Featured post
Autumn Call for Posts
Leave a reply
The SNAP blog is looking for submissions for our upcoming themes: American Archives Month, Family History Month, Museum and Galleries Month, or your next best idea!
We take submissions from anyone at any point in their career who is interested in sharing their knowledge with SNAP readers or exploring a topic of interest. We’re currently looking to post content in September and October.
If you have an idea for a blog post, series of blog posts, webinar topic, or a speaker/author, contact Leah Tams, Senior Blog Editor, at leahtams14@gmail.com. Let us know what’s on your mind and what you would like to learn about!
Editorial guidelines for the SNAP Blog blog are:
- Length: About 250–800 words.
- Audience: The SNAP Blog serves as a resource for current students and new archives professionals to learn from fellow colleagues about issues relevant to new professionals through sharing resources, common experiences, and concerns.
- Topics and Tone: The SNAP section encourages submissions featuring diverse perspectives, types of content, and viewpoints. For all submissions, respect for fellow archivists, librarians, and allied professionals is required and all posts must comply with SAA’s Core Values, Ethics, and Code of Conduct.
- Author Bio: Optional, 100–150 words. Please include all credentials/post-nominals.
We look forward to receiving your ideas!
SAA Section Elections Ballots Now OPEN!
Ballots for all SAA Sections are now open for SAA Members until Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Access the main ballot page at mysaa.archivists.org/myballots (SAA Member login required). Candidate statements for our open SNAP Steering Committee positions may be found at snap-2022-election-candidate-statements.
Thank you to our 2022–2023 SNAP candidates, our currently serving SNAP Committee Members, and all those who have served SNAP in the past. Your contributions have helped to build a wonderful, vibrant SAA Section—and we welcome your continued contributions and leadership!
SNAP 2022 Section Meeting and Special Presentation: Inside The Jim Henson Company Archives!
SAA-SNAP 2022 Annual Section Business Meeting and Special Presentation
Inside The Jim Henson Company Archives
Friday, July 15th, 2022
8am Hawaii–Aleutian; 11am Pacific; Noon Mountain; 1pm Central; 2pm Eastern
Special Presentation by Karen Falk, Archives Director, The Jim Henson Company, and Vice President, The Jim Henson Legacy; and Craig Shemin, President, Jim Henson Legacy
Registration: https://bit.ly/3nVKx5z
JOIN US on Friday, July 15th at 2pm (Eastern) for SNAP’s 2022 Section Meeting!
We will begin our webinar with a brief review of the past year’s activities and thank you to all our 2021-2022 speakers and Committee Members.
Then we will welcome two very special guests—Craig Shemin, President of the Jim Henson Legacy; and Karen Falk, Archives Director for The Jim Henson Company and Vice President of The Jim Henson Legacy—for an informal discussion about The Jim Henson Company Archives… [Note: This portion of the webinar will NOT be recorded.]
Inside The Jim Henson Company Archives
For 30 years, Karen Falk has been preserving and presenting the work of Jim Henson. Join Karen and Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy for a chat about Jim Henson’s work, the origin of The Jim Henson Company Archives, and an inside look at how the collection was used in the creation of Craig’s new book, Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show.
Karen Falk has served as the Archives Director for The Jim Henson Company since 1992, and is Vice President of The Jim Henson Legacy. She is the author of Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal and the main contributor to The Jim Henson Company website “Jim’s Red Book.” With The Jim Henson Legacy, she has organized numerous Henson exhibits. Falk works closely with the Worlds of Puppetry Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta and collaborates with the Museum of The Moving Image in New York on their Jim Henson Exhibition and serves on their Board.
Craig Shemin is a freelance writer-producer in all media and the President of the Jim Henson Legacy. He is the author of The Muppets Character Encyclopedia and an upcoming book about Henson’s first television series, Sam and Friends. A noted Henson historian, he produced and directed the award-winning documentary Behind the Scenes in Frogtown Hollow, about the making of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas and curates the Henson screening events at Museum of the Moving Image. Shemin also produced the video content for the permanent Jim Henson exhibit at the Center for Puppetry Arts and wrote the scripts for the sold out Jim Henson tribute concerts in New York’s Carnegie Hall and New Zealand’s Michael Fowler Centre. craigshemin.com
Business Archives: Perspectives on an Uncommon Career Path
Students and New Professionals (SNAP) 2022 Webinar Series
SAA Business Archives Section (BAS)
Business Archives: Perspectives on An Uncommon Career Path
Presented by Eric D. Chin, MA; Sam Citarella, MA, MS; and L.J. Strumpf, MA, MSIS
[Recorded Thursday, June 2, 2022]
Organized by L.J. Strumpf, MA, MSIS; Michelle D. Novak, MI; and Marissa Friedman, MLIS
What does it mean to be a business archivist? Is pursuing a career in business archives the right path for me? In this virtual event, jointly sponsored by SNAP and the SAA Business Archives Section (BAS), participants will learn from experienced professionals who have held a variety of positions in the business archives field. Discover what makes their organizational records unique and how their career journeys into this facet of the archival world have been equal parts challenging and rewarding.
| 0:00 | Introductions |
| 3:15 | Eric D. Chin, Manager, Archive Operations, NBCUniversal |
| 18:45 | Sam Citarella, Assistant Archivist, Tiffany & Co. |
| 34:00 | L.J. Strumpf, Assistant Corporate Archivist, IBM |
| 46:00 | L.J. Strumpf—Career Advice |
| 49:20 | Q&A (Lots of Questions!) |
Some Key Takeaways from the Presentation
- Business Archives are often overlooked and rarely discussed in archival coursework. But there is a very wide variety of archives, culture, collections, and media waiting to be explored.
