BPG Publications Committee Annual Meeting Report – April 19, 2007
Shannon Zachary, Interim Chair
Present: Walter Henry, Emily Jacobson (Chair, Book & Paper Group), Kathy Ludwig, Kate Maynor, Olivia Primanis, Alan Puglia, and Shannon Zachary (Interim Chair, BPG Publications Committee). Guests: Scott Homolka, Stephanie Lussier, and Karen Zukor.
The Publications Committee invited Scott Homolka and Stephanie Lussier to convene a Paper Conservation Catalog (PCC) Task Force charged to look at future directions for the PCC. The Task Force should consult freely beyond their members to brainstorm on the broad issues of this question, such as: Is the PCC as originally conceived (as a core text in a field with insufficient published literature) still necessary at all, or is the need now filled in other ways? Should the PCC continue to fill in the existing outline with chapters that haven't yet been written? Initiate revisions of chapters that have been written? Should some or all new material take a different format, such as annotated bibliographies? Should new material be composed and/or distributed in different ways than in the past?
The PCC Task Force will deliver their recommendations to the BPG Publications Committee in advance of their fall meeting (November 2007) for discussion at that meeting. This timetable will facilitate recommendations for action by the April 2008 BPG Business Meeting in Denver.
Emily Jacobson, with support from Kate Maynor, will organize hiring an assistant to work through the remaining steps to bring the existing Paper Conservation Catalog (as published in print between 1984 and 1994) online. This effort will be funded by income generated over the years from sales of the PCC.
Olivia Primanis plans to have the first material from the Book Conservation Catalog online later this year. An announcement will be made to the BPG group email list.
Shannon Zachary expects to publish volumes 24 (2005) and 25 (2006) of the Book and Paper Group Annual this summer and volume 26 (2007) before next year's Annual Meeting. She will use $3000 approved by the BPG membership to hire assistance to prepare images for publication. After volume 26 she will be looking for a new editor for the Annual.
Karen Zukor agreed to become the new chair of the BPG Publications Committee, taking over from interim chair Shannon Zachary.
Thank you to volunteers!
During the past year, volunteers Rebecca Rushfield and Penley Knipe have prepared article summaries and subject keywords to permit greater specialist-centered access to the online version of Volumes 1–19 of the Book and Paper Group Annual. Rebecca and Penley indexed six volumes this year and are planning to complete an additional seven volumes next year.