Author Archives: Houston Archivist

Archie Motley Memorial Scholarship Applications Solicited

Archie Motley Memorial Scholarship Applications Solicited

The Midwest Archives Conference is soliciting applications for the 2017 Archie Motley Memorial Scholarship for Minority Students (http://www.midwestarchives.org/motley). The scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival administration and to encourage ethnic diversification of the MAC membership and of the archival profession as a whole. Two $750 scholarships, accompanied by one-year memberships to MAC, will be awarded.

In order to be eligible for a scholarship, the applicant must be of African, American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander, or Latino decent; must be a student currently enrolled in or accepted in a graduate, multicourse program in archival administration; and must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in his or her academic program. If the program is not listed in the SAA Directory of Archival Education, http://www2.archivists.org/dae, the applicant must provide proof of the multicourse standard by submitting copies of course descriptions from the institution’s current departmental catalog. Applicants are not required to be residents of or attend school in the MAC region.

Applications are due March 1, 2017 and must include the following documents:

Completed applications should be sent to:

Rachel Howard
Digital Initiatives Librarian
University of Louisville Libraries
Archives and Special Collections
Louisville, KY 40292
Telephone: 502-852-4476
Email: rachel.howard@louisville.edu

Applications must be emailed or postmarked by March 1, 2017.

Awards will be announced no later than June 1, 2017.

2016 Holiday Party

AHA! Holiday Party and Meeting
December 15, 2016 at 6:00 pm

McGovern Historical Center
8272 El Rio St. Suite 190
Houston, TX 77054

Our special guest speakers will be Jennifer Hecker, Daniel Alonzo, and Madeline Moya who will discuss their experience with the Austin Archives Bazaar!

AHA! will supply Tamales, drinks, and tableware for the Holiday Party and Election so please bring you favorite side dish or dessert to share.   If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.Thanks – the Hospitality Committee.

CALL FOR CANDIDATES!

Those interested in serving as an AHA! officer as Secretary, Treasurer, or Vice-President should contact Emily Vinson evinson@uh.edu and Matt Richardson rmrichar@uh.edu ASAP. Election will take place during the meeting.

We will also be voting on the by-laws amendment proposed on Nov. 1. See more here: https://houstonarchivists.org/2016/11/01/proposed-bylaw-changes/

DUES!

Remember to bring your Hamiltons! Sandra Yates, AHA! Treasurer, will be collecting membership dues for next year (and beyond). Dues are $10 and can be paid by cash or check. Make checks payable to AHA! or Archivists of the Houston Area. If you can’t make it to the meeting, you can mail checks to:

Sandra Yates
Texas Medical Center Library
1133 John Freeman Blvd.
Houston, TX 77030

Grab your copy of the flyer here!

Rothko Chapel: Archives Intern, 2017

Job Title: Archives Intern

About the Rothko Chapel
The Rothko Chapel is open to the public every day of the year at no charge and successfully interconnects art, spirituality and compassionate action through a broad array of free public programs. Founded by Houston philanthropists Dominique and John de Menil, the Chapel was dedicated in 1971 as an intimate sanctuary. Today it stands as a monument to art, spirituality and human rights.

Position Summary
The Rothko Chapel Archives contains over 400,000 items stored in archival quality boxes and filing cabinets documenting the Chapel’s 44-year. The spring internship will consist of a variety of tasks in support of the ongoing maintenance and strengthening of the Rothko Chapel Archives. The intern will process collections; catalog and process books; help prepare information and collections for research; and perform any other function necessary to the operation of the Rothko Chapel Archive. This internship position reports to the Director of Programs and Community Engagement.

