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BOARD NOTES
by Jim Bowman, ASA Secretary
CENTENNIAL LEGACIES PROGRAM IS UNDERWAY;
MICHAEL GOURLIE BECOMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The ASA Board held a special meeting on Saturday, March 31, and its final
meeting of the 2000-2001 term as on Saturday, June 2. Both meetings were
held at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
In March, the ASA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government
of Alberta. The Government agreed to provide a Centennial Legacies grant
of $1,225,000 over the years 2001-2004 in order to upgrade and develop the
ANA Database, and otherwise improve Albertans' access to archives through
electronic means. This project, which is expected to be supplemented with
federal funds through the CAIN (Canadian Archival Information Network)
initiative, will assure that Alberta's archives will be among the<
most-accessible and best-described in the world.
The Board endorsed the recommendations of the CAIN Committee that a CAIN
Project Manager be contracted; that a contract be developed with an
Internet server to act as a home for the ASA's website and database; and
that archival contractors be engaged to develop _RAD_ descriptions of the
holdings of the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the Canadian Architectural
Archives, and the City of Edmonton Archives. Tenders or job postings for
these contracts are already in progress.
The Board agreed that the expansion of administrative responsibilities as a
result of these projects will necessitate the appointment of a professional
Executive Director, the expansion of the work hours of the Administrative
Coordinator to accommodate increased bookkeeping reponsibilities, and the
rental of office space in Edmonton.
The Board is pleased to announce that ASA Archives Advisor Michael Gourlie
has accepted the position of Executive Director. His new title will be
"Executive Director and Archives Advisor". He will have responsibility for
hiring and management of contract staff, supervision of the office, and
representing the archival community in Alberta.
The Board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Administrative
Coordinator Kathryn Ivany, effective June 30. She had felt that the
increasing workload was interfering with her family time. The Board agreed
that the hiring of a new Administrative Coordinator will be one of
Michael's first duties as Executive Director.
To ensure that contracting for goods and services is conducted in
conformity with legal and ethical principles, the Board adopted a
Purchasing and Tendering Policy; Procedures for Contracting for
Professional Services; and a Conflict of Interest Policy. To protect the
ASA in the event of an unforeseeable legal action, it was decided to
purchase directors' liability insurance.
A report was received from Marlene van Ballegooie, an Ontario-based
decriptive standards expert who was contracted to analyze the archival
descriptions on the ANA Database. The Board agreed with the recommendation
of the CAIN Committee, that Marlene's report indicates that many of the ANA
descriptions will have to be upgraded to bring them into conformity with
Canadian descriptive standards.
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