"All Legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." (Article I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution)

Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies Shepherd College Shepherdstown, WV 25443 May 1-2, 2003 Attendees Minutes Donald C. Bacon President Fund for the Study of Congress 3809 East West Hwy Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Phone: (301) 654-8126 Fax: (301) 654-8126 Email: donbacon@erols.com   Richard Baker Historian Senate Historical Office United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6900 Fax: (202) 224-5329 Email: Richard_Baker@sec.senate.gov Michael Ballard Coordinator of the Congressional and Political Research Center Mississippi State University Mitchell Memorial Library Hardy Road Mississippi State, MS 39762 Phone: (662) 325-7680 Fax: (662) 325-3560 Email: mballard@library.msstate.edu   Terry Birdwhistell Director Wendell H. Ford Research Center and Public Policy Archives 103A Margaret I. King Library University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506-0039 Phone: (859) 576-8145 Fax: (859) 257-6311 Email: tlbird@uky.edu The Honorable John Brademas President Emeritus King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center New York University Third Floor 53 Washington Square South New York, NY 10012-1098 Phone: (212) 998-3636 Fax: (212) 995-4810 Email: ymm2@nyu.edu   Rex G. Buffington, II Executive Director Stennis Center for Public Service Box 9629 Mississippi State, MS 39762-9629 Phone: (662) 325-8409 Fax: (662) 325-8623 Email: rex@stennis.gov John Constance Director Congressional and Public Affairs National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, MD 20740-6001 Phone: (301) 837-1606 Fax: (301) 837-0311 Email: John.Constance@nara.gov   Joseph Cooper Professor Department of Political Science Johns Hopkins University 3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218-3688 Phone: (410) 516-4879 Fax: (410) 516-5515 Email: Jcooper@JHU.edu Gary Copeland Director Carl Albert Center University of Oklahoma 630 Parrington Oval, Room 101 Norman, OK 73019-0375 Phone: (405) 325-6372 Fax: (405) 325-6419 Email: copeland@ou.edu   Rose Diaz Research Historian University of New Mexico Political Archives General Libraryy - Development Albuquerque, NM 87131-1181 Phone: (505) 277-3570 Fax: (505) 277-3284 Email: rosediaz@unm.edu Connell B. Gallagher Special Collections Department Bailey/Howe Library University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405 Phone: (802) 656-2595 Fax: (802) 656-4238 Email: connell.gallagher@uvm.edu   Gregory Gallant Director Margaret Chase Smith Library 56 Norridgewock Avenue Skowhegan, ME 04976 Phone: (207) 474-7133 Fax: (207) 474-8878 Email: gpg@somtel.com Michael L. Gillette Director Center for Legislative Archives National Archives and Records Administration Washington, DC 20408 Phone: (202) 501-5350 Fax: (202) 219-2176 Email:michael.gillette@nara.gov   Susan Webb Hammond Professor Department of Government American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016-8130 Phone: (202) 885-6226 Fax: (202) 885-2967 Email: shammo@american.edu Richard H. Hunt Assistant Director Center for Legislative Archives National Archives and Records Administration 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20408 Phone: (202) 501-5350 Fax: (202) 219-2176 Email: richard.hunt@nara.gov   Kenneth Kato Chief Office of History and Preservation House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-1811 Fax: (202) 226-4635 Email: kenneth.kato@mail.house.gov Alan Lowe Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy University of Tennessee, Knoxville 217 Hoskins Library Knowville, TN 37996-4006 Phone: (865) 974-0931 Email: alowe4@gwmail.utk.edu   Frank Mackaman Director The Dirksen Congressional Center 2815 Broadway Pekin, IL 61554 Phone: (309) 347-7113 Fax: (309) 347-6432 Email: fmackaman@dirksencenter.org Deborah Merritt Director The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Policy 400 Stillman Hall 1947 College Road Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 Phone: (614) 247-7933 Fax: (614) 292-4868 Email: Merritt.52@osu.edu   Ilona Nickels (Based in Washington, DC) 162 New Mark Esplanade Rockville, MD 20850 Phone: (301) 412-8930 The Center on Congress Indiana University SPEA 316 Bloomington, IN 47405 Phone: (812) 856-4706 Fax: (812) 856-4703 Email: inickels@indiana.edu Karen Paul Senate Historical Office United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3351 Fax: (202) 224-5329 Email: karen_paul@sec.senate.gov   Robin Reeder Office of History and Preservation House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 226-9937 Fax: (202) 226-4635 Email: robin.reeder@mail.house.gov Catherine E. Rudder School of Public Policy George Mason University 3401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS-3B1 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: (703) 993-4996 Fax: (703) 993-8215 Email: rudder@gmu.edu   Steve Sandell Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs University of Minnesota 301-19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: (612) 624-5893 Fax: (612) 625-3513 Email: ssandell@hhh..umn.edu Raymond W. Smock Director Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies P.O. Box 3210 Shepherd College Shepherdstown, WV 25443 Phone: (304) 876-5670 Fax: (304) 876-5667 Email: rsmock@shepherd.edu   James Thurber Director Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies Ward 109 American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016-8130 Phone: (202) 885-6247 Fax: (202) 885-1038 Email: thurber@american.edu Sheryl Vogt Director THe Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies University of Georgia Libraries AThens, GA 30602-1641 Phone: (706) 542-0619 Fax: (706) 542-4144 