BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS
Meeting Minutes
August 1, 2011
The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, August 1, 2011 at approximately 9:10pm EDT. Members present were: Paul Edwards – Chair, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson, Jenine Stanley, Ken Stewart; Ex oficio members: Berl Colley, Bob Hachey, Absent: Ron Milliman. ACB Staff/Contractors present were: Sharon Lovering, Larry Turnbull, and Steve Obremski. Carla Ruschival was also present.
Agenda:
Judy moved to accept the proposed agenda. The motion was seconded and adopted.
Minutes:
Ken moved to accept the July minutes as amended. The motion was seconded and adopted.
ACB Development Brochure:
Steve Obremski reported on a general information brochure he has developed for donors to ACB. The brochure was reviewed and comments and suggestions were taken.
Paul moved that the Board of Publications go on record as stating that we are committed to using “People First Language” in publications of the American Council of the Blind. The motion was seconded and adopted.
Jenine moved that this brochure utilize 14-point type and a sans serif font. The motion was seconded. The motion was adopted by a voice vote: Judy Jackson, yes; Jenine Stanley, yes; Ken Stewart, abstained; Marcia Dresser absent at time of vote.
Jenine moved to approve the brochure as amended. The motion was seconded and adopted.
Steve reported that he has found a source for braille alphabet cards and would like to place labels with ACB contact information on them. Paul suggested contacting Judy Dixon of the National Library Service about their braille alphabet cards which at one time were free.
Steve noted that there are a number of issues with the web site that directly affect development/fund raising. Paul asked Jenine to convene a meeting of the Web Site Committee in the next week to begin discussions regarding these points.
DAISY Committee:
Berl reported that the DAISY Committee has not met since the convention.
Berl also reported that the Idaho Task Force has been dissolved since the Idaho affiliate was confirmed at the convention.
Oral History Project:
Paul noted that many people did not receive their copies of the Oral History CD that had been ordered through the convention preregistration process.
Carla Ruschival reported that she had explained to the people in the ACB Store about these CDs and that people receiving a CD had a receipt with their registration and tickets to present at the store to redeem the CD. Several people said store staff did not know about the receipts.
Carla stated that she was checking into this and that everyone who had ordered a CD would receive one but she and Lane Waters would need to go back through the registration forms to verify each order.
There were similar issues with T-shirts. Carla noted that ACB will be reordering the T-shirts and will incur the shipping costs.
The BOP recommended that next year if similar items are offered with the preregistration that more explicit instructions be given to both store and registration staff and those ordering items as to where to pick up the items and what documentation is provided and required.
Leadership Training:
Berl reported that the committee organizing a leadership training for state and special interest affiliates in 2012 has met and is preparing a preliminary program. The committee would like to encourage affiliates to send two delegates to this training. The committee will be asking the BOP for support in promotion of the event as well as some document review. Jenine Stanley also serves on this committee.
Social Networking:
Jenine reported that there are currently 210 people following ACB on Twitter. Coverage of the convention was good but we have some modifications to make for next year. The BBOP thanks Natalie Byers, our Twitter Administrator, for her work during the general sessions.
Web Site Committee:
Paul noted that the Web Site Committee will be meeting in the next month to begin work on policies involving content, permissions and training.
Bob asked about state affiliate web sites and how content can be changed on them as there was an issue with the Bay State site. Larry stated that he has taken care of all state and special interest web sites connected to the ACB site. Earlene has sent information out about how to get onto the sites.
Bob asked about slowdowns with the server, particularly on email lists. Larry is working on this issue.
Jenine reported that she will be asking Michael Galfo to join the Web Site Committee. Michael is the GDUI Web Administrator.
Editor’s Report:
Sharon reported that the September issue is almost ready. She will provide subscription numbers to the BOP list.
Paul noted that some felt Sharon’s Editor’s Report to the ACB Board contained questionable information. The BOP should review this report in future, prior to presentation to the ACB Board.
Deadline for article submissions to the October/November Convention issue of the Braille Forum is August 26. Convention articles are assigned as follows:
Sunday: Sharon
Monday: Judy
Tuesday: Jenine
Wednesday: Paul
Thursday: Marcia
Friday: Ken
ACB Radio:
Larry reported listener counts for convention were as follows on average:
On ACB Radio Mainstream: Sunday evening – 200; weekdays – 165/175; Candidates Forum – 135.
ACB Radio Café: Tuesday Night FIA Showcase – 110
ACB Radio Interactive: throughout week – 45
Larry reported that he and Jeff Bishop will be migrating the ACB Radio site to Drupal.
The Student Connection, hosted by Chase Crispin, will debut Tuesday, August 2. This will be a monthly show. Carla Ruschival is planning a possible weekly show from the Council of Families with Visual Impairment, which will change its name as of January 1, 2012 to ACB Families. Lynne Hedl and Nancy Pendegraph are also planning a show for blind musicians.
Internet Oversight Committee:
Bob reported that the lists are stable at this time with no issues.
Convention Review:
It was agreed that the Thursday afternoon session discussing the Braille Forum went very well. Tom Mitchell has a copy of the session and will share it with Jenine who will do some editing and provide it for the web site.
The Candidates Forum also went well. Paul noted how encouraging it was to have a question submitted via email from and ACB Radio listener.
Candidates Page:
Paul noted that there was some discussion at the convention about the absence of the Candidates Page. Ken asked again that terms of office be placed after ACB board and BOP listings in the Braille Forum and on the web site. Jenine said that she would check with Marlaina Lieberg about terms of office and term limits and get them posted to the web site lists.
Referred Resolution:
A resolution regarding ACB Radio was referred to the BOP from the convention floor. This resolution involves broadcasters on ACB Radio being charged fees if not members of ACB. Paul will invite the writer of the resolution, John Jeavons, to the September meeting to speak about it before the BOP takes action.
Unfinished Business:
Ken suggested that we honor Freeman Award winners by allowing them to comment on future nominees or become reporters for the convention newspaper.
New Business:
Ken asked that some protocol be observed regarding subject lines on the BOP email list. Jenine noted the practice of adding the prefix OT: for “Off Topic” to a message when it is simply conversational. Members were urged to use this device or change the subject line when making comments not relevant to the subject.
Next Meeting:
The BOP will meet next via conference call on September 5, 2011 at 9:00pm EDT.
Adjournment:
Jenine moved to adjourn the meeting at approximately 11:55pm EDT. The motion was seconded and adopted.
Submitted by Jenine Stanley
August 14, 2011