Category: Books

New Book: Women in the Museum: Lessons From the Workplace

From the authors:

Museums are complex workplaces.  Guardians of America’s patrimony, they are simultaneously thought of as traditional, boring and irrelevant, but also progressive, fun and important. With collections and exhibitions lauded and vilified, museums are both significant economic drivers and astoundingly vulnerable organizations.  Collectively United States museums employ nearly 353,000 people, almost half of them women.  There is no denying that most museums are stimulating and wondrous, one-of-a-kind, work environments, but two years ago we could not have imagined the gender inequity lying beneath their placid exteriors.
Women in the Museum explores the professional lives of the field’s female workforce, a cohort that grew exponentially from the late 19th-century to the present. It chronicles the challenges working women in the museum field face today, as well as their responses to widespread entrenched and unconscious gender bias.  In doing so, we hope it clarifies how women’s work in museums is different from men’s, and why we think museums must create, foster and protect a level playing field.
Along the way, we asked ourselves these questions:  Are workplace challenges more acute for women if a field is under-resourced, under-appreciated, or in some instances, under-utilized? How is leadership and internal decision-making different in female dominated museums?  Do public perceptions change toward fields where females make up half or more of the workforce?
It is difficult to write about women in the workplace and not write about diversity, and we have been taken to task for that.  It’s especially difficult in a field that since its founding has been a bastion of white, middle and upper-class men and subsequently women.  While issues of racial and ethnic diversity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability and class are often aligned with gender equity, we’ve chosen to take a bite out of the broadest and most basic of topics in one of the narrowest of fields — an environment almost exclusively nonprofit, under-resourced, and little understood by the public.  Our intent is to pull back the curtain on a long-standing and unresolved gender issue:  equity.  What we’ve written is an opening salvo deserving wider and deeper scrutiny.
We believe museums create communities. Those communities include women as subjects of collections, exhibits and programming, women as audience members and supporters, and as employees.  That said, we would like to suggest that for us diversity is the presumption that everyone has a place at the table. If you think those ideas are remnants of the 1970’s, read on. We believe there is still much work to do. And for us, inclusion as well as equity are what is important, and making sure women are represented is the place to start.

One Book, One Profession 2017

How can archivists create a diverse record or recruit and retain a diverse workforce? Whose stories are being told—and by whom? Where are the silences in the record? These questions and more are at the heart of the 2017 One Book, One Profession selection, Through the Archival Looking Glass: A Reader on Diversity and Inclusion, edited by Mary A. Caldera and Kathryn M. Neal.

In ten essays incorporating theory and case studies, archivists explore prominent themes related to diversity and question the archive on representation, authority, neutrality, objectivity, and power. This book illustrates a multitude of perspectives and issues so that fresh voices can emerge alongside more familiar ones, and new concepts can be examined along with new perspectives on established ideas.

Diversity is an ever-evolving concept; the term itself is increasingly rephrased as inclusion. By stimulating further ideas and conversation, we can come closer to a common understanding of what diversity and inclusion are or can be and, perhaps most importantly, how they may be realized in archives and the archival profession. As Stephen Scarth of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland wrote in his review of the book for Archives and Records, The Journal of the Archives and Records Association: “This collection of essays should be best viewed as a springboard which will hopefully inspire further original thought on what is still an emerging subject.”

The ideas in this book don’t end with the last page. For the second year of One Book, One Profession, join your colleagues in reading, talking about, and translating these theories into action.

Let’s read Through the Archival Looking Glass—together!

Group Discount on Book Purchase: Host a book discussion within your institution, among archivists in your community, or at a regional meeting—group orders of 5 or more books receive a 40% discount!

Study Guide Questions: Click here to download.

Related Reading & Resources: Click here for a list of other resources.

Selected Events

ARCHIVES 2017 in Portland

Twitter Discussions

  • Follow #OBOP17 on twitter for more updates and to join the conversation profession-wide

SAA Book Sale thru May 8

Offer valid April 21–May 8, 2017.  While supplies last.

