Author Archives: Houston Archivist

Share Your Federal Funding Impact Story!

On Thursday, March 16, 2017, President Trump sent an outline of his proposed FY 2018 budget to Congress, to be followed by a more detailed proposal in the spring. The budget, known as “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” proposes a $54 billion increase in defense and public safety spending that is offset by equivalent cuts in discretionary non-defense programs. Included in those cuts are reductions in, or the total elimination of, funding for federal agencies with a history of supporting cultural heritage organizations and projects, including:

– National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
– Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
– National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Budgets are still to be determined for other agencies with archives-related programs such as:

– National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
– National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of NARA
– Library of Congress
– Smithsonian Institution

Share Your Story!

As archivists, librarians, and museum professionals, we know how our collections, institutions, and local communities have benefited from grant funding from these federal agencies. We collect statistics about the work we accomplish under these grants, but we also know that the impact goes far beyond numbers alone.

SAA’s Committee on Public Awareness is looking for stories that convey the impact that federal funding has had on individuals, our institutions, and in our local communities! Collected stories will be gathered, published online, and promoted by the Society of American Archivists through their website and social media channels. We hope to gather stories representing all types of archival repositories, and in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, so please consider sharing your story–no impact is too small when it comes to advocating for federal support for the arts and humanities!

Consider: Did your federal grant-funded project empower K–12 educators to teach with primary sources, connect family members through genealogical records, or inspire a community art project?  Did a federal grant enable your institution to create jobs, contract with an external vendor, or carry out a project that had a fiscal impact on your institution? It is these stories of direct impact, whether personal or fiscal, and at all levels–within your institution, your local community, or even on a national scale–that speak to the true value of federal grant funding for the arts and humanities.

Share Your Story!

Personal impact is powerful. Please share the details of your federally funded project and the story of its impact.

Upcoming Board Meeting and Happy Hour!

We’d like to invite you all out to a happy hour Tuesday, March 14 at 6pm at 8th Wonder Brewery. We hope you’re able to drop by and socialize with friends and colleagues.

The board will have a short meeting at 5:30 to discuss plans for the year, including the Archives Bazaar. Anyone interested in joining those conversations is welcome to come early!

Call for proposals: Northeast Historic Film Summer Symposium

Northeast Historic Film Summer Symposium
July 20-22, 2017
Bucksport, Maine, USA

Proposals Due: March 15, 2017
Regional Moving Image Collections and Archives in the 21st Century

Twenty-first century regional moving image archives discover and collect increasingly diverse audiovisual artifacts that represent increasingly diverse media-making populations. This year we seek to bring together archivists, collectors, scholars, and practitioners involved with regional AV archives—and regional AV collections within a general archives—to consider best practices in expanding the reach and content of the regional moving image archive. Both “real world” and aspirational presentations are welcome.

Calling upon the regional moving image archive community internationally, we hope to create an atmosphere for sharing case studies, developing collaborative initiatives, discussing what works and what doesn’t, and screening representative material from the world’s regional film and AV archives.

Some topics to consider, and all others are welcome:

  • Ways of affirming regional moving image identity
  • How to raise money for general day-to-day activities
  • How to put together a publication project highlighting your archive’s material
  • How to set up a research scholarship? Benefits/drawbacks
  • How to identify sources of income
  • Cataloging nontheatrical/home movies for maximum benefit
  • Stock footage sales, advantages and adventures
  • Dealing with vendors on a small scale
  • Scholarship that foregrounds regional material: methodologies and outcomes
  • Regional material as capsules of broader cultural trends
  • Teaching with regional moving image materials

Please send a 250-500 word abstract outlining your presentation idea and a brief cv via e-mail to: symposium@oldfilm.org. The Summer Symposium Program Committee is: Jennifer Jenkins, University of Arizona; Audrey Amidon, National Archives and Records Administration; Liz Czach, University of Alberta; Dino Everett, University of Southern California; Heidi Holmstrom, National Archives and Records Administration; and Devin Orgeron, North Carolina State University. We are happy to discuss your presentation ideas with you in advance of a formal submission. The Symposium Program Committee will begin reviewing proposals on March 15, 2017 and will finalize the program by April 10, 2017.

