The Spring Meeting at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson promises to be an informative event and a grand opportunity for KCA membership to explore the Ohio Valley area. With the fall 1998 and the 1999 meetings slated for central Kentucky locations, the Board voted for a western venue. Concluding that the success of the Fall Meeting at Pine Mountain was due in part to the excellent facilities at the state park, the Board opened their Kentucky travel guides and zeroed in on the western facilities. We chose Audubon Park as it offers us much, beautiful forests, scenic trails, respite from the everyday hubbub, comfortable meeting facilities, and the outstanding Audubon Museum and Nature Center.

The program includes two speakers from the Henderson area. Don Boorman, Curator of the Audubon Museum, plans to discuss the Museum's collections, focusing on the Audubon water colors, oils, engravings, and personal memorabilia. Recent intervention and support by the Kentucky state government secured the famous Audubon collections from dispersal. However, this was not the first time that the prized collection was plucked from peril. Mr. Boorman will provide some background about this and other collections. Following lunch, Mr. Boorman will conduct a tour through the Museum.

Another Henderson resident, Dr. Marianne Walker, a professor at Henderson Community College, will speak about her use of primary source materials during the research for her recent biography, Margaret Mitchell & John Marsh: The Love Story Behind 'Gone With the Wind'. Dr. Walker is an engaging speaker and an enthusiastic scholar. We are sure to enjoy her thoughts about exploring the primary source gold mines at archives, libraries and historical societies.

And to round out the spring program, Mary Margaret Bell and Sue Lynn Stone will provide an overview of the Kentucky Virtual Library, an initiative Governor Patton has endorsed. The Kentucky Virtual Library will establish the necessary infrastructure across the state and will introduce a wealth of electronic products and services including an electronic archive of Kentucky state publications and rare/unique Kentuckiana. As part of this session, we will present the 30-minute video, Into the Future: On the Preservation of Knowledge in the Electronic Age. This production received funding from the Commission on Preservation and Access and the American Council of Learned Societies and aired to US audiences in early January on PBS. It addresses the critical issues associated with the rapid and radical obsolescence of digital formats. This session will invite us to ponder the prophecy of Into the Future as well as the promise of the Kentucky Virtual Library.

Before our formal program begins, we will have the yearly business meeting to elect new Board members, to introduce new KCA members and guests and to share announcements. Also, I would like to discuss KCA's membership recruiting strategy. What strategy, you say. Well, there used to be a brochure, but it's out of date, and there is the wonderful KCA home page on the Internet, but alas, not everyone is wired; and word of mouth works a lot of the time, but not always. So, how do we reach new candidates for membership? I would like to hold a brief discussion, then I would like to appoint a task force to consider these issues and to report to the Board at a later date. Plan to volunteer!

Henderson along the river should be in gorgeous spring array by April 24. I look forward to seeing you there.

If you arrive in Henderson on Thursday, April 23 before the Spring Meeting on Friday, April 24, please consider meeting for dinner and conversation at Shoney's Restaurant near Audubon Park. We have reserved a room from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There are no formal plans and no bluegrass bands, but there will be space for 15 or so people to convene, eat and visit. Shoney's is just off Rt. 41 and is near the hotels, the Wal-Mart and the Audubon State Park.

Submitted by Becky Ryder, Chair

Page 2, Spring 1998 Newsletter