The Gift of Archives

Posted on December 24, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Reflection is part of the holiday season for many. It’s a time to think about life, family, friends, community. So first, let me thank all of you for the gift of a year to spend working with you and serving our profession in ways both planned and unexpected. Thanks also for the ideas, thoughts, concerns, frustrations, plans and aspirations shared by many of you. Connecting “live” is a great gift for me—social media is great, but a real voice has timbre and tone that is hard to replace. However you have communicated, though, I appreciate the gift of your voice. I hope you will continue and others will join the conversation in the coming calendar year. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, Year of Living Dangerously for Archives

Archives and Art: A Story from Detroit

Posted on December 12, 2014 by | 3 comments

The story of Detroit’s bankruptcy and the accompanying challenges has been in the news regularly for some time. My French-Canadian ancestors came across “détroit” (the straits) in the 1790s and generations of my family have been proud to call that city home—and when asked where I’m from, I still claim Detroit. I was fortunate to pursue my archival education at Wayne State University in the archival studies program led by Dr. Philip P. Mason. One of the great gifts for students at Wayne is the nearness of the Detroit Institute of Art, where we often would head on weekends or between classes to wander through the galleries. So I regularly read the articles about the bankruptcy, which included discussions of potentially selling off some or all of the astonishing collections of the DIA. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, Uncategorized, Year of Living Dangerously for Archives

A Seasonal Toast to Archives: Challenge #3

Posted on December 3, 2014 by | Leave a comment

As we approach the holiday season – replete with wishes of good cheer and year-end toasts, let’s take an opportunity to share the thoughts we all encounter that remind us of the value of archives.

Why do archives matter?  This month’s challenge is simple:  Think about the “quotable” statements you’ve heard or read – perhaps in a professional presentation, an archives class or workshop, a newspaper, magazine, or journal article, a novel or play. The statement may have been made by someone with international recognition, a local “everyday” person, one of your professors, or a friend.  Whatever she or he wrote or said, it made you think, “Yes, that’s why archives are important, that’s why what I do matters….” Continue reading →

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Speak Up! Action alert on proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act

Posted on November 24, 2014 by | Leave a comment

An important advocacy role for all of us is to let our government know what we want from it—either personally or as members of the archival community. Here is the opportunity to do that by contacting your senators to support an issue for which SAA has a clear position as described in the Advocacy Agenda  and issue briefs developed by the Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy.   Continue reading →

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131,400 Minutes: A Quarterly Update on “The Year of Living Dangerously for Archives”

Posted on November 17, 2014 by | 1 comment

Archives matter. They are not just interesting facts and stories disconnected from current life. Whether for personal reasons, academic pursuits, educational uses, preserving rights, or ensuring transparency in government, the use of archival records have an impact. Every time a person uses archival records, something happens. Demonstrating the impact, the value, and the importance of archival records and the work of archivists is the focus of “The Year of Living Dangerously for Archives”. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy

#AskAnArchivist Day: A Tweet Success

Posted on November 11, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Peter Gottlieb, Chair, SAA Committee on Public Awareness    Peter_Gottlieb_2008bw (1)

This year, SAA President Kathleen Roe dared SAA members to take on a “Year of Living Dangerously for Archives”—to do something to take action to raise awareness of archives. On October 30, at the tail end of American Archives Month, the Committee on Public Awareness challenged members to do just that: We asked archivists to take to Twitter to respond to questions from the public that included the hashtag #AskAnArchivist. Continue reading →

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The Upcoming SAA Council meeting, November 9-12

Posted on November 6, 2014 by | Leave a comment

For the past and continuing year while I’ve been involved in SAA leadership and governance, the word “transparency” has been a regular refrain. At the joint annual meeting in Washington D.C., we had a few visitors during the Council meeting, and I hope in the future we will see that become a very regular experience. In between annual meetings, Council meets “live” twice in Chicago. The agenda, reports, and information for those meetings is posted on the SAA website: http://www2.archivists.org/groups/saa-council Continue reading →

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Posted in Communication and SAA

Thursday Is #AskAnArchivist Day!

Posted on October 27, 2014 by | 2 comments

Posted by Sami Norling, Archivist, Indianapolis Museum of Art and SAA Committee on Public Awareness

Norling

It’s the final week of American Archives Month and archivists and archival repositories around the country are getting ready to take part in SAA’s newest initiative, #AskAnArchivist Day. For 24 hours this Thursday, October 30, archivists representing every type of archives imaginable are encouraged to head to Twitter to answer questions sent with the hashtag #AskAnArchivist. Questions of all kinds are bound to be asked, ranging from the practical—What can I do to be sure that my electronic documents and images will be accessible in the future?—to the fun—How many archivists does it take to screw in a light bulb? But regardless of where on this spectrum a question may fall, each will give us a valuable opportunity to connect directly with the public. Not only will this give archivists another venue in which to promote our collections, but it will also give us a chance to pull back the curtain and talk more about who we are, what being an archivist entails, and the why and how of what we do on a daily basis. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, American Archives Month

Looking Forward to the Archival Fundamentals Series III

Posted on October 16, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Christopher J. Prom, SAA Publications Editor  Chris Prom

During the fifteen years in which I’ve been a member of the Society of American Archivists, I’ve come to believe that the most important thing SAA does is to connect people and ideas to each other. We may not often think about where those connections lead us, but one of their most tangible fruits is the literature we publish. Many of us have used that literature to lay the foundations of our professional understanding, growth, and development.

For this reason, it gives me great pleasure to announce that SAA will be producing the Archival Fundamental Series III, which will provide the core knowledge needed by archivists to work effectively with records/archives and papers/manuscripts—both analog and digital—in the twenty-first century.

Continue reading →

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The Year of Living Dangerously for Archives Challenge #2: Archives and the Human Face of War

Posted on October 14, 2014 by | Leave a comment

We’re in the midst of American Archives Month, and I hope many of you are involved in activities that you’ll share with us so we can keep track of your efforts to raise awareness of the importance of archival records. (check out Challenge #1 and the submission forms at http://www2.archivists.org/living-dangerously/value-of-archives.) While that’s underway, it’s time to plan for Challenge #2, focusing on ways to connect to the commemorations of Veterans Day on November 11th and Pearl Harbor Day on December 7th. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advocacy, Year of Living Dangerously for Archives