The Society of American Archivists (SAA) will honor the accomplishments and innovations of twenty-four outstanding individuals and organizations at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29, 2017. Award categories include outstanding contributions to the archives profession, advocacy and public awareness, writing and publishing excellence, and scholarships and travel awards.
Below is a list of the 2017 recipients.
The Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is the recipient of the 2017 C.F.W. Coker Award from the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 1984, recognizes finding aids, finding aid systems, innovative development in archival description, or descriptive tools that enable archivists to produce more effective finding aids. To merit consideration for the award, nominees must set national standards, represent a model for archives description, or otherwise have a substantial impact on national descriptive practice.
DTA is an international collaboration among more than twenty colleges, universities, nonprofits, and private collections that provides a central hub to access digitized historic materials, born-digital records, and archival finding aids related to trans history. Project director K.J. Rawson wanted to create a resource that would allow researchers to overcome the systematic challenges present in researching trans history, such as the geographic dispersion of historic materials, evolving and diverse language used to describe trans history, and the lack of availability of online primary sources. The aggregated digital content along with contextual learning resources provide a platform usable for diverse audiences and increases the discoverability and accessibility of historic materials from a traditionally underrepresented part of history.
As one of its nominators noted, “With transgender history frequently under-represented in both archival collections and online resources, the Digital Transgender Archive is a strong and visible commitment to innovative archival description.”
The Sustainable Heritage Network is a 2017 recipient of the Society of American Archivists' Council Exemplary Service Award. The award recognizes a special contribution to the archives profession—and especially to SAA—and is given at the discretion of the SAA Council.
The Sustainable Heritage Network (SHN) was formed in response to a 2012 Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums report—“Sustaining Indigenous Culture”—that found a need for training in the lifecycle of digital materials through short-topic courses and online resources. Since then, the SHN team, advisors, and partners have developed a model for inclusive and community-centered practices, funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and based in the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University, which provides a space for tribal archivists, librarians, and museum specialists to communicate and learn about digital stewardship and preservation.
The SHN online platform brings together communities, institutions, and professionals who share knowledge, educational resources, and technology tools that are necessary for the responsible digitization and preservation of cultural heritage—which SHN calls “collaborative stewardship.” SHN’s work embodies one of SAA’s core principles—a commitment to diversity and inclusion among members of the archives profession as well as within the archival record. SHN not only provides a valuable resource for tribal archivists, librarians, and museum specialists, but also serves as proof that collaboration works and that community action matters.
This Council Exemplary Service Award recognizes the seven partner organizations, the nine members of the Core Sustainable Heritage Network Team, and the thirteen individual advisors who—together—have created and sustained SHN for the benefit of our nation’s cultural heritage.
The SAA Reference, Access and Outreach Section’s Teaching with Primary Sources Committee is a 2017 recipient of the Society of American Archivists' Council Exemplary Service Award. The award recognizes a special contribution to the archives profession—and especially to SAA—and is given at the discretion of the SAA Council.
RAO’s Teaching with Primary Sources Committee has served as a model for robust member engagement since its establishment in 2010, and has worked tirelessly to advocate for the use of primary sources in teaching and learning as a core component of archival work. In its first two years, the TPS Working Group developed a bibliography about teaching with primary sources and created a report of findings and analysis from a survey of archivists regarding practices for teaching with primary sources. In 2013 the group was made a standing committee of the RAO Section and four teams were established within TPS to focus on specific projects. These included advocating for standards for teaching with primary sources, developing a resource bank, surveying graduate education, and hosting an Unconference as part of SAA’s Annual Meeting. The third annual TPS Unconference was held in Portland on July 25, 2017, and brought together archivists, librarians, museum professionals, educators, and others to discuss innovative techniques for engaging students of all levels in the use of primary sources.
The TPS Committee successfully connects archivists from a variety of institutions to work toward the common goal of supporting the archivist as educator. The enthusiastic and engaged members and leaders of RAO’s Teaching with Primary Sources Committee have made and continue to make an astounding contribution to SAA and the archives profession.
