ARLIS/TC Chapter Meeting Minutes
July 22, 2002
Minnesota Historical Society

In attendance:
Mary Diane Bass – MIA
Suzanne Degler – MCAD
Kathy Heuer – CVA
Rosemary Furtak - Walker
Mary Ellen Johnson – Walker
Stephanie Kays – Walker
Rebecca Moss – University of Minnesota
Jennifer Nodes - MIA
Alysia Peich - MCAD
Jill Vetter – Walker
Jodie Walz – University of Minnesota

Michael Fox, the Assistant Director, Division of Library and Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society agreed to give us a tour of their facilities. We met at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul at 10:30. Mr. Fox gave us a brief tour of the public areas, including the beautiful atrium that is located in the corner of the L of the building shape. We proceeded to the Library reading room that was closed to the public that day. He explained that due to budget cuts, the hours of the library had to be curtailed. Our tour included the well-equipped newspaper microform reading room, to the impressively extensive archival storage areas. It is obvious that this facility serves the State of Minnesota with impressive style and efficiency.

Brian Szott, the Art Curator next gave us a behind the scenes glance at some of the 6,000 paintings in the museum’s collection. The stories behind the paintings and the way these illuminate the history of the families of Minnesota and the growth of the state, prove that these objects are not only valuable for their appearance, but for the information they help provide.

After the tour, some of us met at Babani’s Kurdish Restaurant for lunch. Rebecca passed out some handouts that include the contact information for the current membership and a report on the bank account which currently stands at $402.77. The account will be moving to another bank because Wells Fargo has instituted a monthly finance charge of $5.00. 

We discussed meeting ideas for the fall and spring. It might be possible to combine the fall meeting with the MINERVA symposium (http://digital.lib.umn.edu/minerva/), sponsored in part by the University of Minnesota Libraries. The cost is $35.00 (which includes breakfast and lunch) and we thought some of cost for each ARLIS/TC attendee could be paid for from the funds available. We will need to also meet for a short time as a group, if only to have elections for the Chapter officers.

In January, an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts entitled 'Eternal Egypt' will come to town. It might be possible to arrange for a tour of the exhibit with Sheila McNally, Professor of Art History at the University of Minnesota, who is working on an accompanying conference and seminar.

If anyone had other ideas for future meetings, please contact Alysia Peich or Rebecca A. Moss.

Respectfully submitted by Rebecca A. Moss