Quaker Records and Archives

Live online event Managing Quaker Records and Archives A discussion among recording clerks, archivists, historians, etc. about ways to manage our meetings’ documents Facilitated by George Mills (Pacific Yearly Meeting Archivist) and Eric Sabelman (College Park Quarterly Meeting Archivist). Sunday, March 19, 2023 90 minutes starting 2:00 PM Pacific = 3 PM Mountain Click here to join the meeting. Meeting ID: 288 711 054 Passcode: 593327 George and Eric hope to assemble a directory of Friends who carry an interest in Quaker records and archives, and to conduct more discussions about this topic in the future. Please click here to add your information to this directory. Are you concerned or responsible for preserving the history and records of your monthly, quarterly or yearly meeting?   Meet and share experiences and ideas with other Friends in the western region in similar positions.  What is the current state of your own MM/QM/YM records and archives, what issues or problems are you facing, and what suggestions can you offer to others? George Mills has recently assumed the role of Archivist for both Pacific Yearly Meeting and his own monthly meeting (Palo Alto) after wrestling with the records of both organizations for a number of years.  He joins Jan Tappan who has faithfully served PacYM as Historian/Archivist for many years.  Eric Sabelman has been serving as Archivist for College Park Quarterly Meeting in PacYM. We are interested in facilitating collaboration among Friends in similar roles or with similar concerns in all three western yearly meetings.  We may consider hosting periodic meetings or other means of ongoing mutual support. Some of the issues that have surfaced for Palo Alto Meeting and likely other meetings as well: Incomplete, disorganized or outright missing records, such as membership records, business meeting minutes, committee charters Loss of institutional memory of how to publish and preserve approved minutes Privacy concerns around use of our website to publish records such as minutes Handling confidential records appropriately (Oversight Committee records) Lack of clear demarcation between what are “official meeting records” and what is “just interesting material” (e.g. contemporary newspaper clippings) Knowing what and when records can be discarded (retention schedules) Locating and integrating records kept at personal homes Finding safe storage space for physical records (fire/water/theft/access/…) Managing digital as well as paper records Developing a job description for Archivist and filling that role   from George Mills and Eric Sabelman, Palo Alto Friends Meeting