December 4th

BHL Executive Committee Minutes – December 4, 2014
On Call: Martin, Nancy, Connie, Susan, William
Brief discussion of the renewal of Williams contract – proposing 6 months with and additional 3 and 3 months contingent on funding.
Voting closes on Friday for membership votes but 15 votes already in for both Sanbi and Conabio. Further discussion on membership composition and the concern expressed by the membership committee about the identity of BHL central. We need to clearly articulate the membership structure of BHL central and how it relates to all Global nodes. Will be an agenda item for futher discussion at March Members meeting.
Brief discussion of the stalled strategic planning process and how to get it back on track. Exec committee will provide a clear and focused charge for the ad hoc committee.
Martin suggested an EC meeting to take place prior to the Annual meeting in March. We can meet in New York in February. We will need to appoint a nominating committee in January.
The budget for 2015 will continue to support Mike, William and SI staff at current level. By 2016 we will start to delve into the reserve. We will need to discuss projections for 2016-2017. SI Arcadia grant ran into a few problems which impact staffing.
Discussion of BHL as DPLA service hub and what that means for BHL staff and resources. Call for service hubs is open now –Jan. 15 deadline for membership application. Martin will write a concept paper to share with the members. Could be an opportunity for funding as other service hubs did get support from foundations like the Knight Foundation. Martin will speak with Dan Cohen director of DPLA.
Next members call is December 23 – several members have already sent regrets—call will take place anyway.
Connie reported on BHL Europe call (from earlier in the day). Jirka attended the Libraries, Archives and Museum conference and found it helpful. He is on the European council which might help with funding from CETAF. He is also pushing European libraries to use IA guidelines for scanning to integrate easier with BHL.
William reported on technical projects—and is coordinating with the collections committee on changes to the portal display. Mining biodiversity is running well and they are using the tools adapted for the project. Latin is being incorporated into the project so older descriptions are not lost.