See also: - Section VII: Committees and Boards
- SAA Awards Program
The Archival Innovator Award recognizes an archivist, a group of archivists, a repository, or an organization that demonstrates the greatest overall current impact on the profession or their communities. Nominee(s) should meet as many of the following criteria as possible:
The work should be undertaken within the past three years—it need not be completed, but it must be sufficiently advanced to demonstrate results.
Created in 2011, thie award is funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation.
A certificate and complimentary registration for the recipient(s) (if a repository or an organzation, then one representative) to the SAA Annual Meeting occurring in the year in which the award is presented.
2012
The Archival Innovators Award Subcommittee of the Awards Committee is composed of three members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair and shall present the award during the Awards Ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Indigenous Archival Training Program
2023: Opioid Industry Documents Archive
2022: Community-Driven Archives at Arizona State University Library AND the Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage
2021: National Archives and Records Administration’s History Hub
2020: Invisible Histories Project
2019: Brooklyn Connections, a school outreach program of the Brooklyn Public Library
2018: Dr. Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in the University of Kentucky Libraries
2017: No applicants
2016: Dr. Foy Scalf, head of the Research Archives and Integrated Database Project Team at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
2015: State Archives of Florida's Florida Memory Team
2014: Trevor Owens, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program at the Library of Congress
2013: Augmented Processing Table Research Team, The University of Texas at Austin School of Information, Dr. Ciaran B. Trace and Dr. Luis Francisco-Revilla
2012: Not awarded
Purpose and Criteria for Selection:
Created in 2017, this award recognizes and acknowledges individuals of color, such as those of African, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, Native American, Alaska Native, or Pacific Islander descent, and who have demonstrated professional archival experience and manifest an interest in becoming active members of the Society of American Archivists.
This award supports the Society of American Archivists’ Archivists and Archives of Color Section’s objectives of:
Recipients will be selected based on their submission of a completed application and the strength of their personal statement/essay. Personal statements/essays must be no more than 500 words and will be evaluated on:
Eligibility:
The applicant:
Sponsor and Funding:
Sponsored by the SAA Archivists and Archives of Color Section and funded through the SAA Foundation, the award is named in honor of Brenda S. Banks, Fellow and Past President of SAA and co-founder of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section.
Prize:
One award may be given during each awards cycle. The recipient receives full complimentary registration and related expenses for hotel and travel to attend the SAA Annual Meeting during the year in which the award is received. In addition, the recipient receives a complimentary one-year membership in SAA.
Selection Committee:
The Brenda S. Banks Travel Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee comprises four members of the Society of American Archivists (one of whom will be the current junior co-chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section) and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). Of the three remaining members, one shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-Elect to serve a three-year term, and shall serve as chair of the subcommittee in their third year.
Application Deadline and Requirements:
Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
2024: Janine Smith (Loyola University New Orleans)
2023: Marisa Ramirez (William H. Hannon Library at Loyola Marymount University)
2022: Polly Peralta (former intern at the Museum of Pop Culture)
2021: Shelly Black (Cyma Rubin Library Fellow at North Carolina State University)
2020: Victor Betts (North Carolina State University's Special Collections Research Center)
2019: Tracy Drake (Chicago Public Library’s Vivian G. Harsh Research Center)
2018: Saida Largaespada (University of California, Los Angeles)
The C.F.W. Coker Award for Description recognizes finding aids, finding aid systems, projects that involve innovative development in archival description, or descriptive tools that enable archivists to produce effective finding aids. To merit consideration for the award, nominees must set national standards, represent a model for archival description, or otherwise have a substantial impact on descriptive practices. The following types of works or activities may be considered:
Individuals, institutions, or groups of individuals or institutions. There are no restrictions on the format in which information is presented. Both published and unpublished works produced during the preceding calendar year are eligible. This award is not intended for books or articles on descriptive theory. Works and activities must involve projects located primarily in North America.
Established in 1984, the award is named in memory of C.F.W. Coker, a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists who worked at the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress, where he was the head of the Reference and Reader Service Section in the Manuscript Division. Coker was also director of the Modern Archives Institute, editor of The American Archivist, and general editor of the first SAA Basic Manual Series.The award is funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation.
A certificate and a cash prize of $250.
1984
The Coker Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of four members of the Society of American Archivists (one of whom shall be the current chair of the Description Section, who shall serve a term concurrent with his or her office) and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One of the remaining members of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as chair and present the award.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Susan P. Waide
2023: Not awarded
2022: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries' In Her Own Right Project
2021: Indigenous Digital Archives DigiTreaties Treaties Explorer (created by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Indigenous Digital Archives, in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of Innovation and the Conservation Department, and Digirati)
2020: Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia (A4BLiP)
2019: Lou Reed papers processed by the Archives Unit on behalf of the Music Division in the Library for the Performing Arts of the New York Public Library
2018: The University of California Guidelines for Born-Digital Archival Description
2017: K.J. Rawson, Digital Transgender Archive, College of the Holy Cross
2016: Not awarded
2015: The Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Project
2014: Remixing Archival Metadata Project, University of Miami
2013: Princeton University Library Archival Description Working Group: Daniel Santamaria (chair), Maureen Callahan, John Delaney, Shaun Ellis, Regine Heberlein, Jon Stroop, and Don Thornbury
2012: Not awarded
2011: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
2010: North Carolina State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
2009: World War II: Guide to Records Relating to U.S. Military Participation
2008: The Archivists’ Toolkit™ (AT)
2007: Greg Bradsher
2006: The Walt Whitman Archive
2005: Online Archives of California
2004: RLG's EAD Advisory Group
2003: Not awarded
2002: Not awarded
2001: Waverly Lowell, Kelcy Shepherd
2000: Not awarded
1999: Francis X. Blouin, Leonard A. Coombs, Claudia Carlen, Elizabeth Yakel, Katherine J. Gill
1998: Encoded Archival Description Working Group
1997: Robert B. Matchette; Honorable Mention: Mary Lynn McCree Bryan
1996: Not awarded
1995: Robert M. Kvasnicka
1994: Not awarded
1993: Diane Vogt-O'Connor
1992: Not awarded
1991: David Brumberg, Elaine Engst
1990: The Center for Legislative Archives (NARA)
1989: Scott Cline
1988: Frederick Honhart
1987: Not awarded
1986: Nancy Sahli, Lisa B. Weber
1985: Debra L. Newman
1984: Roy Turnbaugh
Created by the SAA Council in 1980 at the request of the Committee on the Selection of SAA Fellows, this citation recognizes a special contribution to the archives profession, and especially to SAA, that is not eligible for one of the other awards given by the Society. It is given on an occasional basis at the discretion of the Council or upon recommendation to the Council by the Awards Committee.
A plaque.
1980
The SAA Council.
Not applicable.
2024: lndigenizing Archival Training program, Archives Gig and I Need a Library Job, Digital Library Federation’s Born-Digital Access Working Group, National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group, and Librarians and Archivists with Palestine
2023: Teaching with Primary Sources Collective
2022: Barbara Teague, Bryan Whitledge, The Intellectual Property Working Group
2021: Dorothy Berry, SAA Diversity Committee, SAA Staff, The Blackivists
2020: Dictionary Working Group, Archival Metrics Research Investigators (Elizabeth Yakel, Wendy Duff, Helen Tibbo), Lori Lindberg, Mark Puente
2019: Dr. Michael J. Kurtz
2018: Documenting the Now
2017: Sustainable Heritage Network, Teaching with Primary Sources Committee
2016: Business Archives Section, Oral History Section, William J. Maher
2015: Mark. A. Greene, Digital Archives Specialist Subcommittee of the Education Committe, and Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy
2014: Solveig De Sutter
2013: Peter J. Wosh
2012: Native American Protocols Forum Working Group, Michael J. Fox, Nancy P. Beaumont
2011: Mary Jo Pugh
2010: David Carmicheal, Kathleen Roe, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (VT)
2009: SAA's Intellectual Property Working Group, David B. Gracy II
2008: Troup County (Georgia) Archives, Larry Gates, Teresa Brinati
2007: Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Victoria Irons Walch
2006: Robert M. Schmidt
2005: Robert S. Martin
2004: John W. Carlin
2003: Brenda Banks, Carroll Dendler, Alexandra Gressitt, Debra Nolan
2002: Not awarded
2001: Carroll Dendler
2000: Not awarded
1999: Not awarded
1998: Dennis Harrison, Kris Kiesling
1992-97: Not awarded
1991: Susan Grigg, Timothy Ericson
1990: Not awarded
1989: Edie Hedlin, Paul Chestnut, J. Frank Cook, James B. Rhoads, Carole Huxley
1981-88: Not awarded
1980: Mary Walton Livingston
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an archival institution, education program, nonprofit organization, or government organization that has provided outstanding service to its public and has made an exemplary contribution to the archives profession. The institution being nominated should have achieved distinction in one or more of the following ways:
Any archival institution, archival organization, records center, or manuscript repository, archival education program, or nonprofit or government organization providing service or support to the archives community in North America.
