APS, APRL joint board meeting Nov. 14 prior to Postal History Symposium

By Charles Snee

The boards of the American Philatelic Society and American Philatelic Research Library held a joint meeting Nov. 14 in Bellefonte, Pa., one day prior to the opening of the Nov. 15-16 Postal History Symposium at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte.

The symposium is titled “The Universal Postal Union: Connecting the World by Mail” and celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Bern that established the UPU in 1874.

Cheryl Ganz, president of the APS, welcomed all in attendance before APS executive director Scott English called the roll of each board.

The APRL board voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Barry Feddema as a trustee to the board. Feddema fills the vacancy left by the departure of Charles Epting, who served as board secretary.

The APRL board then voted unanimously to appoint Murray Abramson as the new APRL secretary.

The minutes of the joint APS/APRL board meeting held Aug. 14 at the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Conn., were approved unanimously by both boards.

APS attorney Kathleen Yurchak reported that she has been addressing various issues with some of the tenants occupying space at the American Philatelic Center. She also said she was addressing some issues related to the upcoming APS and APRL elections in 2025.

Susanna Mills, editor-in-chief of the American Philatelist and the Philatelic Literature Review, gave an update on the progress of StampEd, the new digital-only magazine that debuted in February 2024.

Mills noted that slightly more than $18,000 from almost 100 donors has been raised to support the publication, which is targeted at a younger audience that is primarily online.

There has been a noticeable decline in readership over the first three issues, according to Mills, and steps are being taken in the coming year to address the magazine’s format and frequency, along with generating more revenue from advertising and other sources.

APRL digital librarian Geoffrey Hobart gave a detailed overview of the Robert A. Mason Digital Library.

As of mid-November, the digital platform housed 9,380 journals and 181 individual exhibits.

Current journal uploads include the JAPOS Bulletin, Tennessee Posts and volumes 7 and 8 of Vatican Notes.

Hobart reviewed the past 11 months of effort to expand the digital library’s focus and mission, and to identify resource goals.

“This focused and thoughtful use of resources on a basic operations level will allow us to maintain the [library] as a freely accessible resource while also being able to pursue larger-scale digital initiatives,” Hobart said.

Other initiatives include better use of scanning and photography capabilities to expand library holdings, along with developing curation and acquisition standards.

Key to these efforts are increased communication with the philatelic community and collaboration with outside institutions.

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, Hobart highlighted some important next steps, such as establishing a scanning service and a collection plan for new material, and increasing awareness and communication as the library continues to grow and evolve.

All of these efforts will require concentrated focus on platform improvement to provide better usability and searchability, according to Hobart.

He emphasized the need to develop best practices for data backup and better utilize physical and cloud storage. Overall, there is a need for a complete digital preservation plan.

Additional objectives going forward include an action plan for digital versions of non-traditional, in-person exhibits and efforts to foster digital estate planning.

Hobart concluded with a quick glimpse at future initiatives, such as microfilm digitization, web preservation projects and increased collaboration with outside institutions.

Marian Mills, librarian and director of information services for the APRL, began her presentation with some 2024 statistics. Thus far, a total of 1,133 new items have been cataloged, 367 articles have been indexed, and there have been 1,012 library requests.

Mills then outlined the library’s digital preservation plan. Specifically, the APRL will “create and begin implementation of a plan for preservation of standard file formats, CDs, older documents and unsupported media types,” Mills said.

The APRL will also “begin assessment and implementation of a website preservation project, in cooperation with the Vincent Graves Greene Foundation,” she said.

Mills then provided a quick summary of ongoing efforts to preserve and archive the philatelic resources in the collections of Herb Trenchard and Richard F. Winter.

Mills reviewed the results of a recent reader survey for the Philatelic Literature Review, the journal of the APRL.

A total of 77 subscribers responded. Of those, 66 percent preferred to receive the journal in print. Overall, 86 percent of the respondents were generally satisfied or very satisfied with the magazine.

However, Mills noted that the journal is losing money and generating very little advertising revenue. The number of subscribers is declining, and the editorial staff is having a hard time filling each quarterly issue.

Starting in 2025, the Philatelic Literature Review will be produced as a full-size magazine in color and will be published two times a year instead of four times.

