Call to Order/Introductions
Adoption of Agenda:
Approval of September 5 Minutes:
Motion: Paul moved and Donna seconded adoption of the September 5, 2017 Minutes with minor edits from Ron. Motion passed.
Open Forum:
There were no comments.
Recommendations for ACB Large Print Style Guide
- Ron provided background on the task force. The goal was to develop a consistent standard that meets the needs of as many members as possible. Deb explained history of the process, survey development and its implementation. Based on a scoring matrix developed by Deb and Ron, the recommended guideline is based on Verdana, 20-point, bold with single columns and underline for emphasis. Donna P. mentioned that only Deb had access to the attributes assignment which made it possible for Donna and Zelda to respond to the survey anonymously. There was agreement from everyone that it was a good process.
- Ron explained that Sharon did some calculation based on the style recommendations. The current cost of the large print Braille Forum is $12,700 and implementing the recommendation would raise this to $16,900. The cost for the Braille Forum in all formats is currently $39,000 and would be $43,000 after implementing the new guidelines. He acknowledged the hard work of all who contributed.
- Tom asked whether contrast had been considered because sometimes reading black on white can be tiring. Donna P. said we could consider off white or eggshell.
- Motion: Deb moved and Paul seconded that the ACB Board of Publications establish the following guidelines for large print versions of all ACB publications, including, but not limited to the ACB Braille Forum, the ACB Convention Program, and any other publications produced for general distribution to members.
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Base font of Verdana Bold 20-point with subheadings of 22-point and major headings of 24-point
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Spacing of 1.5 between lines
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Blank lines between paragraphs and between headings/subheadings and text
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One column per page
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Flush left margin
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Ragged right margin
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Clear spacing of 1 inch for top, left and right margins
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Clear spacing of not less than 0.75 inches for bottom margins
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Page numbers in the upper outer corners of each page
- These guidelines will be incorporated into the ACB Board of Publications Editorial Guidelines and they will be transmitted to the ACB Executive Director and other appropriate staff, consultants, contractors and Board and committee representatives for incorporation into the production of other correspondence and publications as appropriate.
- For the budget year 2018, the ACB BOP Chairman is authorized to modify the guidelines to include the use of Verdana Bold 18-point font if and only if budget constraints preclude the use of the 20-point Verdana bold font set forth in the guidelines enumerated herein.
- Paul asked about the cost difference for 18- versus 20-point. Ron responded that it is about $1000. Deb and Paul amended to strike the last paragraph. Donna P. asked that language be added to ensure that the agreed upon constants would be included, and this was accepted with language from Ron.
- “Other print attributes and formatting conventions agreed upon by the BOP and CCLVI large print reader preference survey task force.”
- Paul asked about cost of amending the paper contract. Ron said this could be worked out by Eric and Sharon since cost was just an estimate. The motion passed with no further discussion. Kim thanked everyone for their hard work and collaboration. Katie said the Marketing and Communications Committee is developing a style guide and this will help in that process. Deb will send out a copy of the amended motion and the complete large print style guide.
Recommendation from the ACB Board of Directors Regarding the Candidates Forum
Prior to the meeting, Ron distributed a motion passed at the ACB fall board meeting. Due to increasingly low attendance, the ACB board recommends that the BOP drop the physical Candidates Forum at convention and consider other ways to introduce the candidates and to connect prospective candidates with the voters. Kim stressed that this is a BOP decision, and the board was merely making a recommendation. Katie stated that it was not the intent to stop the Candidates Forum but rather to position it in a more useful way. Ron said that concerns were that this is part of the core business of the organization and that technology should not be used to exclude some groups of members from participating. Donna asked about attendance at affiliate caucuses. Leslie responded that CCLVI’s call was well attended with all candidates present. Larry said he was initially responsible for raising this issue and thought that the Zoom Meetings technology, which includes both online and phone, allows more people to participate and be informed.
Paul said that an issue impacting physical attendance is that the Candidates Forum was moved from the night prior to elections impacting currency of information regarding offices up for election since the nominating committee has not announced the candidates. ACB Radio has high visibility during the convention but do we know that this would carry over if the Candidates Forum were to occur prior to convention. He was not as concerned about attendance if you consider those in person, on the phone and via ACB Radio in total and felt the ACB Board should consider the entire process before making this recommendation. Donna P. thought people need to be in the room doing the business of the organization, but she is learning a lot about how technology and other factors allow people to participate on many platforms while still including the telephone. This would allow members to have information and would encourage grassroots participation. Deb talked about the Candidates Forum no longer being a priority or highlight of the convention leading up to elections and that we needed to bring back this emphasis and determine the role. She expressed concern that Zoom wasn’t entirely inclusive of those on the phone and that this process felt somewhat engineered because it had been to ACB Radio Management and to the ACB Board before including the BOP.