Job Duties

  • Process incoming and backlogged collections by accessioning them into the main collection.
  • Organizing archival materials
  • Re-housing documents in acid-free folders and containers
  • Arrange, describe, and manage inventory using FileMaker Pro
  • Assist researchers on-site electronically with reference requests
  • Lift boxes of no more than 50 lbs.
  • Manage the digitization of the collection, using internal and external resources as needed

Qualifications

  • Very organized/strong organizational skills is a must
  • Must be detail oriented with strong research skills
  • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
  • Ability to work independently with little or no supervision
  • Ability to work in a team and to prioritize projects
  • Goal oriented with exceptional time management
  • Competency in Microsoft Office systems
  • Experience working in archives or libraries is preferred

Terms

  • Unpaid/Volunteer Spring Internship (January – May 2017) with the possibility of an extension
  • Work an average of 24 hours per week (schedule is flexible)

To apply, please email letter of interest and resume to alison.pruitt@rothkochapel.org.
No phone calls please.

ARSC Preservation Grants Program Application Deadline: December 15, 2016

The ARSC Program for the Preservation of Classical Music Historical Recordings was founded by Al Schlachtmeyer and the ARSC Board of Directors to encourage and support the preservation of historically significant sound recordings of Western Art Music by individuals and organizations. (This program is separate from the ARSC Research Grants Program, which supports scholarship and publication in the fields of sound recording research and audio preservation.)

The ARSC Program for the Preservation of Classical Music Historical Recordings will consider funding:

— Projects involving preservation, in any valid and reasonable fashion, such as providing a collection with proper climate control, moving a collection to facilities with proper storage conditions, re-sleeving a collection of discs, setting up a volunteer project to organize and inventory a stored collection, rescuing recordings from danger, copying recordings from endangered or unstable media, etc.

— Projects promoting public access to recordings.

— Projects involving commercial as well as private, instantaneous recordings.

— Projects involving collections anywhere in the world. (Non-U.S.
applicants are encouraged to apply.)

The program is administered by an ARSC Grants Committee including the chair, a member of the ARSC Technical Committee, and an expert on classical music.

Grant amounts generally range from $2,000 to $10,000. Grant projects should be completed within 24 months. Written notification of decisions on projects will be made approximately three months after the submission deadline.

Applications may be sent as an e-mail attachment to arscgrants@aol.com

Applications should be Word documents in Normal formatting, 12-point font, with accompanying letters and other materials scanned into PDF files.

For further details, guidelines, and application instructions, visit:
http://www.arsc-audio.org/committees/preservationgrants.html.

Grant applications must be received by December 15, 2016.

Questions about the Preservation Grants Program should be directed to Grants Committee Chair Suzanne Flandreau at arscgrants@aol.com.

Austin Archives Bazaar

October 16th is the Austin Archives Bazaar, 2-6pm at Saengerrunde Hall, Austin, TX.

There are two fantastic opportunities for AHA! members to check out the Bazaar as we start working planning the 2017 Houston Archives Fair!

Volunteer

There are a number of available volunteer positions available. Check them out here and contact Anna Reznik (anna.m.reznik@gmail.com) to learn more! This is your chance to work behind-the-scenes at the Bazaar.

AHA! Road Trip
Several members of AHA! have offered to drive to Austin to attend the Bazaar. Sign up here if you’d like to join the road trip! Departure and arrival times will be coordinated by each car group.

Join the Houston Archives Bazaar Committee
Sign up here!

Paul Scott ARMA Houston Presentation

If any AHA member would like to come to Paul Scott’s presentation to ARMA Houston on October 26th, we would be happy to have them attend at the member price.  Our webmaster has set up a special promo code for AHA members, details below.

Should anyone have any problems registering, they can contact Judy Sitton and she’ll try to get it resolved – but hopefully everything will work smoothly.

The promo code is AHAMEMBER and is available when a person selects the “Luncheon Meeting for Non-Member – Early Registration”.  Upon checkout there is a box under Payment information. Add AHAMEMBER and Apply and the same pricing for ARMA Members will apply.

arma-aha

Philip Montgomery Class: Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission

AHA! member Philip Montgomery is  teaching one class in a seminar at the McGovern Medical Museum on Tuesday, October 25 from 7 to 8:30 pm. His talk is on the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, including the history of the organization and the archive in Houston. The seminar is “The History and Culture of Disease and Healing” which is a collaboration between Rice University, the University of Houston, and the UTHealth School of Public Health Houston. This 2 page flyer (hcdh-seminars-fall-2016-1) mentions all events.

