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SEPTEMBER 2005 MINUTES
16 September -
Denver, Colorado
Board Meeting
Board members present: Anna
Domitrovic, Virgil Lueth, Jean DeMouthe, Tony Kampf, Terry Huizing, Paul
Bartos, Mike Wise, Peggy Ronning, Penny Williamson
Board members absent: George Harlow
The meeting was called to order a 1:30
pm by president Virgil Lueth.
Anna D. proposed that the treasurer do
only one comprehensive report, at the annual meeting in Tucson. The total
in each fund would be presented at Denver, but no more. This is the way
the Arizona Corporation Commissions wants it. She also wants to move
money into long-term CDs for better interest. Currently the money market
account is getting 2.6% annual yield.
Kampf asked when should we take people
off the list for non-payment of dues? He has been doing it after three
delinquent years.
Lueth brought up the SMMP grants, and
suggested a flier be prepared for Tucson.
Huizing suggesting mentioning the grant
in the museum column of Rocks & Minerals.
Lueth reported on the collections
committee activities:
The Philadelphia Academy is still
planning to sell their mineral collections, but they have been pulling
back portions of the collection from the sale.
Virginia Polytechnic Inst. in
Blacksburg, VA has been offered money for the construction of a new
geology building with the stipulation that it includes a museum. Harlow &
Lueth are on the advisory board for this project.
Denver Nat. History museum is still
looking for a mineral curator and is currently interviewing candidates.
Dmitri Belakovski (visitor, not on
board) asked to speak to the SMMP members about the Fersman Mineralogical
Museum in Moscow. The Russian government wants to reduce the number of
institutions in the country by two-thirds, and plans to merge museums and
other institutions. DB asked if SMMP as a group, and its individual
members would write letters of support to keeping the Fersman from being
combined with a dissimilar institution and moved across the city to an
unsuitable facility. The Fersman was founded in 1716 and holds over 500
mineral types.
DeMouthe reported recent problems with
sending global messages on the SMMP listserver. She asked for ideas for
the Tucson case.
Belakovski suggested that, since the
theme of the show is Canadian minerals, SMMP mount an exhibit of similar
mineral occurrences (things that look like they come from Canada). There
was general approval of this idea.
Huizing mentioned the need for a program
topic for Tucson. The members will be asked about it in the general
meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 2:00 pm
General Meeting
The meeting was called to order by
president Virgil Lueth at 2:05 pm. Introductions followed. Twenty-eight
members and guests were present, representing Australia, Russia, Scotland,
Germany, as well as the U.S.
The minutes from the previous meeting in
Tucson were read and approved unanimously.
Anna Domitrovic gave the treasurers
report and reminded members about their dues and the web site. There is
currently $5,509.05 in the checking account, and
$8,009.05
in the money market account. She asked to move money to CDs to get better
interest. This was generally agreed to be a good idea
Lueth discussed the grant program,
encouraging people to apply. Domitrovic will make a flier for
distribution at the Tucson show. The program was again described, and it
was reported that no one had applied for a grant this, the first year they
have been offered. The deadline was August 1st.
Lueth, on behalf of the Collections
Committee, led a discussion of the Philadelphia Academys efforts to sell
their mineral collection. They want to sell it as a whole, but have been
taking back segments of the collection, and are gradually reducing the
price. Harlow & Lueth are on an advisory board for Virginia Polytechnic,
and it has been suggested that VPI buy this collection. He also reported
that the search for a mineralogist at the Denver Nat. History Museum has
been reopened.
Andrew Sicree reported that he visited
the Philadelphia collection on behalf of Pennsylvania State Museum in
Harrisburg, who is interested in keeping the Pennsylvania portion of that
collection in the state.
Bill Cook remarked that recently someone
had been searching for documents and specimens related to the Lewis and
Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase, and found them at the
Philadelphia Academy. Sicree said that the Lewis & Clark material is in
a separate collection and will not be sold with the minerals.
Unfortunately, other museums may think this (selling collections) is a
good idea, since Philadelphia is doing it.
Brian Jackson told the group about their
building program at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. They
are spending over 16 million dollars (pounds?) on structural renovations.
The collections are moving to a new storage facility across the city, and
most of them are currently in storage. The geologic galleries have been
removed from the museum and it is uncertain when funds will be available
to replace them.
Lueth reported on the Fersman Museum
situation (see Board minutes), and Belakovski added details on the
background. Members are encouraged to look at the Fersman web site at
http://www.fmm.ru/collecten.htm
Anna Domitrovic announced that she has
retired from the Desert Museum in Tucson, and she introduced Chris
Stevenson, who is the interim curator. A job announcement will be
forthcoming, hopefully before Tucson. She also reported that the Desert
Museum will be putting in an exhibition of minerals at the Tucson airport,
in the corridor that links the main building with the rental car building.
DeMouthe discussed the SMMP case at this
show (microcrystalline quartz) and asked for suggestions for Tucson.
Belakovski suggested a case of minerals from deposits similar to those in
Canada, since the show theme will be Canadian minerals.
Terry Huizing asked for suggestions for
the program at the Tucson meeting. Submitted were: relevance of
collections, diamonds in North America (topic refused), museum display
techniques, and mineral identification methods.
Under new business, Tony Kampf discussed
the list server problems, which are still undiagnosed. He urged members
to make sure e-mails are coming and going from the address that is on
record with SMMP, which is the one used by the list server. People with
more than one e-mail address should check the membership list on the SMMP
web site.
Lueth reminded members that three board
members will be stepping down in Tucson and they should think about
nominations.
DeMouthe displayed copies of two
museum-related journals: Collection Forum (published by the Soc.
for the Preservation of Natural History Collections; see
http://www.spnhc.org/publica.htm) & Collections (published by Altamira
Press, see
http://www.altamirapress.com/RLA/Journals/Collections/Papers.shtml).
The meeting
was adjourned at 2:45 pm. |
