|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Volume 6, #2
August 25, 2003 |
|||||||||||||
|
Contents * * * Board of Directors
President
Past Pres. & Newsletter Ed. Vice President Secretary Treasurer Paul Bartos Dimitri Belakovskii George E. Harlow Michael A. Wise |
SMMP 2003
Denver
Meeting
TENTATIVE DENVER MEETING AGENDA
* * * My first order of business as new president is to thank those who served on the Board last year. A special note of appreciation goes to Tony Kampf our current past president. He has generously agreed to remain as newsletter editor and SMMP webmaster. Tonys efforts constructing and maintaining our lovely web page and establishing our low tech list server are commendable. The recent email exchanges among the membership demonstrates the power of communication that he established for our society. We have even able to abolish the need for collections and stolen specimen committees now adequately addressed on the web site. I welcome all members to continue to use our web site and group email for your questions, suggestions and announcements. Anna Domitrovic also deserves recognition for serving as Treasurer and maintaining our financial status and membership list for as long as Ive been a member (10 years). Our affiliations with the American Geological Institute (AGI) and Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) allow us to have a stronger voice in geoscience issues than we would have by ourselves. Recently the AGI Leadership Forum proposed to establish an International Geoscience Advisory Committee to foster communications within the international community. Since we have actively recruited an international membership with the establishment of SMMP Europe, we have been invited to appoint a representative to this new committee. I believe in conjunction with our participation in the Commission on Museums of the International Mineralogical Association, the SMMP could have make a contribution to this effort. Please contact me if you are interested in serving our society in this capacity. We also need representatives for other AGI committees these are noted later in the newsletter. Our societys objectives are essentially to make others aware of collection resources, promote the growth of collections, and to advance museum curatorial practices. Collectively through our society and individually in our professions we can achieve our objectives through communication and participation please consider how you might contribute. Virgil Lueth |
||||||||||||
* * *
SMMP Web site: www.smmp.net
SMMP Group Email Address: smmp@nhm.org
* * *
TUCSON, ARIZONA: February 13, 2003
President Kampf called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. The following board members were present: T. Kampf, G. Harlow, J. DeMouthe, A. Dometrovic, D. Belakovskii, C. Francis, S. Eriksson, M. Mauthner, M. Wise, V. Lueth. Jack Murphy and Liz Bischoff were also in attendance to give a presentation to the board.
Minutes: Minutes of the last meeting in Denver are posted on the SMMP website.
Treasurers Report: Anna Domitrovic, Treasurer, submitted a written financial report to the Board. A motion to accept the financial report as presented was passed. Anna noted the low returns on our money market account and asked the board if we should look for a better investment situation. The members agreed that the treasurer should be free to look into other options. Annual outlays from the budget only add up to approximately $200.00 per year. These include affiliation payments to AGI and the National Science Collections Alliance. Other affiliations suggested included SPHNC (Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections) and AAM (American Association of Museums).
Special Presentation by Jack Murphy & Liz Bischoff: Jack Murphy distributed a letter to the society and announced an IMLS grant proposal being forwarded by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The proposal was shared with the board for advice and potential participation. The proposal is titled Colorado Minerals on the Web. Liz Bishoff discussed many aspects of the grant proposal and the need to link out to partner institutions. To accomplish the goals of the proposal, the museum needs to identify core elements that result in consistent formats for the metadata (a NSF requirement). SMMP was asked for practical help by supplying catalog and image information on Colorado specimens that exist in members institutions. A request to the membership will be made at the general meeting.
Membership: Anna Domitrovic will provide a roster of members with recent updates and applications at the general meeting.
AGI Report: Susan Eriksson reported on the latest AGI sponsored events she attended. She noted the need to advertise more about museum opportunities in the AGI careers update. She also stressed the need to have more interactions with our affiliated organizations. The SMMP still does not have members on the environmental and advocacy committees of AGI. She suggested we establish an AGI liason to promote the exchange of information between the organizations.
Elections: Five nominees will be needed for board this year. The three-year terms of Mike Wise, Virgil Lueth, and Anna Domitrovic are expiring. Two other resignations require the election of one a 2 year term (Carl Francis) and one more to fulfill a 1 year term (Paula Wilson). An election will be held during the general meeting to fill the positions vacated.
Program: The need for a prompt general meeting was mentioned since the program needed to start at 4:00 p.m.
Committee Reports: The need for specific committee reports has been diminished with the utilization of the SMMP website. Collections, computer, and stolen specimen reports are constantly updated on the site and biannual reports are no longer necessary. Committee chairs will continue to send updates for the website.
Education: Jean DeMouthe reported on the educational case on display and on the upcoming program at 4:00 p.m. She asked the board for ideas and suggestions for the Denver show.
SMMP Europe: Members of SMMP Europe are experiencing problems in paying their dues due to exchange difficulties. The board discussed different methods for paying dues and to allow lenience in payments in light of these difficulties.
President Kampf adjourned the meeting at 2:45.
General Meeting, 3:00 pm
President Kampf called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Forty-two members signed the roll.
Minutes: Minutes of the last meeting in Denver were approved as posted on the SMMP website.
Treasurers Report: Anna Domitrovic, Treasurer, reported the society held balances of $3,500.95 in the checking account and 5,565.11 in the money market account. She noted the money market interest decreased from 0.81% to 0.54%. A written report was made available to the membership.
