Preservation Publication Award Special Commendation: Amanda Oliver

Amanda Oliver, head of archives and special collections at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, received a Preservation Publication Award Special Commendation from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) for her article, “The Impact of Climate Change on Canadian Archives.” The commendation recognizes excellence in a published work on archival preservation.

The article, published in volume 31 of Records Management Journal, presents an innovative and important exploration as it investigates issues of critical importance to the archives community, specifically in a region that has not yet received in-depth study. Oliver provides a beneficial starting point for guiding conversations and decisions among Canadian archival institutions. Her work analyzes the geographic locations of Canadian repositories, climate projections, and the results of a survey of professionals working in Canadian archival institutions. Although much has been written about climate change and cultural and documentary heritage in Europe and the United States, very little research has been completed on the impact of climate change on Canadian archives.

The SAA Awards Committee commends the author for the significance of this work to the archival profession. One supporter writes, “Oliver’s recommendations and conclusions underscore the importance of developing climate adaptation strategies, considering the sustainability of records management and archival professional practice, increasing the resilience of facilities and records, and strengthening disaster planning and recovery methods.”

The award was established by SAA in 1993. This year, the recipients of SAA’s 2022 Preservation Publication Award are Monique Lassere and Jess Whyte for their article, “Balancing Care and Authenticity in Digital Collections: A Radical Empathy Approach To Working With Disk Images” (Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 2021).