In addition to a completed nomination form, each nomination must include three letters of support, of which at least two are from SAA members, each representing a different institution. Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged.
Created in 1964 through the generosity of three SAA Fellows—Leon de Valinger Jr., Mary Givens Bryan, and Delores Renze—the award was revised in 1993 and is funded through the Society of American Archivists Foundation.
A plaque.
The Distinguished Service Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of three members of SAA and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA Vice President to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
Updates Approved by Council: August 2024
2024: FRASER Team of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2023: BitCurator Consortium
2022: ChromaDiverse, Inc.
2021: Knox County Archives and Doris Rivers Martinson
2020: Orange County Regional History Center
2019: New England Archivists Mentoring Program
2018: Council of State Archivists AND Society of Southwest Archivists
2017: No applicants
2016: Georgia Archives Institute
2015: Archives Leadership Institute
2014: Not awarded
2013: Black Metropolis Research Consortium
2012: Archival Education Collaborative
2011: Not awarded
2010: American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
2009: National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Archives and Records Administration
2008: Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut
2007: Not awarded
2006: The Modern Archives Institute, National Archives and Records Administration
2005: Not awarded
2004: The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
2003: Not awarded
2002: Duke University
2001: The Ohio Historical Society
2000: Not awarded
1999: Not awarded
1998: Masters of Archival Studies Program at the University of British Columbia
1997: Not awarded
1996: Not awarded
1995: Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, The Johns Hopkins University
1994: The Research Libraries Group
1993: Not awarded
1992: Oberlin College Archives
1991: Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College
1990: The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
1989: Not awarded
1988: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
1987: New York State Archives
1986: Not awarded
1985: American Institute of Physics, Center for the History of Physics
1984: Public Archives of Canada
1983: Not awarded
1982: Illinois State Archives
1981: City of Toronto Archives
1980: Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
1977: Georgia Department of Archives and History
1976: Wayne State University, Archives of Labor History and Urban Affairs
1975: Ohio Historical Society
1972: Oregon State Archives
1970: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
1969: Colorado Division of State Archives and Public Records
1968: Not awarded
1967: Not awarded
1966: Wisconsin State Historical Society, Department of Archives and Manuscripts
1965: Maryland Hall of Records
1964: North Carolina Department of Archives and History
Purpose and Criteria for Selection:
Established in 2011 and intended to address SAA’s strategic priority on diversity, this award recognizes an individual, group, or institution for outstanding contributions in advancing diversity within the archives profession, SAA, or the archival record. Nominees will have demonstrated significant achievement in the form of activism, education, outreach, publication, service, or other initiatives in the archives field. The award is given based on the long-term impact on improving and promoting diversity as defined in the SAA Statement on Diversity and Inclusion.
Open to an individual, group, or organization. To encourage SAA member participation, preference may be given to SAA individual and/or institutional members.
Two letters of support. Nominations will be accepted from any individual, group, or institution.
Society of American Archivists Foundation.
Up to two awards may be given each year. The prize will include a certificate and one complimentary registration per awardee to the SAA Annual Meeting occurring in the year in which the award is presented.
2012
The Diversity Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of four members of the Society of American Archivists (one of whom shall be the current chair of the Diversity Committee) and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). Of the three remaining members, one shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair and shall present the award during the Awards Ceremony at the SAA Annual Meeting.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2023: Gregory Hinton, author, historian, and creator of the Out West program series
2022: Julie Varee, community outreach archivist at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska
2021: Judy Tyrus, cofounder and CEO of ChromaDiverse, Inc.
2020: Rebecca Hankins
2019: Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project
2018: Community Archivist Program at the Austin History Center AND Maya from the Margins Archives Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2017: Texas Disability History Collection at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries AND Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries
2016: SAA Latin American and Cultural Heritage Archives Roundtable webinar series, “Desmantelando Fronteras/Breaking Down Borders”
2015: The Shorefront Legacy Center AND Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida
2014: Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Program, University of Houston AND Jennifer O'Neal, University of Oregon Libraries
2013: Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University AND Joan Krizack, Archives Consultant AND Karen Underhill, Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library
2012: The Chicano Studies Research Center
Established in 2005, this award supports students and recent graduates from graduate archival education degree programs within North America to attend SAA’s Annual Meeting. The goal of the scholarship is to stimulate greater participation in the activities of the Society by students and recent graduates. This participation must include either a presentation of research during the Annual Meeting or active participation in an SAA-sponsored committee or section.
Awarded to an SAA member in good standing who is currently enrolled in an archival education degree program or who graduated from an archival education degree program in the previous calendar year. Applications are evaluated based on the merits of the applicant’s essay and letters of recommendation. If the scholarship is declined by an individual selected by the subcommittee, the subcommittee may select an alternate from the pool of applications received for that year. If, for any reason, the subcommittee is unable to select an awardee, it may choose not to award the scholarship for that year.
The Society of American Archivists Foundation, in honor of Donald Peterson (1908–1999), New York lawyer and philatelist, whose deep appreciation of world history and preservation developed early through his stamp collecting and held true throughout his life.
Up to $1,500 in support of registration, travel, and accommodation expenses associated with the SAA Annual Meeting.
2006
The subcommittee consists of three members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). The members shall be appointed as necessary by the SAA President-Elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as chair and present the award.
Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
1. A 500-word essay describing the applicant's career goals and potential impact on the archival profession.
2. Unofficial transcript to verify student status or copy of graduate diploma.
3. Two letters of recommendation from individuals having definite knowledge of the applicant's qualifications. NOTE: Please notify your references ahead of time. Your references will need to upload their letters of recommendation to your online form by the application deadline.
2024: Sandy Yang (University of Alabama)
2023: Erika Alfieri (Florida State University)
2022: Katherine Schlesinger (University of Arizona, Library and Information Science Program)
2021: Sidney Louie (University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Library and Information Science Program)
2020: Jeanie Pai (Queens College)
2019: Alexis Recto (University of California, Los Angeles)
2018: Jessica Serrao (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2017: Elizabeth Vallen (University of California, Merced)
2016: Alessandro Meregaglia (Indiana University Bloomington)
2015: Colin Post (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2014: Michelle Chiles (Simmons College)
2013: Samantha Norling (Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis)
2012: Amanda Strauss
2011: Brittany Turner
2010: Keara Duggan
2009: Jessica Sedgwick
2008: Katherine Blank
2007: Chela Scott Weber
2006: Jessica Lemieux
In January 1998, SAA Fellow, past president, and long-time member F. Gerald Ham and his wife Elsie established the F. Gerald Ham and Elsie Ham Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the fund, endowed in 2008, is to provide financial support to graduate students in a professional archival studies program. Criteria for selection of the award recipient includes the applicant’s past performance in her/his graduate program in archival studies as well as a faculty member's assessment of the student’s prospects for contributing to the archives profession. Selection will be made based on merit.
The scholarship funds must be used to support the graduate archival education of a student who is studying at a United States university program that meets the criteria for graduate education set forth by the Society of American Archivists' Guidelines for a Graduate Program in Archival Studies. The student must have successfully completed a minimum of three (3) semester credit hours, or the equivalent, of a course(s) meeting the definition of "core archival knowledge" presented in the Guidelines. The course(s) must be completed by the time of application (February 28).
The Society of American Archivists Foundation.
The Ham Scholarship Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of three SAA Fellows and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
A scholarship of $10,000. Also included is complimentary registration to the SAA Annual Meeting in the year in which the scholarship is received. The scholarship funds must be paid to the student's academic institution.
