ASHRAE Insights

Deciding what materials to keep from throughout ASHRAE’s history and what to discard was a challenge for ASHRAE staff as they moved to temporary housing as its Headquarters is renovated.

Imagine decades worth of committee minutes, correspondence with members, photos from events held around the world, books and magazines, furnishings and just plain ol’ stuff, packed into a 30,000 ft² (2800 m²) building. The last time ASHRAE made a move of this magnitude was its relocation from New York in 1981.

 
“One of my most challenging tasks has been deciding that a particular document really should be discarded,” said Gloria Cofer, assistant to the Board of Directors. “When I read the content and find that it is addressing a significant subject but does not warrant archiving, it is extremely difficult to place that piece of paper in the recycle bin. Many of the older documents were typed on a manual typewriter using carbon paper for copies. Over the years the paper has become discolored or in many cases the fibers have started to decay, leaving very fragile paper that crumbles, even when gently moved.”

The move also gives ASHRAE the opportunity to move toward electronic files with scanning of member records, committee minutes and reports, speeches and news releases, sales reports, etc.

“In the past, the tendency has been to actually print paper and file it for future reference,” said ASHRAE executive vice president Jeff Littleton. “This move has highlighted the need for ASHRAE to take advantage of more modern technology, such as having documents electronically scanned and maintaining files electronically vs. printing them and placing them in a filing cabinet. I believe having less paperwork on hand will improve the way we do business.”

Jackie Roessler, coordinator of customer service, agrees. Like Cofer, she started work at ASHRAE in 1981.

“I had papers with the date of 1989 on them,” she said. “These were memos about the [then] new Handbook—the 1989 HVAC Applications that was just released and that Standard 62-1989 was going to be available in September 1989. Into the trash! It is amazing that you keep paperwork that you think that you will need and then you never look at it again until it comes time to clean up and then you are not sure why you kept it originally so you just file it back ‘just in case.’”

Cofer and Roessler said the packing also provided an opportunity for staff to look back on the changes to the Society over the years.

“One of the major changes that I see is, of course, technology—in going from manually typing orders to the computer system,” Roessler said. “Back in the 80’s if a customer had a paid subscription to ASHRAE Journal, an index card was kept with their name, address and payment information on the card. This is how we knew who had a paid subscription or not. The only record of a publication order was a typed copy and then filed in alphabetical order in a lateral file.”

“The most significant change I have noticed in the ASHRAE structure is that, until 1981, all standing committees reported directly to the Board,” said Cofer, looking back at Board of Directors minutes from prior years.

“Can you imagine sitting in a Board meeting and listening to reports from 25 standing committees and nine ad-hoc committees! That happened at the February 1980 Board meeting in Los Angeles and continued until the Council structure was instituted in 1981.”