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
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