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Summary Report: Sierra Vista and Prescott Convocations

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines convocation as "an assembly of persons convoked" or called together to a meeting. That is exactly what happened for library, map, genealogical, archives, photographic, museum, and public records professionals in Arizona. The state's Department of Library, Archives and Public Records sponsored two convocations that brought together the people who work with unique Arizona collections to discuss statewide issues. The first gathering was held on February 26 and 27 in Sierra Vista for professionals in the southern part of the state. Northern area participants met in Prescott on May 14 and 15. Each meeting was designed to begin a dialogue among the staff of various cultural institutions to address resource sharing, coordinated collections development, conservation/preservation, and any other topics of interest.

Another purpose of the Convocation was to introduce people to the Cultural Inventory Project. The goal of this project is to build a comprehensive listing of the types of collections housed in each Arizona cultural institution. Convocation participants were asked to submit a copy of their organization's collection policy. The state library copied, printed, bound, and distributed them to each participant. The Department will continue to provide print and web-based listings of the scope and collection specialization descriptions for each institution housing, selecting, interpreting or preserving unique Arizona materials. Ultimately, it will be important for information to be submitted in a standardized format and style to facilitate and expedite user searches.

The participants at both Convocations discussed a variety of topics and areas of concern, but several common points of interest emerged. Training was something almost everyone wanted more of, including basic operation and management skills, "how to" policy development, cataloging, indexing, digitization, and grant writing. All agreed that training should be ongoing and cover a wide range of topics.

As discussions progressed throughout each weekend, it became clear that there was a need for a common vocabulary of working terms that would provide meaningful terminology for all interested parties. Standards would need to be developed as well. Standards for research and interpretation are necessary for providing types of descriptive information and metadata template guidelines. However, establishing a framework of common objectives and conversations about policies must come first.

Three task forces were established: resource sharing, coordinated collection development, and conservation/preservation. Others evolved as interests dictated, such as law and genealogical groups. The purpose of each task force was to bring together, for the first time in Arizona, people from many disciplines who were interested in a specific topic to begin thinking about the issues affecting all of us.

Unique to the Sierra Vista convocation was the formation of a law library task force. The people in this group decided to re-activate the Arizona Consortium of Law Libraries (ACLL). They agreed to meet one or more times per year and to set-up an ACLL list-serve to enhance communication. The group will also establish a website, survey public libraries as to their legal information needs, develop workshops, work toward the electronic linkage of all law library catalogs, develop policies for superseded legal materials, and develop and share profiles of collections and statistical information.

The Sierra Vista convocation also identified three geographical work zones: local, regional, and state. Each zone will need to be concerned about the importance of the users and the need for input from them. At the local level, conversations must continue. Institutions, curators, archivists, librarians, record managers, cartographers, genealogists and historians must each decide at what level the statewide collection, preservation, and availability concerns will be implemented.

At the regional level, forums, training coordination, disaster recovery and the pooling of collection information for inclusion in statewide databases should take place. The local, regional, and state resources should support the work taking place at each level and help each other accomplish individualized objectives. It will also be important to share information within each group, between groups, and, when appropriate, to the public at large. The ultimate success of each of these groups, as well as the overall strength and depth of Arizona's unique collections, will be dependent upon the actions of the individuals selecting, interpreting and preserving local collections across Arizona.

Both convocations determined that many of these issues must be initiated at the state level. The state could more easily involve a wider, potential audience and group of participants. Specifically the maintenance of networking, insuring the continuity of communication, providing assistance in training, and statewide planning should all occur at this level. The Prescott participants reinforced the need for overarching, coordinated leadership from the state that can serve as a clearinghouse for collaborative statewide resource sharing. The state library has committed to following up on these activities from the convocations:

• To fund an annual forum to analyze ideas and provide "cross pollination" and a safe forum for networking and debate.
• To provide a written convocation summary to all participants.
• To send an updated copy of the cultural inventory project to all convocation participants.
• To begin compiling a resource guide that will be distributed to all convocation participants.
• To work with the task forces to foster their continued activities.
• To share information about related activities.

The time is ripe for collaborations for many reasons, not the least of which is the emphasis at the national level for museums and libraries working together. Arizona is beginning to identify its statewide needs and is preserving the state's unique resources and providing increased access. Certainly the state library cannot do it alone, nor should they try. Arizona and its cultural institutions will be empowered when they share expertise with each other in the areas of disaster preparedness, cataloging, indexing, exhibiting, and preserving our rich cultural heritage. The synergy that can be created by all of us working together will make a significant difference for each of us, and for the diverse public users we all serve.

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