KSS Agenda
April 19th 2017
1) Announcements
2) Reading of previous minutes
3) Treasurers Report
- Report
- Tax Update
4) Committee Reports
A) Data Access Report:
- Update of current and granted requests
B) Database Committee
- Update on recent data donations:
- Larry Simpson - Pulaski County Maps and survey data
- CRF Non-park data
- Jims CRF data
- Update on new Locations/ Updated locations
- Vote on new County Coordinator
- Tim Miller
C) Cave Definition committee
The proposal stands now (can this be voted upon?) :
The KSS criteria for inclusion in the data base : To be recorded and described in the Kentucky Cave Date Base as a cave the feature shall have minimum cylindrical dimensions of 1.0 meter in diameter and 10meters long. The cylinder may be vertical or horizontal.
All other features not meeting criteria to be defined as a Cave, shall be defined in the records as a Karst Feature. Otherwise the records will be identical... The KSS database criteria, based upon the KSS definition of a cave, may include entries that do not fit the limited legal definition of a cave in the State of Kentucky. The KSS is not responsible for the interpretation or application of the law.
5) Old Business:
A) Wayne County Work Weekend
- Any update on information generated?
B) Business Cards
- Design to share
C) Relevant Next Year Objectives from Last meeting:
Drive better Interactions with Cavers
Improve the Database-
5) New Business:
A) Need to resolve how Data Access and Database groups do their jobs and work together
Data Access Committee
- Data Access is in charge of vetting all requests for data
- There should be a clear committee leader
- Spreadsheet of Requests (Google Docs)to track all requests and decide as a committee to grant or deny
- All requests should be answered in no more than 1 week
This does not always mean a decision, but a reply to confirm the request was received
This can also include a request for more info
- Clearer information to be added to the website for people who make requests, so that we get fewer 'recreational' type requests?
- Committee should have communications separate from Board meetings to discuss/accept/ reject
- Each decision should have a point person for next step
- Data Access committee has access to database and can fill easy requests. Harder requests can be bumped to the Database committee upon acceptance
Database Committee
- Database committee owns the updating of the database, and sharing with Access and CC
- There should be a clear committee leader
- All data should come in from CC as Data report forms (available on Website?)
- We will no longer expect people to update the database directly
- Will fill requests for data as needed from access committee
B) Long term Data room access
Need to start this conversation with KGS
C) Digital Archiving of KY Grotto Publications
From Sarah Arpin:
I think it would be a valuable endeavor to try to get all of Kentucky's Grotto publications together and in one place. Now that we've got Dropbox, it will be much easier to archive these publications digitally. I've spoken with Steve Gentry who has already donated CDs that contain all the Speleofest Guidebooks. He also has %99 of the LG newsletters and Fort Knox Grotto and Central Ky newsletters from the 70s and 80s already scanned!
I don't mind to take on the task of trying to track down and digitize these publications if the KSS also supports this idea. Steve said we'd need to get permission from LG before he can hand over their newsletters so I'd like to start there.
Is this something the KSS would back? I'd love it if in the future we could look into making it a searchable repository as I think that would be very handy for folks doing research.
D) Long term Webex access