CFP: Journal of Western Archives

The Journal of Western Archives is currently accepting proposals for a special issue on diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency (see call below). Please note that the deadline for submitting proposals for the special issue is April 1st. We hope you will consider writing about your experiences and sharing them in this special issue. Submit your proposals Gordon Daines (gordon_daines@byu.edu) and Helen Wong Smith (Smith@hawaii.edu). We will also entertain any questions you might have.

Diversity means different things to different people. It can be thought of as a fact or noun-something that you are or have. It can potentially encompass differences along lines of race, gender, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Inclusion refers to the activities that individuals and institutions engage in that allow all kinds of individuals to feel comfortable and accepted with equal opportunity to access services. Inclusion can be thought of as an activity or verb-it is something that you do. Archivists have been interested in the concept of diversity for at least forty years-mainly in terms of collections and the profession as a whole. We have attempted to document diversity in our communities and to achieve diversity in the profession. Progress has been extremely slow. Dennis Meissner recently challenged archivists to move away from a diversity mindset and to an inclusive mindset. To meet this challenge, the Journal of Western Archives is currently seeking submissions for an upcoming special issue focused on the shift from diversity to inclusion.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • The history of diversity in the archives profession
  • The implications of shifting from a diversity mindset to an inclusive mindset
  • Developing cultural competency
  • Calls to action or imagined futures for making the archival community more inclusive
  • Documenting diversity in institutions
  • Achieving diversity in the archival profession profession
  • Creating inclusive professional associations
  • Fostering inclusive collection development practices
  • Collaboration between institutional and community archives

Acceptable formats for submission include research articles or case studies. Potential contributors are also encouraged to consult the more general submission guidelines of the journal.

Submissions will be due April 1, 2018

Please contact the editors of this special issue: Helen Wong Smith (Smith@hawaii.edu) or J. Gordon Daines III (gordon_daines@byu.edu) if you have any questions.

Call for Nominations: Archival History Article Award

The Archival History Section is seeking nominations for the inaugural AHS Archival History Article Award.

AHS exists to stimulate interest among archivists in the profession’s own past and to suggest ways of studying its history. This prize encourages and rewards an article or other short piece of superior excellence in the field of archival history, regardless of subject, time period, or national boundaries. Stand-alone chapters in edited essay collections or anthologies will also be considered.

Nomination Deadline:  All nominations should be submitted by April 15, 2018.

Eligibility: The author(s) of an article published in English during the previous calendar year (between January 1 and December 31, 2017).

For complete details and nomination form please visit the AHS microsite: www2.archivists.org/groups/archival-history-section/…

Prize: Certificate and $50.00

All questions should be directed to the 2018 Archival History Award Committee Chair, Kelly A. Kolar, at kelly.kolar@mtsu.edu.

Thank you,
Kelly A. Kolar
Chair, Archival History Section

Call for Submissions: Special Issue of Archives and Manuscripts

Call for Submissions — Special Issue of Archives and Manuscripts

Attention all emerging scholars and new professionals in records and archives management — the following Call for Proposals is open for submissions from around the world.

Archives and Manuscripts invites submissions for a theme issue dedicated to research and writing from emerging scholars and new professionals, on the broad theme of archives, records, and information management. Recent graduates, post-graduate and honours students in records and archives management programmes within Australia or around the world are invited to submit papers based on course assignments, projects, theses or other kinds of research work carried out as part of their education. Submissions will also be considered from recent graduates, based on work just completed as part of their academic programme. Recent graduates are defined as those who have graduated from undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate archives, records, or information studies programmes within the last two years.

The guest editors welcome a broad spectrum of submissions on any topics related to records and archives management, including, but not limited to, topics such as:
— records, archives, and information concepts, theories and principles
— the history of records, recordkeeping or archives management
— professional activities, roles, skills, responsibilities and needs
— records and archives systems, technologies or infrastructures
— the impact of digital technologies on records and archives management digital preservation
— new ways of teaching and learning about records and archives management
— the impact of changes in theory on records and archives practice
— access, reference and use of archives and records
— users of archives, community(ies) of users and public needs and priorities
— organizational cultures and social structures and their impact on records and recordkeeping
— personal records and recordkeeping activities
— the future of the profession.

