Category Archives: Professional organizations

Professional Opportunity: 2026 BitCurator Forum

The BitCurator Consortium (BCC) invites proposals for the 2026 BitCurator Forum to be held virtually on June 17th, 2026.

The 2026 conference theme, Hitting Reset, reflects the challenges and changes of the past several years and the importance of pausing to reflect on our practices before moving forward. This theme invites us to reassess how we work, what we prioritize, and how we adapt in a rapidly evolving professional landscape. Hitting Reset also encourages us to respond intentionally to new opportunities, expanding responsibilities, and changing environments. Within the context of digital archives tools and practices, how are you “hitting reset” in areas including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Human-centered practices
  •  Budgeting and resource allocation
  • Organizational responsibilities and obligations
  • Digital forensics and data recovery or rescue
  • Sustainability of digital preservation practices in an AI-driven world

We welcome proposals that explore reflection, reinvention, and practical approaches to moving forward with intention.

This year’s call is for 5 or 10 minute “lightning talks.” Lightning talks are a great format for case studies, digital archives “success stories” or “tales of woe,” research updates, practices and procedures, and short demos or how-tos. Options include:

  • One presenter for 5 minutes
  • Up to two presenters for 10 minutes

The Forum Committee welcomes participation from organizations and individuals working outside of academic and special collections libraries and archives, members from BIPOC communities, students, and new professionals. For more information, see the Call for Proposals page on our website.

Submission deadline: Sunday, March 8th, 2026

The BitCurator Forum is open to all. You do not need to be a BCC member or BitCurator user to submit a proposal and/or attend the event.

Event: 2026 NACCS Tejas Foco Annual Conference

The NACCS (The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies) Tejas Foco is a regional conference that attends to community and academic interests around issues that affect Chicanx in the state of Texas. It is an interdisciplinary conference that brings together community leaders, Kl 2 teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, and college faculty and staff. The participants who attend the NACCS Tejas Foco not only reflect the racial/ethnic diversity of Texas, but they also represent multiple rural and urban points from across the state. The NACCS Tejas Foco provides college and K-12 administrators, faculty, and students to connect with outstanding faculty and community leaders from across the state.

 

You can find more information and register here.

Professional Orgs: SAA Preservation Publication Award

Nominate a Colleague (or Yourself!) for SAA’s Preservation Publication Award

The Society of American Archivists Preservation Publication Award committee welcomes nominations of outstanding
preservation-related works of relevance to the North American archives community that
were published in 2025. 

Nominated works may include articles, reports, chapters, or monographs in an
audiovisual, digital, or print formats. Works may cover topics related to analog or digital
preservation.

To learn more about this award, please visit
https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-preservation.

Browse SAA’s many opportunities for professional recognition and financial assistance.
Then click on the award’s application form for a preview and/or to create a profile, and
follow the directions to complete your submission. The deadline is February 28, 2026.

The AHA Board invites you to our first ever Virtual Open House!

Who should attend?
Anyone interested in becoming a member of AHA! That includes library students, recently graduated, professionals, and archives enthusiasts living or working in the Houston area!

We will present opportunities for networking and connecting with peers in our area!

Meet members of the AHA Board!
Have questions on the history and mission of AHA? Interested in upcoming events? Have questions for us? Join us and chat!

Sign up get a reminder on your calendar at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aha-virtual-open-house-tickets-525779309067

Meeting link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87356017032

TLA Call for Program Proposals for 2021 Annual Conference

TLA is currently accepting program proposals for their 2021 annual conference being held in San Antonio, April 20-23.   

The Texas Library Association (TLA) is the largest state library association in the U.S. It’s 6,000+ members represent all library types: academic, public, school and special. The TLA Annual Conference features hundreds of sessions and events each year. We welcome and encourage program proposals from individuals, both TLA members and non-members, and from other organizations. The 2021 conference theme is Celebrate Differences, Empower Voices, and TLA invites you to submit your program proposals. 

TLA accepts program proposals from May 1 to July 15, 2020 to be considered for the 2021 conference. 

2021 TLA Program Proposals Form

 

AHA! Statement in Support of Protests and Anti-Racist Practices

Today is filled with sadness and heartbreak for the family and friends of George Floyd, the City of Houston, and communities around the world.

We join the Society of Southwest Archivists and the Society of American Archivists in “condemning the continued racist acts of violence committed against members of our Black communities across the country.” We acknowledge the “systemic racism and white supremacy that has been a part of United States government since its founding, and as archivists, we know the historical evidence bears witness to the legacy of oppression, violence, and death that structural racism has imposed on Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color. When it comes to perpetuating institutional racism and white supremacist culture, archives are no exception.”(1, 2)

We understand “no one owes their trauma to archivists,”(3) and we urge ethical documentation in times of crisis.(4, 5)

We support Houstonians’ right to peacefully protest and demand policy reform, justice, and equal treatment under the law; and we believe Black Lives Matter.