2008
Preview the application and apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
2024: Ashley Rockenbach (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2023: Olivija Liepa (New York University and Long Island University)
2022: Sarah Shepherd (Simmons University)
2021: aems emswiler (University of Arizona, School of Information)
2020: Elena Hinkle (Simmons University)
2019: Erin E. Voisin (Louisiana State University)
2018: Julie Botnick (University of California, Los Angeles)
2017: Alexandra M. Wilder (Drexel University)
2016: Katherine Madison (University of Pittsburgh)
2015: Noah Geraci (University of California, Los Angeles)
2014: William J. Levay (Pratt Institute)
2013: Catherine L. Miller (Clayton State University)
2012: Jarrett M. Drake (University of Michigan) AND Nathan Sowry (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
2011: Eric Willey (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
2010: Venus E. Van Ness (State University of New York at Albany)
2009: Andy (Jonathan) Uhrich (New York University)
2008: Emiko Hastings (University of Michigan) AND Becky Robbins (Simmons College)
Established in 1957, the distinction of Fellow—the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA—is awarded for outstanding contributions to the organization and to the archives profession. Fellows must demonstrate and represent the highest qualities of the Society as articulated in the Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics.
Our Core Values include:
Access and Use
Accountability
Advocacy
Diversity and Inclusion
History and Memory
Preservation
Professionalism
Responsible Custody
Selection
Service
Social Responsibility
Social Justice
Nominees must demonstrate their “dedication, devotion, and faithfulness to archives and the archival profession.” Quantifying these qualities while also including initiative, resourcefulness, impact, and commitment may not be easy. However, through the process of nomination, we ask colleagues to contemplate and give voice to actions that portray an archivist’s “power to originate,” their “ability to overcome difficulties,” and how they excel in achieving the profession’s core values.
Candidates must qualify, illustrate, and exhibit impact in each of the following qualities/criteria:
Appropriate academic education and professional/technical training in any of the fields of SAA’s interest.
Professional experience in any of the fields of SAA’s objectives for a minimum of seven years, which shall include evidence of professional responsibility and leadership.
Contributions to the profession demonstrating initiative, resourcefulness, and commitment.
Outreach activities, projects, and scholarship of superior quality and usefulness demonstrating broad impact and contributing to the realization of SAA’s core values and strategic objectives.
Contributions to the archives profession through active participation in and efforts on behalf of SAA as well as contributions to the broader archival profession including regional organizations.
Nomination Requirements and Deadline:
All nominations must be completed online by February 28 of each year. Individual members, primary contacts of institutional members, student members, and associate members are eligible to nominate SAA Fellows.
In accordance with the SAA constitution, the total number of Fellows may not exceed five percent of the SAA membership as of the previous annual meeting.
Nominators with questions should contact the Chair of the Selection Committee.
To be elected a Fellow, one must have been a member of the Society in good standing for at least seven (7) years, consecutively or non-consecutively.
Overall recommendations:
Nominations must include a core narrative that provides a persuasive argument of how the nominated individual meets each of the criteria.
The nomination must provide convincing information in each of the qualities/criteria areas, although not all must have similar extent of evidence.
A recitation or list of activities, facts, or publications is not sufficient. Nominators must provide evidence of quality and impact.
At least three, but no more than five, letters of support from individuals who are familiar with the nominee’s work or contributions to the profession. Ideally each letter should address a different aspect of the nominee’s contributions to SAA and/or the profession. Letters may be written by individuals who are not members of SAA, but they must follow these guidelines.
The nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae.
Appropriate academic education and professional/technical training is strongly preferred in any of the fields of SAA’s interest.
Academic education: Please describe academic degrees in fields commonly used by institutions hiring professional archivists, including but not limited to history, public history, political science, library science, or archival administration. Coursework focused on archival competencies within that degree should be noted if it is not a more common degree for which such education would be anticipated to exist. If a nominee has a different degree, but one that is relevant to the content/context of their archival work, the nominator should explain the relevance of that degree (e.g., a degree in the sciences for someone working with scientific archives, a degree in the arts for someone working with performing arts archives, etc.). Individuals with other background or training are eligible for nomination, with the proviso that the nominator must very clearly explain qualifications that demonstrate the archival competency of the nominee.
Professional/technical training: Alternative sources of archival education that are offered by institutions/organizations providing training/educational opportunities with curricula drawing from accepted archival standards/best practices and taught by someone with archival competencies. Examples might include various archival institutes (e.g., Modern Archives Institute, Georgia Archives Institute, Western Archives Institute) and/or online or live workshops offered by SAA or regional archival organizations. (If these are the sole education/training for the individual, note the extent of training involved, e.g., number of events, extent/length of training.)
Professional experience in any of the fields of SAA’s objectives for a minimum of seven years, which shall include evidence of professional responsibility and leadership.
Demonstrable work with archival materials in any of the “core functions” of records management, appraisal/acquisition, arrangement and description, access, preservation, reference, or outreach. Experience need not be entirely “hands-on” and may include management or supervision of archival functions.
The Fellows award is specifically reserved for practicing archivists.[1] SAA has other awards that are more appropriate for those who were/are vendors of archival services/materials, major donors of archival records, researchers/historians/genealogists who have promoted or used archival materials (i.e., J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award) or administrators to whom archival programs report, but may not themselves have archival education/competencies, such as the Librarian of Congress, Archivist of the United States, heads of university libraries, state departments of archives and history or departments of libraries and archives, or SAA staff. Additionally, the SAA Council can choose, or it can be suggested to the SAA Council, to honor an individual archivist with a distinguished service award.
Contributions to the profession demonstrating initiative, resourcefulness, and commitment.
Insightful, intellectual, practical contributions that produce long-term impact on archivists and the profession including:
Program oversight, outreach activities, educational services and projects, writing, and scholarship of superior quality and usefulness that:
Contributions to the archives profession through active participation in SAA and innovative or outstanding work on behalf of SAA.
Participating in SAA governance activities including:
And making outstanding contributing to activities on behalf of SAA, including:
See a sample nomination form and support letter (.pdf) here.
Nominations should provide all the information necessary for evaluating the nominee. The evaluation should focus on the quality, quantity, and applicability of the nomination to the criteria. The evaluators should not “fill in” evidence that may be missing. This helps ensure that all nominations are evaluated from a common perspective. Evaluators may or may not personally know or be closely familiar with a nominee and their professional career, so in any given year, those who are on the evaluation committee could influence a decision if factors not included in the nomination are part of the assessment.
Focus of the award is for service to the Society of American Archivists. The nomination needs to demonstrate that the individual has made sufficient contributions to the Society to be named an SAA Fellow. This is an award that honors outstanding contributions through active participation in and efforts on behalf of SAA as well as to the broader archival profession. This is not an award for outstanding contributions to the archival profession nationally or in a region or state without demonstrable contributions to SAA as well. While a nominee’s activities in other venues strengthens the evidence in some of the criteria areas, they do not replace evidence of service in SAA. There are individuals who may be “well-known” but have not participated in the functions and activities of SAA. Such individuals may be appropriate for other awards such as the J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award or distinguished recognition from the SAA Council.
Nominations should demonstrate the nominee meets all criteria. The nomination should demonstrate both how the nominee meets criteria as well as explaining the strengths and impact of their contributions. The nomination should not simply list those items, but explain in a clear and compelling manner how they are superior or exceptional. Nominees will likely have more contributions in some areas compared to others; the final decision to approve a nomination should be based on the whole of contributions demonstrating a significant overall contribution, while meeting the requirement of contributions in each criterion.
Letters provided should demonstrate the quality of the nominee’s contributions. Letters may come from a range of individuals including professional colleagues, individuals in other professions or communities, and users who have worked with or benefited from the nominee’s efforts. These letters do not need to be from Fellows, Past Presidents, or those who might be perceived as having status in SAA. The purpose is to demonstrate the quality of the nominee’s contributions, not restate how the individual meets the criteria.
Comparability of assessment. In evaluating each nomination, evaluators should strive to ensure that their assessments are consistent and comparable between nominations. An evaluator’s knowledge of an individual’s career, or their particular area of expertise and professional focus, should not lead to a more (or less) favorable assessment.
Recusal. Evaluators should recuse themselves from evaluating a nomination when they have a direct working relationship or other professional or personal relationship that may be perceived as too close for objectivity. This might include an individual’s supervisors, supervisees, partners in current or recent professional positions, or partners/spouses or other close relatives. Recusal by any member of the evaluation committee is not a negative factor for the evaluation, but reflects the intent to ensure fair evaluation for all.
[1] Practicing archivist includes any role that involves direct involvement with archives, such as managing an archives, working as an archivist, or providing archival education.
[2] Promotional materials include the use of social media tools, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to advance the archives profession in innovative and creative ways.