Books for $15 each . . .

Controlling the Past: Documenting Society and Institutions
List $56 (SAA Members $39.95)

Many Happy Returns: Advocacy and the Development of Archives
List $56 (SAA Members $39.95)

Navigating Legal Issues in Archives
List $69.95 (SAA Members $49.95)

*        *        *

Books for $10 each . . .

Archival Internships: A Guide for Faculty, Supervisors, and Students
List $29.95 (SAA Members $24.95)

Becoming a Trusted Digital Repository (Module 8)
List $29.99 (SAA Members $19.99)

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
List $29.95 (SAA Members $24.95)

College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice
List $54.95 (SAA Members $39.95)

Encoded Archival Description Tag Library – Version EAD3
List $29.95 (SAA Members $24.95)

How to Keep Union Records
List $49 (SAA Members $35)

Managing Congressional Collections
List $19.95 (SAA Members $19.95)

Norton on Archives: The Writings of Margaret Cross Norton on Archival and Records Management
List $45 (SAA Members $35)

Protecting Your Collections: A Manual of Archival Security
List $30 (SAA Members $25)

Waldo Gifford Leland and the Origins of the American Archival Profession
List $62.95 (SAA Members $44.95)

SAA Title in HathiTrust: Film Preservation

Another SAA book has been added to the HathiTrust Digital Library. Film Preservation: Competing Definitions of Value, Use, and Practice by Karen Gracy was published by SAA in 2007 and is now out of print, but you can view it for free by clicking here. Film Preservation is one of dozens out-of-print books for which SAA has granted full-view permission in the HathiTrust. For a complete list of these open access books, click here. The HathiTrust is a partnership of academic and research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from around the world.

SAA Sampler Series Now Open Access

A few years ago, SAA’s Publications Board started creating samplers. These are introductions to topics and SAA publications, whether to read on your own or used in a classroom. Two recent announcements about these samplers: they are now all open access and there’s a new one on social justice.

SAA samplers online

Archival Advocacy: Archivists must continually explain who they are, what they do, and why archives are important to society. The selected chapters in this sampler offer different approaches and techniques from three books which align with the core goal of advocating for archives.

Law and Ethics: All archivists will face legal or ethical concerns throughout their careers. In many cases, we are caught unaware, and pressure is escalated by time crunches or demanding patrons. The chapter from the three books represented here aim to equip archivists to handle these sorts of dilemmas as they arise, by presenting practical information drawn from real-life experiences of archivists.

Social Justice: As repositories of the objects that make up the historical record, archives have the potential to shape and define our collective understanding of the past. The selected chapters in this sampler consider personal and collective memory as well as examples of political influence over the historical record.

Call for Editor: Archival History Section Newsletter

As I’ve developed this blog, I’ve wavered about including calls and information about newsletters. My purpose in starting this blog is to promote and help with scholarship, so I generally do not incorporate archival newsletters. I’m posting this call (from A&A listserv) because a newsletter editor can develop skills and is a good way to start engaging in publishing.

_________

Dear colleagues:

SAA’s Archival History Section (AHS) is looking for an editor, or two, to help relaunch a newsletter for AHS members and other interested parties.

Founded in 1986 as the Archival History Roundtable, the AHS advocates for and promotes an understanding of the history of the American archival profession. Inspired by the work of other SAA sections (see, for example, the Lone Arrangers Quarterly Newsletter, https://lonearrangers.wordpress.com/about/), this digital newsletter will function as a dynamic space to keep members informed and up-to-date about people, activities, and events of importance to the history of our profession.