- In entertainment media especially, archival practice is rapidly evolving to keep up with new demands, including streaming, on-demand services.
- Eric Chin also pointed out that the SAA is very supportive of corporate archives and SAA and BAS resources include:
- Polirer, Sara, editor. Managing Business Archives. Chicago, SAA, 2022. ISBN: 978-1-945246-61-6.
- Business Archives…Establishing and Managing an Archives Workshop
- Business Archives Section microsite—Explore resources and sign-up for Section newsletters and emails
- Directory of Corporate Archives in the United States and Canada
- Business Archives Resources (SAA Members only)
- And, of course, look for Business Archive sessions at the SAA Annual Meeting and/or explore past recorded sessions!
- Career advice from L.J. Strumpf (see the section beginning at about 46-minute mark for the full presentation) includes:
- 1) Don’t be afraid to pivot—everything you do can build new skills
- 2) “Introverts seeking extroverts”—archives can be a small part of a very large corporation, seek out allies (they’re there!)
- 3) Sell yourself—you are your own number one advocate for your work as well as your profession
THANK YOU to Eric, Sam, and L.J. for a great presentation. Please feel free to reach-out to any of our speakers if you have additional questions and get to know the SAA Business Archives Section!
Eric D. Chin, MA, is the Manager, Archive Operations at NBCUniversal in Universal City, CA, and oversees the archival holdings and material culture for NBC Television, Cable, Streaming, and Animation productions and responsible for the acquisition, preservation, and exhibition of assets affiliated with these properties. Eric has over 18 years of major studio archives experience working at NBCUniversal and DreamWorks SKG. Through managing their historic collections, he constantly sought creative and innovative ways to build eminence and maintain the legacy for these companies within the entertainment industry. This led to numerous collaborative projects with world renown museums, cultural institutions, and curated events.
Eric is an active member in multiple professional organizations including the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the Society of California Archivists (SCA). He currently serves on the Council of SAA and was previously the Chair of the Business Archives Section (BAS) within the organization. In the media industry, Eric is best known for pioneering an open knowledge sharing group for archivists working across all studios and institutions in the entertainment field. This allows for colleagues to meet and collectively host networking events periodically to share ideas, trends, and best practices to elevate the profession within the industry.
universalstudioslot.com/archives-and-collections
Instagram: @nbcuarchives
YouTube: youtube.com/universalstudioslot
Twitter: @UniStudiosLot
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversalStudiosLot
Sam Citarella, MA, MS, is the Assistant Archivist at Tiffany & Co., where she works to preserve the most important records documenting the company’s manufacturing and design history. In consultation with the Associate Archivist, she makes available archival collections that have the potential to be of the greatest value to the company’s business needs and inspire creativity among key company stakeholders.
Sam received a MA in American Studies from George Washington University, a MS in Archives Management from Simmons University, and a BA in History from Monmouth University.
Samantha.Citarella@tiffany.com
linkedin.com/in/samanthacitarella
L.J. Strumpf, MA, MSIS, is the Assistant Corporate Archivist at IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY, a position he has held since 2015. He originally joined the IBM Corporate Archives team in 2010 as their A/V specialist, handling Reference requests and overseeing a video digitization project pursuant to the company’s Centennial.
Before joining IBM, L.J. worked in the curatorial department at The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) in New York City. In 2021, he was elected Education Chair for the Business Archives Section of SAA. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, earning master’s degrees in History and Information Science.
ibm.com.history
archive1@us.ibm.com
Thoughts on this presentation or series—please let us know!
We would like to know your thoughts on the types of topics you would like to see and what days and times are most convenient for you to attend a live webinar. Please complete our short survey!
If you want to present in our webinar series, contribute with a blog post, share with a member a project you are working on, please contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com. We want to hear from you!
[Note: The SAA does not endorse products or services; inclusion does not imply endorsement.]
SNAP 2022 Election Candidate Statements
Thanks to all of our excellent candidates for putting themselves forward in this election cycle. Please read and consider their statements carefully before submitting your votes.
The positions up for election are:
- Vice Chair / Chair Elect (1 position)
- Steering Committee Member / Member-at-Large (3 positions)
- Secretary (1 position)
SAA will be sending the ballots out to all members via Survey Monkey, so watch your inbox and vote!
Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate
The following candidate is running for the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect position:
Bailey Adolph
I wish to be considered as a Candidate for serving with SNAP as I have a strong desire to engage with the professional community, to learn from other new professionals, and to aid in the learning of students and others.
As a Steering Committee Member of the Metadata and Digital Object Section, I have experience in working in a SAA section, but I would like to be considered for the position of Vice Chair / Chair-Elect in order to have the opportunity to be a more active participant in a section.
I am a recent graduate and so I feel passionate about raising awareness of the SAA’s vast professional resources because they have helped me greatly. I would like to connect with students and other new professionals so that they are able to use these resources and thrive too.
