PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Alan L. Bain was invited in May by the Korean Committee for the International Council of Museums and the Korean Association of Museums to give a talk on Museum Archives at the World Museum Day Conference. As a part of the invitation, Bain met with the president of the Korean Museum Association, Mr. Huh; met with Mr. Han, vice-president of the Samsung Foundation of Culture, and Mr. Palk, chairman of ICOM, Korea. He visited the Embroidery Museum, Ho-Am Art Museum, Korean Folk Village Museum, National Kyong-ju Museum, Sunje Museum of Contemporary Art, the Samsung Publishing Museum, and the National Folk Museum. Bain met with Dr. Kim, director of Ewha Woman's University Museum, gave a workshop talk before a group of Korean archivists, librarians, and museum specialists, and visited the National Archives and Records Service in Seoul. Bain attended the Society of American Archivists annual meeting in Chicago in August and chaired a session entitled, "The Politics of Celebration." Bain also gave a workshop talk with Kathleen Williams at the Museum and Library Archives Institute in Easthampton, MA in June entitled, "Casting Your Nets: Collecting, Accessioning, Appraising, and Scheduling Records."

William E. Cox attended the meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference in Charlottesville in May. He began a one-year leave of absence in August.

Fynnette L. Eaton won election to the Society of American Archivists' governing body, SAA Council. She attended the Council meeting in June and the two meetings at the annual convention in August, in Chicago. While attending the SAA annual meeting she participated in a panel discussion sponsored by the Business Section of SAA on "Intranets/Internets in Archives," and she was presented the Posner Award for the special issue of the American Archivist that dealt with case studies of electronic records issues. She served as a member of the Local Arrangements Committee for the Mid Atlantic Regional Archives Conference for the upcoming Fall 1998 MARAC meeting in Washington, DC. Eaton also served as a member of the program committee of the Sixth NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies, that will be held at the University of Maryland Conference Center, March 23-26, 1998. Eaton presented a talk on the preservation of electronic records to the Association of American Law Libraries in Baltimore, MD in July.

Terrica M. Gibson attended the ninth annual Records Administration Conference (RACO), sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. She presented the lecture, "African American Employees in Smithsonian History," to the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society in Washington, DC. In August, Gibson began graduate studies toward a masters in library science at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Thomas Harley attended a day-long session at CAL on the structure of paper and techniques of conservation investigation.

Edie Hedlin was elected to the Governing Council of Rockefeller Archive Center, and re-elected to the Board of Trustees of the Hagley Museum and Library. She continues to serve on the Fellows Selection Committee of the Society of American Archivists. Hedlin attended the Fourth National Conference on Managing Electronic Records in Chicago.

Pamela M. Henson delivered the following lectures and papers during the year: "Oral History of Medicine," (session chair) Oral History Association annual meeting, New Orleans; "Women's Work in Politics and Oral History," National Women's Democratic Club, Washington, DC; "From Smithson to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution," George Washington University Elder Hostel; "James Lewis Macie a.k.a. James Smithson and the Founding of the Smithsonian Institution," National Zoological Park History Lecture Series; "The Arts and Industries Building, 1880-1996," Smithsonian Institution docent lecture; "To Tree or Not to Tree: John's Henry Comstock's Evolutionary Phylogeny," British Museum (Natural History) staff colloquium, London; "'Most Fully Recorded in the Works of Their Hands': The Origins of a National Collection of American Art and History," (keynote address) Conference on Nineteenth Century Arts and Humanities Collections, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; "'A Memorial to the United States Congress for Speedy Action on the Bequest of James Smithson,'" Symposium on Nineteenth Century Institutions for Useful Public Knowledge, Westminster University, London; "'A Long Catalogue of Munificent Donations': Material Culture in the History of the Smithsonian Institution," Smithsonian Institution Forum on Material Culture; "A Smithsonian Family Album: Oral History, Memory, and a Sense of Work Place," Oral History Association annual meeting, Philadelphia; "From Smithson to Smithsonian: Defining Moments in the History of the Smithsonian Institution," The Smithsonian Associates; and "Spencer Fullerton Baird's Vision for a National Museum," National Museum of Natural History docent lecture.

Henson also taught the following workshops during the fiscal year: "Introduction to Oral History" workshop at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York; "Oral History in an Electronic World" workshop at the Navy History Symposium, Washington (DC) Navy Yard; and "On-Line: Multimedia Access to Oral History Collections Via Electronic Media and the Internet" workshop at the Oral History Association annual meeting, Philadelphia.

Henson remained active in several professional organizations. She held memberships in the Society for History in the Federal Government, for whom she served as liaison with the Oral History Association; the Oral History Association, serving on its membership committee and as acting chair of its publications committee; Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, participating in its Pogue Award Committee and its workshop committee; and the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, acting as the society's archivist.

Henson attended several professional meetings during the year including the Oral History Association annual meetings in Philadelphia (1996) and New Orleans (1997); the History of Science Society conference in Atlanta; the American Society for Environmental History conference in Baltimore; the North American Scientific Exploration conference in Philadelphia; the International Meeting of the Society of Natural History in Charlottesville; the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology annual meeting in Seattle; and the Westminster University/Smithsonian 150th Conference in London.

Henson remained active in the Smithsonian Institution community, serving in the following capacities: a member of the Smithsonian Institution Community Committee; the OSIA representative to the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars; a member of the organizing committee for the conference, "Dialogues II: What About Diffusion?;" a presenter at the Smithsonian Museum Careers seminar; and a member of the Smithsonian Hispanic Heritage Month planning committee.

