Author Archives: Rebecca

SAA Call for award nominations due February 28!

The Society of American Archivists is in search of excellence! 

Do you know of an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the archives profession? Or promoted greater public awareness of archives? Have you published a groundbreaking book, written an outstanding article, or developed an innovative finding aid? Do you need financial assistance to attend graduate school or a professional conference?

SAA offers a variety of opportunities for professional recognition and financial assistance through the naming of Fellows, an awards competition, and scholarships. To learn more about these recognitions, click on the links below. Nominate* a deserving colleague — or yourself!

More information on all fellows, awards, and scholarship and how to submit to nominations/applications can be found online: http://www2.archivists.org/recognition

The deadline for nominations/applications is February 28. In the most recent Archival Outlook, Steven D. Booth provides “6 steps for crafting an awards nomination” to help the process!

AHA! Holiday party and Elections, December 11

This year the University of St. Thomas will be hosting the annual holiday party and meeting. Please plan to attend Thursday, December 11th at 6 pm in the Crooker Center – Ahern Room, 1st Floor. Guest speakers are Margaret Culbertson and Michelle Johnson from the William J. Hill Texas Artisans & Artists Archive.

•Elections – A new board for 2015 will be elected. You must be a member of AHA! to vote. Candidates to be announced shortly.
•Food – It will be potluck, so please bring something to share. AHA! Board is providing a ham and rolls for the party.

Address:
University of St. Thomas

Crooker Center – Ahern Room
3909 Graustark
Houston, Texas

Street parking is available or there is also a parking garage. The Moran Center Parking Garage, located at the corner of West Alabama and Graustark (enter on Graustark) is available to all students, employees and visitors. Rate: $2/day. More information on parking and location of Crooker Center can be found: http://www.stthom.edu/Campus_Student_Life/Campus_Security/Parking_and_Bicycle_Regulations.aqf?Page_ID=100222

SSA Call for Session Proposals for 2015 Annual Meeting

Annual Conference Theme:  Game On: the Challenge of Change

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, November 27, 2014

SSA’s Program Committee invites you to submit a proposal for an educational session at the 2015 annual meeting in Arlington, Texas. The meeting theme relates to sports, games, and change.  Change is all around us, especially in the world of archives. We welcome session proposals on any aspect of change in the archival enterprise. That is a mighty broad topic, and we imagine that lots of folks will have something to say on the subject. Arlington is a sports and games town—home to the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, and Six Flags over Texas, so we also welcome sessions related to sports and games.

Committee members are dedicated to putting together a great program in Arlington and would be happy to work with you to meet that goal. So take a swing at it and see what you can come up with for 2015! Visit http://southwestarchivists.org/annualmeeting for more information about submitting a proposal and proposal forms.

Conversation with the Artist: Patrick Feaster and Dario Robleto, The Menil Collection, October 21

On October 21, 2014 at 6.30 pm Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston, presents a conversation with artist Dario Robleto and sound media historian Patrick Feaster at the Menil Collection. Prior to Thomas Edison’s groundbreaking invention of sound recording and playback technology in 1877, the ephemerality of sound meant that it only existed in the moment of its creation. To “record” sound before this time meant it appeared as oral or written descriptions or musical scores. In 2008, Patrick Feaster, a researcher and educator specializing in the history and culture of early sound media, and his colleagues revolutionized the field of historical sound recording by suggesting that attempts to record sound waves as visual tracings almost two decades before Edison’s breakthrough could be “played back” today as sound. In this discussion with Dario Robleto, Feaster speaks about his work and their recent collaboration on “playing back” the earliest nineteenth-century attempts to visually record the human pulse and heart. For more information visit: http://www.mitchellcenterforarts.org/conversation-artist-patrick-feaster-dario-robleto/

On display at the Menil Collection: “Dario Robleto: The Boundary of Life is Quietly Crossed” examines the psychological and emotional ramifications of crossing unknown boundaries whether in space, the sea, or through exploring the human body by linking two remarkable undertakings in the 1960s: the space race and development of the artificial heart. Commissioned and developed through a research residency with the Menil Collection and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston, the exhibition is the culmination of Robleto’s research realized as an installation that includes new sculptures by the artist, rare historical recordings, and objects from the Menil Collection and archives, along with a series of public programs.