Because of my extensive background as a processing librarian, I believe that I have a lot to share and am excited about the prospect of having engaging discussions. Additionally, I see the prospect of being elected to a SNAP leadership position as an opportunity to grow myself. My current role as a processing librarian can be very isolating at times and this could be an opportunity for me to engage outside of my organization, network with others, and improve myself as a professional.
Steering Committee / Member-at-Large Candidates
The following candidates are running for the section Steering Committee / Member-at-Large:
Amber Bales, MLIS
I am a 2021 graduate from the SJSU MLIS program where I focused on archival and digitization courses. I am in the first 90 days of a new position as a Digitization Specialist in the Archives and Special Collection Department. While I am new to this career I am a seasoned professional and bring 5+ years of administrative background to my work and commitments. Joining SNAP would allow me to both serve as a mentor and mentee as I help to construct the narrative of what it means to be a new archival professional and the learning curve expected in a new position, but also provide support for students and fellow professionals.
I have a strong ability to manage my time and commitments and while I am currently undertaking new expectations within the job I am not over taxed in my service commitments and would like to make working with SNAP my top service priority.
Jessie Knoles, MSLIS
My name is Jessie Knoles and I am a 2021 graduate of the MSLIS program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool. I currently work two “academic hourly” positions at the University of Illinois Archives and the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, both units in the Special Collections Division in the University of Illinois Library. At the Archives, I accession, process, and provide access to the physical and digital holdings of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA), and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).
While at the iSchool, I served as the SAA UIUC Student Chapter Vice President (2019-2020) and President (2020-2021). As president, I would have loved more resources, and I think SNAP could fill that need. Since graduating, I understand what it’s like to be an emerging archivist in a field with precarious employment and competitive positions, and I believe my perspective would complement the SNAP committee.
My professional interests include archival education and outreach, affect theory in the archives, reparative description and decolonization of the archives, and in understanding the contemporary role of archivist (I believe this is an exciting time to reconsider traditional practices!).
Michelle D. Novak, MI
I have served the past year as President of SNAP and wish to continue in an At-Large position so that I may continue to see some open projects through to completion.
I am a recent graduate of the Masters of Information, Archives and Preservation at Rutgers University and have deep experience as serving as a trustee, administering grants, and overseeing complex realignment projects. I hope I can continue to serve SNAP, its members, and contribute to the Section and assist the incoming Chair and Committee.
Secretary Candidate
The following candidate is running for the Secretary position:
Nicole Hudson
I am a recent graduate with a major in library and information science. I would like to be part of this opportunity to gain more experience in possibly the administrative side of archiving, as well as help others who have recently joined this career field in any way possible.
Annual Meeting Awards from the SAA Foundation
For more information, see the SAA’s full announcement here.
The Society of American Archivists Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of ten in-person awards (of up to $1,200 each) and many more virtual awards to support attendance at the 2022 SAA Annual Meeting in Boston, August 25-27, 2022.
Awards for in-person attendance may be applied only to conference registration fees and related expenses (such as travel, lodging, and food) incurred to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting. Awards for virtual attendance will provide complimentary registration to the 2022 virtual conference platform. Only current SAA members are eligible for these awards. Applicants must complete the online form and attach a résumé or curriculum vitae.
The primary criterion for selection will be financial need. Responsibilities as a caregiver for children, parents, partners/spouses, or other family members will be considered in evaluating financial need.
Applications are due no later than Sunday, June 12, 2022.
All applicants will be notified of the status of their application by June 30, in advance of the July 5 early-bird registration deadline.
Award determinations will be made by a selection committee comprising three SAA Foundation Board members and one SAA Council member and will be based on applicants’ responses to the following:
- How will attendance at the SAA Annual Meeting contribute to your professional development and career goals?
- Provide an explanation of your financial need.
Requirements: Awardees are required to attend the entire conference. Within 30 days of the end of the Annual Meeting, awardees must submit: a meeting evaluation form demonstrating attendance at sessions and all-attendee events; expense receipts totaling up to $1,200 (for in-person recipients); and a 400- to 600-word report assessing the value received from the travel award and noting any suggestions for improving the travel award process.
“Yes, I received your letter yesterday”
By Nicole Font, MA in Archives and Public History
Now that I have graduated with my Master’s in Archives and Public History, I’m reflecting on the meaningful opportunities I’ve had over the past two years. One of the most influential experiences was my remote internship with the American Song Archives (ASA) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I helped process a collection of Bob Dylan fan mail.
What is the 1966 Dylan Fan Mail Collection?
The 1960s were a time of uncertainty and anxiety. Cold War tensions were ever-present and the fear of nuclear war was lingering. Black Americans were fighting for Civil Rights and conflict with Cuba was at an all-time high. The new youth that emerged—the Baby Boomers—were searching for their place in the world. Through his songs, Bob Dylan warned people of what the world could look like if humankind continued on its dark path—one full of war and injustice—while also offering hope that we can change the course of history for the better. As a result, Dylan captivated a generation and amassed a uniquely devoted fan base.
The 1966 Dylan Fan Mail Collection consists of correspondence, drawings, ephemera, and small artifacts deaccessioned from a larger grouping of Dylan’s papers, which came from his management offices in New York City. The correspondence ranges from autograph requests to personal confessions, fan club inquiries, and messages of adoration. Many fans who wrote to Dylan were from the United States, but there is also significant correspondence from around the world.
