J. Gordon Daines III, Candidate for Treasurer

Professional Experience: Department Chair, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, 2014–present. Assistant Department Chair, Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, 2006–2014. Supervisor of Reference Services, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, 2015–present. University Archivist, Brigham Young University, 2001–2014. Records Analyst, Utah State Archives and Records Service, 2000–2001.

Education: Certificate in Archives and Records Management, Western Washington University, 2000. MA, History, University of Chicago, 1998. BA, History, Brigham Young University, 1997.

Honors: Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists (CIMA) Service Award, 2013. Harold B. Lee Library Faculty Professionalism Award, 2011. ArchivesNext Blog “Movers and Shakers in Archives” Award, 2010.

Selected Professional Activities: Society of American Archivists: Vice-chair/Chair/Past-chair, Description Section, 2013–2016; Steering Committee, Collection Management Tools Roundtable (previously Archivists’ Toolkit/Archon Roundtable), 2013–2015; Chair, Technical Subcommittee on Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2010–2015; Membership Committee, 2010–2012; College and University Archives Steering Committee, 2005–2008; Member A*CENSUS Working Group, 2003–2005. Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists: President, 2004–2005; Past President and Nominating Committee Chair, 2005–2006; Vice President, 2003–2004; Scholarship Committee Chair, 2001–2003; Council Member, 2001–2003, 2010-2012. Journal of Western Archives: Director and Editor, 2013–2015; Director and Assistant Editor, 2010–2013. ArchivesSpace: Chair, User Advisory Council, 2014–2015.

Selected Publications: “Aligning Customer Needs: Business Process Management (BPM) and Successful Change Management in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections,” Library Leadership & Management 29:1 (Fall 2014): 1–23. With Cory L. Nimer, “The Development and Application of U.S. Descriptive Standards for Archives, Historical Manuscripts, and Rare Books,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 51 (5): 532–549. “Processing Digital Records and Manuscripts” in Archival Arrangement and Description edited with an introduction by Christopher J. Prom and Thomas J. Frusciano, Chicago, IL: Society of American Archivists, 2013. With Cory L. Nimer, “Teaching Undergraduates to Think Archivally,” Journal of Archival Organization 10 (1): 4–44. “Re-engineering Archives: Business Process Management (BPM) and the Quest for Archival Efficiency,” The American Archivist 74 (Spring/Summer 2011): 124–159.

Selected Presentations: “In Search of Primary Source Literacy: Opportunities and Challenges,” Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL, Minneapolis, MN, June 2013. “Raising DACS: Revising Describing Archives: A Content Standard,” Association of Canadian Archivists, Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada, June 2013. “U.S. Descriptive Standards for Archives, Manuscripts, and Rare Books,” International Federation of Library Associations World Library and Information Congress, Helsinki, Finland, August 2012. “Re-engineering Archives: Business Process Management (BPM) and the quest for archival efficiency,” Society of American Archivists Research Forum, Washington, D.C., August 2010.

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Question posed by Nominating Committee: How could you as treasurer help simultaneously ensure the financial well-being of SAA and bring more value to members?

At the heart of the financial well-being of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) is the trust and confidence that members and prospective members have in the Society’s ability to meet its articulated goals and objectives. As treasurer I would be interested in pursuing three approaches to ensure the continued financial well-being of the Society while simultaneously bringing more value to members.

First, I would work closely with Council and staff leaders to ensure that the Society’s budget accurately reflects the goals established in the Society’s strategic plan. These goals are based on what the membership wants from the society.

Second, I would work to clearly articulate the value that members receive through their participation in the Society. Members want to, and should, know that the resources that they are providing the Society with are being leveraged in effective ways. It would be useful for the treasurer to produce a series of short articles in Archival Outlook explaining how the Society’s budget ties to the strategic plan and how those expenditures are meant to benefit members. These articles could highlight the ways that the Society is leveraging its existing capabilities to bring new benefits to members.

Third, the treasurer needs to actively promote the SAA Foundation to the membership and then advocate for the strategic use of the funds generated by the Foundation. The expenditure of SAA Foundation funds also needs to be tied to the strategic plan and should be used to finance bold initiatives that have the potential to strategically place the Society in a position to help members achieve their professional goals.

Archivists face unique challenges as we move deeper into the 21st century and the Society needs to position itself to meet the needs of its members (and prospective members). It needs to react to a changing landscape in a flexible and agile manner while simultaneously maintaining fiscal health and providing innovative opportunities to grow the profession. We can choose to fund a variety of ordinary tasks that allow us to maintain the status quo or we can choose to fund a few extraordinary opportunities that can change the trajectory of the Society and its ability to remain relevant. As treasurer, I would advocate for funding the extraordinary opportunities. We need to be supportive of highly innovative ideas and provide them funding from our existing and untapped resources in an accountable way.

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