The Texas Disability History Collection (TDHC) at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries is a 2017 recipient of the Diversity Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 2011, recognizes outstanding contributions in advancing diversity within the archives profession, SAA, or the archival record.
The only collection on disability history in Texas, TDHC documents disability rights activists who fought for equal access to education, work, union membership, public transit, and sports. TDHC is notable for its collaborative development across university departments, its commitment to user interface accessibility, and its role as a learning resource for the disability community and beyond. As a result of the TDHC project, UTA Libraries has developed expertise around designing maximally accessible websites and collecting disability-related materials.
In his nomination, Ron Lucey, executive director of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, stated: “Ultimately this digital history collection will provide a lasting benefit to the state as an ongoing educational resource for all Texas students who seek to understand the important role Texans with disabilities made to our state’s history.”
The SAA Awards Committee commended TDHC as “a wonderful example of bringing disability history to the forefront of the historical narrative.”
Also receiving the Diversity Award this year is the Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries.
The Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries is a 2017 recipient of the Diversity Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 2011, recognizes outstanding contributions in advancing diversity within the archives profession, SAA, or the archival record.
Part of the department of archives and special collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries, the Tretter Collection has 3,500 linear feet of material from around the world documenting the GLBT experience. While the Tretter Collection has always sought to include marginalized voices within the GLBT community, the archives has specifically prioritized in the last five years adding materials from communities of color as well as bi/pan/fluid/omni and transgender/gender queer voices. In addition, the archives has taken an active role in documenting transgender/gender queer history by establishing the Tretter Transgender Oral History Project, which has a goal of 200+ interviews and 300+ hours of content focusing on the lives of trans/gender queer people in the Upper Midwest, and in partnering with other archives to share material, develop strategies for filling gaps in the archival record, and initiate outreach programs to engage a broader community in GLBT history.
The SAA Awards Committee noted that they were “especially impressed by how the Tretter Collection staff brings the collection’s diverse contents out of the archive and into the community through teaching, exhibits, and presentations, as well as by its strong relationships with the community. The Tretter Collection serves as an excellent model for other institutions interested in connecting with their local LGBTQ+ communities.”
Also receiving the Diversity Award this year is the The Texas Disability History Collection at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.
Elizabeth Vallen, a 2016 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign with a master’s degree in library and information science, is the 2017 recipient of the Donald Peterson Student Travel Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Established in 2005, the award supports attendance at the conference by a student and/or recent graduate from a graduate archival program within North America. The goal of the scholarship is to stimulate greater participation in the activities of SAA, such as presenting research or actively participating in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable.
Now a project archivist at the University of California, Merced Library, Vallen is developing a plan for archiving, preserving, and providing access to the University of California’s Cooperative Extension’s record. She will share the strategic plan with the Science, Technology, and Health Care Section in the hope that it will serve as a model for cooperative extension archives in other states. As the only full-time archivist at UC Merced, she will also participate in SAA’s Lone Arrangers Section meeting.
Natalie Baur, digital preservation librarian at El Colegio de México, is the 2017 recipient of the Emerging Leader Award from the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The Emerging Leader Award celebrates and encourages early career archivists who have completed archival work of broad merit, demonstrated significant promise of leadership, performed commendable service to the archives profession.
Since graduating with her MLS in 2011, Baur has distinguished herself as a leader in SAA and a trailblazer in the international archives community. The Awards Committee commended Baur’s impressive record of collaboration and achievement in her roles as chair of the SAA Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Heritage Roundtable (LACCHA), a peer reviewer on The American Archivist, a presenter at conferences, and a member of the 2017 SAA Annual Meeting Program Committee.
