Board of Publications Meeting Minutes for March 7, 2017

Call to Order/Introductions

Adoption of Agenda:

Approval of February 7 Minutes:

Motion: Paul moved and Doug seconded adoption of the February 7, 2017 Minutes with a spelling correction submitted by Sharon prior to the meeting. Motion passed.

Public Comment:

• Michael Malver: When registering online for membership in a special affiliate, there was no option for reading  the Braille Forum online. He had to select email and then unsubscribe to achieve his desired result. Michael also commented that he found no way to sign up as a member at large on the ACB web site.
• Ron stated and Larry confirmed that registration online for members at large is coming in the next few months as part of the new web design for ACB.
• Carla said that affiliates can select “none” as an option when entering members into the ACB database, and this should also be connected to the individual online registration.
• Paul noted that most affiliates probably do not offer “none” as an option for the Braille Forum as a matter of philosophy.
• Motion: Deb moved and Paul seconded that the BOP recommend to Membership and Goal One that as part of member registration, affiliates should be encouraged to offer all possible options (including None) for receiving the Braille Forum. The intent is to give members the widest array of choices possible and to improve reliability of data collection on use of the various formats. Motion passed.

Discussion of Ideas for Improving ACB Convention Program, daily convention newspapers and other items: Janet Dickelman

Ron introduced the topic as an opportunity to provide feedback on various issues regarding convention publications that were raised following the last national convention. Ron explained that the BOP has done some brainstorming but has not yet formalized the feedback. The discussion is summarized here, and was submitted to Janet by Ron after the meeting.

1.   General Comment – It is difficult to find information in the large print materials. The group did not offer specific suggestions for improving format—just the general comment.
2.   Electronic documents need better structure. Examples included the use of headers and other structure attributes which could be carried over into the hard copy formats.
3.   The group recommended the use of Audio Now as a means for bringing back an audio-accessible version of the daily newspaper. Larry believes this is technically feasible, meaning that the primary challenge will be to identify a volunteer who can read and create a MP3 recording of the newspaper, given constraints on timing and available volunteers.
4.   An article in the June Braille Forum describing the format of the Convention Program and providing tips on how to use it effectively was recommended. After some discussion, the group agreed that a more effective approach might be a simple explanatory flyer which can be handed out at Registration.
5.   Spiff up the print version of the daily newspaper by adding graphics where appropriate and feasible. Sharon will be looking into this.
6.   Strip print formatting information from the braille so that unnecessary information is not passed through to the braille version.

Editor’s Workshop:

• Ron reported that efforts to follow up leads for the Personal Branding workshop facilitator have met with no success. He asked for any additional suggestions for facilitator leads. The concept is using the internet and social media to build your own brand. How do you market your affiliate using contemporary tools?
• Deb asked if Kelly might have relationships in this area that might be relevant.
• Paul suggested that Eric might be able to share the work he is doing with personal branding for ACB.
• Deb suggested also contacting larger organizations like AFB and NIB who have worked a lot on their own branding.
• Ron said that all leads must be followed up by March 21 to make the programming deadlines.
• Katie will ask PR if they would like to co-sponsor the event if in fact we’re able to put it together.
• Ron asked for alternative topics. Doug suggested a moderated panel of past award winners to talk about how they wrote their winning submissions.
• Paul thought that it would also be useful to talk about what the BOP looks for in selecting winners and what the BOP has learned over time about producing a good newsletter.

Braille Forum and E-Forum

• Ron asked people to generate ideas and brainstorming on the email list regarding how to define and describe the content difference for the Braille Forum and E-forum for discussion on the April agenda. Ron asked Sharon to paste the last 4 or 5 Table of Contents into one email to help frame how the content is currently determined between the two publications. Then, the BOP could take a whiteboard approach to determine the realm of possibilities for the E-forum.
• Paul said that several series had been envisioned including regular columns on computer use, travel, and various topics featuring different viewpoints.
• The hard copy edition is 48 pages and the electronic edition seems to now be limited to 64 pages. There was discussion that this size limitation was not intended for the E-forum and Larry and Sharon will work together to determine the constraints of sending larger content. Ultimately Ron said there should be a balance between fiscal reality and technical feasibility for the E-forum.
• Ron said that initial concerns regarding exclusion of people who did not have internet access have largely been resolved through use of Audio Now and other venues making it feasible to offer entirely different content in the E-forum without leaving anyone out.