The seminar is free and open to the public with free parking at the museum.

Archives Month 2016

Saturday, October 1, 2016 Houston History Conference, “The History of Houston’s Musical Soul”

Call for volunteers! AHA! will once again be tabling at the annual Houston History Conference, volunteers are encouraged to help represent AHA! at this exciting event. If you are interested in helping out, please contact me directly (evinson@uh.edu).

Find out more about the full conference agenda (Sept. 30 – Oct. 2) – including film screenings, live music, and a pop-up museum here:  https://www.houstonhistoryalliance.org/houston-history-conference/2016-houston-history-conference/2016-conference-weekend-schedule/

Sunday, October 2, 2:00-4:00: Walking tour of Glenwood Cemetery – $10 (special AHA! rate)

Guided by Jim Parsons, director of special projects and walking tours chairman for Preservation Houston, we will explore Glenwood Cemetery. Located on rolling land near Buffalo Bayou with glorious trees and landscaping, as well as elaborate Victorian monuments and statuary, historic Glenwood Cemetery, established in 1871, is one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in Houston. It is also the resting place of some of Houston’s most famous citizens, including philanthropist George Hermann; Texas Governor and Humble Oil co-founder Ross Sterling; oil wildcatter Glenn McCarthy; movie star Gene Tierney; and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Our tour explores the unforgettable stories of the men and women buried here as well as Glenwood’s beautiful landscape and elaborate monuments.http://www.preservationhouston.org/tours/glenwood/

Sign up here to let us know you will be coming: http://tinyurl.com/jd5ych8

Sunday, October 16, 2:00-6:00: Austin Archives Bazaar 

Join our colleagues in Austin for a free afternoon learning about more than 20 area repositories, and check out the Oral History Booth, Preservation Station, an archival film screening, old time photobooth, and more! http://www.austinarchivesbazaar.org/  Sign up here if you are interested in going, and consider carpooling with other AHA! members: http://tinyurl.com/zs9e2co

Saturday, October 22, 12:00-2:00: The Printing Museum Book Fair

Call for volunteers! In the spirit of this year’s theme of “community,” AHA! will be participating in a “basics of preservation” lab during the fair. We will be discussing how individuals can best care for their personal archives. Some topics that it would be great to have AHA! volunteers on hand to discuss are: rare books, archival storage, care and handling of photographs and/or scrapbooks, and personal digital archiving. Please contact me directly (evinson@uh.edu) if you would like to help out.

All AHA! members are also encouraged to attend the Book Fair, which includes a book sale, as well as a presentation by J.P. Bryan, founder of The Bryan Museum in Galveston, Texas. Food trucks will be on site for a quick lunch with friends.Admission for those who don’t volunteer is $8. http://printingmuseum.org/event/book-fair/

Education Opportunities, Texas Historical Records Advisory Board

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board is pleased to announce FREE educational opportunities for Texas archivists, librarians, and staff members.

Thinking Digital webinar
Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, these 90-minute on demand workshops that provide an introduction to the world of digital records while providing practical examples and workflows to implement a digital preservation system.
September workshops available in Nacogdoches, College Station, and San Marcos, TX.
For more information visit  https://www.tsl.texas.gov/thrabwebinar

Archival Award of Excellence
This award recognized significant achievements of a Texas archival institution and individual achievements in preserving and improving access to historical records in any format.  Deadline for submissions is Friday, September 16, 2016.
For more information visit https://www.tsl.texas.gov/thrabwebinar

Grant Proposal Writing Workshop
This course provides an overview of the types of state, federal, and private foundation grants available and provides information about researching and writing grant proposals. Spaces are limited and available on a first come, first serve. Deadline to register is Monday, October 17, 2016.
For more information visit https://www.tsl.texas.gov/thrabwebinar