Processing during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The processing of this collection consisted of two major parts. First, the team physically processed the fan mail and created a finding aid; then, we digitized these materials, creating original metadata and importing it into ArchivesSpace. At the beginning of this project, materials were processed at an item level, and digitization occurred at the same time as physical processing. Descriptive and preservation metadata, geographic information, Library of Congress Subject Headings, and other data fields were captured for each letter. As a remote intern, my work primarily consisted of metadata creation, importing that data into ArchivesSpace, and creating the finding aid. I was not part of any of the physical processing. Credit for that work goes to Nathan Blue, Elizabeth Smith, Ramsey Thornton, and Rachel Wallis. I’d also like to mention and thank Mark Davidson, Director of Archives and Exhibits at ASA, for allowing me to work on this project, and Kate Blalack, Senior Archivist at ASA, for her guidance as this project’s supervisor and my mentor.
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind”
A highlight of this collection is a letter sent by a soldier stationed in Vietnam who heard Dylan’s song “Blowin’ in the Wind” on a Vietnamese radio station. In his letter, the soldier describes Vietnam as a “Blood drenched country,” reveals that three of his friends have been killed, and describes the hardest part of being there: “I’ve found that the hardest thing to do, isn’t keeping alive, as much as it is maintaining normal mentality. I want to live so bad [sic], just to see and touch my friends and family again.”
“Blowin’ in the Wind” is packed with important, and increasingly relevant, questions about freedom, peace, and justice, particularly in regards to the anti-war and Civil Rights movements. In a verse that may have been particularly moving to this soldier, Dylan sings:
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?
Questioning allows us to make relevant distinctions and further examine concepts, and in Dylan’s case questioning makes us examine not just society, but ourselves as well. It makes us evaluate our consciences, and through the lyrics of “Blowin in the Wind,” we are forced to acknowledge the repercussions of senseless battles, injustice, and ignoring injustice. After listening to the song, audiences are left with the message that we have a duty to do good for our fellow men and ensure that all people are treated justly, which war and racism do not permit. As a machine gunner in Vietnam, who surely witnessed unimaginable horror, the song’s anti-war message likely resonated with this soldier. In addition to providing his perspective during the war, the soldier’s letter also serves as a powerful example of the way in which music can affect us, as well as the way we relate to music.
Overall, this is an incredibly fascinating collection and I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to work with it. I’ll be presenting my capstone paper, which grapples with some of the ethical and legal issues of this collection, as a poster at SAA’s upcoming annual meeting. I hope to see you there!
Records and Information Management (RIM): Lessons Learned
By Hillary Gatlin
Hey SNAPpers! April is Records and Information Management (RIM) Month. How much do you know about RIM? What does it mean to be a records manager? What should you know about working in records and information management? As someone who has spent over 10 years working in records and information management at different academic institutions, I am happy to provide some quick lessons learned.
RIM is important to organizational success, but it often operates “behind the scenes.” Records and information management focuses on the efficient and systematic control of information, including creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of records. In other words, good records management helps employees find the information and records they need, quickly and efficiently. This is critical to an organization’s success, but it is rarely talked about by administrators or executives. In fact, many employees who create and use records every day may not even be aware of records management as a concept. One of the biggest challenges you may face while working in RIM is simply educating people on what records management is, how it works, and why it matters. Always be prepared to sell yourself and your RIM program.
As a records manager, you will likely be working closely with many related fields. Records and information management touches on all aspects of recordkeeping. This holistic approach means that records managers may quickly find themselves working hand in hand with colleagues in a variety of related areas, including business workflow analysis, privacy and security, information technology, data governance, traditional archives work, risk management, and much, much more. All of these different areas may impact RIM projects and goals. Successful records managers need to be willing to embrace and explore these different fields. I would not consider myself an expert in areas such as information technology or privacy, but I do need to be familiar enough with the terminology and concepts to be able to converse coherently with subject matter experts.
Good records management is, at its core, people management. Although RIM as a field focuses primarily on records and information, a successful records manager also needs to know how to work collaboratively with people. Whether it is getting executive buy-in for a RIM program, consulting on a project, implementing a new records technology, or advising an office on recordkeeping requirements, records managers need to communicate clearly with others. You need to be able to explain the importance and benefits of good records management and connect with your stakeholders. Keep in mind that technological solutions can only go so far by themselves; people are key to implementing and maintaining good records practices.
RIM is constantly changing. Even before the pandemic, records and information management was always changing, with new focuses on data management and information governance expanding RIM’s scope beyond traditional recordkeeping. But now, RIM is growing in even more ways. The implementation of GDPR has changed how many organizations approach privacy concerns. Remote work has caused organizations to ask important questions about records storage and access. Records management in twenty years may not look a thing like records management from fifteen years ago, and while that can be a challenge, it also presents an exciting opportunity for people interested in growth and change.
Remote Volunteering with Libraries and Archives
By Karlie Herndon
Hey SNAPpers! April is National Volunteer Month, and even though we’ve only got a few days left of the month, you can still give back with remote volunteering opportunities! Please note that the opportunities we discuss here may not be accessible for people with vision impairments.
