CHICAGO — Congratulations to the 42 new Digital Archives Specialists (DAS)! These archivists, who represent a variety of repositories around the country, earned a DAS Certificate from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) after completing required coursework within twenty-four months and passing a comprehensive examination in September 2022.

October 13, 2022—In September, the President’s nominee for Archivist of the United States (AOTUS), Dr. Colleen Shogan, appeared before the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (HSGAC) in accordance with the Senate’s advice and consent capacity for presidential appointments. One week later, the Committee, which is evenly divided 7-7 reflecting the Senate’s 50-50 split, voted on Dr. Shogan’s nomination and deadlocked along party lines. This has complicated the AOTUS appointment process, but it does not mean the process is at the end of the road.

SAA Education seeks a developer to create a course based on the OAIS model to contribute to the DAS curriculum. The OAIS model is foundational to understanding digital archives work and is currently covered in some way in many, if not most, of the courses in the DAS curriculum. This course is intended to ensure a baseline level of competence in this conceptual model and act as a gateway for the rest of the program.

October 17, 2022—Eight SAA members were appointed by SAA President Terry Baxter to serve on the new Archival Repatriation Committee:

Helen Wong Smith, SAA Vice-President/President-Elect

Aloha! Margaret Mead is credited with saying “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” We have seen this manifest itself both within and outside SAA, regardless of the number of years someone has served in the Society and society.