Category Archives: SAA component groups

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Getting involved with SAA

In the past few weeks, my Council and leadership colleagues and I have had a number of conversations with members about how one goes about getting involved in SAA.   We’re delighted that people care and are willing to pose that question–thanks to all of you who did, and to all of you who share that interest.   The call for appointments by Vice President Dennis Meissner will go out in October, but that’s not the only way to be professionally engaged with SAA.    Council member Tanya Zanish-Belcher, who is both welcoming and great about getting people involved, has provided some thoughts on the subject.   And if you still or in the future have questions, please follow the suggestion on the button that Terry Baxter and the Membership Committee were passing out at the recent Joint Annual Meeting:  “Ask me.” Continue reading →

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Posted on August 28, 2014 by in Member Needs, Member Satisfaction, SAA component groups

Our Continuing Experimentation to Improve Our Annual Meeting

Posted on June 2, 2014 by | Leave a comment

This post was written by council member Michelle Light with assistance from council member Tim Pyatt. I thank them and the other members of Council made suggestions for this post and who have responded to questions and concerns from section and roundtable leaders about forthcoming changes for the 2015 annual meeting.

In 2013 the SAA Annual Meeting Task Force submitted a thoughtful and forward thinking report that gave the Society a number of recommendations for improving our annual meeting. If you haven’t read the report, you should! Continue reading →

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Posted in 2012 Member Survey, Access, Annual Meeting, Annual Meeting Task Force, Communication and SAA, Member Needs, Member Satisfaction, SAA component groups

Exploring the Role of Non-Archivists in the Archival Process

Posted on April 10, 2014 by | Leave a comment

A special thank you to Guha Shankar and Butch Lazorchak for their assistance and thoughtful comments about this post.

As regular readers of this blog may remember back in September 2013 I spoke at the Cultural Heritage symposium sponsored by the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress. At the time I quoted Brian Cumer who noted that “archivists have an incredible opportunity to shape cultural heritage in the way we organize records, provide access to them and perform our role in helping to preserve the memory of events, groups and places and attitudes as well as other aspects that make up culture.” Little did I know that I was ignoring the role that folklorists and fieldworkers can play in determining what records archivists may work when they preserve materials gathered during fieldwork projects. Continue reading →

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Posted in Access, Member Needs, SAA component groups

We Want You….To Vote in this Year’s SAA Election

Posted on March 26, 2014 by | 2 comments

This post was submitted on behalf of Amy Schindler, Chair and the other members of the Nominating Committee.

As flowers peek out alerting us that the winter of the polar vortex in the lower 48 is ending, another annual rite of spring is underway across the SAA membership. Online voting for SAA’s 2014 Election opened March 13th and ends April 13th. Fourteen great candidates are vying for positions in the annual elections for Vice President/President-Elect, Council, and Nominating Committee. Continue reading →

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Posted in Communication and SAA, Member Needs, Member Satisfaction, SAA component groups

The Words Archivists Use

Posted on March 5, 2014 by | Leave a comment

This post was submitted by Council Member Geof Huth on behalf of Rosemary Pleva Flynn, Chair and the other members of the Dictionary Working Group. Continue reading →

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Posted in Communication and SAA, Member Needs, SAA component groups

Introducing the SAA Foundation

Posted on February 19, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Did you know that SAA had a Foundation? We do and the Board had a lively and productive meeting in January.

Fynette Eaton, Foundation Board President provides information about the Foundation, its activities and goals. We hope you will consider contributing to the Foundation to help us continue the work to support the archival profession. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, Communication and SAA, SAA component groups, SAA Foundation

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The Jobs Thing…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by | 24 comments

Special thanks to Nancy Beaumont and Kathleen Roe for their input on this post.

When I came back from Chicago after the SAA Council and Foundation Board meetings I had planned to write a brief post noting some of the highlights of both meetings. I was excited that we got our strategic plan actions finished and that we have a living document that will help guide us for the next few years.   We also reviewed six issue briefs created by the Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy that we hope to have available in May, did background work to inform SAA’s next budget and reviewed the annual reports of the sections, roundtables, committees and task forces of the Society.  The Foundation Board began discussing fund raising opportunities but also how the funds raised could support ongoing research projects and new educational programming.

But there is one issue that continues to be at the forefront for many of our members. It’s one we discussed several times during our Council meeting including spending one half day totally focused on this one issue. Before I could get unpacked and attack the massive piles on my desk, I felt it was important to share information on the topic of employment because it is of serious concern to our membership and to Council. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, Communication and SAA, Employment, Member Needs, Member Satisfaction, SAA component groups, Strategic priorities