Libraries and Archives Need Brilliant Folks Like You
If you haven’t thought about volunteering since those “volunteer” hours many of us were required to log in high school, you’re not alone! We’re all busy, and volunteering might seem impossible, but there are some major perks. Particularly if you’re new to a profession, volunteer work can set you apart from other job applicants, and it’s something you might be able to add to your schedule at just a few hours a week. These days, SO many libraries and archives are digitizing their extensive collections. In order to make historical documents as user-friendly and accessible as possible, those documents need metadata, transcription, and various tags to make them searchable and readable for everyone. That’s where volunteers come in!
You’re Already Busy…Why Should You Volunteer?
While in-person volunteering programs can be hard to find (and hard to manage, from the institution’s point of view), remote volunteer opportunities are often a self-serve kind of activity. Pick your project, watch a few training videos, and get down to business—usually the business of transcription. It’s an easy thing to pick up when you have some time and put aside when you don’t. A lot of these “citizen transcription” projects are broken down page-by-page, so you don’t have to commit to a massive task up front.
Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills, give some of your time to a worthy cause, and beef up your resume, particularly if you’re a student or new archives professional. To top it off, it can be a networking opportunity as well as a trial run for the kinds of work you’re curious about.
- Gain new skills: Many transcription projects will have a little upfront training, maybe teaching you some quick html or tips and tricks on reading cross writing. Aside from skills, you might learn some fascinating facts from the materials you work with.
- Give back: When so much of our time is driven by consumer culture, volunteering your time can be a way to contribute to learning for learning’s sake, and that can be very refreshing. By joining a project whose values you support, you’re also joining a community that shares those values. It’s pretty nifty.
- Strengthen your resume: Who doesn’t want a shiny badge on their resume that says, “Hey, I really do care about this stuff!” Seriously though, especially if you’re new to the field, volunteer work can often count towards those years of experience that employers require, even for many entry-level jobs.
- Network with pros: You might find a project that has a few people working behind the scenes, and as you show your dedication to the work, you could reach out and say, “Hey, got anything else I can do for you?” It doesn’t hurt to make friends, either!
- Try your hand: Maybe you think you love reading old letters, and cursive is cake. Maybe you’ve never had a chance to work with historical documents. Now is a good time to test your own interests.
Where to Start Remote Volunteering
There are several projects you can jump into today, with everything from authors’ correspondence to cook books to witchcraft, and new projects appear all the time. Here are just a few that might pique your interest:
- FromThePage has many projects that need citizen volunteers’ help. Here’s a diary project from the county I grew up in (maybe you can find a similar hometown connection?). Here’s a project on Gold Rush letters. And for you Victorianists, here’s a Dickens project. This transcribathon runs through FromThePage, and it looks like a lot of fun.
- The National Archives has lots of Citizen Archivist Missions. If you scroll down on the main mission page, you’ll find some featured items, categorized by experience level. They even have a Don’t Leave Us Hanging section for partially transcribed items, if you take joy in finishing tasks (I do!). A photo tagging mission on this page is complete now, but keep checking back for new projects if photos are more your thing.
- The Smithsonian has a great page for digital volunteers, but it looks like many of the projects are complete. Check back later for new projects! They also seem to have sound recordings to transcribe from time to time!
- The Library of Congress needs transcribers and reviewers, and from their By the People homepage, you can click a link to jump into either a transcription or a review. This is a great tool for getting right into a project without having to mull over decisions. I chose to jump to a transcription and was immediately able to start work on a letter in the Theodore Roosevelt Papers.
You’ll Be Great!
I know I’ve let some projects like these slip by me, either because I thought I wouldn’t do a perfect job or I thought I’d have to contribute a lot of time. Don’t worry about either of those things! Incomplete transcriptions are still a helpful contribution, and these systems are set up so that many sets of eyes go on a project.
Know that you’ll be helping out more than you think. Just be sure to read any guidelines or watch any available training videos before you begin. They’re quick and helpful, and they’ll make a big difference in your work.
Happy volunteering!
An Introduction to ArchivesSpace and the ArchivesSpace User Community Webinar
Webinar Recap by Nicole Font
SNAP 2022 Webinar Series:
An Introduction to ArchivesSpace and the ArchivesSpace User Community
Christine Di Bella, MSI, DAS, and Jessica Crouch, MLIS, DAS, ArchivesSpace
Hosted by John Claude Esh, MLIS, CA, SNAP Section Steering Committee Member;
Organized by Lourdes Johnson, MLIS, Provisional CA, Member-At-Large, SNAP Section Steering Committee
On April 6, 2022, SNAP welcomed Christine Di Bella, MSI, DAS, and Jessica Crouch, MLIS, DAS for an informative presentation about ArchivesSpace and the ArchivesSpace user community. We greatly appreciate Christine and Jessica for joining us to provide background on the ArchivesSpace information management system and sustainability model, the ArchivesSpace user community, and the resources available to learn more about using and implementing ArchivesSpace. From my experience using ArchivesSpace, many of the resources discussed (shoutout to the training videos!) are incredibly helpful, so hopefully you’ll find this presentation valuable as you begin your ArchivesSpace journey.
You can view the recorded session below, but here are a few key points and takeaways from the webinar
- This presentation is meant to provide background and context on what ArchivesSpace is. It is not a system overview or walkthrough of the application.
