Astrodome Memories Oral History and Scanning Event

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The Woodson Research Center is participating with other local archives in the creation of the Astrodome Memories Project. The project web site is live at:

http://www.astrodomememories.org

The next Astrodome Memories event is an oral history and scanning event:

August 8, 2015
10:00 AM until 2:00 PM
Julia Ideson Building Auditorium
Houston Public Library
500 McKinney Street
Houston, TX 77008
For Appointments Call: 832-393-1522

Drop-in appointments are available, but if you wish to record an oral history or have more than three items to contribute, we recommend making an appointment.

Oral histories and items scanned at the event will be shared online at the project Web site. You can view items that were scanned at the 50th Anniversary Birthday Party at the Astrodome by visiting:

50th Anniversary Event

Astrodome Memories is a project of the Houston Public Library in partnership with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center; the Harris County Archives; the Woodson Research Center Special Collections & Archives, Fondren Library, Rice University; Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries; and the Harris County Public Library. The project provides access to a broad collection of Astrodome-related materials, including items contributed by the public as well as from major archives in the Houston area and the state. The collection includes oral histories, photographs, blueprints, and audio-video materials related to the construction of the Astrodome, as well as pamphlets, scrapbook, and memorabilia documenting the use of the Astrodome for the last fifty years.

This project has been made possible in part by support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services provided by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

New Concur Tips

The Staff Travel,Training and Development Committee has posted additional tips on reporting travel expenses on the Concur Tips page:

Auto mileage-70220- Because Fondren limits the transportation amount to 1/2 of a normal (coach) airfare it’s probable that you will not be able to use the Mileage Calculator link, which cannot be itemized between reimbursable and personal expenses. You will want to approximate as closely as possible the amount approved for transportation on the Staff Travel Request Form. To calculate this, enter a mileage amount in the required “Distance” field that will result in the desired reimbursable amount. For example: if you have been approved for $100 in transportation expense, enter 174 in the Distance field. You may wish to add a comment that the amount is the reimbursable portion of round trip mileage expense to the destination.

Hotel/Accommodations-72344- Staff have found that the Concur system prefers that the Vendor field, which is not required, be filled in. While there is a drop down to select major hotels, you can also simply enter the name of your hotel in the field. Concur will accept a new name in the field.

Thanks to Scott Vieira for sharing his experiences in the system. We look forward to hearing from you all as you have additional questions about the Concur process.

Concur Revisited

The Staff Travel, Training and Development Committee has offered a second series of classes to allow staff to ask questions about uploading receipts into Concur for preparing expense reports. The meetings were held in the Collaboration Space on two dates: at 9:30 AM on Friday February 13th and at 1:00 PM on Wednesday February 18th. This is the second series of classes provided by the STTD committee to help provide support for the transition to the Concur system for reporting expenses. The first series, held in December 2014, provided training in creating a personal profile for staff in the system.

There was a demonstration of the process of creating travel expense reports and uploading receipts into the report in a test environment for those attending. Staff members were encouraged to ask questions about particulars related to their travel expense experiences. The committee gathered helpful information from the discussions and will create a list of tips for Concur based on the feedback from users. The Concur Tips page will be uploaded to the Staff Travel, Training and Development home page in Fondranet.

As you discover issues or helpful items please contact the committee and we will add your suggestions to the Tips page. Your Staff Travel, Training and Development Committee are: Dara Flinn, Lauren Mueller, Nadalia Liu, Shannon Kipphut-Smith, Judy Howell, Mary Brower, Andy Damico, and Nyssa Juneau-Kimbrell.

Tips for Concur:
1. Travel expense reimbursement requests must be submitted within 60 days from the last day of the trip.
2. Itemized receipts must be included for each expense of $25.00 or more. There is an option to enter an expense if you have lost the receipt which can be found in the drop-down under “receipts” in your expense report.
3. Meals and parking should be paid for separately, rather than included with lodging in your hotel bills. This will simplify the audit process from the Concur side.
4. It’s possible to submit multi-page receipts, or add pages to receipts already in the system.
5. Any alcohol (such as a glass of wine with a meal) must be itemized and the alcoholic beverages account used for the expense (70880).