In addition, Baur has shown phenomenal leadership in Latin American and international archival initiatives. She co-founded the group Itinerant Archivists, served with Librarians Without Borders, and completed a Fulbright fellowship in Mexico. Baur has engaged in extensive outreach and advocacy work with and on behalf of colleagues in Mexico and Ecuador and with indigenous communities in Ecuador. She has conducted talks, workshops, and training extensively both in the United States and throughout Latin America. In 2016, Baur, along with George Apodaca and Margarita Vargas-Betancourt, was awarded the SAA Diversity Award for the LACCHA webinar series “Desmantelando Fronteras/Breaking Down Borders,” and she is co-authoring a forthcoming book chapter about the project.
As one supporter noted: “A knowledgeable and experienced professional, Baur is an exceptional leader in building international awareness and engagement within SAA and the American archives profession.”
Alexandra M. Wilder, a graduate student in the archives concentration of the library and information science program at Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics in Philadelphia, is the 2017 recipient of the F. Gerald Ham and Elsie Ham Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $10,000 scholarship supports the graduate archival education of a student who is studying at a United States university program. Scholarship selection criteria include the applicant’s past performance in his or her graduate program in archival studies as well as faculty members’ assessment of the student’s prospects for contributing to the archives profession.
In addition to her strong academic record, Wilder impressed the SAA Awards Committee with her eloquent essay, “Crowdsourcing Archival Description via Flickr: Reining in Grand Expectations,” which explores whether sample photosets show evidence of crowdsourcing, and if so, how it has contributed to description and access. In her current position processing manuscript collections at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania and in her previous position at Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum and Library, Wilder has worked with a variety of audiences and media and has contributed significantly to outreach and advocacy efforts for cultural institutions. She holds a master of fine arts in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and a bachelor of arts in English literature from the University of Toronto.
Her faculty nominators noted that she “demonstrates a keen intellect and a generous spirit. She poses insightful questions . . .” and that her “written work is eloquent and conscientious, both technically and rhetorically well-developed.”
Brenda Gunn, director of research and collections at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Gunn holds master’s degrees in both archival enterprise and English literature, and is currently pursuing a PhD in American history at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her career, from becoming a founding member of one of the first SAA student chapters to her continuous efforts in mentoring colleagues, Gunn’s leadership has manifested itself in her persistent drive, thoughtful initiative, and creative resourcefulness. When the devastation of Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Gunn founded the Emergency Disaster Assistance Recovery Fund for Archives, which is co-sponsored by the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) and SAA, to help with the immediate preservation costs of the region’s archival repositories. She has remained a strong advocate for the program as it evolved into the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives and has served on its grant committee. In 2009, she received SSA’s Distinguished Service Award for her collaborative archival recovery work during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Gunn’s ongoing contributions to the development and sustainability of the Archives Leadership Institute (ALI) have influenced hundreds of archivists who have been through the program. After participating in ALI in 2010, Gunn supported the idea of a stronger, long-term mentorship model for the program. The program’s reputation for the invaluable practical knowledge and hands-on management experiences it provides its participants are a direct result of Gunn’s contributions, notes one of her nominators.
Her commitment to and efforts on behalf of SAA are equally tireless. She has played significant roles in chairing or co-chairing the Preservation Section, Awards Committee, and the Host Committee for the 2009 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, as well as participating in numerous other committees. Gunn brings her energy and ideas to the Foundation Board, of which she has been a member since 2014, to help it flourish.
One of her supporters noted: “Gunn has the great skill of actively listening to all members to see where there are ways to move forward.” Another supporter commented: “She has been a force in advancing the archival enterprise nationally.”
Gunn is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Christopher A. “Cal” Lee, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) School of Information and Library Science, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Lee holds a PhD in Information from the University of Michigan School of Information. As an educator, author, and dedicated volunteer, he has been instrumental in helping archivists find solutions to provide access, to preserve, and support the long-term curation of digital collections. At UNC, he spearheaded a curriculum that helped hundreds of information professionals gain skills needed to be digital curators and has created and taught numerous workshops, including the digital forensics workshop for the SAA Digital Archives Specialist curriculum.