- ArchivesSpace is an archives information management software application that supports a range of archival functions, including accessioning, arrangement, description, preservation, and access. It is not a digital asset management system – it can’t manage digital files.
- ArchivesSpace is also a community of people working together to create and improve the application. It is free to download and use but has membership and community-led governance for sustainability. Using the application does not require membership, but members have the greatest say in the application’s future and get benefits that help them use it and participate in the wider community.
- Membership to ArchivesSpace is at the organizational level. If you work at an ArchivesSpace member organization you are entitled to certain benefits only available to members. If you are not affiliated with an ArchivesSpace member organization, there are still lots of resources available to learn more about ArchivesSpace. See the links below for member and non-member resources.
Webinar Highlights:
0:00 Welcome and Speaker Introductions
– John Esh, MLIS, CA, SNAP Steering Committee Member
– Christine Di Bella, MSI, DAS, ArchivesSpace Program Manager
– Jessica Crouch, MLIS, DAS, ArchivesSpace Community Engagement Coordinator
0:53 What is ArchivesSpace?
– Presentation by Christine Di Bella, MSI, DAS
14:00 Available Resources
– Presentation by Jessica Crouch, MLIS, DAS
28:20 Q&A begins
Contact Information
Website: http://archivesspace.org
Wiki: http://wiki.archivesspace.org
Twitter: @ArchivesSpace
Contact ArchivesSpace: Contact us: ArchivesSpaceHome@lyrasis.org
Resources for ArchivesSpace Members
– The ArchivesSpace Help Center: https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ADC/pages/917045261/ArchivesSpace+Help+Center
– The ArchivesSpace Listservs: http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/mailman/listinfo/archivesspace_users_group
– Technical Support: https://archivesspace.org/member-area/technical-support
– Member Match Program: https://archivesspace.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ADC/pages/2198568994/ArchivesSpace+Member+Match+Program
– ArchivesSpace Events: https://archivesspace.org/using-archivesspace/archivesspace-forums
– You can find a list of all member benefits at: https://archivesspace.org/community/member-benefits
– Educational Program Membership: https://archivesspace.org/community/educational-program-membership
Resources for Non-Members
– Getting Started Webpage: https://archivesspace.org/using-archivesspace/getting-started
– YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxR6D-UlSx6N6UWTeqHTjzA
– The ArchivesSpace Google Group: https://groups.google.com/g/archivesspace
– ArchivesSpace GitHub: https://github.com/archivesspace/awesome-archivesspace
– Video for Windows installation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8sDok-eMFo
Christine Di Bella, MSI, DAS, and Jessica Crouch, MLIS, DAS, are both archivists with over 30 years of combined experience working in archives and libraries. On the ArchivesSpace team, they are involved in all aspects of ArchivesSpace development and outreach and work closely with the ArchivesSpace member community and governance to implement and execute goals for the application.
[Note: The SAA does not endorse products or services; inclusion does not imply endorsement.]
Thoughts? Please let us know!
We would like to know your thoughts on the types of topics you would like to see and what days and times are most convenient for you to attend a live webinar. Please complete our short survey!
If you want to present in our webinar series, contribute with a blog post, share with a member a project you are working on, please contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com. We want to hear from you!
Rutgers SOURCE SAA Student Chapter Webinar: Developing Digital Editions
Rutgers SOURCE SAA Student Chapter Webinar
Developing Digital Editions—The Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University
Presentation and Q&A with Dr. Paul Israel, Director and General Editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers, Rutgers University
On March 22, 2022, Rutgers SOURCE welcomed Dr. Paul Israel, Director and General Editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers, which encompasses a wide range of Edison’s business and personal documents, at Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Israel is an expert in the history of invention and innovation and in patent history and for decades has led research on Thomas Edison’s work and life. Dr. Israel gave an overview of the collection (http://edison.rutgers.edu), and discussed ongoing development of its digital editions over the years, coordination with the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, and enhancing accessibility of documents for research and browsing in a digital space.
The webinar was organized by Rutgers SOURCE Executive Board—Monica Genuardi, President; Laura Melbourne, Vice President; Laurel Monks, Secretary; Riain Ross-Hager, Webmaster—and Faculty Advisor Dr. Marija Dalbello.
Rutgers SOURCE is proud to be a student chapter of the Society of American Archivists.
Academic and Institutional Employment—Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews…Oh My!
Webinar Recap by Marissa Friedman, MLIS
SNAP 2022 Webinar Series:
Demystifying Academic and Institutional Employment:
Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews…Oh My!
Presentation by Jennifer Motszko, MA/MLIS, Head of Archives, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Organized and Hosted by Marissa Friedman, MLIS, SNAP Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
On March 31, 2022, SNAP welcomed Jennifer Motszko, MA/MLIS, Head of Archives, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, for an informative talk on curriculum vitaes/resumes, cover letters, and interviewing for academic archives jobs. We’re very grateful for Jennifer’s insights into the hiring process at academic and institutional archives from her perspective as someone who has been both an applicant and hiring manager.
This session is particularly useful for students and early career professionals who are interested in pursuing employment in academic and institutional archives, and who have questions about best practices and expectations for finding relevant jobs, formatting curriculum vitaes, and preparing for the (often lengthy) interview and hiring process.