The newsletter editor will be appointed to a 2-year term. In partnership with the AHS steering committee (which is working to formalize the editorial structure), the editor’s duties will include:

  • Setting up an online presence for the newsletter via WordPress.com
  • Determining a publication schedule for the newsletter
  • Identifying content appropriate for the newsletter (i.e. news and announcements, feature articles, updates and photos of AHS activities, information about upcoming conferences and publication opportunities, member recognition, obituaries and oral histories).
  • Editing and proofreading content
  • Creating a marketing and social media strategy for the newsletter
  • Joining monthly AHS steering committee calls when needed to provide updates on progress with the newsletter
  • Work with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee libraries to ensure that the content of the newsletter is archived with the SAA archives on a regular basis.

Interested parties should respond with a one-page cover letter describing interest in the position, including how you would encourage original content and collect pre-existing content from a variety of online and print sources in order to build a cadre of authors to sustain the newsletter.  Also, indicate the amount of time you could devote each week to sustaining the newsletter over the next two years.

Please send all expressions of interest, or requests for additional information, to Eric Stoykovich, AHS Chair, EricStoykovich@gmail.com, by March 31.

CFP: Libraries and Nonprofits: Collaboration for the Public Good

This call focuses more on libraries and does not mention archives, but I believe many of you out there have applicable experiences. The recent Archival Outlook article “Radical Partnerships” is an example. Let’s get those archival partnerships out there!

CFP: Libraries and Nonprofits: Collaboration for the Public Good

About the Book

Libraries and Nonprofits: Collaboration for the Public Good (Library Juice Press) will consider the range of partnerships entered into by all types of libraries and nonprofits and will provide resources and best practices for nurturing these collaborations. We are seeking domestic and international case studies which highlight successful (or problematic) collaborations between libraries and nonprofit organizations for inclusion in the book. Case studies may address the following themes relating to nonprofit organizations and library collaborations including (but not limited to):

* civic engagement
* public health
* social safety nets/social work
* arts and culture
* education/literacy
* environment/sustainability/food justice
* LGBTQIA
* anti-racism
* disability rights
* legal aid/human rights
* housing/planning

Examples range from collaborations with financial literacy organizations to provide free or low-cost tax preparation; legal aid organizations to provide civic education and human rights workshops; literacy organizations to provide storytime programs, ESL or tutoring services; or museums to provide exhibitions, pop-up galleries, or STEAM programming.

How to Participate

Authors are invited to submit a case study proposal as an email attachment in Word or PDF to librariesandnonprofits@gmail.com on or before Monday, February 20, 2017. The case study proposal should be 300-500 words (Chicago Style) clearly explaining the intent and details of the proposed case study as it relates to the topics listed above. Proposed case studies should be based on unpublished work, unique to this publication and not submitted or intended to be simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Authors will be notified by Monday, March 27, 2017 about the status of their proposals and sent case study guidelines. Completed case studies are expected to be between 2,000-4,000 words, although shorter or longer case studies are negotiable. Full case studies are expected to be submitted by Monday, June 26, 2017.

Proposals should include

* Author name(s), institutional or organizational affiliation, job title/role
* Brief author(s) bio
* Proposed case study title
* A summary of the proposed case study (300-500 words)

About the authors

Tatiana Bryant, Special Collections Librarian, University of Oregon Libraries

Jonathan O. Cain, Librarian for Data Initiatives and Public Policy, Planning and Management, University of Oregon Libraries

Call for Chapters: Librarianship and Genealogy: Trends, Issues, Case Studies

Librarianship and Genealogy: Trends, Issues, Case Studies

Book Publisher: McFarland

Carol Smallwood, co-editor. Library’s Role in Supporting Financial Literacy for Patrons (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016); public library administrator, special, school librarian.

Vera Gubnitskaia, co-editor. Reference Librarian, Valencia College, Winter Park, Florida; co-editor, Library Outreach to Writers and Poets (forthcoming, McFarland).

One or two chapters sought from U.S. practicing academic, public, school, special librarians, LIS faculty, sharing practical know-how about what works for patrons with genealogy: proven, creative, case studies, how-to chapters based on experience to help colleagues with acquisitions, storage, digitization, innovative workshops, community outreach, grants, user instruction, latest resources.