Email: sbvogt@arches.uga.edu   Thomas Wilsted Director Thomas J. Dodd Research Center University of Connecticut 405 Babbidge Road Storrs, CT 06269-1205 Phone: (860) 486-4501 Fax: (860) 486-4521 Email: Tom.Wilsted@uconn.edu Don Wolfensberger Congress Project Director The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 Phone: (202) 691-4128 Fax: (202) 691-4001 Email: WolfensD@wwic.si.edu     Minutes Thursday, May 1, 2003 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Introductory Session Opening remarks and welcome from Ray Smock Introduction of participants Observations by Frank Mackaman Mackaman commented on the diversity of the centers represented at the meeting, and the fact that seven of the thirteen mission statements did not include Congress. He added that there were two types of organizations represented: (1) those tightly focused on Congress and (2) those who use congressional collections or namesakes to advance a broader agenda. He also wondered if the focus on Congress would get lost amidst the diversity of centers. The participants organized into small groups to discuss the factors that distinguish a successful policy center and the questions that we should attempt to address over the next two days. (see hand-out for list of factors and questions.) Friday, May 2, 2003 9:00 to 12:00 Morning Session Frank Mackaman outlined the plan for the day, which began with (I) an audience/marketing segmentation exercise, where the group identified the various audiences served by the centers and the programs targeted to those audiences. (II) A discussion of case studies of successful programs, and (III) a discussion of follow-up plans and activities. Our challenge is to focus on the programs and activities that we can do better as a group than as individual entities. I. Audience Segmentation Exercise The following audiences were identified by the group: Students Future Leaders Public Policymakers Public Sector Executives Members of Congress/staff Researchers/scholars Faculty/school teachers Members' families Press General Public Parliamentarians Donors/potential donors Resource allocaters Business leaders State legislators Labor Center staff NGOs Political consultants Party officers Professionals (lawyers, etc.) Lobbyists Judges U.N. Foreign embassy staff Archivists/librarians Non-traditional audiences Asked to identify the single most important audience, the breakdown of votes was as follows: Thirteen identified the group defined by the Student audience, which was broadened to include future leaders and school teachers. Six identified the group defined by Public Policymakers, which was broadened to include Members of Congress and staff, Public sector executives, Judges, Members' families, Parliamentarians, Party officials, State legislators, and Lobbyists. One identified Researchers, which was broadened to include scholars and faculty. The group identified programs designed for the Student audience. They included: Interactive e-learning modules Teacher institutes Faculty institutes Use of collections Fellowship programs Internships Orientations Films Publications Exhibits Research grants Web sites Service-learning projects Community service Academic courses Training modules Cable TV shows Meetings with leaders Collaborations Student Congress Youth News program National History Day Majors/minors Speakers series Students associated with center     The group identified programs designed for the Public Policymakers audience. They included: Reference services Orientation programs Best practices (records) Fellowship program Constituent services Networking opportunities Conferences Training in management/ leadership Mentoring Briefings on substantive l policy issues Leadership awards/People-to-people Internships Archival awareness planning Assistance in evaluating programs Websites Links with scholars The group identified programs designed for the Researcher audience. They included: Collections accessibility Reference services Acquisitions Conducting oral histories Scholarly research Book series Publications Grants/Awards/ Clearinghouse Public programs Bringing real world to scholars Detailees to Hill Research fellowships Changing nature of research     Discussion: John Brademas made some observations about the general lack of interest in Congress in academia. Jim Thurber noted that the Legislative Studies subsection of APSA is a very large and active group. Courses on Congress at American University have drawn significant interest and have been overenrolled this year. Joe Cooper added that scholars are focused on Congress, although they are less interested in politics. The group was polled regarding the award of grants, and the tally showed that six institutions awarded research grants, with four of those restricting awards to research in their own holdings. Four institutions also give grants to classroom teachers, with no limitations requiring work in their holdings only. Sheryl Vogt asked the group: What would make congressional collections of greater interest to political scientists? The group offered the following suggestions: Workshops for scholars Panels and short courses at conferences Better websites and links to other sites Publications and finding aids targeted at political science research agenda Exemplars showing how collections can be used profitably The group was polled about putting historical materials online, and the tally showed that twelve institutions make some part of their holdings accessible online. Ilona Nickels noted that it was important to put a representative sample of a center's holdings online to support internet-based research. Frank Mackaman wondered if a central Congressional Research Foundation could be created from donations from each center. II. Case Studies of Successful