SAA 2017: Session 104 Archival Ethics: It Could Happen to You!

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Amanda Mellinger, Assistant Archivist, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives

Ethical dilemmas can produce uncertainty and anxiety in the most seasoned of archivists, but can be downright overwhelming to SNAPers who haven’t had many opportunities to navigate the difficult ethical landscape of our profession. Luckily, SAA17 offered a session with an experienced panel ready to discuss real life ethical dilemmas facing archivists now. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, you won’t be able to find a recording to this session and this recap is only going to cover the highlights and some lessons learned to protect identities and confidentiality.

SAA 2017: The Liberated Archive Session F08 The Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

The Liberated Archive Forum was a new feature of the 2017 Annual Meeting that explored “how archivists might partner with the public to repurpose the archive as a site of social transformation and radical inclusion” through various panel discussions and an unconference on Saturday, July 29. You can listen to the opening keynote by Writer/activist/educator/poet Walidah Imarisha here: https://www2.archivists.org/am2017/liberated-archive-keynote

Guest Author: Michael Barera, Archivist, Texas A&M University-Commerce

This panel session was presented by Josiah Black Eagle Pinkham (Nez Perce Tribe) and Lotus Norton-Wisla (Washington State University). Lotus opened by noting that “our session has changed a bit from the beginning.” She then observed that everyone in the room is currently on the ancestral homelands of the Plateau Peoples. She also noted Washington State University (WSU)’s Native American Advisory Board, which has relationships with local tribes as well as the university president. She concluded her brief introduction by remarking that the Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal was created with specific goals in mind.

SAA 2017: Metadata and Digital Object Section Meeting

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Ben M. Riesenberg, MLIS Candidate, University of Washington iSchool

The session began with remarks by Martha Parker, Digital Services Librarian at the University of Arkansas Libraries and section co-chair, who gave a brief introduction to the lightning-talk format— “Metadata Story Hour”—featuring five presenters. Following a Q&A period at the session’s conclusion, Ms. Parker also gave a call to service for those interested in participating on the section’s steering committee.

SAA 2017: Session 107 Document, Protect, and Mitigate: New Perspectives on the Roles of Archives and the Natural Environment

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Ève Bourbeau-Allard, Processing Archivist, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

The intersections between our archival practices and the natural world in which we operate have been understudied. Mark Wolfe, Curator of Digital Collections at the University of Albany, commented on this lack of attention to a topic with significant ethical implications in his opening remarks to the session “Document, protect, and mitigate: New perspectives on the roles of archives and the natural environment.” The session’s panelists then enriched the conversation around the archival-environmental nexus by approaching the topic from different angles.

SAA 2017: Session 406 Sympathizing with Sisyphus: Dealing with Inherited or Intransigent Problems in College and University Archives

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Amanda Brent, Project Archivist, George Mason University

This session, led by Daniel J. Linke of Princeton University, aimed to cover the frequent – albeit rarely publicly discussed – failure and frustration faced in University Archives settings. The session as a whole was inspired by a Princeton professor’s “CV of Failure,” which detailed all of his professional missteps and mistakes, rather than his achievements. The session consisted of six speakers, each with their own unique perspective and experience on this topic.

SAA 2017: SNAP Section Meeting

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Adriana Flores, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, University of Puget Sound

I. Welcome from Kelly, SNAP president

II. Jamie Martin, IBM Corporation Archives and Business Archives Section Chair

• Partnered with SNAP on past Twitter chat about business archives
• BAS wants to work more closely with SNAP members
  • There’s a lot to learn about business archives and they want to share their knowledge!
  • A lot of people fall into business archives but it’s a great path that you can intentionally seek out
• They’re looking for ways to collaborate with SNAP in the future
• Tips for business resume and cover letter crafting:
  • First line of review is HR; tailor your resume & cover letter to the HR member. Use key words from the job posting. Make sure you meet and explicitly state that you have the appropriate education.
  • Look up tips for business writing. Be concise and to the point! Bullet points are your friend.
  • You might interview with someone who is not an archivist. Be sure to translate archives terms so that the interviewer understands what you’ll bring to the table.
• Where to look for business archives jobs:
  1. SAA job list
  2. ArchivesGig
  3. Business Archives Section listserv
  4. Go directly to company websites
• They are a resource for SNAP members who want to apply to business archives jobs! They often have leads on jobs and are willing to help.

SAA 2017: Session 110 I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means: Differing Conceptions of the Archive

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Itza Carbajal, MSIS Candidate, The University of Texas at Austin

It took some time for me to get it. You know, the whole discussion on archives and THE Archive with a capital A. Despite now being a newly minted almost degree holding archivist, I haven’t always used the term archives with an insider’s perspective. In fact I am pretty sure I once used it in the ways that our profession oftentimes finds fault in. In attending the 2017 SAA conference session, “I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means: Differing Conceptions of the Archive” I realize that understanding the meaning of archives goes beyond a single perspective.