Preview the nomination form and/or create an account to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
Revisions approved by the SAA Council, March 2020.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Sample Nomination_SAA Fellow.pdf | 1.38 MB |
Established in 1982, this 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 The American Archivist.
Author(s) of an article published in The American Archivist during the preceding year.
The award is funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation. The Fellows of the Society of American Archivists sponsor this award honoring Ernst Posner, a former state archivist of the Prussian State Archives who emigrated to the United States in 1939 and joined the faculty of the American University. Posner was an SAA Fellow and President as well as author of American State Archives and Archives in the Ancient World.
A certificate and a cash prize of $500.
1983
The Fellows' Ernst Posner Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of three Fellows of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). The SAA President-elect shall appoint one member of the subcommittee each year for a term of three years after soliciting nominations from the Fellows Steering Committee. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair and present the award.
All articles appearing in a specific volume of The American Archivist are reviewed by the subcommittee, which selects the award recipient. No nomination or application is made.
2024: Dana Reijerkerk and Caterina M. Reed, "Archives, Decolonization, and the Politics of Tribal Sovereignty: An Examination of Accessibility Barriers to Indigenous Federal Recognition Research in the United States," American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2023, Vol 86.2)
2023: Alston Brake Cobourn, Jen Corrine Brown, Edward Warga, and Lisa Louis, “Toward Metaliteracy and Transliteracy in the History Classroom: A Case Study Among Underserved Students," American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2022, Vol. 85.2)
2022: Eliot Wilczek, “Archival Engagements with Wicked Problems," American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2021, Vol. 84.2)
2021: Katherine Fisher, “Copyright and Preservation of Born-digital Materials: Persistent Challenges and Selected Strategies,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2020, Vol. 83.2)
2020: Keith Pendergrass, Walker Sampson, Tessa Walsh, and Laura Alagna, "Toward Environmentally Sustainable Digital Preservation," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2019, Vol. 82.1)
2019: Jeremy Evans and Melissa Hernández Durán, “Rights Review for Sound Recordings: Strategies Using Risk and Fair Use Assessments,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2018, Vol. 81.2)
2018: Katherine S. Madison, “'Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story': The Use and Representation of Records in Hamilton: An American Musical," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2017, Vol. 80.1)
2017: Michelle Caswell, Marika Cifor, and Mario H. Ramirez, “To Suddenly Discover Yourself Existing: Uncovering the Impact of Community Archives,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2016, Vol 79.1)
2016: Wendy Duff and Jessica Haskell, “New Uses for Old Records: A Rhizomatic Approach to Archival Access,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2015, Vol. 78, No. 1)
2015: Kit Hughes, “Appraisal as Cartography: Cultural Studies in the Archives,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2014, Vol. 77, No. 1)
2014: Not Awarded
2013: Scott Cline, “’Dust Clouds of Camels Shall Cover You’: Covenant and the Archival Endeavor,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2012, Vol. 75, No. 2)
2012: Douglas Cox, “National Archives and International Conflicts: The Society of American Archivists and War,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2011, Vol. 74, No. 2)
2011: Paul Conway, “Modes of Seeing: Digitized Photographic Archives and the Experienced User,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2010, Vol. 73, No. 2)
2010: Scott Cline, “’To the Limit of our Integrity’: Reflections on Archival Being,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2009, Vol. 72, No. 2)
2009: Geoffrey Yeo, “Concepts of Record (2): Prototypes and Boundary Objects,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2008, Vol. 71, No. 1)
2008: Magia Ghetu Krause and Elizabeth Yakel, “Interaction in Virtual Archives: The Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections Next Generation Finding Aid,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2007, Vol. 70, No. 2)
2007: A*CENSUS Working Group, “Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2006, Vol. 69, No. 2)
2006: Timothy L. Ericson, “Building our Own ‘Iron Curtain’: The Emergence of Secrecy in American Government,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2005, Vol. 68, No. 1)
2005: Elena Danielson, “Privacy Rights and the Rights of Political Victims: Implications of the German Experience,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2004, Vol. 67, No. 2)
2004: George Bolotenko, “Frost on the Walls in Winter: Russian and Ukrainian Archives since the Great Dislocation (1991-1999),” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2003, Vol. 66, No. 2)
2003: James M. O’Toole, “Democracy—and Documents—in America,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2002, Vol. 65, No. 1)
2002: William G. Rosenberg, “Politics in the (Russian) Archives: The ‘Objectivity Question,’ Trust and the Limitations of Law,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 64, No. 1)
2001: Terry Cook, “’The Imperative of Challenging Absolutes’ in Graduate Archival Education Programs: Issues for Educators and the Profession,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2000, Vol. 63, No. 2)
2000: Philip C. Bantin, “The Indiana University Electronic Records Project Revisited,” American Archivist (Spring 1999, Vol. 62, No. 1)
1999: Peter J. Wosh, "Going Postal," American Archivist (Spring 1998, Vol. 61, No. 1)
1998: Roy Turnbaugh, “Information Technology, Records, and State Archives,” American Archivist (Spring 1997, Vol. 60, No. 2)
1997: Tyler O. Walters, "Contemporary Archival Appraisal Methods and Preservation Decision-Making," American Archivist (Summer 1996, Vol. 59, no. 3)
1996: “Special Issue on Case Studies of the Committee on Automated Records and Techniques,” American Archivist (Spring 1995, Vol. 58, No. 2)
1995: Helen R. Tibbo, “The Epic Struggle: Subject Retrieval from Large Bibliographic Databases," American Archivist ( Spring 1994, Vol. 57, No. 2)
1994: James M. O’Toole, “The Symbolic Significance of Archives,” American Archivist (Spring 1993, Vol. 56, No. 2)
1993: Avra S. Michelson and Jeff Rothenberg, “Scholarly Communication and Information Technology: Exploring the Impact of Changes in the Research Process on Archives,” American Archivist (Spring 1992, Vol. 55, No. 2)
1992: Frederick J. Stielow, “Archival Theory Redux and Redeemed: Definition and Context Toward a General Theory,” American Archivist (Winter 1991, Vol. 54, No. 1)
1991: James M. O’Toole, “Curriculum Development in Archival Education: A Proposal,” American Archivist (Summer 1990, Vol. 53, No. 3)
1990: Working Group on Standards for Archival Description, “Archival Description Standards: Establishing a Process for Their Development and Implementation,” American Archivist (Fall 1989, Vol. 52, No. 4)
1989: Not Awarded
1988: Avra Michelson, “Description and Reference in the Age of Automation,” American Archivist (Spring 1987, Vol. 50, No. 2)
1987: Trudy Huskamp Peterson, “The National Archives and the Archival Theorist Revisited, 1954-1984,” American Archivist (Spring 1986, Vol. 49, No. 2)
1986: Joanne Yates, “Internal Communication Systems in American Business Structures: A Framework to Aid Appraisal,” American Archivist (Spring 1985, Vol. 48, No. 2)
1985: F. Gerald Ham, “Archival Choices: Managing the Historical Record in an Age of Abundance,” American Archivist (Winter 1984, Vol. 47, No. 1)
1984: Frank G. Burke, “Archival Cooperation,” American Archivist (Summer 1983, Vol. 46, No. 3)
1983: Mary Jo Pugh, “The Illusion of Omniscience: Subject Access and the Reference Archivist,” American Archivist (Winter 1982, Vol. 45, No. 1)
Established in 1993, this award recognizes and acknowledges graduate students of color, such as those of African, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, or Native American descent, who, through scholastic and personal achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional archivists and active members of the Society of American Archivists.
This award supports the Society of American Archivists' Archivists and Archives of Color Section objectives of:
1. Identifying students of color enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions.
2. Encouraging students of color to consider careers in the archival profession.
3. Promoting increased participation in SAA by exposing students of color to the experience of attending national meetings and encouraging them to join and remain members of the organization.
Recipients will be selected based on their submission of a completed application and personal statement/essay. Personal statements/essays will be evaluated based on:
Awarded to students of color, with preference given to full-time students enrolled in a graduate program focusing on archival management during the academic year preceding the date on which the award is given.
Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists' Archivists and Archives of Color Section and funded through the SAA Foundation, the award is named in honor of archival pioneer Harold T. Pinkett, the first African American to be appointed an archivist at the National Archives, where he served for more than 35 years as a specialist in agricultural archives, senior records appraiser, and chief archivist of the Natural Resources Records Branch. A Fellow of SAA, Pinkett served as editor of The American Archivist from 1968 to 1971.