Lee has served SAA in a variety of leadership capacities: on The American Archivist Editorial Board, Publications Board, and the Task Force on Electronic Publishing. He is active in the Electronic Records Section and, during his term as chair, helped coordinate the work of the Electronic Records and Government Records sections in drafting a response to the National Archives and Records Administration’s rulemaking on the disposal of electronic records.
In addition, Lee’s scholarship has contributed greatly to the professional literature. He edited the book I, Digital: Personal Collections in the Digital Era (SAA, 2011) and has authored or co-authored six peer-reviewed articles, nine book chapters, 28 peer-reviewed conference papers, nine research reports, and given 140 conference presentations. His works have been cited more than 400 times.
Lee has also led a series of projects that have developed, disseminated, and supported free and open-source software, BitCurator, that archivists around the world are using to apply digital forensics methods for the curation of their collections.
As one of his nominators noted: “Lee defined the field of digital forensics, demonstrated its absolute relevance to the archival profession, and developed workshops, courses, and support materials that make it possible for archivists to master digital forensics tools and procedures.” Another nominator said: “He performs cutting edge research and translates it into actionable ways that practicing archivists can use.”
Lee is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
John H. Slate, city archivist of Dallas, Texas, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Slate earned his master’s degree in library and information science with a concentration in archival enterprise at the University of Texas at Austin. He began his professional experience in the Public Services Unit at the university’s Center for American History. He later became the curator of collections and rare books librarian at the Hertzberg Circus Collection and Museum at the San Antonio Public Library, and then archivist at the Texas African-American Photography Archive, Documentary Arts, Inc. Since assuming the position of city archivist in March 2000, his indefatigable energy and successful advocacy efforts have propelled the Dallas Municipal Archives to be among the best models of municipal archives nationally.
“Slate has been one of the most ardent advocates for and visible faces of local government records in SAA and NAGARA for nearly two decades,” wrote one nominator. “His commitment and passion is unparalleled. He has been involved in virtually every effort to address the nearly intractable problem of local records preservation in the United States.”
Slate’s scholarly contributions and service to the field have consistently reflected his enthusiasm for local government records. In SAA, he has served as chair of the Government Records Section, Local Government Records Roundtable, and Visual Materials Section. In addition, he is a member of Metroplex Archivists, Academy of Certified Archivists, and the Texas Historical Records Advisory Board as well as being a past president of the Society of Southwest Archivists and alum of the Archives Leadership Institute. Of special significance is his 2016 book, Managing Local Government Archives, co-authored with SAA Fellow Kaye Lanning Minchew, in which they share insights and a common sense approach to addressing issues prevalent among local governments.
Slate is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Michele Pacifico, archival facilities consultant, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Pacifico has been a leader in working with archives in all areas of planning, programming, and the design of new or renovated archival facilities. After the successful completion in 1994 of the National Archives and Records Administration’s Archives II facility in College Park, Maryland, in which she served as assistant project director, Pacifico went on to coordinate the master renovation plan for the historic National Archives Building on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and coordinated the design concept for an expansion of the Archives II building. Archives II, the world’s largest archives facility, brought a number of breakthroughs to the archival community, including the design and testing of mobile shelving and fire protection systems, as well as setting standards for building environments and materials. She has since worked with the California, Colorado, and Utah State Archives, the DC Office of Public Records and Archives, Library and Archives Canada, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Boston City Archives, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of South Carolina, among others.
Within SAA, she has held various leadership positions, chairing or co-chairing the Technical Subcommittee on Archival Facility Guidelines, the Status of Women Committee, and the Archival History Roundtable, in addition to being a member of the Awards Committee and the Working Group on Accessibility in Archives. She co-edited with Thomas Wilsted the SAA standard Archival and Special Collections Facilities: Guidelines for Archivists, Librarians, Architects and Engineers (SAA, 2009), which won the SAA Preservation Publication Award in 2010. She presented papers at numerous conferences on collections environments, sustainable archives, accessibility in archives, and safeguarding archival records.