SAA 2017: Graduate Student Poster Session

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Rebecca Leung, SAA Student Chapter Chair 2016-2017 and MLIS Graduate 2017, San José State University

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 27, over 30 graduate students from 10 different states and several different countries trickled into the #SAA17 exhibit hall to set up their posters. It was unusually hot in Portland, with temperatures in the 90s. However, the students had been planning for this day since the cold, dark days of February when poster concept submissions were due. By the evening, the exhibit hall was filled with SAA attendees and vendors. The graduate student poster section of the room was particularly lively as attendees interacted with students, posed questions about their research and shared experiences, and perhaps even discussed possible employment. This was also a chance for students in the archives field to get to know their future colleagues and learn from each other.

SAA 2017: Session 206 Alma Mater Uncovered: Students Research Issues of Diversity in the Archives

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Adriana Flores, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, University of Puget Sound

This session discussed different university-funded student research positions/projects that delved into diversity issues in the universities’ history.

SAA 2017: Session 204 Representation without Leadership: Assessing Stress and Gender in the Archival Workplace

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Kate Madison, Processing Archivist, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

The session “Representation without Leadership” was designed to present the results of the Archivists’ Stress Survey, a research project that sought to explore gender as an influence on leadership and workplace stress. The panel was presented by the survey researchers: Rita Casey, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Wayne State University; Kristen Chinery, Reference Archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University; Alexandra A. A. Orchard, Technical and Metadata Archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University; and Leslie Van Veen McRoberts, Local History Archivist at the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University. A fifth panelist, Alison Stankrauff, was unable to attend SAA.

SAA 2017: Session 402 Identifying and Dismantling White Supremacy in the Archives: A Plan of Action

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Whitney Ray, Student, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Led by Michelle Caswell, Ricardo Punzalan, and Jamie A. Lee, this session was a mixture of brainstorming and a call to action to identify white supremacy in archives and dismantle it. The session was split into three parts. First, participants read Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Un-packing the Invisible Knapsack.” Second, participants–using McIntosh’s format as a model–shared experiences of white privilege and invisible whiteness at archival institutions and places of work, thereby identifying white supremacy in the archives. Third, participants thought of and shared ways to dismantle white supremacy.

SAA 2017: Session 310 Beyond the Finding Aid: New Directions for Archival Description

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Michael Barera, Archivist, Texas A&M University-Commerce

This panel discussion consisted of Alexis Antracoli (Princeton University), Meghan Lyon (Duke University), Jennifer Sirotkin (Chick-fil-A), and Gregory Wiedeman (University at Albany, SUNY). Alexis began with a brief introduction, noting that she has been “spending a lot of time” taking Microsoft Access databases with item-level description and moving them into EAD so they can be integrated into Princeton’s finding aid database. She then asks the question that is at the heart of this section: “is the finding aid the best tool for everything we have?” The answer: “probably not.”

SAA 2017: Session 505 Capturing a Movement: Documenting Student Activities and Activism on Campus

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Jenifer Becker, Reference Librarian, WSU Vancouver Library

In the recent years, college and university campuses across the country have been the site of a new wave of student protests and activism. Student protests, spurred by tuition hikes, incidents of sexual assault and harassment, and racism and racial microaggressions on and off campuses, began in the early 2010s and arguably reached their zenith between Spring 2014 and Fall 2015. During this time, students came forward to share their experiences in the hopes that they might create a more inclusive environment on their campus.

The Society of American Archivist’s 2017 annual conference in Portland, Oregon brought together seven professionals from across the United States working to bring student and activist narratives into the college and university archives for a lightning round session, entitled “Documenting Student Activities and Activism on Campus.” Ranging from small liberal arts colleges to large public universities, five of the speakers addressed how they have operated within the confines of their institution to proactively seek student records and inform potential student donors. College and university campuses have long been the site of student protests and the recent efforts to seek student records have not been limited to currently enrolled students. One speaker addressed the possible role archives can have at reunions. Finally, speaking more broadly about activist records, another speaker addressed the difficulties archivists face in documenting this population in the age of social media.

SAA 2017: Open Forums Archival Advocacy and Awareness Amid Social/Political Upheaval

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Alexandra Alisauskas, MAS/MLIS Candidate, University of British Columbia

Co-sponsored by SAA Committees on Public Policy and Public Awareness and Issues and Advocacy Section, the 2^nd annual Advocacy Forum brought together five panelists whose professional practices lie, in various ways, at the intersection of archives and activism. Outgoing COPA chair and panel co-moderator Sami Norling framed the discussion by asking the introductory question of whether there should be a distinction between archival advocacy and awareness, or how they can inform each other (particularly in light of the challenges posed by recent political and social changes).

SAA 2017: Session 504 The Rights Stuff: Encouraging Appropriate Reuse with Standardized Rights Statements

In advance of the 2017 Annual Meeting, we invited SNAP members to contribute summaries of panels, section meetings, forums, and pop-up sessions. Summaries represent the opinions of their individual authors; they are not necessarily endorsed by SNAP, members of the SNAP Steering Committee, or SAA.

Guest Author: Michael Barera, Archivist, Texas A&M University-Commerce

The panel for this section consisted of Laura Capell (Head of Digital Production & Electronic Records Archivist, University of Miami), MJ Han (Metadata Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Brandy Karl (Copyright Officer, Penn State University Libraries), Sheila McAlister (Director, Digital Library of Georgia), and Kelcy Shepherd (DPLA Network Manager, Digital Public Library of America).