OCALD Minutes

OCALD
Minutes of the April 16, 2009 meeting
1 p.m.

Attending: Jon Sparks, Sheila Johnson, Juliana Nykolaiszyn, Tanya Finchum, Sharon Saulmon, Marilyn Hudson, Anita Semtner, Dana Belcher, Adrianna Lancaster, Sharon Morrison, Victoria Swinney, Tammie Willis, Susan Jeffries, Mike Rusk.

Offsite: Evelyn Schmidt, Jolene Armstrong, Bettye Black, Alan Lawless, Beth Freeman, Jenny Duncan.

In the absence of chairperson, Bonnie McNeely, the OCALD meeting was called to order by Sherry Young. In the absence of Secretary, Barbara King, Jon Sparks recorded minutes for the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting to be approved at the next meeting..

ODL Report: Vicky Sullivan reported that a project to provide statewide broadband access to underserved areas is in process.

A presentation was given on the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Oklahoma State University Library. The Library is a part of the Center for Oklahoma History at OSU. The primary project reported at this meeting is the capture and recording of information from women in their own voices who have served or are currently serving in the Oklahoma Legislature. It currently includes 47 interviews. The project leader is Tanya Finchum.

Other Oral History projects include:

Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame – preserves the voices of women who have been inducted into this prestigious state-wide group awarded by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women; project lead is Juliana Nykolaiszyn;
Oklahoma Centennial Farm Families – this oral history project focuses on families who own and/or operate a farm designated as an Oklahoma Centennial Farm, having occupied and worked the land for at least 100 year; project leaders are Tanya Finchum and Juliana Nykolaiszyn;
O-STATE Stories – oral history project records interviews with alumni, administrators, faculty, staff and supporters connected to Oklahoma A&M College and Oklahoma State University as a means of preserving memories and campus history; project leader is Jerry Gill;
Remembering Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel: Poet and Dust Bowl Emigrant – project deals with the preservation of materials, historical documents and oral memories telling the story of poet Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel; project leader is Karen Neurohr; and,
Images of Kenton – residents of Kenton Oklahoma provide background information for a collection of historical photos housed digitally at the OSU Library; project leader is Jennifer Paustenbaugh.

The web address for the Oral History Project at OSU is http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/.

Update from the State Regents Office – Dr. Houston Davis gave a report from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. He said that the federal stimulus effect on higher education budget in Oklahoma is still undecided. There is caution in this decision as no state wants to be made an example of not spending the federal funds in the stimulus bill as intended. He said that stabilization funds can be used for renovation of buildings.

Old Business
A report was given on the assessment workshop that is coming up at MIPT. There are currently 48 registrants.

New Business
Ballots were distributed and collected at the OKC meeting for OCALD officers. Prior to meeting, off-site members were requested to vote by a call to the cellphone of Jon Sparks or by sending an email to jon.sparks@swosu.edu.

The ballots were counted by Jon Sparks and Sherry Young. Election results: Chair-Elect is Tamie Willis; Secretary is Adrianna Lancaster; and the Member-at-Large is Evelyn Schmidt.

Final announcements included an invitation to come to the opening of the SWOSU Digital Repository, operated by ebrary. The public repository is located at http://site.ebrary.com/lib/swosudr/.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:30.