As one supporter stated, “One of the most significant contributions an archivist can make to our profession is to gain the respect of those outside it and to nurture their understanding of, and enthusiasm for, our work. Pacifico has done that repeatedly and in significant venues.”
Pacifico is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Pamela Hackbart-Dean, director of the Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Hackbart-Dean, who earned her master’s degree in history and archival management at the University of Connecticut, has distinguished herself as a thoughtful leader. Her nominators describe her as a “skilled teacher” and someone for whom “to be a professional archivist is to be active—to publish, to present, to serve, to mentor, to collaborate, to learn, and to question.”
A presenter at numerous conferences and instructor at workshops, Hackbart-Dean has also published widely. As co-author of How to Manage Processing Archives and Special Collections, (SAA, 2012), she has contributed a practical step-by-step guide to processing, a project which supplements and develops her work as co-author of Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (Association of Research Libraries, 2009). She has served SAA in a variety of capacities: as chair of the Preservation Section, Oral History Section, Manuscripts Section, Labor Archives Roundtable, and Congressional Papers Roundtable, and Committee on Education; as a member of the Dictionary of Archival Terminology Working Group, SAA Mentor, and Program Committee for the 2002 Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama; and currently as an elected member of the Council. She has developed two successful SAA workshops.
Her nominators uniformly reference her enriching mentorship as well as her ability to “knit together old colleagues to do new things.” Another of her supporters noted as extraordinary “the quiet role she has assumed in inspiring future generations of archivists by guiding, mentoring, and connecting, and by being herself a role model of leadership.”
Previous to her work at SIU, Hackbart-Dean served as head of the Special Collections and Archives and director of the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University and, prior to that, as processing archivist for the University of Georgia’s Richard B. Russell Library.
Hackbart-Dean is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Robin Chandler, archives consultant, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during a ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon July 23–29. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
Chandler’s expertise and leadership has helped many nascent archives program get established. She began working in archives and special collections in a series of progressively more responsible positions in science and technology organizations at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, before becoming the head of special collections at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), director of the Digital Library Program at the University of California, San Diego, and then associate university librarian at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Her groundbreaking work with the Tobacco Control Archives at UCSF, is recognized as a model project in digital archives. Chandler’s advocacy for the project’s mission to provide universal access to and preservation of the archives ensured its success. In addition, the availability of tobacco industry documents online has influenced health policy on a national scale and resulted in public health statutes across the United States.
As the first full-time permanent manager of the Online Archive of California (OAC), an early consortium of online finding aids which received SAA’s C.F.W. Coker Award for innovative development in archival description in 2005, Chandler helped transition the OAC from a grant-funded project to a stable and innovative international resource. She then assisted colleagues on similar projects to organize, acquire funding, and establish the Northwest Digital Archives and the Texas Archives and Records and Records Online. As one supporter noted, “Chandler’s direction of the OAC working group accelerated the advancement and adoption of national standards and the development of richer archives services in California and beyond.”
Chandler has held various leadership positions in both SAA and the Society of California Archivists (SCA), where she has chaired or co-chaired a number of committees, roundtables, and task forces, as well as served as SCA president. Her supporters note her “steadfast commitment to the improvement of archival practice” and describe her as a “facilitator, bringing the right people together to do incredibly important things for the institutions she works for and for the profession.”
Chandler is one of six new Fellows named in 2017. There are currently 189 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Michelle Caswell, assistant professor of archival studies the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Marika Cifor, Consortium for Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Bowdoin College; and Mario H. Ramirez, doctoral candidate in information studies at UCLA, are the 2017 recipients of the Fellows’ Ernst Posner Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA).
