Tag: SAA

Creating a Research Agenda for the Archival Profession: Open Call to Participate

In late July of 2024, the Society of American Archivists received a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant program to establish a prioritized research agenda for the archival profession that builds upon SAA’s recently adopted Research and Innovation Roadmap. Spearheaded by the Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment (CORDA) and with funding from IMLS, SAA will convene 35 archival experts, educators, community leaders, and grantmakers—archivists from across key sectors and professional positionality as well as relevant non-archivist stakeholders—to be part of a professionally facilitated two-day forum to take place in Chicago on May 1–2, 2025. Travel, lodging, and food for participants will be covered by grant funds. The participants will transform the recently adopted SAA Research and Innovation Roadmap into a research agenda and develop a framework for its implementation and adoption.

Establishing a prioritized agenda is too important to too many stakeholders to consider developing it within CORDA alone, or even within SAA or the larger archival community. This agenda must be the collaborative work of stakeholders representing diverse perspectives in the archival endeavor. It is for this reason that the 35 participants will be selected from an open call application process to form the Research Agenda Advisory Collective.

To ensure the success and thoughtful design of the 2-day in person forum, CORDA in consultation with SAA leadership and funding from IMLS have hired a professional facilitator, RMC (Research Making Change). RMC Research Corporation was our top contender for this project as they worked with the National Endowment for the Arts on a similar project turning a complex strategic plan into a Research Agenda and engaging a diverse group of 46 participants in 7 focus groups. RMC works across education, healthcare and arts industries. Their clients include local, state, and federal agencies; philanthropic foundations; creative services organizations and other nonprofits; higher education institutions; and private businesses. Their research profile, track record of conducting research and program based evaluation, and capacity building across industries, many of which deliver public benefit, is well aligned with the focus and intent of this effort.

Application Evaluation

To select 35 applicants for the 2-day in-person forum, CORDA and RMC have developed an online application that takes approximately 30–45 minutes to complete. The application consists of 9 demographic questions, CV upload, and 2 open-ended questions regarding engagement, experience, and expertise, as well as a positionality statement asking applicants how their lived experiences and/or DEIA-related work connects to the development of the roadmap into a research agenda for the profession.

To ensure an inclusive and diverse group, we have developed a weighted rubric, aligned with the Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to guide the selection of applicants to participate in the 2-day forum, based on the following criteria:

  • In and outside of the profession. Practicing archivists will form the majority of the Collective, including archivists affiliated with allied professional groups including the American Library Association (ALA), COSA, Regional Archival Associations, foundations and funders, as well as international organizations including either IFLA or UNESCO, grant makers, and educators.
  • Geographic location. Participants will primarily represent the United States of America, (West, Midwest, Northeast, South, Pacific, Caribbean). We will also allocate space and budgetary funds for one international participant (e.g. IFLA, UNESCO).
  • Socio-cultural factors. The Collective will represent different race/ethnicities and gender, related to individual and community identity, including the attributes mentioned in SAA’s Equal Opportunity/Non-discrimination Policy.
  • Employment seniority, status, and level. (1) We seek to include archivists that are individual contributors/solo archivists, managers, and senior administrators/executives in the profession. Archivists that are both contract/limited term vs. permanent. Archivists that are entry level (0-5 years), mid-level (6-14 years), and senior (15+ years) in their respective careers.
  • Archives sector. Participants will represent all sectors of the field including: Academic, Government Agency, Non-profit, For-profit, Self-employed, Community Archives, and Religious Archives.

How to Apply

Potential participants will have one month to apply and express their interest, as applications are due on December 20, 2024. Invitations to participate with further details will be sent by late January / February 2025.

Submit Your Application

(1) Classification based on the A*Census II survey and findings, see: https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/acensus-ii-all-archivists-survey-report/

Call for Applicants: Archives in Context Podcast Producer

Are you curious, energetic, and passionate about archives? Are you interested in story telling? Want to learn about podcasting? The Archives in Context team (an SAA Working Group) is seeking an additional producer, who will help us share stories of “archives and the people behind them”. We are embarking on our 9th season with new hosts and new stories to tell. 