How to submit your abstract

Submission Deadlines
Abstracts must be submitted no later than: 4 May 2018.
Abstracts accepted and authors notified no later than: 1 June 2018.
Full paper submissions: 24 August 2018.
Confirmation of inclusion in the special issue: 1 December 2018.
The issue is scheduled to be published in March 2019.

Submission Process

Submissions should include the following:
— The author’s full name, physical address, and email address.
— A statement confirming the author’s status as a student or recent graduate, including the name of the educational institution and/or programme of study and date of graduation, if applicable.
— A title for the proposed paper (a tentative title is acceptable)
— An abstract of no more than 500 words, outlining the theme, research question, hypothesis or focus of the paper, the research approach to be taken to the study (for theoretical or conceptual papers) or the research strategy and methodology to be used (for a research paper or case study), and any other details that help explain the intended purpose and scope of the paper.
— Between 3 and 6 keywords to represent the themes or topics in the paper.

Please submit your completed abstract by 4 May 2018 via the Archives and Manuscripts online submission site, ScholarOne Manuscripts.

If you are having difficulties with using the portal, please contact the General Editor, Katrina Dean or the Assistant Editor, Hannah Hibbert.
For accepted abstracts, the finished papers should be from 6,000-10,000 words, including notes and appendices, prepared according to Archives and Manuscripts editorial guidelines, which are available on the Instructions for Authors page. All submissions will follow a full peer review process.

For links to online submissions and for more information, go to http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/pgas/jmo03718-raam-si-cfp-writing-on-records-and-archives-from-emerging-scholars.

On behalf of the editorial team, Laura Millar is happy to receive informal enquiries and questions in advance of the deadline. Please contact her at laura_millar@telus.net if you have any questions or ideas about your potential contribution to this special issue of Archives and Manuscripts.

Editorial information

Guest Editor: Lise Summers, Independent Scholar, Perth, Australia Guest Editor: Laura Millar, Independent Scholar, British Columbia, Canada (laura_millar@telus.net) Guest Editor: Donald Force, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, United States

Travel Scholarship: Bernard Becker Medical Library

The Bernard Becker Medical Library is now accepting applications for the Archives and Rare Books Spring/Summer 2018 travel scholarship.  Researchers living more than 100 miles from St. Louis are eligible to apply for this award of up to $1,000 to help defray the costs of travel, lodging, food, and other expenses associated with using our collections.  Information about Becker Library’s archival and rare book holdings can be found at becker.wustl.edu/arb.

For more information and to apply for the travel scholarship, please see becker.wustl.edu/about/news/…

Thank you.
Stephen A. Logsdon, MA, MLIS
Head of Archives
Bernard Becker Medical Library

New/Recent Books

Information Systems: Process and Practice
Edited by Christine Urquhart, Faten Hamad, Dina Tbaishat, and Alison Yeoman

The Stuff of Bits: An Essay on the Materialities of Information 
by Paul Douris

Capturing Our Stories: An Oral History of Librarianship in Transition
A. Arro Smith

The Silence of the Archive
David Thomas, Simon Fowler, and Valerie Johnson

Creating Exhibits That Engage: A Manual for Museums and Historical Organizations
John Summers

Cultural Heritage Care and Management: Theory and Practice
edited by Cecilia Lizama Salvatore

Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies, Second Edition
John E. Simmons

Commemoration: The American Association for State and Local History Guide
edited by Seth C. Bruggeman

An American Association for State and Local History Guide to Making Public History
edited by Bob Beatty

Fostering Empathy Through Museums
edited by Elif M. Gokcigdem

Practical Preservation and Conservation Strategies for Libraries
Brian J. Baird, illustrated by Jody Brown

Directory of Rare Book and Special Collections in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 3rd edition
edited by Karen Attar

Linked Data for Cultural Heritage
edited by Ed Jones and Michele Seikel

Open Licensing for Cultural Heritage
Gill Hamilton and Fred Saunderson

Valuing Your Collection: A practical guide for museums, libraries and archives
Freda Matassa

