BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS
Meeting Minutes
February 20, 2009
The ACB Board of Publications met in person on February 20, 2009 at approximately 7:45pm (EST). Members present were: Paul Edwards, jenine Stanley, Marcia Dresser and Ken Stewart; Absent: Judy Jackson. Ex Oficio Members present were: Barry Levine; Absent: Ron Milliman. ACB Staff, contractors and volunteers present were: Sharon Lovering, Melanie Brunson, Mitch Pomerantz, Berl Colley and Larry Turnbull.
Approval of Agenda:
Ken moved that the agenda be approved as amended. The motion was seconded and approved.
Minutes:
Ken moved to approve The February 2 minutes as amended. The motion was seconded and approved.
BOP Policy Manual:
The revised policy manual has been reviewed by Acb president Mitch Pomerantz. Paul will review the suggested changes and present them to the BOP at its March meeting. Pending the BOP’s final approval, a document should be ready for publication by April.
ACB Web Site Task Force Report:
Paul presented the principles of the web site renovation undertaken by the Web Site Task Force. Consistency through style sheets forms the basis of these principles. Once the project has achieved certain stability, the BOP will publish a set of guidelines regarding style sheets, templates and other concepts developed in the site’s renovation.
In answer to questions from the audience about the site, Paul noted that joining ACB on-line is being set up currently for first-time members with all “at large” ACB memberships available on-line as a goal.
Review of Award Procedures:
The deadline for submissions for the Hollis K. Liggett Braille Free Press Award was February 15. There were a number of nominations this year. Sharon will send each BOP member the guidelines and judging forms used last year. March 15 is the deadline for choosing the winner.
The Ned E. Freeman Award covers articles submitted to the Braille Forum between the months of April, 2008 and March, 2009. After a discussion of criteria for eligible articles, the BOP decided on April 1 as the deadline to submit each member’s top three ranked choices to Sharon for tallying. The decision will be made as of April 15.
There are not as of yet any nominees for the Vernon Henley Media Award.
Candidates Page:
Ken introduced a discussion about the process of administering the Candidates Web Page. There is some contention about candidates who declare after the web page has closed for submissions. Paul noted that suggestions from the discussion be distilled and considered for crafting the candidates page in 2009.
DAISY Committee Report:
Berl Colley reported on the DAISY Committee, consisting of himself, Chris Gray, Earlene Hughes and Ann Parsons. The committee was tasked to look into producing Acb materials in DAISY format. The group is working with IRTI who has provided software for DAISY conversion. Earlene Hughes has taken the lead on this project and the February 2009 issue of the Braille forum is available on the web site in DAISY format.
Convention workshop:
After a discussion of possible topics for a convention workshop, Jenine was tasked to invite Carla Ruschival to the March meeting to discuss placement of the workshop on the convention schedule. Jenine will also send a message to the leaders list asking affiliate leadership what types of topics they would find useful for such a workshop.
Internet Oversight Committee:
Barry Levine reported on an ACB constitutional amendment regarding the Internet Oversight Committee. A copy of the proposed language was distributed to the BOP. The key factors in the amendment include number of members on the committee and their sources of appointment. A final decision to endorse this amendment will take place at the March BOP meeting.
Copyright Statement:
Paul reported that he and Melanie have discussed again the proposed language for a copyright statement and he will have sample language at the March meeting.
Member Contact Information:
Ken initiated a discussion about availability of contact information for all ACB members. It was decided that this topic is beyond the scope of the BOP’s responsibilities.
Email List Language:
It was proposed that the following passage be eliminated from the bottom of all posts on ACB email lists.
“This message has come to you from the ACB Leadership List: a special List for use by the leadership of the American Council of the Blind. This communication is privileged and may contain confidential information intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. Any unauthorized disclosure, copying, other distribution of this communication is strictly prohibited and may result in immediate removal from the List. If you have received this message in error, please notify ACB immediately by writing to [email protected].”
Next Meeting:
The next meeting of the BOP will take place via conference call, Monday, March 2 at 9:00pm (EST).
Adjournment:
Paul moved the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded and approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jenine Stanley,
Recording Secretary