The recorded session is available for viewing below, but here are a few major tips and takeaways from the webinar:
- Customizing your application for each position is indispensable, but you don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel each time. Invest in building good templates for cover letters and curriculum vitaes, and always save your application materials. You never know which bits you can reuse in a future application. Curriculum vitaes are usually preferred for jobs in academic institutions.
- Curriculum vitaes (CVs) are generally preferred for academic jobs. As they are much longer than resumes, you can really be creative in how you present your overall professional biography, including everything from continuing education and certifications to volunteer experience, presentations, publications, and more. Just remember to stick to easy to read formats and avoid things like color! Keep it simple, clean, neat, and easy for both OCR engines and human beings to read.
- Make sure to follow application instructions exactly — if the institution requests three references, do not submit only two! Many institutions use software that might automatically reject or screen out your application if you don’t submit the required documents or submit material that is formatted oddly (i.e. using colorful fonts in your CV).
- You are more than welcome to bring notes/notebook in with you for interviews; for some people, this is an excellent way of harnessing one’s thoughts and fighting off nerves. Taking notes during the interview is also fine — it can give you time to think through the question before responding, and can also demonstrate a candidate’s interest in the position.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the hiring committee! You’re also interviewing them. Jennifer’s favorite question as a hiring manager is, “What is your favorite thing about working at [X]? Ultimately, interesting collections alone will not likely make a job sustainable as much as quality colleagues and institutional support, so find out why people who work at an institution enjoy working there.
- Do basic research before going into the interview on the institution’s mission, collections, and priorities. You don’t need to be an expert, but demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and connect this knowledge to why you might want to work there.
- The hiring process at academic archives can take months — each stage of the process, from drafting job descriptions to posting jobs to interviewing to hiring an individual, requires multiple levels of review and approvals from bodies well beyond the hiring committee itself. So be patient and prepared for delays.
Webinar Highlights and Links:
0:00 – Welcome and Speaker Introduction
– Marissa Friedman, MA, MLIS, SNAP Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
– Jennifer Motszko, Head of Archives, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
1:31 – Jennifer Motszko Presentation Begins
50:27 – Q&A begins
Job Searching Sites
– ALA JobLIST (http://joblist.ala.org/)
– SAA Online Career Center (https://careers.archivists.org/jobseekers/)
– Web crawlers (http://www.indeed.com/)
– Archivesgig (https://archivesgig.com/)
Salary Transparency Resources
– US Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/Oes/current/oes254011.htm (note that salary data may be outdated; the SAA A*CENSUS Working Group is conducting a new survey)
– 2019 SAA Annual Meeting Salary Transparency spreadsheet: https://t.co/GT8t9ih3eM
Interviewing
– Examples of good interview questions to ask as a candidate: https://twitter.com/kcrowe/status/1496329139451838466?s=20&t=-pU_YpxClDM1dUitxsXSlQ
SAA Resources
– SAA Career Services Commons: Offers job listing (with listed salaries), resume reviews and mock interviews, mentoring, and more, https://www2.archivists.org/groups/career-services-commons
Questions for Jennifer? Contact her at motszkoj@uww.edu.
Questions for SNAP? Contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com.
Jennifer Motszko, MA/MLIS, holds a BA in History from UW–Madison and Master’s Degrees in History and Library and Information Science from UW–Milwaukee. She has over fourteen years of experience working in both corporate and academic archives. Jennifer began her archival career with the Harley Davidson Motor Company as a museum technician before taking a position as manuscript archivist for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2018, she moved back to Wisconsin to head the Archives and Area Research Center at UW–Whitewater where she manages university records, genealogical resources, and manuscript collections that document the agricultural, business, and supernatural history of Southeastern Wisconsin.
Thoughts? Please let us know!
As SAA-SNAP kicks off its 2022 webinar series, we would like to know your thoughts on the types of topics you would like to see and what days and times are most convenient for you to attend a live webinar. Please complete our short survey!
If you want to present in our webinar series, contribute with a blog post, share with a member a project you are working on, please contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com. We want to hear from you!
SAA DAS (Digital Archives Specialist) Certificate Program
Webinar Recap by Karlie Herndon
SNAP 2022 Webinar Series:
SAA DAS (Digital Archives Specialist) Certificate Program
Presentation by Sara Davis, MSLS, DAS; SAA Chair of DAS Subcommittee; Course Development Team member
JOINT WEBINAR: SNAP Section and SAA-University of Tennessee Knoxville Student Chapter
Organized and Hosted by Mikayla Wood, First Year Representative of the University of Tennessee Knoxville SAA Student Chapter, and Karlie Herndon, SNAP Student Chapter Coordinator
On March 23, 2022, the UTK SAA student chapter and SNAP welcomed Sara Davis (MSLS, DAS), Wyoming State Archivist and Chair of the SAA’s DAS Subcommittee, for an informative talk on the benefits of earning a Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate through SAA. We are very grateful for Sara’s insights, and we were very happy to partner with the UTK SNAP section to make this session happen.
This DAS primer session is particularly useful for students who are finishing their MLIS program, early career professionals, and anyone interested in learning more about the SAA DAS program.
You can view the recorded session below, but here are a few tips and takeaways from the webinar:
- The DAS certificate is for anyone! It’s useful and informative for people with no experience with digital records. The program prepares people to manage digital records, including personal records.