Ron said this does not have to be an either-or scenario; it’s possible to have a pre-convention candidates’ forum and another type of event during convention. Susan expressed that democracy works best when people are visibly and viably active in it. This could take many forms other than the traditional Candidates Forum but should occur at convention and in person rather than virtually. Donna B concurred with the statements that had been made. Ron asked Kim to address the concern that doing the Candidates Forum early and outside of the convention precluded knowing what offices will ultimately be up for election. Kim indicated that most candidates who participated in preconvention caucuses had taken the time to provide written statements for the candidate web pages. Paul noted that this has more impact on Board positions which are more likely to be run from the floor and would not benefit from a preconvention caucus or the candidates’ pages. Discussion evolved to consider offering a preconvention candidates forum and an in-person town hall type event.
Motion: Deb moved and Donna seconded a motion as follows: the BOP will conduct a structured ACB Candidates Forum via ACB Radio and by telephone approximately two weeks prior to the ACB Annual Conference and Convention for candidates who have utilized the ACB Candidates Page to announce their intention to run for ACB Director, Officer and/or BOP positions, and that the BOP in conjunction with ACB Radio will conduct a face-to-face and live-streamed town hall meeting at the ACB conference and convention where all candidates intending to run for any Director, Officer or BOP position can field questions from those attending in person or by phone, and that this town hall meeting be scheduled as late in the convention week as possible — preferably in an evening time slot on the last evening prior to elections. Motion passed.
BOP Chairman’s Report: Ron Brooks
- Ron attended the fall ACB Board meeting in St. Louis and will attend the budget meetings scheduled on November 27 and 30 by phone. There was a lot of discussion regarding the strategic plan and the 5 action committees that will drive the process. He will write an article for the Braille Forum based on the in-person Board meeting and the two scheduled calls.
- Ron developed the BOP budget based on previous discussion.
- Ron also assisted with finalization of the Large Print Reader Preference Survey and developed the related budget item.
- Motion: Paul moved and Donna seconded acceptance of the Chairman’s report. Motion passed.
Editor’s report: Sharon Lovering
October 2017 Issue type: electronic; Print Page Count: 58
Electronic Distributed: 5,330; Returned: 4; Return Rate: 0.1%; Received: 5,326
Total Accessed (Excludes Returns): 5,326
Braille Returned: 1
LP Returned: 7
Cassette Returned: 23
CD Returned: 1
November 2017 Issue type: hard copy Print Page Count: 48
Braille Distributed: 675
LP Distributed: 2,618
Cassette Distributed: 910
CD Distributed: 129
Electronic Distributed: 5,351
I just put the finishing touches on the December issue, and have sent the file to Perkins to be recorded (for the podcast version). I continue to work on the national office photo/video inventory; I have finished writing descriptions of the 2001 photos, and have begun working on descriptions for the 2002 convention photos.
I have also been working with the large print subcommittee, and have put together some samples of the fonts that rated highest in the large print survey and compared them with the current font used in the Forum. The resolutions summary, which ran in the November issue, took 11 pages in Arial 18-point; in 20-point Verdana bold, it took 14 1/3 pages. Here and There in the November issue took 8 1/3 pages in 18-point Arial; in Verdana 18-point bold it took 9 pages plus 2 lines on page 10. Here and There in the upcoming December issue took 9 pages in 18-point Arial; in 20-point Arial bold, with 24-point headline and 22-point subheads, it took 12 1/3 pages. (All of the samples were done with one column; the articles appearing in the Forum were done as two columns.) I was surprised by how little space I got back by converting to a single column!
Motion: Donna moved and Susan seconded acceptance of the Editor’s report. Motion passed.
Other Reports
ACB Radio: Larry Turnbull
Joel Snyder wants to do audio description of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with ACB Radio and is researching this with Larry.
George Holiday is working with a committee to bring back an international stream with Spanish broadcasting on ACB Radio.
Email Lists Stats: Bob Hachey
Social Media and PR: Katie Frederick
The PR committee met with Membership in October to discuss affiliate growth and marketing. They will also be collaborating with Janet Dickelman to publicize the convention previews, and working with Kelly to promote Giving Tuesday.
Other Business and Announcements
There were no announcements.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for December 5, 2017 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Adjourn
Donna moved and Deb seconded adjournment. the meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Deb Lewis, Secretary