ARLIS Midstates Fall Meeting

Another chapter meeting update!! Follow this link to find out which ARLIS (Art Libraries Society of North America) chapter you can get involved with.

The Midstates Chapter meeting was very well attended; almost 40 members were present for the business meeting. Leigh Gates furnished us with the Millenium Park room at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Chapter Chair Rijn Templeton (University of Iowa) opened the meeting with introductions.

Leigh Gates, Executive Board liason for the Midstates chapter, reported on upcoming conferences (Atlanta ’07, Denver ’08, Indianapolis ’09, Northeast ’10 [?], and a joint VRA/ARLIS conference in Minneapolis ’11). She reported that various ARLIS task forces (SEI, Archives) are working throughout the year. Also, she noted that the Art Documentation book reviews will be available bi-monthly online! No dues increase is planned for the upcoming year. Leigh also reported that the board is pleased that the Society will offer four $750 travel awards to support conference attendance.

Shelley Quattrochi (Indianapolis Museum of Art) reported on the chapter’s fiscal status. 34 members are in good standing.

Alba Fernandez-Keys (Indianapolis Museum of Art) reported back from the Nominating Committee that Leslie Wakeford (Art Institute of Chicago) was presented as a candidate for Midstates Chair. A call for additional nominations at the meeting went unanswered. Ballots will be distributed later this Fall.

Various members weighed in on the conference donation that the Midstates chapter makes every year. BJ Irivine (Indiana University) moved that the chapter maintain last year’s donation amount, and the recommendation was passed.

The chair called for volunteers for the William C. Bunce Midstates Travel Award Committee. Sarah Carter and Eileen Fry (both of Indiana University) will serve.

Considerable time was devoted to discussion of the Chapter’s affiliation with the ARLIS/NA international organization. Issues such as insurance, indemnity, and incorporation were also explored. Jennifer Hehman (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis) and Shelley Quattrochi will report back on possible scenarios for chapter board insurance. Annette Haines (University of Michigan) moved that the chapter sign the affiliation agreement. A vote was taken and the movement was carried.

BJ Irvine and Ursula Kolmstetter (Indianapolis Museum of Art) discussed the progress of the ’09 conference planning. Highlights included the potential branding images developed by IU Bloomington graphic design MFA students. A call for more planning committee members was issued.

Sarah Carter gave a report on the website working group. Organizational changes have been made, and more input and volunteer time are needed for the committee to move forward.

Megan Macken (University of Chicago) reported on the creation of this blog. Midstates members were encouraged to join our ranks!

The business meeting was adjourned for lunch.

Members reconvened at 1 p.m. for a panel of copyright experts. Janice Pilch (Associate Professor of Library Administration and Head of Slavic and East European Acquisitions, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) addressed complex international copyright issues, Claire Stewart (Coordinator of Digital Projects, Northwestern University Library) gave an excellent overview of Digital Rights Management challenges facing those in the library profession, and Troy Klyber (Intellectual Property Manager, Art of Institute of Chicago) touched on the issue of public domain works in relationship to art.

The conference ended as members were then led on a fascinating gallery talk of the Silk Road exhibition by curator Eleanor Pearlstein of the Art Institute.