The award recognizes an outstanding essay dealing with some facet of archival administration, history, theory, and/or methodology that was published during the preceding year in SAA’s journal, The American Archivist. Caswell, Cifor, and Ramirez are being honored for “‘To Suddenly Discover Yourself Existing’: Uncovering the Impact of Community Archives,” which appeared in the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of The American Archivist (vol. 79, no. 1). Their article reports on a set of qualitative interviews with South Asian American educators regarding their reaction to the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), an independent, nonprofit, community-based organization. Several themes emerge from this research, including the affective impact of community archives on users and the difficulties of locating and accessing material on this ethnic group. The authors suggest that such community archives can counter the symbolic annihilation of marginalized groups, creating instead feelings of representational belonging.
The SAA Awards Committee noted that their research “presents a clear, deeply theorized and documented case for the impact of community archives” and “advances our understanding of community archives, an increasingly important area for the archival profession as we tackle issues of diversity and post-custodial approaches to preserving information.”
Chido Muchemwa, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, is a 2017 recipient of the Harold T. Pinkett Minority Student Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award recognizes minority graduate students of African, Asian, Latino, or Native American descent who, through scholastic achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional archivists and active members of SAA.
In her academic and professional activities, Muchemwa is dedicated to ensuring that historically underrepresented communities are not only reflected in archives, but are the narrators of their stories. As an intern with the American Heritage Center in Laramie, Wyoming, she designed a display that showcased the state’s Native American history outside of the gaze of the American settler. At her current internship at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Muchemwa presented on “Blackness in the White Imagination” during Black History Month, highlighting depictions of African American people and culture authored by White people and advocating for collections to feature Black stories told by Black people.
Muchemwa writes: “Many communities have created their own community archives as a way to tell their stories . . . . Traditional institutions have much to learn from such community archives, and I have been investigating what we can learn about radically imagining new structures for our archives that are more inclusive.”
One of her supporters notes that “Muchemwa’s work is foregrounded in a concern and a sensitivity toward centering those who have not been traditionally represented in the archive.”
NaVosha Copeland, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, is a 2017 recipient of the Harold T. Pinkett Minority Student Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award recognizes minority graduate students of African, Asian, Latino, or Native American descent who, through scholastic achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional archivists and active members of SAA.
Copeland’s initiative and ability to collaborate on projects related to archives, primary source research, and community building impressed the SAA Awards Committee. As the historian of the Emory Black Student Union (EBSU), Copeland created a presentation on the first African American students and faculty of Emory University, initiated the process to make available the records of student organizations, including the foundational documents of EBSU, and held open forums with students groups to ensure preservation of their records. She has also partnered with curators and librarians to develop an exhibit on African American productions of Shakespeare’s Othello.
One of her supporters noted that Copeland is “adept at identifying relevant collections, interrogating the material, and repurposing it to affect change or to recognize past achievements of students and faculty of color on campus.”
Copeland’s stated goal is to “become an archivist who assists diverse communities in accessing and using the archives. I am committed to developing outreach initiatives that will attract communities of color.”
The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) is the 2017 recipient of the J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs.
EDGI is an international network of social and natural scientists, lawyers, and other information and environmental professionals who document and advocate for the vital importance of evidence-based environmental policy. In 2017, EDGI responded to changes in the new presidential administration by making the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website the best archived agency page at the Internet Archive. In its first “Guerrilla Archiving” event, more than 150 volunteers from multiple disciplines preserved information and data at risk of being removed from online public access, including information on climate change and water and air pollution. An EDGI Toolkit—featuring workflows, processes, and guidelines for hosting similar data rescue events—has enabled events in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, resulting in 35,478 pages added to the Internet Archive and 96 datasets being preserved.
“This work engages broad audiences across the world and creates awareness in communities otherwise blind to the work of archives and archivists,” noted the Awards Committee. “EDGI’s tireless effort to create a network of interdisciplinary individuals, departments, and institutions dedicated to collecting and preserving vulnerable scientific data deserves fuller awareness.”
Jeannie Chen is the 2017 recipient of the Josephine Forman Scholarship sponsored by the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church, in cooperation with the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $10,000 scholarship, established in 2010, provides financial support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, encourages students to pursue careers as archivists, and promotes the diversification of the American archives profession.
