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Presidential Records Reform Act Passes in House; Would Overturn Executive Order 13233
January 7, 2009 — The end may finally be in sight in the 7-year battle waged by archivists and historians to overturn President Bush’s Executive Order 13233, which restricted access to presidential records. H.R. 35 was the first piece of substantive legislation passed in 2009. See the National Coalition for History website for more.
SAA, Coalition Develop “Qualities of Successful Candidate” for Archivist of United States
Archives, records management, and history organizations have worked together to submit a document to the Obama transition team outlining “qualities of a successful candidate” to replace Allen Weinstein as Archivist of the United States. Read more here.
New Year’s Forecast
 The January/February issue of Archival Outlook looks ahead at 2009—including an archives coalition leadership meeting with President-elect Obama’s transition team about “qualities of a successful candidate” for the next U.S. Archivist. Plus, take a look at how some archivists report the economic downturn has affected their workplace in “Archives Feel the ‘Big Chill.’” Also, find out the reaction to receiving SAA’s Spotlight Award by Afghan Film for saving its archive during the Taliban regime. The print edition of the newsletter will be mailed to members in mid-January.
SAA Membership Reaches Yet Another All-Time High
SAA closed 2008 with another one for the record books—5,507 total members! Growth among students, who now number more than 1,200 and comprise 24.9% of the Society’s individual members, was particularly strong during the last six months, increasing 25% from the same period in 2007. Thank you, all, for your ongoing commitment to SAA and to the archives profession!
Newly Established Mosaic Scholarship Now Available
The SAA Mosaic Scholarship has been established to promote diversification of the American archives profession. This new scholarship will provide financial and mentoring support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science. Up to two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2009. Find more information on how to apply here.
A Call to Service in SAA
Now is the time to let us know that you’d like to be considered for an appointment to an SAA board, committee, task force, or working group. It’s easy to volunteer!
Your Contribution Will Make a Difference!
The SAA Foundation is the nation’s leading source of nonprofit funding dedicated solely to the interests of archives and archivists. Its mission: To enrich the knowledge and enhance the contributions of current and future generations by championing efforts to preserve and make accessible evidence of human activity and records of enduring value. Click here to learn how you can make a difference for archives and archivists!
Disaster Fund Grant Awarded to Rosenberg Library
An award of $2,000 to assist in purchase of dehumidifiers to stabilize its collections has been made to the Rosenberg Library Association, Galveston, Texas, by the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives. The Rosenberg Library was hit hard by Hurricane Ike floodwaters. To apply for assistance or if you are able to assist our colleagues by donating to the fund, please click here.
The DMCA and Archives...
Are the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA; Title 17, Sec. 1201) getting you down? SAA's Intellectual Property Working Group wants to know if your work has been stymied or inhibited by the DMCA. Every three years the Library of Congress determines special exceptions to the act. By specifically providing rules for exceptions, Congress recognizes that these bans could prevent the legitimate actions that archivists need to take to collect, preserve, and make works available. Contact Aprille McKay (aprille[at]umich.edu) to contribute.
University of Tennessee Forms Student Chapter
SAA welcomes the newly formed student chapter at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville! Students and faculty have been hard at work scheduling archives tours, presenting preservation workshops for American Archives Month, and lobbying to form an archives track at Tennessee’s School of Information Sciences. A list of officers is available here.
SAA Annual Report Now Online
With a focus on meeting members’ increasing needs for information, education, and representation, SAA continued to grow in numbers and influence in Fiscal Year 2008. Click here for a summary of SAA activities and accomplishments in the past year.
Archives Leadership Institute
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is offering a leadership institute for archives professionals funded by an NHPRC grant. With a goal of examining the profession’s leadership needs and preparing participants to influence policy and effect change on behalf of the profession (and, ultimately, on behalf of the public served), the July 19-25, 2009, program is directed primarily to mid-level to senior staff and archivists who aspire to leadership roles in their organizations and/or professional associations. Application deadline: January 20, 2009 [Read more]
What did you do to “Celebrate the American Record?”
 Tell us about your American Archives Month celebration at archivesmonth[at]archivists.org. If you need ideas to help promote your archives, check out the 2008 American Archives Month Public Relations Kit, see examples of how your colleagues celebrated, or survey the award-winning implementations of American Archives Month in the Picture This! Contest results.
American Archives Month is your chance to help raise awareness of the value of archives and archivists both in your community and nationally. Click here to find more information, ideas, and updates on what others are doing to celebrate the American record!
Call for Student Paper and Poster Presentations ARCHIVES 2009: Sustainable Archives
SAA’s 2009 Student Program Subcommittee is accepting proposals for two special sessions dedicated to student scholarship at ARCHIVES 2009 in Austin, Texas, August 11–16. Deadline: January 30, 2009 [Read More]
ePublications
Schellenberg's Modern Archives Now Online
Modern Archives: Principles and Techniques is a classic collection of writings from 1956 by Theodore R. Schellenberg that provide the very basis of theory and practice for the American archival profession. Includes an introduction added in 2003 by former North Carolina State Archivist H.G. Jones, who was a student of Schellenberg’s. Click here to download (PDF; 29 MB).
New Campus Case Study!
 In Case 10 of Campus Case Studies, Julia Hendry of the University of Illinois at Chicago reports that using the DSpace institutional repository software is an effective solution for the submission, search, and retrieval of a set of vital university records. Click here to read.
You Can Help “Save Our Archives”! |
 Did you do something simple to make a difference for your archives on May 1? We want to hear about it! Drop us a line at MayDay@archivists.org. Read about what others have done in the past here.
Quick Tip: “In response to the flooding in the Midwest, Heritage Preservation has released a free, online video guide to coping with water damage. This 10-minute streaming video segment from the award-winning Field Guide to Emergency Response provides professional advice to help libraries, museums, and archives salvage damaged collections. Households hoping to rescue family treasures can also use the easy-to-follow information.”
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Get a Grant!
The Library of Congress and the Foundation Center have published “Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums.” This guide lists 1,725 grants of $5,000 or more awarded by 474 foundations from 2003 through 2007. The publication includes hotlinks to free online grant writing tutorials, a statistical analysis of grant funding, state-by-state descriptions of projects funded in preservation, indexes of recipients, and a list of all foundations that have donated to preservation. For more information, go to: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/.
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