Special Collections Committee meeting of November 29, 2001

Present:  Toby Appel, Richard Boursy, Tom Hyry, Ulla Kasten, Martha Smalley, Richard Warren, Jae Williams

1.  We discussed the Special Collections Fair held on October 26, 2001.  The Fair was a success, with Beinecke reporting a 665 headcount for the day.

The following suggestions were made for the next fair.

a) We should try to hold the Fair annually, rather than waiting two years.

b) This year's more simple version (no refreshments, no raffle) was acceptable

c) We should clear the date and plans with Ann Okerson next time before proceeding

d) We should try to direct more publicity towards undergraduates by

- asking the publicity office to include the Yale Daily News among the places notified

- using table tents in the dining halls

- sending direct notices to selected faculty members whose students use primary sources for senior essays

2.  We discussed the possibility of producing a brochure describing Special Collections at Yale.  A brochure was partially designed for the Special Collections Fair but it became evident that it was going to cost more that seemed appropriate for a one time event, so production was canceled.  The Committee believes that there is a need for a brochure describing Special Collections at Yale and sees a couple alternatives for how this might be produced:
a) Carry through with the design previously begun - approximate cost of $1.60 per brochure: outcome would be a "slick", colorful brochure

b) Re-design in a more modest way: outcome would be more in the style of Nota Bene, cost presumably would considerably less.

The Committee would find either alternative acceptable.  The appearance of brochure depends somewhat on whether it has a more utilitarian purpose, or is viewed as high-quality publicity for the Yale library system.  Martha will talk with Ann Okerson about these alternatives.  Committee members indicated that various Yale libraries would be willing to contribute funds toward this purpose.

3) We briefly discussed the new version of Yale's EAD finding aids recently released.  Some problems have been experienced with viewing the finding aids with Netscape.  Martha asked Committee members to check through some of the finding aids let her know if they encounter any difficulties.

4) Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 17, 10:30-11:30.