Library Publishing Curriculum Available Online

This is not archives specific. However, for anyone interested in the library’s role in publishing, which continues to increase (primarily in academia), this might be of interest.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The Developing A Curriculum to Advance Library-Based Publishing project, generously funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, is developing a set of curriculum modules that will form the basis of a suite of synchronous and asynchronous professional development offerings for librarians in this growing area. The first two modules are now freely available to professors, workshop instructors, and trainers of all kinds on the project website: Content and Impact. These modules are openly licensed, so we encourage you to share, adopt, and adapt them! Learn more about this release.

Digital Humanities Reading List

Though this list is mostly for libraries and scholarly communication, archives intersects at points.

LIBER’s Digital Humanities & Digital Cultural Heritage Working Group is gathering literature for libraries with an interest in digital humanities. Four teams, each with a specific focus, have assembled a list of must-read papers, articles and reports.

Digital Humanities Reading List Part 1

Digital Humanities Reading List Part 2

Digital Humanities Reading List Part 3

(part 4 coming soon)

Call for Book Reviewers: Oral History Review

By Nancy MacKay, Book Review Editor

Did you know that the Oral History Review, the journal of the Oral History Association, publishes 30-40 book reviews in every issue?

And that each book reviewed first must be identified as relevant to oral history; then read, analyzed and written about by volunteer scholars in the OHA community?

And that once the review is submitted to the journal, it undergoes a rigorous review and editing process before emerging in print in the form you see when you sit down with your copy of Oral History Review?

I did not know the extent or the scholarly rigor of this process until I assumed the role as book review editor in January.  As a reviewer I had taken all these steps for granted. Now I understand the effort that goes into scanning new publications for potential review books and matching a book to a volunteer reviewer. And each of those reviewers does serious work in reading and analyzing each book for fellow OHA members.

I now know that the quality of the book review section is maintained through wide community participation. I’m calling out to potential reviewers, seasoned reviewers and authors to get involved by suggesting book titles for review and participating as a reviewer. Reviewers can select books of interest to review and their desired level of activity through a form. Anyone can recommend a title for review. To get started, please contact me at ohrbookreviews@gmail.com.

Call for Book Chapter Proposals: Becoming a Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals

Thank you to Caryn Radick for passing this on!

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear colleagues,
We are soliciting chapter proposals for our forthcoming ACRL book, Becoming a Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals [working title]. This book will gather practical advice from practitioners conducting research as part of their tenure or professional responsibilities at academic, public, and special libraries, and/or archives. We are seeking chapters from novice or seasoned practitioner-researchers who want to share their experiences in executing research and/or evaluation projects.

Focus of the Book:
This edited volume will address the challenges of undertaking research and offers support and advice for all stages of a project, from writing the proposal to collecting the data, to disseminating the findings whether it be an internal report or published journal article, and the myriad pitfalls that may occur in between.

Rather than focusing solely on methods, this book tackles issues such as balancing research project and work responsibilities, scaling your project to fit your budget and time constraints, collaborating with a partner or team, and other issues that impact projects. Our vision for this book is to curate an edited volume of insights that we wish we would have known when we embarked on our own research projects. Chapters will introduce and discuss a specific project in a specific institution, in order to frame the discussion of the aspects of the research process the chapter addresses. The narrative should be reflective and discuss what can be generalized about the experience that would be helpful for other practitioners in a “lessons learned” approach.

Part 1: The Research Process (starting your research, crafting a proposal, figuring out logistics)
Part 1 is about creating a holistic approach to undertaking research in a library or archive setting. We are seeking chapters that include sections addressing topics such as, but not limited to:

  • Developing an idea into a research proposal
  • Obtaining administrative buy-in and support
  • Budgeting (time, money, personnel)
  • Choosing a research design and data collection method
  • Navigating the IRB process
  • Deciding on the scale of a project and what is feasible
  • Analyzing your data
  • Sharing research (reports, formal outlets including journals)

We chose the term holistic because we feel the chapters should integrate several of the above bullet points when reflecting on research project experiences in the context of their library.

