Annual Meeting Recap: Roll with the Changes

Thank you to everyone who came to the Reference, Access, and Outreach Section meeting in Austin last week. There were a number of interesting competing section meetings and we hope those of you who attended found the meeting informative. A quick recap of the meeting for those who were not able to attend or for those like me for who the annual meeting can be a bit of blur.

The call for proposals for DC2010 was shared with the RAO members in attendance fully participating in the briefing. The only piece of information the crowd did not recall was the page number for more information in the program. Due date for proposals is September 24th and the Steering Committee looks forward to reviewing many for possible endorsement!

The report from SAA Council followed with a review of the advocacy agenda, strategic planning, increased transparency of Council meetings, and other news shared.

George Bain shared a call to compile a list of friends of the archives groups in the U.S. & Canada this year. Feel free to contact George directly or watch for his appeal coming in the near future.

Todd Kosmerick shared that an ARL Spec Kit on outreach has been approved. He and his co-author hope to utilize the section for feedback and other information. Expect announcements, drafts, etc. from the authors in the coming months!

Newsletter Editor Nancy Melley shared the results of the Newsletter Task Force and justification for amending the Section's by-laws (see pages 8-10 of the most recent RAO newsletter). The by-laws revisions were approved by the membership.

Past chair Lynn Eaton shared the slate of candidates with attendees and ran the election. Congratulations and welcome to new members of the RAO Steering Committee!

Vice-chair: Jim Gerencser, Dickinson College

Steering Committee Member (2009-2011): Beth Bensman, NARA
Steering Committee Member (2009-2011): Jill Severn, University of Georgia

Danna Bell-Russel provided an update on the section's National History Day efforts. Visit the RAO website for further updates and recent information.

Shannon Bowen Maier could not attend the meeting, but an update on the MPLP Task Force's continuing work was shared and will be distributed. An MPLP Best Practices Guide has been proposed (2008 report).

The remainder of the section meeting was spent in breakout sessions. Attendees chose from several topics including National History Day, MPLP, 2.0/Social Media, User Studies/Metrics, the Section's Mission, and the SAA Advocacy Agenda to share experiences with and discuss. The notes taken in these small groups will be shared on this blog and the Steering Committee hopes that those in attendance as well as those who could not attend will share further thoughts, suggestions, and reflections on these topics in the comments. This feedback will then be used by the Steering Committee in formulating the section's agenda and priorities as we move forward. If you have any thoughts on the small group discussion format or the annual meeting, feel free to share your thoughts here or with a member of RAO's Steering Committee.

If you were not able to attend the RAO meeting in Austin, we hope to see you in Washington, D.C. in August 2010.

Update: The notes from the discussion group of RAO's mission and metrics and user studies are now available with the others to follow.