In August 2018, the SAA Council issued a statement endorsing the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials as an external standard of the organization.  The Protocols establish best practices for the culturally responsive care and use of Native American archival materials, particularly materials that are housed in non-tribal institutions.

This series of case studies, sponsored by the Native American Archivists Section (NAAS) of SAA, is intended to help archivists, librarians, museum curators, and other professionals who work with Native American archival materials see how the Protocols can be adapted for use in a variety of institutional contexts.  More broadly, the case studies series is designed to highlight evolving access policies to Native American materials, whether or not these policies are based specifically on the Protocols.

Elements of a Case Study:

Case studies are intended to demonstrate real-world examples of the ways in which contributors and their institutions have developed and/or implemented access policies for culturally sensitive Native American archival materials.  Contributors are encouraged to write about the challenges of developing and implementing these access policies in their institutional contexts, as well as their successes.  Case studies from all sizes and types of institutions are welcomed, as are case studies focusing on various types of culturally sensitive archival materials (textual, photographic, audio/visual, etc.).  Case studies contributed by single authors or multiple authors are also welcome.

Each case study should include the following basic elements:

• An introduction, which describes the institutional context and relevant Native American archival materials
• A narrative, which describes the development and/or implementation of access policies to those materials and any challenges or barriers encountered
• A conclusion, which describes lessons learned and ongoing development and/or modification of the access policies

A key component of best practices for the care and use of culturally sensitive Native American archival materials is collaboration with Native American communities.  Case studies that reflect Native American communities’ experiences with institutions’ evolving access policies are also encouraged.

Preparing and Submitting Your Case Study:

To inquire about submitting a case study, please contact the series editors: Rose Buchanan, NAAS Steering Committee Member rose.buchanan@nara.gov], and Caitlin Haynes, NAAS Vice Chair [haynesce@si.edu]. Submissions are needed for summer-fall 2019, and will be posted to the SAA Case Study Series website on a rolling basis.

Case studies should be between 1,500 and 5,000 words.  Authors are responsible for understanding and following the principles that govern the “fair use” of quotations and illustrations, and for obtaining written permission to publish where necessary.  Accuracy in citations is also the author’s responsibility.  SAA prefers the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style with endnote formatting for citations.

Review Process:

All submissions will be reviewed by two volunteer reviewers from the NAAS Steering Committee or from the NAAS membership.  Submissions will be evaluated according to a rubric.  Reviewers will return the case study and completed rubric within three weeks of receipt to the series editors.  The series editors will review the feedback and make an editorial decision, consulting with the NAAS Steering Committee and SAA Publications Editor as necessary.  The series editors will communicate a publication decision to the author(s) within five weeks of the receipt of the submission.

• For rejected case studies: The series editors will communicate the rejection to the author(s) and provide the reasons for this editorial decision.
• For a recommendation of revise and resubmit: The series editors will communicate the decision to the author(s) and negotiate a reasonable window of time for resubmission.
  • Resubmitted case studies will be reviewed by the series editors and at least one of the original reviewers to ensure that recommended changes have been satisfactorily incorporated.  The series editors, in consultation with the NAAS Steering Committee, ultimately make the decision to publish or reject resubmitted case studies.  The series editors will communicate that decision to the author(s).
• For case studies accepted for publication: The series editors will communicate the acceptance to the author(s).

A submission will not be considered if it is being reviewed by another publishing outlet at the same time, or if it has been published previously in a similar form.

Publication Process:

Once accepted, case studies will be submitted to the SAA Publications Editor and Director of Publishing for light copyediting.  If major changes are needed, a version tracking those changes will be sent to the author for confirmation.  After the author signs off on a final version, SAA will format the case study and post it to the Case Study Series website as a PDF.

Copyright in the case study will remain with the author, and SAA will acknowledge this in the copyright line that appears with the case study.  Authors will consent, grant, and assign to SAA the non-exclusive right to publish and/or distribute all or any part of the case study throughout the world in electronic or any other medium.  In return, SAA agrees to publish the work under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives license.