One, two, or three authors per chapter; each chapter by the same author(s). Compensation: one complimentary copy per 3,000-4,000 word chapter accepted no matter how many co-authors or if one or two chapters: author discount on more.

Please e-mail titles of proposed chapters each described in a few sentences by February 28, 2017, brief bio on each author; place GENEALOLGY, YOUR LAST NAME on subject line: smallwood.carol@gmail.com

CFP: Book Chapters in Library Assessment

This proposal doesn’t specifically mention archives. Considering that many (most?) academic libraries have or are connected to special collections and archives departments/libraries, this is a good opportunity to infiltrate a library publication.

Call for Book Chapter Proposals in Library Assessment

We are seeking chapter proposals for a book on library assessment. Please consider sharing your work in this area to this effort.

Working Title – Academic Libraries and the Academy: Strategies and Approaches to Demonstrate Your Value, Impact, and Return on Investment

Publisher

This book will be published under the auspices of ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries). The anticipated publication date is early 2018.

Introduction

Assessment in academic libraries will play an increasingly crucial role in higher education. With the demand for greater transparency and accountability in funding for institutions, diminished budgets, and a shift to performance-based funding, academic libraries are examining and implementing new and creative approaches to demonstrate their inherent, immediate and long term value and impact to their institutions and stakeholders. Academic libraries of all shapes and sizes are understanding the need to establish their place and role in supporting institutional goals and objectives particularly related to student learning outcomes, academic student success measures, and faculty teaching and research productivity. To this end, many academic libraries are investing in efforts focused on implementing assessment initiatives that demonstrate their value and impact to their institutional stakeholders and community.

Objective

This book will present cases of how academic libraries are successfully implementing initiatives to demonstrate their worth and value to their institutional and community stakeholders. The cases will include proven strategies, lessons learned, effective approaches and practical applications successfully employed by academic staff and support professionals. The publication is intended to inform those at all levels of experience and stages of implementation— that is, those who are considering or just beginning to embark on this path, as well as others who have already taken the plunge and are looking to leverage or triangulate other strategies.

Target Audience

This publication will primarily target librarians, professional staff and administrators at all types of academic libraries, and we anticipate it will also be of interest to others across disciplines and industries who are engaged in similar assessment initiatives. It will present practical, easy-to-adopt strategies and approaches based on case studies, and will offer a breadth and depth of options to appeal to a wide range of readers at various stages of experience with demonstrating library value — from beginners to experts.

Proposed Book Sections

This book will be structured in four sections of case studies as described below:

Section 1: Seeding the Initiative. Explores the planning stages or “works-in-progress” in assessment that relate to the library’s impact and value. The results of these efforts may not be imminent. Nevertheless, these case studies demonstrate the potential value and the importance of the initial design and planning stage.

Section 2: Low-Hanging Fruit.  Provides stories of assessments that are easy to measure, short-term (less than one year), low cost, require few resources (staff or tools), and are easily replicable at similar academic libraries.

Example: ROI spreadsheets at the University of West Florida

Section 3: Reachable Fruit (with some effort).  Provides stories of assessments that may require more external and internal resources to measure, may take more than six months to one year to collect and analyze, feature medium costs and resources (i.e., incentives, equipment, tools), and may be replicable at other academic libraries that are similar in size or scope.

Example: Contingent valuation measures

Section 4: Hard-to-Reach Fruit. A range of assessment activities more difficult to measure and time and resource intensive, may require long-term data collection (e.g. longitudinal studies that require more than a year to collect a dataset or have measures that require more time, such as measuring a cohort’s graduation rates), and feature greater external partnerships, internal infrastructure, and/or additional resources to measure and analyze.

Examples: The Library Cube (which required the creation of a relational database), and Mixed-method Ethnographies, such as the ERIAL Project. (Ethnographic qualitative studies require more time to transcribe and analyze.)

