog the serials, and especially the newpapers given high priority. David Easterbrook said that titles could be easily found because they were filmed one to a single or several reels. He said that it wasn't possible to know ahead of time what was going to be filmed, or when, but that Northwestern could let CAMP know what they were trying to film, depending on funding, etc. In any case, Northwestern plans to film an extra copy for CAMP. Dan ended the discussion by asking that a list of newspapers being filmed be brought to the next meeting, and that monographs already in the pipeline not be eliminated. Ruby Bell-Gam suggested posting or distributing the list ahead of time.

5. Liberian newspapers - Joe Lauer and Marlys Rudeen There was a one-year hiatus during the civil war, but filming has started again. Marlys said that LC already had more film than she had thought, but that the filming costs for what is left will be higher than earlier estimates. She requested an additional allocation of $1500. ***APPROVED***

6. Other old business: Helene Baumann asked what she should tell the head to the Global Cooperation project. There was consensus that she should say that CAMP will expand its funding proposal ; we will explore digitization and have set up an advisory committee to make a formal proposal.

VI. NEW BUSINESS

1. Rivonia Trial Record - The Brenthurst Foundation has agreed to let the South African National Archives film the entire collection, and now CAMP needs to ask if we can get permission to buy a copy.

Discussion: Dan Britz said that we ought to ask how complete the film is. Moore Crossey added that this set is only those records owned by the prosecutor. The group agreed that Dan should inquire.

2. Karis-Gerhart Collection -. Moore Crossey The collection was begun five years ago with students collecting and copying materials from various institutions. Though the collection is not exhaustive, it is the largest single collection anywhere. A preservation copy was made three years ago and is on deposit at Yale. More collecting has been done since, including a significant number of interviews with political figures. The filming is being done by a firm called DataPoint. There are three volumes of documents, essays, etc. A final version of the guide will be ready next spring, arranged chronolgically by genre.

Discussion: Dan Britz pointed out that this is a unique and important collection. It needs to be spelled out who gets copies, and CAMP should have the negative. Dan said he thought the guide could be put up on the Web. Moore added that the project is not private since it is partly funded by NEH. Nancy Schmidt suggested examining the guide before voting to spend the money. She added that the earlier Carter-Karris collection set a very high standard and hoped this met it. After some discussion, Dan asked that the Executive be delegated to examine the guide and if it meets the standard, to send out a ballot to the membership. Nancy Schmidt moved that the CAMP Executive check out the question of the inventory and guide. If the standards are equivalent to Carter-Keris and if it can be made available in print or on the Web, the Executive will authorize the allocation of $10,000 and inform the CAMP membership. ***APPROVED***

3. South African Communist Party archives They consist of two suitcases of C.P. materials of which Joe Slovo was the caretaker. They are now held by Gale Gerhart. Dan Britz requested that $1500 be allocated. He will investigate the papers and the inventory, and if more is needed he will put out a mail ballot. ***APPROVED***

Here Marlys Rudeen pointed out that the money remaining was down to $5000.

4. People's Voice from Harare - Nancy Schmidt Indiana has a subscription to People's Voice, but Nancy requested a commitment from CAMP to continue filming.

Discussion: Phyllis Bischof suggested asking Ruth Thomas if the Nairobi office is filming, and if so, whether film can be lent. Joanne Zellers said that the LC office is working alphabetically, and has only gotten to Swaziland. They have not requested any copyright permission, and would have to do so title by title. Nancy said that Indiana has funding to film only through 1997. A motion was made to purchase Indiana film of People's Voice through 1997 when it becomes available. ***APPROVED***

5. ANC archives at Fort Hare - Moore Crossey said he would find out who to contact to request permission for CAMP to buy a copy of the microfilm. Dan Britz added that it is important to start a working relationship with the ANC.

6. Other New Business - A. Ken Lohrentz said that he is working on a CAMP bibliography. He served as KU's CRL liaison and was invited to do a bibliography project on CRL's Africana. He went through ALN, Focus, etc. for an article entitled "Africana at CRL: a Survey of Holdings and Access." It includes such things as collection development discussions, tips on searching the CRL catalog. He intends to submit it for publication in African Studies Review. There is the possibility of a pamphlet series, but he is not sure if library guides would be part of it. The article might be more appropriate as a pamphlet.

Discussion: Joanne Zellers suggested that publishing for a broader library audience in a publication like C&RL News, RQ, LITA Journal, etc. might serve to inform librarians about Africana. Phyllis Bischof added that it would also help alert library administrators to Africana. Dan Britz asked Ken about the purpose of his article, and Ken said that its primary focus was to point scholars beginning research careers in Africana to the CAMP collections. Miki Goral said she had looked for that kind of information on the ALC home page.

B. At Dan Britz' request, the group agreed to postpone a decision on a proposal to purchase the Rivonia trial archive films.

C. Gretchen Walsh said that we cannot proceed with dissertation filming before we know what the CRL parameters are.

D. Joe Caruso said that Columbia has two newspaper subscriptions funded by Title VI that need to be sent for filming.

The meeting was adjourned.

Return to CAMP meeting summary page

 

Last updated 05/11/2004
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