To learn more and to apply, please go to www2.archivists.org/news/2024/….

We look forward to hearing from you,

Mary Caldera,

Archives in Context

Coordinator

SAA Publishing-related Volunteer Opportunities

SAA has put out the call for volunteers, and there’s a few publishing/research-related ones:

Available Positions

American Archivist Editorial Board (2) 

Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment (2) 

Dictionary Working Group  

Publications Board (2, 1 midterm) 

Podcast Working Group 

Awards:
Waldo Gifford Leland Award  (for writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the field of archival history, theory, or practice)
Preservation Publication Award  (for outstanding published work related to archives preservation)
Fellows’ Ernst Posner Award  (for outstanding essay in most recent volume of The American Archivist)
Theodore Calvin Pease Award  (for superior writing achievement by a student of archival studies as nominated by his/her instructor)

Application Deadline: December 15, 2024

Call for Contributions to Notes from the Field: Fall 2024


Notes from the Field, a publication of the TPS Collective, is accepting submissions about teaching and working with primary sources for three series of peer-reviewed blog posts: “Language,” “Teaching for Large Audiences,” and “Play in Primary Source Instruction.”

These series were crowdsourced during a Notes from the Field TPS Fest session this summer. Grounded in issues your colleagues in the field are exploring, this call is intended to highlight a broad range of voices from all sectors of the TPS community. Please see the calls below for more information.

Series One: Language

In this series, we are interested in hearing how you think, plan, and teach around languages in primary source instruction. Whether you are teaching with materials in non-English languages or teaching in English for English-language learners, we look forward to learning how you harness language acquisition, comparison, or introduction in teaching with primary sources.

Series Two: Teaching for Large Audiences

How do you plan for instruction with primary sources for a lecture room full of students or an at-capacity museum tour group? What are some active learning approaches you have incorporated in-session? How do you receive feedback? Any successes, struggles, and strategies are welcome. 

Series Three: Play in Primary Source Instruction

In this series, we are exploring the state of gamification in primary source instruction. How do you utilize play in your instruction sessions? Have you partnered with faculty in designing activities? Do you center your sessions around physical or digital resources? A mix? We want to hear your reflections, wins, and wishes for the future. 

Contributions should be 1000-1200 words and will be subject to Notes from the Field’s peer review process. Posts will be published on a rolling basis beginning in November 2024. Full submission information is available in the Notes from the Field author and peer review guidelines. Any questions, expressions of interest, or submissions can be sent to the Notes from the Field Lead Editor, Anastasia Armendariz, at ajarm@uci.edu.

CFP: Archives*Records 2025

ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2025: Making it Count

Sunday, August 24, 2025 – Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Anaheim, California

As archivists, records managers, information professionals, and cultural heritage workers, we are charged with making an impact through our work. We are compelled to acknowledge a world where professional concerns are amplified by political, social, and environmental forces that shape how we work and will work in the future. The challenge, then, is to adjust practices, question our assumptions, and seek partnerships to ensure what we do counts in the future.

The Program Committee seeks perspectives from across our profession that emphasize the results and impacts of our work and our workers. The conference theme-Making it Count-encourages proposals that demonstrate the impacts of our work and even expand our understanding of what counts in our profession. The Committee recognizes that part of making our work count for others means making sure it counts for us as well, and we invite proposals that challenge what counts as success in our work. Overall, we seek proposals that explore how our profession can expand our ideas about impact, results, and what counts in a rapidly changing world. Among other topics, proposals might consider:

  • Impactful innovations in collection development, management, arrangement, and description.
  • Making access and outreach count for users and communities.
  • Applications of AI in our work and the ethical implications of its use.
  • Partnerships and collaborations, including post-custodial or community-led initiatives-making the way we engage count for others.
  • Accessibility of archives, both as repositories and workplaces-broadening the way collections and institutions can be counted on to work for everyone.
  • Labor and making our profession responsive to workers’ needs and growth-making it count for us.
  • Assessing the outcomes of our work-making our impacts count.
  • Data gathering and use of data in our profession-how we analyze our work

We welcome proposals on other topics related to archives and archival work.