Chen, who is pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been a committed volunteer at the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC), where she has developed projects to process, preserve, and provide access to archival collections. She has also helped to establish a working Archives Committee to provide CHSSC with a professional support network, basic archival training, and assistance in sustainably stewarding its collections. Her passion for the archival profession is fueled by the desire for members of historically marginalized communities to see themselves reflected in the archives and for greater engagement among international and cross-cultural colleagues.
Noting Chen’s diligence in both her academic and volunteer work, one supporter wrote that Chen is “the kind of enthusiastic and dedicated student we, as teachers, love to have in the classroom” and “one of those rare students that I know . . . will change the field for the better.”
Jessica Tai, who is pursuing a master of library and information science degree with an archival specialization at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is a 2017 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $5,000 scholarship is given to a student who demonstrates potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifests a commitment both to the archival profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.
Tai’s commitment to diversity in archives is evident in her unique outreach work, as in her work on the event, “Activating the Archive,” in which participants created crafts around social justice, activist, and human rights issues using reproductions of archival materials. She is an active member of the Los Angeles Archivist Collective Diversity subcommittee and is developing a workshop series that will teach basic photographic preservation at a local library and facilitate a forum for community sharing. Tai’s wide range of experience in the archival field includes managing the image database at the William E. Colby Memorial Library at the Sierra Club, performing holdings maintenance and material rehousing at the San Francisco Maritime Research Center, and photographing collections at Nzilani Stained Glass Conservation. In addition, she is an Archival Processing Scholar at the Center for Primary Research and Training at the UCLA Special Collections Library.
One of her supporters noted: “Tai stands out as a critical and creative thinker who brings her skills as an artist, photographer, and social justice activist to her archival practice and scholarship.”
Sabrina Ponce, who is pursuing a dual master of library and information science degree with an archival specialization and master of arts degree in Latin American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is a 2017 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $5,000 scholarship is given to a student who demonstrates potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifests a commitment both to the archival profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.
In addition to a strong academic record, Ponce has developed a commitment to actively engaging with diverse archival collections and communities. Her descriptive work on the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at the Center for Primary Research and Training at the UCLA Library Special Collections demonstrated a strong awareness of the representation of identities and relationships documented within the collection. In her work on an exhibition documenting the experience of Japanese-Americans in internment camps, Ponce reached out to the Nikkei (Japanese-American) Student Union at UCLA to collaborate on developing the exhibit’s narrative. She has also participated in local outreach events with the Palos Verdes Library Local History Center, which inspired her to pursue a career in archives.
Ponce writes, “I believe that archivists should work with an ethic of service and justice for communities, in addition to working in dialogue with all communities whose histories they preserve.” Alongside the MLIS degree, Ponce is pursuing a master’s in Latin American studies to better understand the history, culture, and communities that she will serve as an archivist.
One of her supporters wrote that upon first working with her, “I was impressed with Ponce’s curiosity, interest, and diligence in learning about the profession. Two years later, I continue to be impressed by her commitment to understanding all facets of the profession.”
The Center for Home Movies is the 2017 recipient of the Philip M. Hamer–Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 1973, recognizes individuals or institutions that have increased public awareness of archives documents.
The Center for Home Movies is transforming public perception of amateur films through its outreach and advocacy work, especially its annual Home Movie Day. This international “bring your own film” festival, held in local communities, celebrates the unique and historic content of home movies and provides opportunities for expert instruction on the preservation of this at-risk medium. The Center’s efforts “to preserve, provide access to, and promote the interdisciplinary use and study of home movies” also include the 2007 compilation DVD Living Room Cinema, the Amateur Night touring 35mm film program, the 2010 Home Movie Digitization and Access Summit, and the online Home Movie Registry.
