M. Hopper Present Chair MEMP
List of participants (see circulated list)**

Agenda, budget, proposals for acquisition were distributed to those present. Introductions around. Discussion of agenda shifting.

Continuing Business

1. CRL Reports (M. Rudeen):Rudeen presented budget information and fund balance (see handout). Discussion and questions about budget - none.

al-Hayyat produced in film and CD-ROM

2. LC Arabic pamphlet project: (see budget statement) ordered $700 annually for microfilm duplicates for LC.

3. LC report (C. Murphy): wait until arrival of Chris Murphy: here

1. General and News: LC pamphlet project brought up. Selim and Beverly Gray over the summer hired students to process and prepare for filming more materials in the pamphlet collection. AME Div second Arabic specialist Mary Jane Deeb (6 weeks on job) hired; filming is progressing quite well and up-to-date.

2. Progress on Newspaper List: Newspaper (microfilm) list progressed. Holdings list last to be produced? Probably not, not a priority - lists are automated. No master list of all newspapers on film - all historical collections published in a variety of sources. Faris Hamarneh more or less has responsibility for the organization of the filmed newspapers - he has a database list of titles and gross holdings

MH: proposal from MEMP jump in and undertake the organization and holdings?
CM would counsel against that - too many bureaucratic complications.

3. Duplication of efforts by LC (M. Hopper): CH necessarily wait for the fabled "master list." e.g. Ittila'at and Jumhuri-i Islami filmed both by LC and CRL. CRL must develop revenue sources with filmed title sales, must also cooperate with commercial vendors like Norman Ross to avoid duplication and not saturate the market with duplicates. Also LC comes into play in this area - critical need for more cooperation and dissemination of news about projects involving filming.

4. Cairo Office report (Laila Mulgaokar and Muna Abdoon, Serials and Newspapers Section): LM - filming sent to New Delhi. The Cairo office of LOC (periphery of embassy) – dangerous. Move to basement, still dangerous @ embassy. ? to stay in basement move other office to accommodate. Will build a new facility in warehouse or thereabouts for microfilm project. Not known how long to build warehouse - planning next year.

Muna Abdoon
M Hopper: what determines selection of newspapers to film some opposition papers? Difficulty of working with those group; problem of safety. Receive by mail - groups move around, still mail from all parts of world. Ex. - some in London, Mubarak asked British government not to allow them to publish, so moved again. Commercial titles through gifts/exchange (some four thousand titles?). No problem with embassy or state for LC to be in contact with the opposition groups.

MH: Will all that LC acquires in serials and newspapers by eventually filmed? CM answers: Area specialists decide what to film. Chadwyck-Healey for Turk Central Asia one year to three months backlog to film in Washington. Persian done in Delhi - all from Iran is filmed. Turk subscriptions Cairo filming operation take over initially selected titles. As capacity grows, assume more filming from LC PhotoDup Washington. Question of distribution of filming responsibilities between New Delhi, Washington, or Cairo.

Discussion - MH proposal to MEMP to film some of the opposition newspapers rather than LC. Maybe start with two or three ceased publications. LM will put this on discussion agenda with LC MEDiv. Chris Murphy might make the decision to film these e.g. Kurd Turk for Arabic G. Selim and new colleague (?)
MH: MEMP would entertain proposal to film the opposition [publications?]; logistics would need to be worked out mostly bureaucratic confusion.
MA: problem of market who will buy?
Discussion between MH and C. Murphy on nature of opposition and location of the materials, who has, etc.

5. Election of Board members: three candidates terms expire - David Hirsch, Michael Hopper, and James Weinberger. Mary St. Germain on ballot. Candidates can run again. Members voted, took break to count ballots. RESULT: Re-elected three incumbents.

7. Placing the "ME in Microfilm on the Internet" project (Simon Samoeil, project director): Involves the rewriting of the project proposal - volunteers Hirsch, Weinberger, Rodgers. This was cooked up last year at the meeting? See attachment in agenda.

Addenda from MEMP Board Meeting this morning (12/04/98), this project will convert a book--print-based resource, a union catalogue of microfilm title, and now summary holdings on the Middle East based on ARL libraries (MIU included) to an online web-based database. Yale Libr Systems Office will undertake the required programming and conversion. Hourly student employees will do the work of conversion and updating of holdings and titles. Member libraries will contribute titles and holdings. Periodicals only for now. Possible expansion in future to other media. Rodgers will [help] rewrite the Yale proposal to ARL to emphasize cooperative nature of project (MEMP and ARL libraries) and only summarize the technical details included in Simon's original Yale proposal. Also provide sample titles to be included in the online union catalogue, benefits of central location and access to the catalogue. Work in print originally done by Fawzi Khoury at U. Washington. "The Middle East in Microform"? Secure a print copy, or do we already have one? Check last year's MELA meeting files for any other information distributed at that meeting or contact Simon Simoeil to get a copy of the original proposal and further details.

8. Clarification of Bylaws... [see agenda] MEMP members who contribute paper/print receive film.

New Business

8. New filming proposals: Proposers present desciptions of the filming projects (see handouts, individual and attached to agenda). Proposals can be submitted at any time during the year not just at meetings.

1. al-Hatif (Weinberger): Need to resubmit with lower budget
2. Kuwayt al-Yawm (Straley): almost complete - see agenda for details
3. Persian newspapers (Rodgers):
4. Other:

1. Beirut Times (David Hirsch): see handout (already held in some degree by CRL). Presents case documents Arab-American community; no previous filming of Arab-American newspapers. Distributed nationally, coverage general (not just Lebanon).
2. Others presented by Hirsch: Liwa al-Sadr, Iran, Nawbahar
3. Other items for proposal Ra'y al-Akhbar (Sudan); already filmed. al-Jadid also.

Vote on package:

1. al-Hatif: Approved (unanimous) for Princeton
2. Kuwat al-Yawm: extent depending on what else is available
3. Table Beirut Times until it is determined what is available already on film
4. Liwa' al-Sadr: all
5. Iran: wait until be reproduced in facsimile? Verify
6. Nawbahar (Mashhad): fill in with whatever might exist in paper

Iranian newspapers: Rodgers
Washington: has money to film - volunteers to contribute funds to film and undertake filming

9. Arabic Press Archive (Martin Kramer): catalogues published - latest one for Iraq. Wishes to cooperate with MEMP [text 1]. Catalogues distributed most titles in hard copy desire to convert to film. Facilities to maintain paper are limited. Proposal to undertake project.

Imaging rather than filming, preservation film vs digital imaging issues discussed.
JW: just how large is the existing collection? Collection is very complete, especially the "core" materials as well as less general materials, odd publications
Todd Bludeau: IDC comments profit market needed, commitment up-front first from this group 10-12 customers world-wide. MH volunteers to suggest possibilities

10. Other New business:

1. Northeast consortium - ME lib consortium NEMLIC: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, NYU, Pennsylvania, Cornell, and Columbia.
2. al-Samir newspaper and magazine (Robert Mady, son of Iliya Abu Madi): Collection appraised $227,000. Cambridge dealer. Contribute from MEMP? This is preposterous that we should purchase as a group.
3. Hirsch - al-Sahwa? Proposal to film ?

No other new business

Marlis Rudeen leaving CRL next month announcement. Moving to Washington State Library. Formal MEMP appreciation from Chair.

-Jonathan Rodgers
Secretary 

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