Read the complete Call at www2.archivists.org/am2025/program/calls/… and consider sharing with your networks!

Announcements from SAA and CFP

Introducing: American Archivist Submissions Window
SAA’s leading publication in the archives field, American Archivist, is introducing a submissions window beginning with issue 88.2 (Fall/Winter 2025). The submissions window for this issue opens January 1 through February 15, 2025. For more information on submitting content, including research articles, case studies, perspectives, book reviews, and book review essays, please visit the American Archivist submissions page.

Submit to a Special Section of American Archivist on User Experience
The American Archivist Editorial Board invites proposal submissions for a Special Section in American Archivist exploring the wide-ranging spectrum of user experience topics and initiatives in the archives field. The goal of this Special Section is to showcase the importance of user experience work to the wider professional community. The deadline for proposals is February 1, 2025.

Read the Latest Review on the Reviews Portal 
In the newest review on the American Archivist Reviews Portal, Cheryl Oestreicher (Boise State University) reviews Heritage, Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Board Games, edited by Michal Mochocki (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2024). The book includes authors from a variety of disciplines examining game studies through numerous lenses, especially nostalgia and colonialism. Oestreicher writes, “Archivists are acutely aware that an ‘idyllic past’ does not really exist and thus understand the importance of ensuring a more historically accurate record.” Read the full review here. 

RFP: AI for Access

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Survey and Assessment Analyst to support an exciting new project funded by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) sponsored by the CLIR/DLF Born-Digital Access Working Group (BDAWG). The “AI for Access” project aims to assess how U.S. archival professionals are utilizing AI/ML tools to facilitate access to digital archival materials.

Project Overview: The “AI for Access” study is designed to explore the use of AI/ML in archival settings, particularly in the face of increasing digital collection demands. This two-part project includes a comprehensive literature review and a survey distributed to archival professionals to gather both quantitative and qualitative data on their use of and/or perspectives on AI/ML tools.

We are seeking a qualified Survey and Assessment Analyst to:

  • Review and refine our preliminary survey design.
  • Determine appropriate survey models and sampling methods.
  • Oversee the distribution and promotion of the survey.
  • Analyze and synthesize survey findings.
  • Prepare a final report detailing the results.

Key Details:

  • Contract Period: October 1, 2024 – January 31, 2024
  • Budget: $2,500
  • Deadline for Proposal Submission: September 26, 2024, by 4:30 PM EST
  • Proposal Submission: Proposals should be sent via email to Dara Baker at dabaker.research@gmail.com.

How to Apply: Interested applicants should submit a proposal that includes a detailed description of how they will meet the RFP requirements, along with their qualifications and pricing information. Preference will be given to proposals that address all aspects of the RFP comprehensively.

Please review the full RFP document for additional details on the scope of work, evaluation criteria, and submission guidelines.

We welcome any questions regarding this RFP, which should be submitted in writing by September 10, 2024, at 4:30 PM EST. All questions and responses will be shared by September 20, 2024.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and potentially working together on this important project.

Best regards,

AI for Access Project Team–
Christina Velazquez Fidlershe/her/hersHead of Digital CollectionsThe Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley | Huichin Ohlone Land

New Issue: American Archivist

American Archivist 87.1 (Spring/Summer 2024)
Table of Contents

(Review access here)

From the Editor

Presidential Address

Theodore Calvin Pease Award Essay

Articles

Perspectives

Reviews

Call for Proposals: RAO Marketplace of Ideas 2024

The Reference, Access, and Outreach Section (RAO) of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) seeks proposals for the 2024 Marketplace of IDEAs to be held during the Virtual Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 4pm EDT/3pm CDT/2pm MDT/1pm PDT.