Membership: Anna Domitrovic reported the latest roster is posted on the website. Address corrections to the roster should be made on the written copy available at the meeting. Membership forms are also available and dues can be paid at the meeting. She noted that international memberships are increasing and constitute approximately 25% of the SMMP members.
Affiliations: The society is formally affiliated with the National Science Collections Alliance and the American Geological Institute. Susan Eriksson reported on two AGI meetings (Member Society Education Forums) she attended as representative for SMMP. Susan reported on the need to bolster K-12 education in earth science both to increase diversity and career opportunities in the earth sciences. Museum positions are conspicuously absent from career surveys. She reported on the need for an AGI liason to serve as an information conduit.
Committee Reports: The need for specific committee reports has been diminished with the utilization of the SMMP website. Only the education committee will provide formal reports at biannual meetings, unless late-breaking events require announcements at the meetings.
Education: Jean DeMouthe reported on the educational case on display on the main floor of mineral fakes and thanked all participants. She asked for suggestions for the Denver show (theme- Gilman, CO). Gem fakes were one suggestion. Todays program consists of two presentations. Bryan Lees will speak on Mineral Repair and Restoration followed by Anthony Kampf on Recognizing Mineral Fakes.
Stolen Specimens: Stolen specimens are now reported to the membership by email and posting information on the website. Some questions about what should be posted were presented. Questions mainly concerned the posting of institutional vs. private collection thefts.
Special Presentation by Jack Murphy: Jack Murphy distributed a letter to the society and announced an IMLS grant proposal being forwarded by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The grant is intended to expand the interpretation of the specimens in the DMNS including the addition of mining, science, and technological data. It is a part of the Colorado Digitization Project and he asked to establish collaborations with other museums. These collaborations will include the sharing of resources, links, and documentation.
TGMS: Peter Megaw, representing the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society first welcomed and thanked the SMMP and members for participating in this years show. He made a number of requests of the society:
Elections: Five directors will be added to the board this year. The three-year terms of Mike Wise, Virgil Lueth, and Anna Domitrovic are expiring. Two other resignations require the election of one a 2 year term (Carl Francis) and one more to fulfill a 1 year term (Paula Wilson). The term lengths will be filled based on number of votes. The nominees receiving the most votes will serve 3-year terms, the least for 1-year. The following were nominated: A. Domitrovic, T. Huizing, M. Pearce, M. Wise, V. Lueth, P. Bartos. A motion to close nominations was made by G. Harlow and seconded by C. Francis. The motion passed. The results of the election are as follows:
3-year terms: A. Domitrovic, M. Wise, V. Lueth; 2-year term: T. Huizing; 1-year term: P. Bartos.
Schedule for the Next Annual Meeting: A survey of the membership in attendance preferred the Thursday meeting time.
President Kampf adjourned the meeting at 3:50 and called a special session of the Board of Directors.
Special Session of the Board of Directors: Following the general meeting, a special session of the directors was held to elect officers. The new officers: Virgil Lueth president, Terry Huizing vice president, Anna Domitrovic treasurer, Jean DeMouthe secretary, Tony Kampf past president.
* * *
SMMP is a member society of the American Geological Institute (AGI) and an affiliate member of the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA). In addition, the Commission on Museums of the International Mineralogical Association has resolved to support SMMP's efforts in uniting mineral museum professionals worldwide.
We need to fill the
following openings:
* Representative to AGI Government Affairs Program Advisory Committee
* Representative to AGI
International
Geoscience Advisory Committee
* Liaison to NSCA
* * *
SMMP-Europe 2003
Munich
Meeting
in conjunction with
Mineralientage Mnchen
Date: Friday, October 31, 2003 Place: New Trade Fair Centre
Messegelnde-Mnchen-Riem
Room A.51Time: 3:00 PM
All SMMP members are welcome to attend.
* * *
A grand opening reception for the new Geology Museum of the Colorado School of Mines will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, from 7 9 p.m. The facility is located at 1310 Maple Street in Golden, Colorado. Hors doeuvres, cash bar and silent auction will be available. Special exhibits by Dave Bunk, Bryan Lees and Martin Zinn will also be featured.
The Museum is located across from the Steinhauer Field House. A detailed CSM map is available at www.mines.edu/csm_maps/.For further information, contact: Paul Bartos (303) 273-3823 or pbartos@mines.edu.
* * *
5th International Conference
on
MINERALOGY & MUSEUMS
Paris, France - 5-8 September 2004
FORUM ON THE ROLE OF GEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS
IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
Egyptian Geological Museum, Cairo, Egypt - 2004
For information: Dr. A. A. Soliman - email:
EGSMA@idsc.gov.eg
* * *
SMMP dues are $10.00 U.S., payable to Anna Domitrovic, treasurer, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ, 85743. Any directory changes or additions should be sent to Tony Kampf. In Europe, dues can be remitted to Jana Hork, National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, WALES.
Note that you can check your dues payment status on the SMMP on-line roster. The year shown in the last column indicates the last year for which you have paid. A "??" appears in this column for new members whose initial dues payment has not yet been recorded. If you are delinquent (any year earlier than '02), please remit your dues payment as soon as possible.
|