Up to two awards may be given during an awards cycle. Each recipient receives full complimentary registration and related expenses for hotel and travel to attend the SAA Annual Meeting during the year in which the award is received. In addition, each recipient receives a complimentary one-year membership in SAA.
1994
The committee consists of the senior co-chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section, one member of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section selected by the chair of the section to serve a one-year term, one SAA member selected by the SAA President-elect to serve a one-year term, and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). The Chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section shall serve as chair of the subcommittee and shall present the award.
Preview and/or begin the application. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
Council Approved Updates: August 2024
2024: Shira Greer (University of North Carolina, MSLS Program)
2023: Zoe Hume (Florida State University, Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation Program)
2022: Erin Castillo (San Jose State University, Library and Information Science Program)
2021: Aparna Subramanian (New York University, Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program)
2020: Carol Ng-He (San José State University)
2019: Angela Osbourne (San José State University) AND Antonia Charlemagne-Marshall (University of West Indies)
2018: Juber Ayala (Rutgers University) AND Jessica Tai (University of California, Los Angeles)
2017: NaVosha Copeland (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) AND Chido Muchemwa (University of Texas at Austin)
2016: Gailyn Lehuanani Bopp (University of Hawai’i at Manoa) AND Karen Li-Lun Hwang (Pratt Institute)
2015: Talia Guzmán-González (University of Maryland, College Park) AND Rachel E. Winston (University of Texas at Austin)
2014: Allan Jason Sarmiento (California State University, Sacramento) AND Raquel Flores-Clemons (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
2013: Lori E. Harris (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) AND Angel Maria Diaz (University of California, Los Angeles)
2012: Kapena Shim (University of Hawai‘i Mānoa)
2011: Kelly E. Lau (University of British Columbia) AND Melvin J. Collier (Clayton State University)
2010: Miranda N. Rivers (Simmons College) AND Vivian Wong (UCLA)
2009: Krystal Appiah (University of California, Los Angeles) AND I-Ting Emily Chu (New York University)
2008: Monique Lloyd (Emporia State University) AND Tiffany-Kay Sangwand (University of California, Los Angeles)
2007: Bergis K. Jules (Indiana University) AND Janel Quirante (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
2006: Lanell James (University of Michigan) AND Shawn Phillip San Roman (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
2005: Jennifer Osorio (University of California, Los Angeles) AND Paul Sevilla (University of California, Los Angeles)
2004: Josué Hurtado (University of Michigan) AND Georgette Mayo (University of South Carolina)
2003: Michelle Baildon (Simmons College)
2002: Petrina D. Jackson (University of Pittsburgh)
2001: Rose Roberto (University of California, Los Angeles)
2000: Not awarded
1999: Teresa Maria Mora (New York University) AND Tywanna Marie Whorley (University of Pittsburgh)
1998: Elenita M. Tapawan (University of Hawaii, Honolulu)
1997: Gloria Meraz (University of Texas at Austin)
1996: Letha Johnson (Washburn University)
1995: Ida E. Jones (Howard University)
1994: Kathryn M. Neal (University of Michigan)
The J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs. The individual's or institution's contributions may take the form of advocacy, publicity, legislation, financial support, or a similar action that fosters archival work or raises public consciousness of the importance of archival work. Contributions should have broad, long-term impact at the regional level or beyond.
Nominees must be from outside the archives profession.
Individuals directly involved in archival work, either as paid or volunteer staff, or institutions or organizations directly responsible for an archival program are not eligible for this award.
A completed nomination form.
Established in 1989, the award honors J. Franklin Jameson, a noted American historian, former president of the American Historical Association, and long-time advocate for the establishment of a U.S. National Archives. The award is funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation. Up to three awards may be given each year.
A plaque.
1989
The J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of four members of SAA:
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Dr. Elaine Carey
2023: The West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection (WVFAC) Advisory Team (Christine Weiss Daugherty, Susan Kelley, Dr. Judith Stitzel, and Carroll Wilkinson)
2022: Not Awarded
2021: Not Awarded
2020: Brad Pomerance, CJ Eastman AND Council of Independent Colleges’ Humanities Research for the Public Good Program
2019: Tempestt Hazel AND The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva)
2018: Yvonne Lewis Holley AND Brad Meltzer
2017: Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI)
2016: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ron Chernow
2015: Adrena Ifill Blagburn
2014: LGBT Center of Central PA History Project AND National History Day
2013: AARP Virginia and Dr. Warren Stewart
2012: Eve Kahn, Bebe Miller, Phillip Stewart
2011: “Who Do You Think You Are?” (NBC)
2010: The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
2009: Ross King (Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board)
2008: Data-Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE)
2007: The Chicago Tribune (accepted by Debra K. Bade)
2006: U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada)
2005: George F. Farr, Jr.
2004: Not awarded
2003: Arizona State University
2002: Joan Winters, Louise Addis
2001: Not awarded
2000: Not awarded
1999: John B. Harlan
1998: Newsday
1997: Kraft Foods, Inc.
1996: Richard Benson
1995: Not awarded
1994: Hudson's Bay Company
1993: Thomas D. Clark, Louise McBee, John Marshall
1992: Not awarded
1991: New York State Assembleyman William B. Hoyt and The Mellon Foundation
1990: U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-Oregon)
1989: U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton (D-Missouri)
The Josephine Forman Scholarship provides financial support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, encourages students to pursue a career as an archivist, and promotes the diversification of the American archives profession. The scholarship is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archives profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.
Established in October 2010 by the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church and named for Josephine Forman, archivist for 18 years of the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church and author of We Finish to Begin: A History of Travis Park United Methodist Church, 1846–1991.
*The graduate program or multi-course program must offer at least three courses in archival science or be listed in the current SAA Directory of Archival Education. The applicant must provide proof of the three-course standard by submitting copies of course descriptions from the institution’s current course catalog.
The General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) of The United Methodist Church, in cooperation with the Society of American Archivists and the SAA Foundation.
The Forman Scholarship Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of three members of the Society of American Archivists, one GCAH staff member, and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). The SAA President-elect shall appoint one of the SAA members on the subcommittee each year for a term of three years; the senior member of this cohort in years of service shall serve as chair and present the award.
One scholarship of $10,000. Awardees also may be invited to attend the annual meeting of the General Commission on Archives and History and/or the Quadrennial Historical Convocation, with funding provided by GCAH.
Also included is complimentary registration to the SAA Annual Meeting in the year in which the scholarship is received.
2011
Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
In the event that certain conditions arise, the following shall apply: 1) if the award exceeds tuition fees for one semester, the balance may be carried over to the next semester; 2) if the recipient drops out of the archival administration program, all unused fees shall be returned to GCAH; and 3) if the recipient’s tuition is paid in full by another scholarship or award, the recipient shall decline the Forman Scholarship.
2024: Federica Alesiani (University of Washington)
2023: Hannah Gershone (Simmons University)
2022: Elias Larralde (University of Arizona)
2021: Hinaikawaihiʻilei Keala (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
2020: Ishmael Ross (Louisiana State University)
2019: Ashley Flores (University of California, Los Angeles)
2018: Krystell Jimenez (University of California, Los Angeles)
2017: Jeannie Chen (University of California, Los Angeles)
2016: Desiree Alaniz (Simmons College)
2015: Maria E. Sanchez-Tucker (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee)
2014: Joanna Chen (University of California, Los Angeles)
2013: Kimberly Springer (University of Michigan)
2012: Nathasha Alvarez
2011: Nidya G. Gonzalez
The Mark A. Greene Emerging Leader Award celebrates and encourages early-career archivists who have completed archival work of broad merit, demonstrated significant promise of leadership, and/or performed commendable service to the archives profession. The award is given based on the total experience of the awardee, including knowledge, leadership, participation, and/or achievements in the profession.
Nominees must be SAA members and will have more than two years and less than ten years of professional archives experience. Nominees must meet as many of the following criteria as possible:
Created in 2011 and renamed in 2017, the award honors SAA Fellow and Past President Mark A. Greene for his long-standing commitment to mentoring young leaders.
A certificate.