Northeast Historic Film, an independent nonprofit organization, was founded in 1986 to preserve and make available moving images of interest to the people of northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts). We hold ten million feet of film in 8mm, Super 8mm, 9.5mm, 16mm, 28mm, and 35mm and 8,000 analog and digital video recordings that do not duplicate the film holdings. NHF is located in a 1916 cinema building with purpose-built cold storage and a study center in Bucksport, a town
of 5,000 on the coast of Maine (for more info on NHF, please visit: http://www.oldfilm.org). In the Alamo Theatre on Main Street, NHF houses a 125-seat cinema with DCP, 35mm, 16mm, videotape, and DVD projection.

2017 SAA Spotlight Award

The SAA Spotlight Award Subcommittee invites nominations for the 2017 Spotlight Award.  This award “recognizes the contributions of individuals who work for the good of the archives profession and of archival collections, and whose work would not typically receive public recognition.”  Nominees do not have to be members of SAA.  Please share this message as you think appropriate.  I hope you will consider recognizing a colleague (or yourself!) in this way.  Additional information about the criteria and process is found below.

Purpose and Criteria for Selection: Established in 2005, the Spotlight Award recognizes the contributions of individuals who work for the good of the archives profession and of archival collections, and whose work would not typically receive public recognition. The nominee(s) should have achieved distinction in one or more of the following ways:

*   Participating in special projects.
*   Exhibiting tireless committee or advocacy work.
*   Responding effectively to an unforeseen or pressing need or emergency.
*   Contributing innovative or creative ideas to the profession.
*   Performing extraordinary volunteerism.
*   Quietly but effectively promoting the profession.

Eligibility:  Awarded to an individual archivist or a group of up to five archivists who have collaborated on a project. Preference is given to archivists working in smaller repositories, especially those without institutional support for professional activities.

Nomination Requirements:  A completed nomination form, downloadable at http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-spotlight.

Sponsor and Funding:  The Society of American Archivists Foundation.

Prize:  A certificate and complimentary registration for the individual recipient or group (of up to five individuals) to the SAA Annual Meeting occurring in the year in which the award is presented.

Submission Deadline and Nomination Form:  Deadline: February 28, 2017.  Please complete the nomination form (http://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/Spotlight-Award-Form-093015.docx) and email it along with any applicable supporting documentation to awards[at]archivists.org with the subject line “Spotlight Award.”  Attachments should not exceed 5MB.

Alternately, nominations may be mailed.  Materials must be postmarked by February 28, 2017, and should be sent to:

Spotlight Award Committee
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-3315

Please visit http://www2.archivists.org/recognition for a list and explanation of all of the awards offered by SAA.  The above information and a list of past recipients is available at http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-spotlight.

2017 J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award

As a member of the leadership of Archivists of the Houston Area, the J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists is asking you to consider creating a nomination for the 2017 J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award.

http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-jameson

Established in 1989, this award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs.  The individual’s or institution’s contributions may take the form of advocacy, publicity, legislation, financial support, or a similar action that fosters archival work or raises public consciousness of the importance of archival work.  Contributions should have broad, long-term impact at the regional level or beyond. Up to three awards may be given each year.

Recent Winners:

  • 2016: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ron Chernow
  • 2015: Adrena Ifill Blagburn
  • 2014: LGBT Center of Central PA History Project National History Day
  • 2013:  Dr. Warren Stewart
  • 2012:  Eve Kahn, Bebe Miller, Phillip Stewart
  • 2011:  “Who Do You Think You Are?” (NBC)
  • 2010:  The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
  • 2009:  Ross King (Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board)
  • 2008:  Data-Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE)

Eligibility: Nominees must be from outside the archives profession.  Individuals directly involved in archival work, either as paid or volunteer staff, or institutions or organizations directly responsible for an archival program are not eligible for this award.