Please consider attending SAA Community Reflection on Black Lives and Archives this Friday, June 12 at 2:00 pm CST. Documenting the Now is looking for archivists and other memory workers who are willing to share their time, resources, and expertise to help activists document police violence. You may volunteer here.

We invite you to share any words of solace and healing by replying individually to houstonarchives@gmail.com and we will compile them to send a card to the family of George Floyd.

Archivists of the Houston Area Board

—
References:
1-SOCIETY OF SOUTHWEST ARCHIVISTS STATEMENT CONDEMNING RACIAL VIOLENCE
2- SAA Council Statement on Black Lives and Archives
3-No one owes their trauma to archivists, or, the commodification of contemporaneous collecting
4-Documenting in Times of Crisis: A Resource Kit
5-The Blackivists’ Five Tips for Organizers, Protestors, and Anyone Documenting Movements

 

October is American Archives Month!

Sep 30, 2019 12:32 PM
SAA Headquarters
Need ideas for making your archives program and your profession more visible during American Archives Month? We’ve got four easy ways to get involved this October: 

Participate in #AskAnArchivist Day on Wednesday, October 2, when archivists around the country will answer questions about archives. Find ideas for promoting the day among your users and developing a plan with your colleagues to respond to tweets. Follow other #AskAnArchivist Day participants, and email Abigail Christian with your institution’s Twitter handle to join the list.

Advocate for Archives! Find out when your Representative and Senators will be at “home” during American Archives Month. It’s the perfect time to begin building a relationship! For tips on making a district visit, see our Advocacy Guide.

Plan an event or issue a press release to attract media coverage. SAA has evergreen resources to assist you in enhancing public awareness of your repository-and your profession. Download the new American Archives Month graphic for use in promoting your events. (Shout out to Eve Neiger, archivist at Yale University, who designed the new graphics!) 

Take part in the Council of State Archivists’ Electronic Records Day on Wednesday, October 10, to highlight the importance of electronic records and digital preservation issues in government and in our lives.

SAA Update: Advocating for Archivist Pay

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Meredith Evans | Leave a comment

The Society of American Archivists is committed to advocacy on behalf of our members. In our Strategic Plan, the goal of “Enhancing Professional Growth” is focused on archivists having access to the professional community and resources they need to be successful and effective in their careers. Fair wages and equitable salaries are part of this work and we want to share the results of our ongoing discussions and future activities of SAA in support of this issue.

  • Professional support at the Annual Meeting
    • Salary Forum: hear a panel of experts participate in an open discussion about salaries in the archival profession and explore potential solutions, including those that place responsibility on institutions and administrations.
    • Onsite Career Center: from mock interviews to tips on salary negotiation, seek out mentors who can help you navigate the job market and your professional growth.
  • Mentoring Program
    • Meet and connect with a mentor who will listen and provide guidance on negotiating and advocating for better pay.
  • Job Postings in the SAA Online Career Center
    • We strongly recommend salary information be included in all job ad postings.
    • “Research Salaries” button on all job ads can help with regional salary range information, even if a job does not include a salary range.
  • A*CENSUS II
    • An updated data set will illustrate salary ranges per state and by region, helping archivists stay abreast of current salaries across the U.S.

For those attending the 2019 Annual Meeting, join the SAA Council on Sunday, August 4, 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm, in Austin for an Open Forum on Archivist Salaries. This forum will serve as a space for members to discuss the initiatives listed above as well as brainstorm additional ways that SAA can continue to advocate for archivist salaries. Mark your online schedule!

SSA Education Coming Near You!

Do you steward digital archives and electronic manuscripts through the digital curation life cycle?

SAA is offering the following DAS course at Rice University in the Fondren Library:

Tool Integration: From Pre-SIP to DIP #1962
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Friday, May 3, 2019
Collaboration Space, Fondren Library
Rice University

Instructor: Max Eckard

REGISTER NOW!
Early-Bird Deadline: April 3, 2019

Description:
The digital curation “ecosystem” is large and complex. Made up of tools that perform small, discrete tasks, to those that cover particular format groups or functional areas of models (such as OAIS), and even those that claim to be more or less comprehensive, this ecosystem is in a constant state of flux. In this course, you’ll explore options for suites of tools that can work together to steward digital archives and electronic manuscripts through the digital curation life cycle. 

Who should attend? Archivists, records managers, special collections curators ,and other practitioners or managers responsible for stewarding digital archives and electronic manuscripts through the digital curation life cycle

Additional information on the course can be found here.

Information on visiting Rice, including campus maps, can be found here.