Lauri A. Hinksman was OSIA Webmaster, serving on the Smithsonian Website Review Panel and Policy Sub-Committee. Hinksman continued to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian Data Content Committee. Hinksman represented the NCP at the American Law Institute and American Bar Association course of study, "Legal Problems of Museum Administration," in Washington, DC.

Michael J. Horsley attended the seminar, "Saving Images in a Digital World," sponsored by the Research, Libraries and Archives Conservation Task Force (RELACT); and a day-long session at CAL on the structure of paper and techniques of conservation investigation.

Bruce R. Kirby continued his professional and academic training as part of the Step-Up '90 Program, anticipating a masters in history at George Mason University.

Frank R. Millikan delivered a lecture, "Joseph Henry's Grand Meteorological Crusade" for the National Zoological Park History Lecture Series.

Tammy L. Peters attended the Association of Records Managers and Administrators Conference in Washington, DC; the ninth annual Records Administration Conference (RACO), sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC; and the workshop, "Have you Got the Blues?," on preservation of architectural records, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC.

Marc Rothenberg delivered a number of lectures and papers, all associated with the bicentennial of Joseph Henry's birth or the sesquicentennial of the establishment of the Smithsonian: "'In behalf of the science of the country': The Smithsonian and the U.S. Navy in the North Pacific in the 1850s," Pacific Circle Symposium, XXth International Congress of History of Science; "J is for Joseph Henry: the Smithsonian's First Secretary," Smithsonian Institution Center for Museum Studies lunch lecture; "'Frequent Interchange of Ideas and Appreciative Encouragement': The Role of Scientific Societies in the Life of Joseph Henry," Joseph Henry Memorial Lecture, Philosophical Society of Washington; "Science Advisor and Applied Physicist: Joseph Henry Serves His Country," American Physical Society/American Association of Physics Teachers annual meeting; "The Smithsonian Institution and Scientific Exploration, 1846-1878," American Philosophical Society meeting; "Joseph Henry Comments on Life in Washington," Smithsonian Institution Forum on Material Culture; "'The Man of Science Has no Country': Nationalism vs. Internationalism at the Early Smithsonian," History of Science Society annual meeting; "'A Knowledge of General Principles': Teaching Science to Future Leaders of the United States in the Mid-Nineteenth Century," Mr Smithson's Legacy: Education and the Public Good in Britain and America, Westminster University, London.

Rothenberg was also active in the profession. He continued as Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee of the History of Science Society. He also served as editor of News and Views, the newsletter of the Forum for the History of Science in America, a member of the History Project Advisory Committee, United States Geological Survey, and a judge for National History Day.

James A. Steed attended two workshops, "Archival Cataloging as a Component of Description," and, "Application of the USMARC Format," sponsored by the Society of American Archivists in Madison, WI. Steed also attended the FLICC/FEDLINK US MARC Institute held at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Paul H. Theerman delivered the talk, "Joseph Henry's Conception of Scientific Knowledge," at the American Physical Society annual meeting in Washington, DC. Theerman delivered the lecture, "Material Culture and Archival Records: Interpreting the Uncollectible," as a part of the program, Mr. Smithson's Legacy: Public Institutions and the Public Good in Britain and America, at Westminster University, London. He also delivered a workshop presentation entitled, "Casting Your Nets: Architectural Records," at the Museum and Library Archives Institute in Easthampton, MA. Theerman served as chairman of the meetings and programs committee of the History of Science Society, and as a member of the Provost's Committee on Human Studies at the Smithsonian. During the year he attended the annual meetings of the History of Science Society in Atlanta and the Society of American Archivists in Chicago; the seminar, "Saving Images in a Digital World," sponsored by the Research, Libraries and Archives Conservation Task Force (RELACT); the workshop, "Have you Got the Blues?," on preservation of architectural records, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC; a day-long session at CAL on the structure of paper and techniques of conservation investigation; and the Westminster University/Smithsonian Institution 150th Conference in London.

William G. Tompkins continued to serve on the Smithsonian Registrars' Council, the Archives and Special Collections Council, the Data Content Committee, the Federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act Committee, and the Collections Information System Management Committee. He served on the NMAH Process Reengineering Team regarding the development of a new process for outgoing loans. Tompkins was appointed to the Board of the Registrars Committee of the American Association of Museums and served as Reprints Coordinator of the RC-AAM. He continued to serve as the Smithsonian representative on the Interagency Federal Collections Working Group, and serves on the Steering Committee which is planning a conference for November 1998 in San Diego, California. Tompkins represented the NCP at the American Association of Museums annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, and the American Law Institute and American Bar Association course of study, "Legal Problems of Museum Administration," in Washington, DC. He also attended a workshop seminar on "Information Mapping: Developing Procedures, Policies, and Documentation."

Kathleen M. Williams served on a discussion panel, "Archives in Cultural Institutions," at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference in Wilmington, DE, and gave a workshop presentation with Alan Bain entitled, "Casting Your Nets: Collecting, Accessioning, Appraising, and Scheduling Records," at the Museum and Library Archives Institute in Easthampton, MA. She continued to serve as the key membership contact for DC area members of the Society of American Archivists. Williams attended the Association of Records Managers and Administrators Conference in Washington, DC and the ninth annual Records Administration Conference (RACO), sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. She continued to serve as the Office's SIRIS coordinator. Williams began a four-month maternity leave in August.