Reports:

BOP Chair: Ron Brooks

• Finalized talking points for BOP Update to be provided during ACB Mid-Year Meeting. Update was provided by BOP members Doug Powell and Paul Edwards. It is available as a recorded archive, and Ron thanked them for the presentation. Paul noted that the BOP received high praise at Midyear from the ACB grant writer who was pleased with the quality of BOP data collection activities.
• Updated volunteer hours through February for all BOP members.
• Updated and distributed the BOP Work Plan for February, 2017.
• Participated in the ACB IT Planning Committee Meeting held on 02-12-2017. Primarily discussed the web update, site map and format of the various menu levels.
• Ron announced that he will be unable to attend the ACB convention in Reno due to a major work conflict. Ron will contact members to work out logistics for convention events.

Editor: Sharon Lovering

February 2017 Issue type: electronic; Print page count: 56

• Braille Returned: 0; LP Returned: 17; Cassette Returned: 18;
• Electronic Distributed: 5,255; Returned: 1; Received: 5,254
• Total Accessed (Excludes Returns): 5,254

March 2017 Issue type: hard copy; Print Page Count: 48

• Braille: 687; LP: 2,692; Cassette: 994; CD: 135
• Electronic Distributed: 5,240; Returned: 3 (with request to remove them); Return Rate: 0.1%; Received: 5,237
• Total Accessed (Excludes Returns): 9,747

ACB Radio: Larry Turnbull

February Statistics

• Listener Counts: Mainstream 1865; Cafe 445; Treasure Trove 2165; Interactive 1056; World News and Information 670
• Live Event: Sage Brush Conference 55; Affiliate Presidents Meeting 40; Legislative Seminar 50.
• Phone: 5209 calls.
• Web hits: 22,163.
• ACBRI on demand visits: 7705
• Downloads: MainMenu Archives 950; Speaking Out for the Blind 25; Inside Track 314; Handy Around the House 168; Affiliates In Action 105; ACB Braille and E Forum 1133; ACB reports 732; MileStones 53; Legendary Insights 1155; Hazelnuts 710.
• Podcasts subscriptions: ACB Braille Forum and E Forum 40;  ACB Reports 30; Hazelnuts Cooking show 62; Main Menu 118; Legendary Insights 20; Handy Around the House 22; On the Inside Track 58.
• tuning hours reported by Stream Licensing: Interactive 1967; Café 2914.
• ACB Braille/E Forum hotline: 205 calls.
• Larry is mentoring one new broadcaster for ACB Radio Interactive.
• There was some house interference during the President’s Meeting and Legislative Seminars. Larry is attempting to remove some of this from the archive recordings.

ACB Email List Moderator: Bob Hachey

Michael Capelle of Wisconsin is now the co-moderator of ACB-L.

February, 2017 Stats

ACB-L: Number of Members 307; Messages Posted 195

ACB-Chat: Number of Members 139; Messages Posted 72

Leadership data not available

Social Media: Carla Ruschival

Facebook: 2,909 page likes

• Marlee Matlin Microsoft Answer Desk Audio Described Video: 3,407 reached; 60 likes and loves; 43 shares
• Facebook Image Recognition: 2,099 people reached; 21 likes; 33 shares
• Microsoft Accessibility Resources: 1,951 people reached; 44 likes; 41 shares

Twitter: 1,801 followers

• Photo of Ed Markey with Kim & Brian Charlson and David Kingsbury on Hill Day: 5,444 impressions; 62 engagements
• Press Release: US Holocaust Museum Audio Described Tour: 740 impressions; 21 engagements
• Apply to be a Leadership Fellow: 632 impressions; 23 engagements

Carla provided an example of how rapidly people can be reached on social media with one post growing by a thousand during one day.

Doug asked if we could take a few minutes next month to discuss the various terms used in social media such as likes, loves engagements etc. Ron said that these were largely a way of voting or expressing an opinion.

Public Relations: Katie Frederick

At the February 19 meeting, the PR Committee discussed possible topics for video and photography during the 2017 convention. They are also working to get convention previews up on the website and suggested that the convention previews for ACB Radio could also be distributed to Radio Reading Services. The next scheduled  PR meeting is March 19 at 9:00 PM eastern.

Large Print Reader preference Survey: Deb Lewis

• The taskforce did not meet in February but will meet in March. Deb sent out the matrix of the CCLVI guidelines along with APH standards. She met with Sharon and Paul regarding ACB practices and will add this information prior to the March meeting.
• Ron noted that taskforce members are struggling to gain trust. It has been difficult to keep focused on simply creating and implementing a survey.
• Paul said that the neutral approach the taskforce is attempting to take is a good one for this topic.
• Ron agreed to help facilitate the scheduling process which continues to be challenging.

Announcements

• Susan sent an email indicating that the BOP received an earmarked donation of $2000 from Delta Gamma for the Braille Forum.
• Doug indicated that he and Susan would have a policy report to offer in April.

Next Meeting:

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 – 9:00 PM Eastern.

Adjourn

Doug moved and Deb seconded adjournment. the meeting adjourned at 11:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Deb Lewis, Secretary