2012
The Mark A. Greene Emerging Leader Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of three members of SAA and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
Updates Approved by Council: August 2024
2024: Not awarded
2023: Catheryne Popovitch (Illinois State Archives)
2022: Sara Davis (Wyoming State Archives)
2021: Dorothy Berry (Harvard University, Houghton Library)
2020: Lydia Tang (Michigan State University)
2019: Wendy Hagenmaier (Georgia Institute of Technology)
2018: Harrison Inefuku (Iowa State University)
2017: Natalie Baur, El Colegio de México
2016: Matt Gorzalski, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
2015: Cheryl Oestreicher, Boise State University
2014: Beth Shields, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
2013: Tanya Marshall
2012: Mark Matienzo
The Mosaic Scholarship provides financial and mentoring support to students of color pursuing graduate education in archival science, encourages students to pursue a career as an archivist, and promotes the diversification of the American archives profession. The award is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archives profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it. Established by the SAA Council in August 2008 to advance SAA's Diversity Strategic Priority.
The applicant:
In the event that certain conditions arise, the following shall apply: 1) if the award exceeds tuition fees for one semester, the balance may be carried over to the next semester; 2) if the recipient drops out of the archival administration program, all unused fees shall be returned to SAA; and 3) if the recipient’s tuition is paid in full by another scholarship or award, the recipient shall decline the Mosaic Scholarship.
The Society of American Archivists and the Society of American Archivists Foundation.
The Mosaic Scholarship Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of six members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). Two of the six members are appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve three-year terms. One of these appointees shall be a previous Mosaic Scholarship recipient. The chair of the subcommittee is appointed annually by the President-elect from among the third-year members. The President-elect's appointments shall be made in consultation with the chairs of the SAA Diversity Committee, the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable, and the Archival Educators Roundtable.
As the SAA and SAA Foundation budgets permit, up to two scholarships of $5,000 each. In addition, each scholarship recipient receives a one-year complimentary membership in the Society of American Archivists and complimentary registration to the Society’s Annual Meeting for the year in which the scholarship is received.
2009
Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:
2024: Sage Innerarity (Simmons University)
2023: Dharani Persaud (University of British Columbia)
2022: Sean Payne (Syracuse University)
2021: Christopher Castro (University of California, Los Angeles)
2020: Mya Ballin (University of British Columbia)
2019: Lisle Pino (San Jose State University)
2018: Alexis Recto (University of California, Los Angeles)
2017: Jessica Tai AND Sabrina Ponce (University of California, Los Angeles)
2016: Jimmy Zavala (University of California, Los Angeles)
2015: Desiree Alaniz (Simmons College)
2014: Rebecca Nieto (McGill University) AND Maria E. Sanchez-Tucker (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
2013: Barrye Brown (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) AND Rhonda Jones (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2012: Aditi Sharma Worcester (University of Texas at Austin)
2011: Rose Chou (San Jose State University) AND Helen Kim (University of Texas at Austin)
2010: LaNesha DeBardelaben (Indiana University-Bloomington) AND Susan Gehr (San Jose State University)
2009: Janet Ceja (University of Pittsburgh) AND Harrison Inefuku (University of British Columbia)
Established in 1979, this award enables international archivists, who are currently training or studying in the United States or Canada, to augment their experience by traveling to the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists.
Applications are evaluated based on archivists who are not U.S. or Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation. The award is named in honor of Oliver Wendell Holmes, who joined the National Archives staff in 1935 and served in many capacities, including that of executive director of the National Historical Publications Commission. Holmes was a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and served as SAA's fourteenth president in 1958–1959.
The committee is composed of three members of the Society and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
A certificate and a cash award of $1,000.
1979
Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Jiarui Sun (China)
2023: Matthew Yang (Singapore)
2022: Chaeyeon Kim (South Korea)
2021: Jiarui Sun (China)
2020: Klavier Jie Ying Wang (China)
2019: Not awarded
2018: Tianjiao Qi (China)
2017: No applicants
2016: Tristan Triponez (Switzerland)
2015: Mary Grace Golfo (Philippines)
2014: Not awarded
2013: Weimei Pan (China)
2012: Georgia Barlaoura (Greece) and Lara Mancuso (Brazil)
2011: Patrick Ansah (Ghana) and Umi Asma’ Mokhtar (Malaysia)
2010: Elaine Goh (British Columbia, Canada)
2009: Ricardo L. Punzalan (Philippines)
2008: Not awarded
2007: Gerald Chaudron (New Zealand)
2006: Not awarded
2005: Not awarded
2004: Bart Ballaux (Belgium)
2003: Ji-Hyun Kim (Korea)
2002: Not awarded
2001: Eun G. Park (Korea)
2000: Zhou Xiaomu (China)
1999: Ciaran Trace (Ireland)
1998: Ntombizandile Kwatsha (South Africa)
1997: Liu Yunming (China)
1996: In support of an International Reception
1995: Not awarded
1994: Not awarded
1993: Not awarded
1992: Veronika Emlerova (Czechoslovakia)
1991: Julie Stacker (Australia)
1990: Samuel Njovana (Zimbabwe)
1989: Valerii Leonov (USSR)
1988: Ann Pederson (Australia), Jan E.A. Boomgaard (The Netherlands), Alan Ives (Australia)
1987: Jan E.A. Boomgaard (The Netherlands), Darwin Matthews (Australia), Gordon Read, Peter Sigmond (The Netherlands)
1986: Joan VanAlbada (The Netherlands), Michael Roper (Great Britain), Michael Dreyfus, Charles Kecskemeti (France), Alvan Ives (Australia), Egart Anderson (The Netherlands), Luciana Duranti (Italy), Peter Sigmond (The Netherlands), Maryna Fraser
1985: Luciana Duranti (Italy), Maria Luisa Acuna (Mexico), Amanda Rosales (Mexico)
1984: Alvan Ives (Australia), Aauel Polka Toe (Liberia)
1983: Stuart Strachan (New Zealand)
1982: Egart Anderson (The Netherlands)
1981: Zhang Tien-ming (China)
1980: Not awarded
1979: Steve Mwiyeriwa (Malawi)
This Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award recognizes an archivist, editor, group of individuals, or institution that has increased public awareness of a specific body of documents (which can be a specific archival collection or thematic aggregation) through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation of archives or manuscript materials for educational, instructional, or other public purpose. Work that has impact on a local, regional, national, and/or international level is welcomed. Nominee(s) should meet one or more of the following criteria and provide supporting documentation as evidence:
Project was/is achieved through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation of archives or manuscript materials that go above and beyond conventional archival processing / arrangement and description work.
Project effectively raises public awareness of a specific body of archival or manuscript documents (may include photos, films, etc.).
Project has clear educational, instructional, or other public purpose with evidence provided of the impact of the educational/instructional work, etc.
Individual archivists and editors, groups of individuals, organizations. This award is open to nominees within and outside of the United States, and is not limited to SAA members.
The Society of American Archivists Foundation, with the cash prize underwritten by a fund first established by Elizabeth Hamer Kegan in 1973. The award honors two SAA Fellows and past presidents. Elizabeth Hamer Kegan was appointed Assistant Librarian of Congress in 1963, where she directed information, exhibits, publications, and international visitors' programs and shepherded the American Revolution Bicentennial Program. Her late husband, Philip M. Hamer, was a historian who served successively as head of the Library, Accessions, Reference, and Records Control divisions of the National Archives, and was the first executive director of the National Historical Publications Commission. He was the author of A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States (1961). The award was modified in 1987, 1991, and 2017.
A certificate and a cash prize of $500.