Part 2: Social Research Methods for Information Professionals (survey, content analysis observation studies, focus group, interviews, etc.) 
Part 2 is about the application of common research methods found in the library literature. Chapters should revolve around creating a research design and reflect on the realities of research practice, conveying to readers methods that worked well for particular contexts and projects. Each chapter in Part 2 will include sections on how the particular method was applied, the institutional context, and the bumps and bruises of going from research design to data collection. Please address these sections in your proposal if you are seeking inclusion in Part 2.
Potential topics include:

  • Surveys
  • Focus groups
  • Ethnographic methods (observation, visual, storytelling)
  • Interviews
  • Document/content/textual analysis

Part 3: Managing a Research Project (individual researchers and team-based collaboration)
Part 3 will bring into focus the experiences of individual researchers and teams. The purpose of this section is to provide readers a range of basic and complex project examples and how these projects have been managed by individual practitioners or collaborative teams.
Example topics for inclusion in a chapter:

  • Project management as a solo researcher
  • How teams determine responsibilities for a project
  • Cleaning and analysis of data as a team
  • Collaborating on cross-institutional projects
  • Publishing or writing as a team
  • Short reflective essays by individuals who have been both solo researchers and on a research team

Don’t see your topic here? Contact the editors at libresearcherbook@gmail.com to discuss how your idea may fit within this book’s scope.

Proposal Guidelines:
To submit a proposal,  fill out the short Survey Monkey form and attach your proposal as a Word document (.doc or .docx). The form will require author names, job titles, and institutional affiliations. The Word document for the proposal itself should be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt., be double-spaced, and include:

  • A working title for your chapter
  • A 500-word description and chapter outline including topic keywords.
  • Authors must indicate which part of the book your chapter will address: Part 1: The Research Process, Part 2: Social Research Methods for Information Professionals, or Part 3: Managing a Research Project.
  • Authors will include one or two summary sentences that make explicit the chapter’s major themes, ideas, and learning outcomes.
  • Do not use any identifying information in your proposal (e.g., do not include author names or institution names in the Word doc).
  • Citations should follow the Endnotes-Bibliography format in the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition).

Proposals are due by Friday, April 13, 2018 at 11:59PM PST and must be submitted via online form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/libresearcherbook

  • Contributors will be notified of their status (acceptance or rejection) within 6–8 weeks of the due date of proposals.
  • The first draft of chapters will be due in August 2018.
  • Estimated length of chapter: 2,500–4,000 words.
  • Projected publication date: Summer 2019.

Should you need to contact the editors, use the following email address: libresearcherbook@gmail.com. Bookmark the Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/libraryresearcherbook/home.

Thank you,
Lee Ann Fullington (Health Sciences Librarian, Brooklyn College/CUNY)
Brandon K. West (Head of Research Instruction Services, SUNY Geneseo)
Frans Albarillo (Social Sciences Librarian, Brooklyn College/CUNY)

Job Announcement: Associate Editor, The Papers of the Revolutionary Era Pinckney Statesmen

The University of South Carolina Department of History seeks an Associate Editor to assist in the editing and preparation of the digital edition of the Papers of the Revolutionary Era Pinckney Statesmen.**

Minimum qualification: MA in American History or closely related field, experience in scholarly editing.

Preferred qualifications: ABD or PhD in American History or closely related field, with knowledge of early national South Carolina history, diplomatic history, or military history. A reading and translation ability in French or Spanish is desirable but not required.

Responsibilities include:

  • Researching new documents, creating original transcriptions of texts, and verification (proofreading) of transcriptions of texts against source document for accuracy and formatting.
  • Conducting detailed research for annotation (broader subjects as well as identifications and cross references); drafting and editing of annotation and editorial notes.
  • Entry of texts and annotation information and citations into the DocTracker database system
  • Assisting Project Director with grant applications and grant reports
  • Assisting in preparation of digital files for publisher.
  • Supervising student workers and/or interns.

Job is posted at the University of South Carolina jobs website, http://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/26760 . Position will remain open until filled.

**This is a full-time temporary position ending on September 30, 2020 with possibility of extension.