Programs: Frank Mackaman described the web-suite offered by the Dirksen Center. It is a program driven by the center's mission and reaches one of the primary audiences (classroom teachers). It also addresses the challenge of geographic location. Frequency of research requests determined historical materials selected for online accessibility (Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965). The website is flexible, rewards creativity, and after start-up costs ($250,000 a few years ago) it is relatively inexpensive to maintain ($7,000 annually in direct costs, plus indirect costs, which include a percentage of staff salaries). The website received fourteen million hits last year, a thirty-five percent increase over the previous year. Mackaman explained that the suite approach (vs. a single website) facilitated use by separate audiences and users who do not have to go deep into the website to find the materials and paths of highest utility. The use of the website is evaluated by the number of hits, time-on-site (average of 8-10 minutes), bookmarks, subscriptions to newsletter (11,000), feedback (on kids site), contacts, teacher focus groups, and a number of national awards that the site has earned. Ken Kato talked about the APSA short course he conducted (when he was at the Center of Legislative Archives) to alert political scientists to potential data sources within House and Senate records. John Brademas noted that the Annenberg Foundation is supporting a project called "Institutions of Democracy," under which Oxford University Press will publish scholarly and educational resources related to government. Brademas is serving on the advisory board. The Congress component of the project is spearheaded by Sarah Binder at Brookings and Paul Quirk at the University of Illinois. Don Wolfensberger described a case study that involved linkages between the Stennis Fellows, the Wilson Center's program on "Congress and Information Technology," and Jim Thurber's center, which collaborated on a publication on Congress and the internet. Steve Sandell discussed a case study that focused on the Humphrey Museum, the museum lessons program, the use of material culture to reach a young audience, and public access television programming with high school students. Tom Wilsted described the week-long and year-long events and programs sponsored by the university to mark the opening of the Dodd Center and how they served as effective branding activities. Richard Hunt talked about the educational publication program at the Center for Legislative Archives, with special emphasis on the forthcoming "Congress and the Shaping of American History" document resource. Afternoon session 1:00 to 2:00 III. Follow-up Plans and Activities Charge to the group: How can we continue the group and sustain the momentum gained at this meeting? John Brademas offered the following proposal: That we explore forming an Association of Congressional Study Centers, establish a system to correspond and link with each other, propose an initial agenda of activities, and consider how to provide advice to House and Senate members on the organization of their papers for subsequent disposition and use. Alternative titles for the association were suggested as a way to keep the focus on Congress rather than public policy, including: Association of Centers for the Study of Congress; Congressional Centers Caucus; and Centers that Study Congress. The goal is to form an association that welcomes people and groups dedicated to promoting the understanding of Congress. Tom Wilsted suggested that an additional goal should be to explore ways to find more resources for the community of congressional policy centers. Frank Mackaman added that there may be advantages to the collective group applying for grants rather than each center independently seeking funding. The group brainstormed on the following question: What would an association of centers do? Ideas expressed were: Collaborate on programs, including an online collection of documents relating to a particular issue or event. Collaborate on a Research Conference in Washington. Invite interested Members of Congress. Identify research topics and provide online pointers to location of relevant sources. Work with APSA (Legislative Studies, Undergraduate Teaching, and Politics and History sections), Former Members of Congress, Congressional Papers Roundtable, AHA, OAH, etc. to produce standards for Members papers. Attract former Members of Congress as speakers. Establish links to each other's websites. Provide a reference desk function. Support broader policy studies. Approach Congress, in bipartisan and bicameral way, seeking support for the work we do. Seek authorizations, appropriations, and grants as a group. Communicate clearly the missions and programs offered by the diversity of centers. Seize opportunity offered by the Capitol Visitor Center; organize to assist with CVC programs; take advantage of CVC as the natural place to hold an annual event. Include "the promotion of understanding about Congress" in association's mission. Include Library of Congress in association. Maintain focus on Congressional policy centers as the core of the association; eventually link to institutions that have congressional holdings but are not congressional policy centers. The group agreed to form a steering committee; the members are Ray Smock, Jim Thurber, Gary Copeland, Mike Ballard, Karen Paul, Tom Wilsted, Rose Diaz, and Frank Mackaman. The steering committee agreed to propose a title for the organization, a mission statement, goals and objectives, and a business plan, including a web presence. Gary Copeland offered to create a list-serve to facilitate communication within the group.

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