The Hamer-Kegan Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of three members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA Vice President to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library Archives Research Center
Honorable Mention to La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archive of the Americas
2023: Dr. William Fliss
2022: San Diego Air and Space Museum
2021: California State University Japanese American Digitization Project
2020: Laura Wagner
2019: Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections for Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center
2018: Find & Connect, eScholarship Research Centre
2017: The Center for Home Movies
2016: South Asian American Digital Archive
2015: The Legacy Center, Drexel University College of Medicine
2014: Emma Goldman Papers Project
2013: Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project
2012: Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota
2011: March On Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project team (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Libraries)
2010: Giza Archives at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
2009: Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections of the University of Toledo
2008: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the CBC Digital Archives (Les archives de Radio-Canada)
2007: National Library of Medicine's Profiles in Science
2006: The State Library and Archives of Florida's Florida Folklife Digitization and Education Project
2005: Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
2004: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
2003: New York State Archives Partnership Trust
2002: Vermont State Archives
2001: Shelly Henley Kelly
2000: Jeffrey D. Marshall, A War of the People: Vermont Civil War Letters
1999: Delaware Public Archives
1998: Linda A. Ries
1997: Minnesota Historical Society
1996: Julie Daniels, Judy Hohmann, Jean West
1995: New York Public Library
1994: American Heritage Center at University of Wyoming
1993: Carl Albert Center at University of Oklahoma
1992: Elaine Forman Crane, Northeastern University Press
1991: James D. Folts, Larry Hackman, Judy Hohmann
1990: Judy Hohmann
1989: Jane Doerr
1988: Nancy Bartlett, Kathleen Koehler
1987: Robert E. Bailey, Elaine S. Evans
1986: Not awarded
1985: Claude-Ann Lopez
1984: David Wilson
1983: Robert E. McCarthy
1982: Mary Dix
1981: Sharon Macpherson
1980: Linda J. Pike
1979: Raymond W. Smock
1978: Philander D. Chase
1977: Dorothy Twohig
1976: Charles F. Hobson
1975: Harold Dean Moser
1974: David W. Hirst
1973: Patricia A. Clark
The Preservation Publication Award recognizes the author(s) or editor(s) of an outstanding published work related to archives preservation and, through this acknowledgment, encourages outstanding achievement by others. Submissions may address topics related to digital preservation as well as analog preservation. The work can be an article, report, chapter, or monograph in an audiovisual, digital, or print format.
The work must contribute to the advancement of the theory and practice of preservation in archives institutions by introducing new preservation theories, methods, or techniques; by codifying principles and practices of archives preservation; by presenting the results of innovative research on matters related to archives preservation; by investigating preservation issues of current interest and importance to the archives community; or by studying aspects of the history of the archives profession. Submissions may address topics related to digital preservation as well as analog preservation
The award was established in 1993 by SAA's Preservation Section.
Awarded to the author(s) or editor(s) of an outstanding preservation-related work that is of relevance to the North American archives community and published during the preceding calendar year.
A completed nomination form and the required number of copies of the work.
The Society of American Archivists.
A certificate and a cash prize of $750.
1994
The Preservation Publication Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of four members of the Society of American Archivists (one of whom shall be the current chair of the Preservation Section, who shall serve a term concurrent with his or her office) and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One of the remaining members shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
Council Approved Updates: August 2024
2024: Not awarded
2023: Not awarded
2022: "Balancing Care and Authenticity in Digital Collections: A Radical Empathy Approach To Working With Disk Images" by Monique Lassere and Jess Whyte in Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies vol. 3 (2021)
Special Commendation: “The Impact of Climate Change on Canadian Archives” by Amanda Oliver in Records Management Journal vol. 31
2021: OSSArcFlow Guide to Documenting Born-Digital Archival Workflows by Alexandra Chassanoff and Colin Post(Educopia Institute, 2020)
Special Commendation: “What's Wrong with Digital Stewardship: Evaluating the Organization of Digital Preservation Programs from Practitioners' Perspectives” by Karl-Rainer Blumenthal, Peggy Griesinger, Julia Kim, Shira Peltzman, and Vicky Steeves in Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies vol. 7
2020: Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage by Lisa Elkin and Christopher A. Norris (the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, The American Institute for Conservation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the George Washington University Museum Studies Program, 2019)
2019: The No-Nonsense Guide to Born-Digital Content by Heather Bowden and Walker Sampson (Facet, 2018)
2018: "The Whole Story: News Agency Photographs in Newspaper Photo Morgue Collections" by Laura McCann, American Archivist 80.1 (Spring/Summer 2017)
2017: Waters Rising: Letters from Florence by Sheila Waters (The Legacy Press, 2016)
2016: Preserving Our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age by Michele V. Cloonan
2015: From Theory to Action: “Good Enough” Digital Preservation Solutions for Under-Resourced Cultural Heritage Institutions by the Digital POWRR Team
Special Commendation: 2015 National Agenda for Digital Stewardship by the National Digital Stewardship Alliance
2014: Archivists' Guide to Archiving Video, published by WITNESS
2013: Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation, edited by Nancy Y. McGovern (volume editor) and Katherine Skinner (series editor)
2012: Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Partnership (GeoMAPP) Best Practices for Archival Processing for Geospatial Datasets
2011: Digital Curation: A How-To-Do-It Manual by Ross Harvey
2010: Archival and Special Collections Facilities: Guidelines for Archivists, Librarians, Architects, and Engineers, edited by Michele F. Pacifico and Thomas P. Wilsted
2009: The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation
2008: Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Digital Dilemma
2007: Heritage Preservation, Field Guide to Emergency Response
2006: Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata: Final Report of the PREMIS Working Group
2005: National Film Preservation Foundation, The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums
2004: Anne R. Kenney, Nancy Y. McGovern, Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies for Long-term Problems (Web-based tutorial)
2003: Not awarded
2002: Robert E. Schnare, Jr., Bibliography of Preservation Literature, 1983-1996
2001: Gregory S. Hunter, Preserving Digital Information: A How-To-Do-It Manual
2000: Eléonore Kissel and Erin Vigneau, Architectural Photoreproductions: A Manual for Identification and Care
1999: James M. Reilly, The Storage Guide for Color Photographic Materials
1998: Not awarded
1997: Preserving Digital Information: Report on the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information
1996: Anne R. Kenney, Stephen Chapman, Tutorial - Digital Resolution Requirements for Replacing Text Based Material: Methods for Benchmarking Image Quality
1995: Nancy E. Elkington, RLG Archives and Microfilming Manual
1994: Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts
The Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award was created in 1974 and recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Selection criteria include:
Individual archivists only.
A completed nomination form.
Named in honor of Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., the first professionally trained archivist at the Catholic Archives of Texas in Austin, who served there from 1960 until her death in 1974. The award is funded by the Society of Southwest Archivists.
A certificate and a cash prize.
The Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of four members of SAA, at least one of whom is also a member of the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA). In addition, one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee serves ex officio on the subcommittee. The SAA President-elect shall appoint one member of the subcommittee each year for a term of three years after having solicited nominations from the president of the SSA and from the Awards Committee co-chairs. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Thomas J. McCullough, assistant archivist for the Moravian Archives
2023: Russell Gasero, archivist for the Reformed Church in America (retired)
2022: Carol W. Smith, archivist for Christ Church Preservation Trust
2021: Mary Grace Kosta, congregational archivist for the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
2020: Ellen Pierce, archival consultant, Dominican Sisters and other Religious Congregations
2019: Jillian Ewalt, Marian Librray, University of Dayton
2018: Sister Louise Grundish, Sisters of Charity in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
2017: Wesley W. Wilson, Roy O. West Library, DePauw University
2016: Denise “Dee” Gallo, Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland
2015: Diane Wells, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia in Seattle
2014: Judi Fergus, Arthur Moore Methodist Museum, Library and Archives
2013: Audrey Newcomer, Director, Archives and Records, Archdiocese of St. Louis
2012: Mark J. Duffy
2011: Malachy R. McCarthy
2010: Sister Jane Aucoin, CSJ
2009: Robert Johnson-Lally
2008: Mark Thiel
2007: Roger M. Dahl
2006: Not awarded
2005: William Sumners
2004: John (Jac) Treanor
2003: Theresa (Terry) Thompson
2002: Not awarded
2001: Kinga Perzynska
2000: Not awarded
1999: Not awarded
1998: Charles Nolan
1997: Not awarded
1996: Sister Blaithin Sullivan, CSJ
1995: Brother Roy Godwin, CFA
1994: Sister Emma Cecilia Busam, OSU
1993: Peter Wosh
1992: Sister Mary Linus Bax, CPPS
1991: Elizabeth Yakel
1990: Thomas Wilsted
1989: Not awarded
1988: Brother Denis Sennett, Franciscan Friars of Atonement
1987: Robert Shuster
1986: James M. O'Toole
1985: Rev. Charles Rehkopf
1984: Rev. Norbert Brockman
1983: Not awarded
1982: Barbara Smith
1981: Not awarded
1980: Sister Evangeline Thomas, CSJ
1979: Sister Felicitas Powers, RSM
1978: Lynn May and William Miller
1977: V. Nelle Bellamy
1976: August Sueflow
1975: Eleanore Cammack
1974: Melvin Gingerich
The Spotlight Award recognizes the contributions of individuals who work for the good of the archives profession and of archival collections, and whose work would not typically receive public recognition. The nominee(s) should have achieved distinction in one or more of the following ways:
Awarded to an individual archivist or a group of up to five archivists who have collaborated on a project. Preference is given to archivists working in smaller repositories, especially those without institutional support for professional activities.