Topics related to the sub-committee areas of Teaching with Primary Sources, Exhibits and Events, and Public Services Assessment are encouraged.
Proposals addressing topics or themes related to the following will also be prioritized:
– evolving the archival profession, public services, new ideas, fresh perspectives
– orienting reference, access, and outreach efforts as Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accessible
– collaborations/co-sponsorships with other Sections

Submission Due Date: Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Submission Form: forms.gle/TaGwUREqpuarbJSGA

CFP: Archival Accessioning, special issue of American Archivist

The American Archivist editorial board invites submissions for a special section in American Archivist illuminating the wide-ranging spectrum of archival accessioning practices in the archives field today.

This special section will place dual emphasis on the process and output of the National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group (ABP), along with broader practical experiences and perspectives from folks actively working to implement a diverse range of accessioning labor throughout the archival lifecycle in different contexts. We strongly encourage submissions that are practical in nature, as well as works that explore contemporary accessioning theory and praxis.

Submissions can explore any of the many operational facets of contemporary archival accessioning, including:

  • pre-custodial engagement, donor relations, radical empathy and candor, and relationship building/maintenance
  • packing and transportation of collection material
  • foundational and/or iterative archival description
  • development of an accessioning program, particularly as it relates to operational impact and sustainable stewardship
  • born-digital accessioning
  • ethical concerns and lived experiences related to accessioning practices
  • physical stabilization, preservation interventions, space usage, and stacks management
  • sustainability and climate impact of accessioning practices
  • appraisal, deaccessioning, and reappraisal
  • management of and advocacy for accessioning labor
  • perspectives on the evolution of archival accessioning; critical analysis of foundational concepts; archival concepts (e.g., provenance, respect des fonds, appraisal) in relation to contemporary accessioning practices
  • post-colonial, post-custodial, reparative, and/or community-centered approaches to accessioning
  • applied theoretical frameworks (e.g., critical race theory, feminist theory)
  • perspectives on archival education and training for accessioning 
  • members of the National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group (ABP) are particularly encouraged to submit pieces that place the newly developed best practices into real world contexts or that expand upon aspects of the best practices

We seek submissions from authors with a variety of career experiences and diverse perspectives related to archival accessioning practices. The editorial team especially encourages submissions from first-time authors and early-career archives and special collections professionals, as well as from colleagues working in nonprofit organizations; HBCUs, AANAPISIs, and/or HSIs; public libraries; museums; and community archives.

Submissions may take any of the following forms:

  • Research Articles: analytical and critical expositions based on original investigation or on systematic review of literature. (Suggested length: 8,000 words)
  • Case Studies: analytical reports of projects or activities that take place in a specific setting and offer the basis for emulation or comparison in other settings. (Suggested length: 3,000 words)
  • Perspectives: commentaries, reflective or opinion pieces, addressing issues or practices that concern archivists and their constituents. (Suggested length: 2,000-2500 words)
  • Professional Resources: can be annotated bibliographies, other items designed for practical use within the profession, or essays that review the developments (as opposed to the literature) in specified areas in a way that describes particular initiatives and places them in the context of broader trends. (Length varies)

American Archivist is the peer-reviewed, semi-annual journal of the Society of American Archivists. Established in 1938, the journal seeks to reflect thinking about theoretical and practical developments in the archival profession; the relationships between archivists and the creators and users of archives; and cultural, social, legal, and technological developments that affect the nature of recorded information and the need to create and maintain it. 

Submissions will be reviewed by the editorial team, following American Archivist editorial policies. All submissions selected for inclusion in this special section will go through the American Archivist peer review process, the rubric for which can be found here. 

Inquiries and submissions can be sent to: accessioningspecialsection@gmail.com 

The deadline for submissions is October 1st, 2024.

Editorial Team

Rosemary K. J. Davis
Head, Archival Accessioning
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library 
Yale University Library

Rachel Searcy
Accessioning Archivist, Archival Collections Management
New York University Libraries

Audra Eagle Yun
Head of Special Collections & Archives
University Archivist
University of California, Irvine Libraries