MLA/AMS Joint Committee on RISM Annual Report 2022

submitted by Jim Cassaro

Current Roster

MLA:

  • Jim Cassaro, chair (2020-2022)
  • Manuel G. Erviti, member (2022-2025)
  • Kirstin M. Johnson, member (2022-2025)
  • Kimmy Szeto, member (2022-2025)
  • John H. Roberts, ex-officio
  • Liza F. Vick, ex officio (2021-2023)
  • Jane Gottlieb, ex officio (2022-2025)

AMS:

  • Bruce Alan Brown, member
  • Melinda Latour, member
  • Paul Sommerfeld, member

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  1. Letter of Understanding
    • The AMS requested that a letter of understanding be completed between the two sponsoring organizations to spell out terms of reference, rotation of chairs, and financial subsidies. This was completed in the Fall of 2021. The letter also spells out the timetable for when the annual subsidy from each organization will be issued, July (MLA) and August (AMS) each year.
  2. Rotation of committee chair
    • The chair discussed with Georgia Cowart, incoming AMS President, the rotation of chairs between MLA and AMS, which has been problematic when the AMS chair is appointed without having any experience on the committee. We decided that AMS appointees to the committee will serve one year on the committee and then serve as chair for the remainder of the three-year term. The same process will be worked out for the MLA members of the committee, although the next chair of the committee represents AMS.

List of Future Goals

  1. Financial stability
    • Goal 1, Objective 1.3: Cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with other
      organizations.
    • Discussion of the feasibility of supporting the work of the U.S. RISM Office at Harvard University with the current subsidies paid out from AMS ($1,000/year) and MLA ($1,500/year), parallel to that of the U.S. RILM Office at Cornell University. The chairs of both committees, along with other interested parties, met online in December 2021 to begin discussion of this issue regarding the U.S. RILM Office. Subsequent discussion with the joint committee occurred in February 2022. The chairs of both committees will meet with Liza Vick, MLA President in September 2022 to continue the discussion.