According to Mills, the desired outcome for the revamped publication is “a better PLR with more subscribers, advertisements, quality content, and an active and engaged community of subscribers and contributors.”

Mills finished her update with an announcement about a new bimonthly digital newsletter focused on the APRL.

The newsletter will provide news and other updates, including notice of new acquisitions at the library, upcoming used book sales and special deals from the APRL bookstore, research resources, and a clearinghouse where APRL members can sell their own material.

English began his report with an overview of the APS’ 10-year joint capital budget and available financing (approximately $4.96 million) to create the society’s new website and address various infrastructure needs for the American Philatelic Center, such as replacing the roof and aging heating and cooling systems.

He then reviewed the new website project (approved by the APS board in August 2024 with $500,000 budget), citing what he called “principles for change”: improved user experience, improved data collection, streamlined payment processing, renewal management, improved data management and improved automation.

The new website design is scheduled to be completed in January 2025, and data mapping and data migration should be finished by March 2025. Additional tasks such as business rules, member information and staff training, are planned for completion in spring of next year. The goal is for the new website to go live on June 2, 2025.

English provided additional timeline background and next steps for the roof replacement, which is projected to begin in spring 2026, following completion of preliminary design work, release of the request for proposal and selection of the winning bidder to do the work.

Warranty coverage for the new roof would be for no less than 30 years, according to English.

In his update on the Stephen Campbell Home of Online Learning (known as Stamp SCHOOL), English said that $201,000 in pledges and donations have been received toward the campaign target of $250,000.

The APS has selected the firm Forj to host the Stamp SCHOOL platform, with the objective of “creating an accessible and integrated community and learning platform,” English said.

He then highlighted the school’s objectives: build communities for membership groups (chapters, affiliates, collecting interests), build a library of asynchronous courses, begin live online learning lessons, collect data for course materials and advance synchronous online and live courses for 2026, revenue generation to support expanded educational programs, and membership recruitment and retention.

English gave an overview of the timeline for the 2025 APS and APRL election, which is to be the first to implement electronic voting.

The nomination period opened Nov. 1, 2024, an all nominations must be received by March 31, 2025.

“In 2025, ballots will be sent with a unique ballot link to APS members to vote,” English said. “Members will be directed to a secure APS-branded site with candidate statements and a secure ballot. Members will make selections and can edit choices before submitting their votes for recording. The unique ballot link will no longer be active once the votes are cast. A reminder email will be sent to non-voting members before the end of the voting period.”

The APS selected Intelliscan as the vendor for the electronic voting process.

According to English, Intelliscan “will provide technical support for APS members and provide a dedicated customer service liaison to the APS during the voting period.”

“For the 3,200 members without email addresses, Intelliscan will mail paper ballots to be returned and counted by Intelliscan,” English said. “The APS will also have an additional 1,000 ballots available for lost ballots or hit critical fail voting online.” [The latter referring to the availability of ballots to supplement failed online votes]

English concluded his report with a brief update in the ongoing disposition of the philatelic estate of Alfred F. “Al” Kugel (1930-2022), which was donated to the APS.

The APS selected Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers to sell the estate through a series of auctions. The two sales held this year have generated almost $2.2 million for the APS.

English said Cherrystone plans to hold two or three more sales of the Kugel collection in 2025, with the next scheduled for January.

All funds from the Kugel collection sales will be “dedicated to future capital needs and cash reserves for other future needs,” English said.

Ganz then announced a proposed resolution regarding a charter and process for forming a search committee to select the next APS executive director, following English’s recent announcement that he will step down as executive director in 2025.

Ganz said the committee, which will include APS and APRL board members and non-board members, will work with an executive search firm. Following a brief discussion, the resolution was unanimously approved by the APS board.

English then briefly discussed the recent decision of the Plymouth Stamp Show to give up its World Series of Philately status. The APS board voted unanimously to accept the show’s decision.

APS chief administrative officer Jeff Krantweiss briefly reviewed the 2025 APS/APRL budget. Following Krantweiss’ remarks, Kathy Johnson, APS and APRL treasurer, strongly endorsed the 2025 APS/APRL budget, which was unanimously approved by the APS and APRL boards.

Shortly thereafter, motions to adjourn the meeting were unanimously approved by the APS and APRL boards.

The APS is the nation’s largest organization serving stamp collectors. Additional information and a membership application are available on the APS website.

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