Special Collections Subcommittee meeting
January 13, 2004

Present: Toby Appel, Richard Boursy, Elisabeth Fairman, Tom Hyry, Ulla Kasten, Jae Rossman, Martha Smalley, Libby Van Cleve, Susan Walker, Richard Warren

Guest: Alice Prochaska

Announcements:

• Tom reported on the new MSS&A Digital Image Database and related developments.
• Susan reported that Maggie Powell / the Lewis Walpole Library have initiated a luncheon series to bring together people at Yale who share an interest in the 19^th century.
• Susan reported on activities of the Library Preservation Committee. She is leading a task force to create an Emergency Response manual. The Preservation Committee is also developing methods of promoting preservation awareness throughout the library system.
• Richard Warren reported that Historical Sound Recordings is involved in a planning grant to promote cooperative cataloging by several participating institutions. Ken Crilly is the head of this committee on cooperative cataloging.
• Martha reported that Joan Swanekamp will be leading an effort to reevaluate and move forward the EAD finding aid database.
• Martha reported that we were successful in obtaining a Library front door slot for Special Collections. PIC requested design revisions of the Special Collections website, which Martha did.
• Lewis Walpole Library may be able to provide the next “Featured Collection” for the web site.

Special Collections Fair:

• Date of Fair is Tuesday, March 30^th, 12:00 – 4:00.  Beinecke mezzanine is reserved 10:30 to 4:30. 
• Jae will coordinate publicity with Diana Timlin, Dir. of Library Development and Communications.
• Elisabeth and Jae will coordinate the gathering of “give-aways”
• Richard Boursy will arrange live music for the event.
• David Walls will contact the repositories to ask how many tables they need. Once this information is available he will make a diagram of the positions of the various repositories’ tables that can form part of the photocopied handout.
• David should tell Doreen Powers of Beinecke how many tables and tablecloths will be needed.
• We discussed how to distribute the give-aways. Method used at the last Fair was to put stickers on random photocopied handouts, which entitled the holder to choose from the give-aways. We will discuss this again at our February meeting. The Special Collections map/brochure will be available to those who request it but not given to everyone attending.
• We discussed the availability of Internet access on the Beinecke mezzanine. [Upon inquiry, Brian Kupiec of Beinecke suggests that anyone desiring Internet access borrow a Beinecke computer for wireless access]

Discussion with Alice Prochaska

Alice is eager that Special Collections at Yale have a higher profile. She would like to see our web site be more dynamic. She encouraged us to create a “virtual” Special Collections Fair using scans of actual items featured in the upcoming Fair. She would like to see a Special Collections exhibit in SML during the RBMS pre-conference, or even an actual reconstitution of the Fair, e.g., in the Linonia & Bros RR. She encouraged us to arrange with the Library Development office for press releases related to events, exhibits, new collections, etc. She talked about her work with the ARL Special Collections Task Force.

Next meeting: Tuesday, February 10^th , 2004, 11:00 am.