In 2013, the Annual Meeting Task Force submitted its final report. Since then, Program Committees have implemented new ideas to engage SAA members and expand how the SAA Annual Meeting is put together. In Cleveland in 2015, the Program Committee instituted the first pop-up sessions. The idea was that attendees could submit proposals for topics or ideas that “popped up” since the initial proposal submission deadline. Five of the pop-up session slots were filled by Program Committee selection in advance, and the remaining five sessions were selected by the vote of attendees onsite. According to the post-conference survey, 75% of respondents rated the pop-up sessions overall as “excellent” or “very good,” but only 32% gave high marks to the submission and selection process.
Because the response to pop-up sessions overall was so positive, the 2016 Program Committee continued this great idea and made some modifications. We also chose to focus on ideas that “popped up” since the initial call for proposals – and we received 30 submissions (an increase of 9 from 2015)! We were pleased that, as requested, none of the proposals replicated submissions from the initial call. We believe that the submission process is solid and benefited from consistency over the two years.
The biggest change we made was to the selection process. We chose to engage the memberships of CoSA and SAA by setting up an online voting system and inviting all members to vote for their five favorite sessions. When the two-week voting period closed, all proposals had received some votes and 583 individuals had participated—more people than had registered for the conference at that time! Now added to the schedule, the top five pop-ups in session number order are:
- #111: Archives and Digital Inequality (Myles Crowley and Katharina Hering)
- #211: Deconstructing Whiteness in Archives: Opportunities for Self-Reflection (Samantha Winn)
- #311: Archival Records in the Age of Big Data (Richard Marciano and Bill Underwood)
- #411: Practical Options for Incoming Digital Content (Jody DeRidder and Alissa Helms)
- #611: Improving Finding Aid Visibility: What Are Y’all Doing? (Amelia Holmes and Eileen Heeran Dewitya)
So far, we consider this response a success. The number of proposals increased and nearly 600 members voted. By looking at the votes, we can see what topics are of top interest to archivists. We’re glad you submitted, voted, and are invested in making this year’s conference a success. And we’re excited to see the results of all this in Atlanta!
Cheryl Oestreicher and Barbara Teague
2016 Program Committee Co-Chairs
Off the Record 