Category Archives: Professional organizations

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.

SAA Education coming to San Antonio, TX!

A&D Bootcamp 
San Antonio, TX | March 11-15, 2019

Join us at the University of Texas at San Antonio for our four day A&D Bootcamp! Complete two of your required foundational courses in the A&D program and get a jump start on your certificate path today! 
Encoded Archival Description 

March 11-12, 2019 | REGISTER NOW!
Instructors: Michael Rush & Dr. Kathy Wisser
Early-Bird Deadline: February 12, 2019

Here’s your chance to receive the instruction and hands-on practice you need to bridge the digital divide. Get acquainted with the language of XML and practice with XML authoring software. This two-day course covers the most up-to-date EAD version.

In this course, you will:

  • Discuss an overview of Extensible Markup Language (XML)
  • Examine the structure of EAD (the SAA-endorsed standard for archival finding aids)
  • Mark up a finding aid
  • Explore style sheets and implementation strategies
  • Practice encoding a finding aid using EAD

Who should attend? Archivists and others who are charged with exploring and/or implementing EAD at their institution or who want to enhance their résumé

What Should You Know? Participants should have arrangement and description practice and familiarity with finding aids
Arrangement and Description: Fundamentals

March 14-15, 2019 | REGISTER NOW!
Instructors: Pam Hackbart-Dean & Anne Ostendarp
Early-Bird Deadline: February 15, 2019
 This two-day course introduces the basic principles, concepts, and tools that archivists use to establish both physical and intellectual control over archival records. These include: developing accession records and processing work plans; identifying common arrangement schemes for collections with varying formats; and how to physically organize materials during processing. You will learn the essential elements of a finding aid and the major descriptive standards that support these elements, as well as the day-to-day decisions made in arranging and describing archival materials. You’ll also participate in a set of exercises designed to emphasize the principles and concepts of arrangement and description.

Who Should Attend? New archives professionals and graduate students in archival programs who have little or no experience in the arrangement and description of archival records;

What Should You Know? Participants are expected to have basic archival training and education.

Click the blue Register links above to register for these courses!

SAA Spotlight Award Nominations

Dear Colleagues,

The SAA Spotlight Award Subcommittee invites nominations for the 2018 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.

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, 2018.  Please complete the nomination form (https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/45541-Society-Of-American-Archivists).

Best regards,

Jody Hoks
SAA Spotlight Award Subcommittee

Archives Month 2017

Happy Archives Month! Here’s the plan for AHA! events. And if your repository is hosting Archives Month events, please let us know, and we will help get the word out!

Saturday, October 7:
AHA! members will be headed to Olivewood Cemetery to join in their volunteer clean-up day, 8-11 a.m. They ask that we print out, sign, and bring their volunteer form, and bring lawn tools if possible. For anyone who can’t make it on the 7th, there is another volunteer day on Saturday, October 21. For more information, and to fill out the volunteer waiver, please see the Descendants of Olivewood website: http://www. descendantsofolivewood.org/

Tuesday, October 10:
AHA! 2nd Tuesday Happy Hour @ 8th Wonder Brewery

Friday, October 13:
History Bus Tour with Mr. McKinney, 6-8pm. BYO food and beverage. Meet at the Buffalo Bayou Cistern, 105 Sabine St, Houston, TX 77007. Mr. McKinney asks that passengers passengers follow his Facebook page: @MisterMcKinneysHistoricHouston.

Please rsvp for the Olivewood clean-up and History Bus Tour to robertmrichardson@gmail.com.