“With its unique focus and engaging projects, the Center is making a significant contribution to the public understanding of the value of home movies and the importance of film preservation,” the SAA Awards Committee wrote.
Waters Rising: Letters from Florence by Sheila Waters (The Legacy Press, 2016) is the recipient of the 2017 Preservation Publication Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award recognizes the author or editor of an outstanding published work related to archives preservation.
Waters Rising documents the heroic effort to rescue cultural heritage in the wake of the infamous 1966 flood in Florence, Italy, that inundated the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze and left one-third of its collections submerged. Leading the rescue efforts was renowned bookbinder Peter Waters, who is considered “the father of preventative conservation” and greatly influenced present-day conservation philosophy and ethical standards. In Waters Rising, his wife Sheila traces his formative experiences and philosophies while outlining methods and observations made during the 1966 disaster recovery.
The SAA Awards Committee noted that “this work serves as a valuable record and inspirational learning tool, but is also a fitting tribute to Mr. Waters himself.”
Wesley W. Wilson, CA, coordinator of archives and special collections at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, is the 2017 recipient of the Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in conjunction with the Society of Southwest Archivists. The award, created in 1974, honors an archivist who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives.
Since he first became the coordinator for DePauw’s archives in 1984, Wilson has worked diligently to preserve and share the records of the United Methodist church in Indiana. He has held leadership roles in the SAA Archivists of Religious Collections Section, Midwest Archives Conference, and Society of Indiana Archivists, and is a founding member of the Indiana United Methodist Historical Society. Wilson’s leadership extends to the archival community through his various publications, classes, and presentations on topics related to archival work in religious archives. Wilson’s spirit of sharing and dedication to the preservation of church records are evident in his legacy of progress seen in DePauw’s archives.
One supporter wrote, “DePauw’s archives are top rate in terms of their content, organization, staffing, and management. Wilson has developed a priceless resource for the DePauw community.” Another supporter noted, “Wilson is an exemplary professional whose accomplishments with the Archives at DePauw University in the national field of archival service have won him wide respect and admiration.”
Anna Robinson-Sweet, master’s student in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston, is the 2017 recipient of the Theodore Calvin Pease Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 1987, recognizes superior writing achievements by students of archival studies, and entries are judged on innovation, scholarship, pertinence, and clarity of writing.
Robinson-Sweet’s paper, “Truth and Reconciliation: Archivists as Reparations Activists,” was nominated by Janet Ceja, assistant professor at the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons. Her paper reviews selected literature through an activist lens and presents three case studies in which varying degrees of activism on the part of archivists contributed to or detracted from the success of that reparations campaign. She argues that archivists should be and can be the link between activists and evidence, and that through activism archives can make their greatest impact.
In her nomination, Ceja wrote, “The paper expresses a much needed student perspective on current discussions on archives and social justice. This work is representative of how some students are making sense of and viewing their roles as future archivists, particularly during times of great political upheaval.”
The paper will be published in The American Archivist Volume 81, Number 1 (Spring/Summer 2018).
Philip C. Bantin, director of the archives and records management specialization at Indiana University, Bloomington, is the 2017 recipient of the Waldo Gifford Leland Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) for his book, Building Trustworthy Digital Repositories: Theory and Implementation, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2016. The award, established in 1959 in honor of SAA’s second president, is given for writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the fields of archival history, theory, and practice.
In Building Trustworthy Digital Repositories, Bantin offers a comprehensive look at the state of long-term preservation of and access to digital records. With contributions from 41 international archivists, educators, and practitioners, Bantin introduces theoretical concepts followed by examples of implementation and practical guidance for application for all phases of the digital preservation lifecycle. This publication, pertinent to the entire profession, meets the needs of different archivists—from established archives practitioners and educators to students and new professionals.
The Award Committee noted: “Pulling together many different contributors into a cohesive volume is no easy task, but Bantin manages to accomplish just that to produce a work that is very relevant to the challenges all archivists face today with the massive amounts of digital records that are part of repositories both large and small.”