Mailed materials must be postmarked by February 28, 2017 and should be sent to:

Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Committee
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-4061

Nominations may be submitted electronically; please see the nomination form for details.  For more information on SAA awards and the nominations process, please go to: http://www.archivists.org/recognition/index.asp

SAA Student Travel Award

The Donald Peterson Student Travel Award Subcommittee invites applications from archival science students and recent graduates of archival programs.  The award subsidizes travel to the SAA Annual Meeting for students presenting research or actively participating in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable.

Award and application information follow below.  The application deadline is February 28, 2017.  If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Rachel Howard, Donald Peterson Student Travel Award Committee Chair, at jody.thompson@library.gatech.edu.

Purpose and Criteria for Selection

Established in 2005, this award supports students and recent graduates from graduate archival programs within North America to attend SAA’s Annual Meeting. The goal of the scholarship is to stimulate greater participation in the activities of the Association by students and recent graduates. This participation must include either a presentation of research during the Annual Meeting or active participation in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable.

Eligibility

Awarded to an SAA member in good standing who is currently enrolled in an archival education program or who graduated from an archival education program in the previous calendar year. Applications are evaluated based on the merits of the applicant’s essay and letters of recommendation.

Sponsor and Funding

The Society of American Archivists, in honor of Donald Peterson (1908-1999), New York lawyer and philatelist, whose deep appreciation of world history and preservation developed early through his stamp collecting and held true throughout his life.

Prize

Up to $1,000 in support of registration, travel, and accommodation expenses associated with the SAA Annual Meeting.

First Awarded

2006

Application Form and Documentation

Submit three copies of the following to the address on the application form:

  1. A 500-word essay describing the applicant’s career goals and potential impact on the archival profession.
  1. Unofficial transcript to verify student status or copy of graduate diploma.
  2. Two letters of recommendation from individuals having definite knowledge of the applicant’s qualifications.
  3. Application form

Application Deadline

February 28, 2017

TSU – Digital Archivist Position

Texas State University – Digital Archivist Position

Job Summary

Under general supervision, oversees receipt of gifts to Special Collections and the accessioning, arrangement, description and preservation of permanent records. Plans, organizes and manages the University’s archive and special collections such as the Congresswoman Barbara Jordan’s Archives and other related archives housed in the Robert J. Terry Library’s Special Collections. Performs professional services related to the acquisition, maintenance, cataloging, disposition, and preservation of archival materials. Participates in departmental reference and collection liaison responsibilities.

Apply here.

2017 SAA Emerging Leader Award – Seeking Nominations!

2017 SAA Emerging Leader Award – Seeking Nominations!

Do you know a colleague who is in the early stages of an archives career and who exhibits great leadership skills? Please consider nominating her/him for the Emerging Leader Award.  The deadline is February 28, 2017.

Awarded for the first time in 2012, the SAA Emerging Leader Award celebrates and encourages early-career archivists who have completed archival work of broad merit, demonstrated significant promise of leadership, performed commendable service to the archives profession, or some combination of these. Nominees must have more than two years and less than ten years of professional archives experience at the time of nomination. The award is given based on the total experience and contributions of the awardee, including knowledge, leadership, participation, and achievements in the profession.

Here is a link with more details on the award criteria, eligibility and the application form:
http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-emerging-leader

SAA Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award

Society of American Archivists
Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award

The Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists seeks nominations (including self-nominations) for the 2017 award.

This award recognizes an archivist, editor, group of individuals, or institution that has increased public awareness of a specific body of documents through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation of archives or manuscript materials for educational, instructional, or other public purpose. Archives may include photographs, films, and visual archives. Publication may be in hard copy, microfilm, digital, or other circulating medium.

Recent winners include:

Eligibility:
Individual archivists and editors, groups of individuals, and organizations are eligible.

Prize:
A certificate and a cash prize of $500.

Application Deadline:
All nominations shall be submitted to SAA by February 28 of each year.  CLICK HERE to download the application form, which includes instructions for submission.

For more information on this award, please go to http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-hamer.

For more information on SAA awards and the nominations process, please go to http://www2.archivists.org/recognition.