- Courses don’t have to be taken in any specific order, unless a prerequisite (such as the first section of a 2-part course) is noted in the course description.
- For total beginners, it would be good to do the foundational courses first. Starting in August, SAA will begin offering a “prerequisites” tier, a foundational course on managing a digital workflow. It will be free to SAA members! This will be a great overview as well as a sample of what to expect from the overall certificate program. Stay tuned for more!
- Earning the certificate opens up opportunities for various jobs, but it’s also a great tool for networking and outreach.
- Take advanced courses synchronously if possible. You can hear others’ stories and get to know the “why” behind certain actions. Plus, this is a prime networking opportunity!
Webinar Highlights and Links:
0:00 – Welcome and Speaker Introduction
– Karlie Herndon (she/her), MA, MLIS, PhD [ABD], SNAP Student Chapter Coordinator
– Mikayla Wood (she/her), University of Tennessee Knoxville SNAP Student Chapter, First Year Representative
Sara Davis (she/her), MSLS, DAS, Wyoming State Archivist, SAA DAS Subcommittee Chair
1:58 – Sara Davis Presentation Begins
4:40 – History/purpose of the DAS certificate
6:52 – Requirements for the Certificate
Complete nine courses from the four major tiers of the DAS program: Foundational (4), Tactical & Strategic (3), Tools & Services (1), Transformational (1); must take two synchronous courses; pass comprehensive exam (offered three times a year)
13:00 – Timeline requirements
– Complete coursework in 24 months; up to 5 additional months allowed to take comprehensive exam
– Certificate is good for 5 years
Renewal process: can take 1 course in the first year after earning the certificate, and 4 more in the next 4 years to renew (5 courses over 5 years to renew)
14:23 – Benefits to the DAS program
14:33 – Benefit 1: Opens Opportunities
16:55 – Benefit 2: Brings Old with the New
17:36 – Benefit 3: Digitization as Preservation (Sara’s favorite benefit!)
18:42 – Benefit 4: Maintain Integrity of Original Formats
19:14 – Benefit 5: Enhances Accessibility
19:36 – DAS Competencies
21:06 – Websites
– https://www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das
– https://connect.archivists.org/home [SAA Connect—login required]
21:29 – Thank You; Question and Answer Session Begins
23:09 – Cost of certificate
Roughly $1250 out of pocket; synchronous courses are a little more expensive than the webinars
24:40 – Workload to complete the coursework
25:36 – Courses
https://www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das/course-list
28:00 – Calendar of course offerings
https://mysaa.archivists.org/nc__upcomingevents?type=Class
34:15 – More on the renewal process
39:40 – Financial assistance ideas
42:20 – Reading list for the comprehensive exam
https://www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das/examinations
42:58 – Closing remarks, thank yous, contact information
- Questions for Sara? Contact her at sara.davis@wyo.gov.
- Questions for SNAP? Contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com.
Sara Davis, MSLS, DAS, (she/her) is the Wyoming State Archivist as of September 2021. Prior to her current appointment, she was the university archivist for the University of Wyoming at the American Heritage Center and digital archivist/project manager for the National Association of Olmsted Parks at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. She has a MSLS with a concentration in archives management from Simmons University and holds a Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate from the Society of American Archivists. She is also currently the chair of the SAA DAS Subcommittee.
Thoughts? Please let us know!
As SAA-SNAP kicks off its 2022 webinar series, we would like to know your thoughts on the types of topics you would like to see and what days and times are most convenient for you to attend a live webinar. Please complete our short survey!
If you want to present in our webinar series, contribute with a blog post, share with a member a project you are working on, please contact us at newarchivistsrt@gmail.com. We want to hear from you!
SAA Annual Meeting: Call for Graduate Student Proposals
SAA’s Annual Meeting is currently accepting proposals from graduate students. Proposals can be from individuals or student chapters for papers or posters.
From SAA Headquarters:
Graduate Student Presentation
The work of three current archives students and/or SAA student chapters will be selected for presentation. Each speaker will be allotted fifteen minutes to present a paper. Be creative! Proposals from individual students as well as SAA student chapter groups will be considered. Proposals may relate to the student’s applied or theoretical research, research about the archives profession itself, or even practical/internship experiences. Student chapters may consider presenting on projects or initiatives conducted in the current term (Fall 2021 through Summer 2022). Participant selection will be based on the quality of proposals submitted.
Graduate Student Poster
The 22nd annual Graduate Student Poster Session will showcase the work of both individual students and SAA Student Chapters.
All posters will be presented in-person and virtually in PDF format. More information about preparing posters will be shared upon acceptance. Posters will be available to all meeting attendees throughout the week of the conference and in the virtual platform. See here for examples of the 2020 graduate student poster presentations.
Individual posters may describe applied or theoretical research that is completed or underway; discuss interesting collections with which students have worked; or report on archives and records projects in which students have participated (e.g., development of finding aids, public outreach, database construction, etc.). Submissions should focus on research or activity conducted within the previous academic year (Fall 2021 to Summer 2022).
Student chapter posters may describe chapter activities, events, and/or other involvement with the archives and records professions. A single representative should coordinate the submission of each Student Chapter proposal.
The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2022. To submit a proposal, visit https://www2.archivists.org/am2022/program/student-call/form.
SNAP Section 