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Final Report to SAA Council
February 1999
I. Background
During the 1997 annual meeting the Council of the Society of American Archivists voted to establish a Task Force on Diversity and developed the following charge:
The task force will investigate issues relating to diversity currently being addressed by the Society. The task force will examine:
II. Diversity: What does it mean to SAA and why is it important?
The membership of the Society of American Archivists should reflect the demographic range of the archival profession and the American public. The diversity of those populations results from personal and cultural background, socioeconomic status, and physical limitations. These may include diversity as it relates to individual members such as gender, race, ethnicity, geographical location, age, or physical abilities. Diversity may also reflect characteristics more specific to the archival profession such as areas of archival interest or repository type. In the spirit of inclusiveness, SAA should be committed to increasing the participation of individuals from groups currently under-represented in the Society and the profession.
SAA values the participation of diverse individuals and groups, because of the strength it brings to the work of the Society itself, and the importance of professional diversity in ensuring our stewardship of an inclusive historical record. SAA can encourage diversity in the broader archival profession through its leadership by identifying and raising issues and by helping to establish guidelines, policies, and practices relating both to the diversity of our profession and the historical record.
III. SAA structures, governance, and activities that support or limit efforts toward becoming a more diverse organization
Structures, governance, and activities that support SAA's efforts to become more diverse:
SAA is a volunteer association with an organizational culture that is open to and supportive of addressing issues of diversity. To prosper as a membership organization SAA must heed the expressed needs of its new members and the expectations of potential members, thus creating an opportunity for minority populations to present their views. The Society currently benefits from the involvement of a number of key opinion leaders who offer real strengths in addressing diversity issues. SAA already has in place a number of programs and structures that support and promote diversity. For at least a quarter of a century its bylaws and guidelines have incorporated mandates that the appointed and elected leadership represent diversity based upon demographics, geography, and repository type. In addition, some of the Society's existing units are formed around a minority population or issue. Some examples include the roundtables on Lesbian and Gay Archives, Archivists and Archives of Color, Women's Collections, as well as the Committee on the Status of Women. Other activities, such as the Mentoring Program and the Minority Student Scholarship, also promote diversity.
Structures, governance, and activities that may limit SAA's efforts to become more diverse:
Many aspects of the archival profession limit diversity and minority participation. The poor visibility of archivists in society at large contributes to a lack of awareness of the profession on the part of minority groups. In addition, there are few minority archivists and little tradition of pursuing archives as a profession among minority communities. Low pay also puts the archival profession at a disadvantage in competition with other professions for minority recruits. Furthermore, the existence of relatively few programs offering graduate education limits opportunities for minorities, and minorities often do not relate to collecting traditions of mainstream repositories. Finally, archivists are often employed in large institutions which are difficult to diversify by virtue of their size.
Certain characteristics of the Society of American Archivists limit participation by diverse populations. Members need to take initiative to participate in the Society, and the opportunities for participation may not always be readily apparent to members of minority groups or to new members of the Society. There are also significant costs to joining and participating in SAA, especially in attending the annual meeting. In addition, some portion of the SAA membership may be wary of diversity issues and may fear that discussion of these issues will further divide the profession. Finally, archivists tend to be driven by practical issues that can be easily solved; diversity issues are not among this type.
IV. Recommendations
The following recommendations represent the generation and discussion of ideas by the members of the task force and are presented in no particular priority.
1. Development of an organizational position statement
The Task Force felt strongly that SAA should have a position statement on diversity that might appear on the website, in selected publications, and elsewhere as appropriate. The following position statement conveys the sentiment that we feel such a statement should convey.
Position Statement on Diversity
The Society of American Archivists is committed to integrating diversity concerns and perspectives into all aspects of its activities and into the fabric of the profession as a whole. SAA also is committed to the goal of a Society membership that reflects the broad diversity of American society. SAA believes that these commitments are essential to the effective pursuit of the archival mission "to ensure the identification, preservation, and use of the nation's historical record."
Commentary
SAA's intensified commitment to diversity is a response to developments in the wider society, especially in the past several decades. These include dramatic changes in population demographics, national public policies in support of civil rights, and the organized demands of peoples once excluded from full participation in American society. These developments challenge archivists to reconsider what we mean by a useful and representative historical record and what we can contribute to broader national goals of social justice, equality, and well being.
A more diverse SAA, comprised of archivists who are highly attuned to diversity issues, will assure that the profession remains vigorous in the next millennium. In order to be effective the archival profession needs to position itself to lead in documenting the experiences of the diverse American peoples and in connecting those peoples with the historical record. These actions will ensure that our profession and our archival institutions remain relevant to the concerns of all populations in the years ahead. The profession we will become will draw on talented and committed individuals from the entire spectrum of the American peoples who will enjoy full participation in the educational and governance activities of the SAA.