Chapter proposals should focus on a topic that is related to one of the four sections listed above. Authors are also welcome to propose additional topics or sections that may be relevant to this publication.

Submission Procedure

Authors are invited to submit a chapter proposal as an email attachment in Word or PDF to academiclibrariesandtheacademy@gmail.com on or before Monday, January 09, 2017. The chapter proposal should be 300-500 words clearly explaining the intent and details of the proposed chapter as it relates to one of the four sections of the book described above. Authors will be notified by Monday, February 27, 2017 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Completed chapters are expected to be between 3,000-5,000 words, although shorter or longer chapters are negotiable. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by Tuesday, May 29, 2017.

Proposals should include:

  • Author name(s), institutional or organizational affiliation, job title/role
  • Brief author(s) bio
  • Proposed chapter title
  • A summary of the proposed chapter (300-500 words)

Proposed chapters should be based on unpublished work, unique to this publication and not submitted or intended to be simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Important Dates

Book Chapter Proposals Submission Due: Monday, January 09, 2017
Authors notified: Monday, February 27, 2017
Abstracts/Full Chapters Due: Tuesday, May 29, 2017
Feedback and revisions to Authors: Summer, 2017
Final Revised Chapter Due: September, 2017
Copy-editing, production: Fall, 2017
Publication Date: Early 2018

Inquiries to: academiclibrariesandtheacademy@gmail.com

Editors

Marwin Britto, Ph.D., MLIS
University of Saskatchewan
Canada

Kirsten Kinsley, Ed.S., MLIS
Florida State University
USA

CFP: Two Publishing Opportunities with McFarland

Expanding Library Relevancy: Innovation to Meet Changing Needs

Book Publisher: McFarland

Vera Gubnitskaia, co-editor. Contributor, Bringing the Arts into the Library (ALA, 2014); co-editor, Continuing Education for Librarians (McFarland, 2013); academic librarian, indexer.

Carol Smallwood, co-editor, Library’s Role in Supporting Financial Literacy for Patrons (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016); public library administrator, special, school librarian.

One or two chapters sought from U.S. practicing academic, public, school, special librarians, LIS faculty, on creative, practical how-to chapters, case studies, about libraries as learning centers, career and technology helpers, after-school programs, branding, and new ways to use libraries. It will fill a gap in the literature, share successes in broadening library service to fit changing patron needs.

No previously published, simultaneously submitted material. One, two, or three authors per chapter; each chapter by the same author(s) Compensation: one complimentary copy per 3,000-4,000 word chapter accepted no matter how many co-authors or if one or two chapters; author discount.

Please e-mail titles of proposed chapter(s) described in a few sentences by January 15, 2017, with brief bio on each author; place REL, Your Name on subject line: gubnitv11@gmail.com

Librarianship and Genealogy: Trends, Issues, Case Studies

Book Publisher: McFarland

Carol Smallwood, co-editor. Library’s Role in Supporting Financial Literacy for Patrons (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016); public library administrator, special, school librarian.

Vera Gubnitskaia, co-editor. Reference Librarian, Valencia College, Winter Park, Florida; co-editor, Library Outreach to Writers and Poets (forthcoming, McFarland).

One or two chapters sought from U.S. practicing academic, public, school, special librarians, LIS faculty, sharing practical know-how about what works for patrons with genealogy: proven, creative, case studies, how-to chapters based on experience to help colleagues with acquisitions, storage, digitization, innovative workshops, community outreach, grants, user instruction, latest resources.

One, two, or three authors per chapter; each chapter by the same author(s). Compensation: one complimentary copy per 3,000-4,000 word chapter accepted no matter how many co-authors or if one or two chapters: author discount on more.

Please e-mail titles of proposed chapters each described in a few sentences by January 15, 2017, brief bio on each author; place GENEALOLGY, YOUR LAST NAME on subject line: smallwood.carol@gmail.com