Historical Records Commission Minutes November 14, 2024

Members present:
Michael Mueller (Chair)
Seana Gause
Steven Lovejoy
Margaret Purser

Members excused:
Robert Chase (Vice-Chair)

Associate Members present:
Amanda King, Secretary
Deva Marie Proto, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor & Registrar of Voters
Jaime Anderson, Collections Services Division Manager, Sonoma County Library
Eve Goldberg, County of Sonoma Library Commissioner and Liaison to the Historical Records Commission

Guests present:
None

1. Call to order 4:13 pm
2. Introduction of Guests
3. Approval of Minutes
   1. October 10, 2024 minutes
      
      1. Motion to approve by Seana Gause
      2. Second by Margaret Purser
      3. Approved
4. Budget Discussion
   1. Balance is $3,615.09
5. Business
   
   1. HRC Commissioners Report
      1. Michael's report:
         • No report
      2. Seana's report:
         • Did Finding History Day
      3. Steven's report:
         1. No report
      4. Margaret's report:
         • Did Finding History Day
   2. Library Commissioner Liaison Report
      1. Update from Eve Goldberg:
         • Joint Powers Agreement is to be reviewed and revised every 10 years, which is now. Have a new Commission committee that is forming to review the JPA to see if revisions could help or not.
         • HRC requests to see if information about the Archives may be included in the JPA.
   3. Library Report
      1. Library Director Report
         • Library Update by Jaime Anderson:
           • The libraries were closed on Oct 10 for annual staff day which was held at Becoming Independent in Santa Rosa. The theme was self-care and staff heard from speakers about keeping healthy boundaries, disability services and more.
           • This month we are celebrating Native American & Indigenous People’s Month, Veteran’s Day and the gratitude of Thanksgiving.
           • We are waiting for the final results of Measure W as ballots are still being counted. As of Nov 14, 67.07% of the ballots that have been counted voted in favor of Measure W.
           • After the election, the Commission will be reviewing the current Joint Powers Agreement which was last revised in 2014 and includes a provision that the agreement be reviewed every ten years.
           • The library is kicking off employee contract negotiations with SEIU 1021 for a successor MOU.
         • Archives Operating Agreement Update
           • There is no update on the Archives Operating Agreement with the County
      2. History and Genealogy Library Report
         
         • Update by Zayda Delgado via email:
           • H&G is working through the final stages of the Groundworks Grants. Materials have been purchased and we'll be installing supplies in their new location.
           • H&G is working with the Russian River Historical Society on a grant application to preserve, document, digitize and provide access to LGBTQ materials. The Russian River Historical Society would be grant lead, and the library would serve as a partner to provide access to digital content. We won't hear about the status of the application until early 2025.
           • Upcoming Events:
             • Playback Memory Lab appointments for December have been released. Some dates are still available: https://events.sonomalibrary.org/events/month/2024/12?program_types%5B306%5D=306&page=1
   4. Archives Activity Report
      1. Update by Zayda Delgado via email:
         • Eight (8) resources requested in the month of October from 7 unique requestors and no requests from any county agencies.
   5. Collections & Archives Recognition Awards
      
      1. No applicaitons were received.
   6. Outreach
      1. “Researching the History of a Sonoma County Property” pamphlet update:
         • Commission to review pamphlet in March 2025 for updates to be published in June 2025.
   7. Strategic Planning
      1. No update
   8. County Recorder update on the status of the Restrictive Covenant Modification Program
      1. Documents January 1964 through April 2003 have been sent through the system for OCR
         1. Staff is currently reviewing documents from late-March 1995 that include keywords clues.
         2. 3,925,906 documents have been reviewed
         3. 10,716,596 pages have been reviewed (of an approximate 24+ million)
         4. 49 Restrictive Covenant Modifications have been recorded for 1964-1994
   9. Legislative Updates pertaining to public records
      1. Assembly Bill 1785
      2. Continuing to monitor legislation
6. New Business
   
   1. Reminder to Board of HRC Election of Officers in January.
7. Public Comment
   1. Eve Goldberg requests feedback on the raw footage for the Archives vieo.
   2. Library Commission meeting, December 4, 2024, 6PM, Rohnert Park Library
   3. Sonoma County Heritage Network Meeting, January 2025, 10AM-12PM, TBD
   4. Museum of Sonoma County Exhibits:
      • Sonoma County Stories, September 9, 2023-Ongoing
      • Light, Clay, and Copper: Mid-Century Arts and Crafts in Sonoma County, September 9, 2023-Ongoing
      • MSC Collections Gallery: New Acquisitions, June 15, 2024-ongoing
      • Tattooed and Tenacious: Inked Women in California’s History, November 16, 2024-February 23, 2025
8. Meeting adjourned at 4:45PM

Next Meeting - December 12, 2024 - 4:00PM

• In Person: County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor, Sonoma Room, 585 Fiscal Dr Rm 103, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
• Virtual: Guests may also join virtually. Please see the meeting month’s agenda for login information.