For more than a quarter century SAA has directly addressed a wide range of issues related to diversity. In 1972 SAA adopted the report of its Committee for the 1970s. Included among the Committee recommendations was a positive injunction to the nominating committee to make the Council more representative of and responsible to the diverse interests of the SAA by considering "archival interest, age, sex, geography, nationality, ethnicity, and race in the selection of a slate of candidates." The report also urged that "no person should be nominated as a candidate for an SAA office who, in her or his job, flagrantly espouses or practices discrimination in regard to race, sex, nationality, or political or religious ideology." In a section on social relevance, the Committee urged that "SAA should be actively committed to the social goals of racial justice, equal employment, and reasonable access to research materials" and "that the Society appoint a standing committee on minority groups to press for the rights and advancement of minorities in the archival profession."
In 1972 the SAA Council also created an Ad Hoc Committee on the Status of Women (COSW) and about the same time women organized a Women's Caucus to press SAA on gender issues. Over the past quarter-century, SAA has achieved outstanding results in opening its membership, program participation, awards recognition, and appointed and elected leadership to women. Within the profession, however, more remains to be done to overcome barriers to full participation by women at all levels, and SAA should do all that it can to encourage this process. The goals pursued by COSW should continue to receive full attention and efforts should be made to ensure that the activities are carried out through the most appropriate vehicle within the Society's organizational structure.
Since 1972, the Society has created organizational groups to represent the interests of gay and lesbian archivists and archivists of color, encouraged broader participation in annual meeting programs and educational activities, supported the development of Native American archives, and otherwise addressed social concerns. Yet much remains to be done to meet our goal of an organization that reflects the diversity American society.
The Society's renewed commitment to diversity builds on the concerns and activities of archivists over the past quarter-century but differs from these efforts in significant ways. From today's perspective, issues of diversity are more complex and far reaching than once imagined. Even though the "majority" in the United States of the next century will be comprised of many "minorities," widespread inequities persist. The new realities demand creative thinking and institutional and personal change all around. We view the achievement of diversity not only as a making right of past wrongs but also as a means to improve our capability to pursue our missions, including our roles in facilitating the widespread use of the historical record and encouraging its preservation. We see our efforts in the context of global migrations of peoples and worldwide struggles to achieve tolerance and social harmony across cultural differences.
In stating our commitment to diversity, the Society of American Archivists makes common cause with many allied professional organizations and with the larger institutions and organizations that employ most of our members. The American Council on Education, representing 1,800 higher education institutions and endorsed by forty-eight other educational associations and organizations, wrote in a recent open letter: "The diversity we seek and the future of the nation...require that colleges and universities continue to be able to reach out and make a conscious effort to build healthy and diverse learning environments appropriate for their missions. The success of higher education and the strength of our democracy depend on it." The American Association of State and Local History includes the following statement of social responsibility in its code of ethics: "All members...shall ensure actively that the variety of American cultural experience in all programmatic and operational activities is represented accurately. The Association expects its members to assist the field in becoming more representative of our diverse society...." The American Library Association's $1.3 million Spectrum Initiative is intended to "give our profession the face of the future and help us to better represent and serve our nation's increasingly diverse population."
2. Incorporation of diversity into SAA strategic planning process
In pursuing our commitment to diversity, SAA should utilize its strategic planning process as a tool for integrating diversity concerns into the Society's operations. In revising the strategic plan, the Council should incorporate the broad objectives of a more diverse SAA membership including more participation by diverse members in SAA matters and greater attention to the diversity of the historical record and access to it by a wider range of users.
The Task Force discussed a variety of ways in which diversity issues might be incorporated into the strategic plan. The following ideas reflect the range of that discussion and are offered as recommendations for incorporation into the strategic plan:
Suggestions for incorporating diversity initiatives into the strategic planning process:
3. Reinforce and expand existing activities that support diversity
The membership should acknowledge and celebrate SAA's prior and continuing programs and activities that promote diversity and, in so doing, renew and expand its commitment to diversity. With regard to specific existing activities, the Task Force makes the following recommendations:
Mentoring Program:
Program Committee:
Appointments Committee:
4. Identify and establish new initiatives to promote diversity
The Society would benefit by a number of new initiatives to promote diversity. The Task Force recommends the following:
Executive Office:
SAA Website:
Annual Meeting:
Educational Programming:
Certification:
Financial Aid:
College and University Archives Section:
Archival Educators Roundtable:
Public Information Committee:
Membership Committee:
Council:
Un-named Actor:
Plans for Opening a Dialog with the Membership of SAA
The Task Force on Diversity firmly believes that the current membership of SAA must be engaged in discussions on diversity issues. The opportunity for members to provide their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions is a critical component in ensuring that the Task Force's report and recommendations take into consideration the diversity of opinion present in the Society. A range of opportunities and techniques should be employed to provide ample opportunity for the membership to consider and respond to the Task Force's report. To meet this need, the Task Force proposes the following:
1. Disseminate information on the Task Force and its report to SAA leadership.
Leadership listserv. A copy of the Task Force interim report should be distributed through the SAA leadership listserv in July 1998. Leadership should be strongly encouraged to review the report and consider its relationship to, and impact on, the group they currently represent.
2. Disseminate summary information on the Task Force and its Report.
3. Disseminate the Task Force Report and Recommendations.
4. Discussion sessions at the Annual Conference in Orlando.
VI. Follow-up Activities
Rev. 6/16/98