 

 

Gulf Coast Reads

Gulf Coast Reads: On the Same Page is an annual regional reading initiative focused on promoting the simultaneous reading or listening to a selected title by those living along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. This year the selected book is Remember Ben Clayton written by Stephen Harrigan and Winner of the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best American Historical Fiction. World War I plays a central role in Remember Ben Clayton and throughout the month of October, Houston area libraries, archives, and museums will host discussions, movie viewings, exhibits, and more inspired by the book.

For more information please visit the Gulf Coast Reads website: http://www.gulfcoastreads.org/

Digital Images from Local Archives

Soldiers from Colorado County at Camp Travis

Soldiers from Colorado County at Camp Travis. World War I – Images from Local Archives – Showcasing World War I materials from area archives.

 

DAS Comprehensive Exam scheduled to take place at Rice University on November 10

The next round of the Society of American Archivists’ DAS Comprehensive Examinations is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. The exam will take place in several locations including Rice University in Houston!

If you have completed the required number of courses and examinations and would like to register for the exam, please visit the SAA website http://saa.archivists.org/events/das-comprehensive-exam-1114/547/ for more information and/or contact the Education Office. The last day to register is October 17. Registration is processed on a first come first served basis. The next opportunity you will have to take the exam will be in late February 2015 at several other exam sites around the country.

Louisiana Archives and Manuscript Association Annual Conference, November 7, 2014

Members of  AHA! are  invited to the Louisiana Archives and Manuscript Association Annual Conference, which will be held on Friday November 7, 2014 at the Old US Mint in New Orleans, LA. Registration is from 8:30 to 9:00.

We have a great line up of speakers and topics. Tara Laver and Jessica Mlotkowski, both of LSU Libraries Special Collections, will present on the Free People of Color Project in a session titled “Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past through a Collaborative Digital Project.”  In our second session “Records Management an Update from the State Archives”, Carrie Fager, Records Management Officer Statewide, Louisiana Secretary of State, will discuss important changes at the State Archives and laws impacting Archivists in Louisiana. And our final presentation of the day will be given by Mary Linn Wernet, Dr. Charles Pellegrin, and Cammie Henry, all from Northwestern State University, on the Kent Courtney Collection.  Following the presentations, we will hold our annual business meeting. The day will conclude with tours of the Old Mint and wine and cheese at the Old Ursuline Convent.

If there is interest, a dinner will be planned on Thursday night for early arrivers.

Attached you will find the registration form, with information about the conference hotel, parking, a restaurant guide for lunch and other goings on in the City of New Orleans.  Two important dates to remember: the deadline for conference registration is Friday October 24, 2014 and for those who plan on staying at the conference hotel, the deadline to receive the conference rate is Monday October 6, 2014.LAMA, 2014 Registration Form

Please consider joining us.

In the meantime, if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me: mcourtney@arch-no.org

Sincerely,

Michael Courtney

Vice-President/President Elect

Louisiana Archives and Manuscript Association

 

Early Houston artists and Sam Houston celebrated in 2 new exhibits

Houston Founders at City Hall

The Mayor’s Office, in conjunction with William Reaves Fine Art are showcasing art made by earlier Houston artists in the working conference rooms of Houston City Hall. The exhibition acknowledges the Bayou City’s rich arts legacy and recognizes local artists who have made life-time contributions to the growth of the Houston arts scene. The exhibition will be on display through August 1, 2014.  Reception with brief remarks by Randy Tibbits is this Friday, July 11, 2014, from 5-7 in the Rotunda of City Hall, 901 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002. For more information visit: http://reavesart.com/?page_id=5236

Following General Sam Houston

As part of the centennial celebration of Sam Houston Park, the Heritage Society is presenting a set of etchings on the life of General Sam Houston, created by celebrated artist Bernhardt Wall. The exhibit will also feature some personal objects from the Houston family from the Permanent Collection of The Heritage Society. The etchings are on loan from The Printing Museum. The exhibition will be on display through August 2, 2014. For more information visit: http://www.heritagesociety.org/museumgallery.html