Established in 2005, the award is funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation.
A certificate and complimentary registration for the individual recipient or group (of up to five individuals) to the SAA Annual Meeting occurring in the year in which the award is presented.
The Spotlight Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of three members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA Vice President to serve a three-year term. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
Click here to preview the nomination form and/or to start a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2023: Emily Pfotenhauer, former digital strategist and grants manager at Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS)
2022: Georgina Tom, archivist at the 'Iolani School
2021: Lee Price, a fundraising professional who specializes in grant writing for cultural institutions
2020: Michelle Ganz, archives director at the McDonough Innovation
2019: Kelli Luchs (Las Vegas News Bureau archivist, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) and Ilana Short (former manager of photography collections, Nevada State Museum)
2018: Bernetiae Reed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2017: No applicants
2016: Marie Lascu, archivist for Crowing Rooster Arts in New York City and co-founder of Activist Archivists (2011–2015)
2015: Anne Ostendarp, multimedia archivist for the Knights of Columbus and a consulting and project archivist
2014: Kate Theimer, Spontaneous Scholarship Program
2013: Terry Brown, volunteer archivist, Houston Symphony and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2012: Cindy Ditzler and Joan Metzger
2011: Teresa Kiser
2010: Ann Russell
2009: Not awarded
2008: The staff of Afghan Film
2007: Alan Harris Stein, Chicago Oral History Roundtable for service as “Katrina Relief Librarian”
2006: Emilie Leumas
The Theodore Calvin Pease Award recognizes superior writing achievements by students of archival studies. Entries are judged on innovation, scholarship, pertinence, and clarity of writing. Papers examining major trends and issues in the archives profession are preferred.
Created in 1987 (and modified in 2007 and 2012), this award honors Theodore Calvin Pease, the first editor of American Archivist, the journal of the Society of American Archivists.
Eligible entries are written by students enrolled in archival studies classes at either the master’s or doctoral level. A faculty member or instructor associated with the archival studies program must submit the entry to verify that the student paper was written within the context of an archival studies program and completed during the preceding calendar year. A faculty member or instructor in an archival studies program may submit one entry per award cycle. There is no cap on the number of papers than can be submitted by a school or program, provided no individual faculty member submits more than one paper.
Entries should be unpublished manuscripts of 5,000–8,000 words, must include an abstract, and should conform to the stylistic guidelines described in the editorial policy of American Archivist. Submit only the title with the paper. The name of the author, the program, or the faculty member or instructor must not appear on the manuscript.
The Society of American Archivists Foundation.
A certificate and cash prize of $250. The winning manuscript, after going through the editorial process with the editor of American Archivist, will be published in American Archivist.
1988
Papers will be judged in a blind review by the Pease Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee. The subcommittee consists of the editor of American Archivist (who also serves as chair), the vice chair of the Committee on Education, and a member of the Society of American Archivists with experience in archival research and literature appointed annually by the president-elect to serve a one-year term. The editor of American Archivist also edits the manuscript and leads the student through the editorial process in preparation for publication.
Preview the form and start your nomination. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Not awarded
2023: Sony Prosper (University of Michigan), "Conceptualizing Records: Black Bottom Archives, Detroit Sound Conservancy, Faulkner Morgan Archive, Hula Preservation Society, and History Project," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2024, Vol. 87, No 1)
2022: Not awarded
2021: Ferrin Evans (University of Toronto), “Love (and Loss) in the Time of COVID-19: Translating Trauma into an Archives of Embodied Immediacy,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2022, Vol. 85, No. 1)
2020: Bridget Malley (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee), "Documenting Disability History in Western Pennsylvania," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2021, Vol. 84, No. 1)
2019: Emily Larson (University of British Columbia), "Big Questions: Digital Preservation of Big Data in Government," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2020, Vol. 83, No. 1)
2018: Not awarded
2017: Anna Robinson-Sweet (Simmons College School of Library and Information Science), “Truth and Reconciliation: Archivists as Reparations Activists,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2018, Vol. 81, No. 1)
2016: Rachel Walton (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), “Looking for Answers: A Usability Study of Online Finding Aid Navigation,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2017, Vol. 80, No. 1)
2015: Paige Hohmann (University of British Columbia), “On Impartiality and Interrelatedness: Reactions to the Jenkinsonian Appraisal in the Twentieth Century,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2016, Vol. 79, No. 1)
2014: Joshua D. Hager (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "To Like or Not to Like: Understanding and Maximizing the Utility of Archival Outreach on Facebook," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2015, Vol. 78, No. 1)
2013: Alex H. Poole (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "The Strange Career of Jim Crow Archives: Race, Space and History in the Mid-Twentieth-Century American South," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2014, Vol. 77, No. 1)
2012: Pam Mayer (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) "Like a Box of Chocolates: A Case Study of User-Contributed Content at Footnote," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2013, Vol. 76, No. 1)
2011: Lora J. Davis (University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee), "Providing Virtual Services to All: A Mixed-Method Analysis of the Web Site Accessibility of Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) Member Repositories," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2012, Vol. 75, No. 1)
2010: Emily Monks-Leeson (University of Toronto), "Archives on the Internet: Representing Contexts and Provenance from Repository to Website,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2011, Vol. 74, No. 1)
2009: Kathleen Fear (University of Michigan), "User Understanding of Metadata in Digital Image Collections," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2010, Vol. 73, No. 1)
2008: Mary Samouelian (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "Embracing Web 2.0: Archives and the Newest Generation of Web Applications," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2009, Vol. 72, No. 1)
2007: Elizabeth Snowden (Middle Tennessee State University), "Our Archives, Our Selves: Documentation Strategy and the Re-Appraisal of Professional Identity," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2008, Vol. 71, No. 1)
2006: Ben Blake (University of Pittsburgh), "A Call for a New American Labor Archives: History, Theory, Methodology and Practice," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2007, Vol. 70, No. 1)
2005: Ian Craig Breaden (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), “Sound Practices: Online Audio Exhibits and the Culture Heritage Archive,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2006, Vol. 69, No. 1)
2004: Catherine O'Sullivan (New York University), "Diaries, Online Diaries, and the Future Loss to Archives; or Blogs and the Blogging Bloggers Who Blog Them," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2003, Vol. 68, No. 1)
2003: Glenn Dingwall (University of British Columbia), "Trusting Archivists: The Role of Archival Ethics Codes in Establishing Public Faith,” American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2004, Vol. 67, No. 1)
2002: Reto Tschan (University of British Columbia), "A Comparison of Jenkinson and Schellenberg on Appraisal,” American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2002, Vol. 65, No. 2)
2001: James M. Roth (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "Serving Up EAD: An Exploratory Study on the Deployment and Utilization of Encoded Archival Description Finding Aids," American Archivist (Fall/Winter 2001, Vol. 64, No. 2)
2000: Kristin E. Martin (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "Analysis of Remote Reference Correspondence at a Large Academic Manuscripts Collection," American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 64, No. 1)
1999: Kathleen Feeney (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "Retrieval of Archival Finding Aids Using World Wide Web Search Engines," American Archivist (Fall 1999, Vol. 62, No. 2)
1998: Not awarded
1997: Karen Collins (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "Providing Subject Access to Images: A Study of User Queries," American Archivist (Spring 1998, Vol. 61, No. 1)
1996: Shauna McRanor (University of British Columbia), "A Critical Analysis of Intrinsic Value," American Archivist (Fall 1996, Vol. 59, No. 4)
1995: Judith Panitch (State University of New York at Albany), "Liberty, Equality, Posterity?: Some Archival Lessons from the Case of the French Revolution," American Archivist (Winter 1996, Vol. 59, No. 1)
1994: Anke Voss-Hubbard (State University of New York at Albany), "No Documents--No History: Mary Ritter Beard and the Early History of Women's Archives," American Archivist (Winter 1995, Vol. 58, No. 2)
1993: Not awarded
1992: Roy Schaeffer (University of British Columbia), "Transcendent Concepts: Power, Appraisal, and the Archivist as Social Context," American Archivist (Fall 1991, Vol. 55, No 4)
1991: Not awarded
1990: Luke J. Gilliland-Swetland (University of Michigan), "The Provenance of a Profession: The Permanence of the Public Archives and Historical Manuscripts Traditions in American Archival History," American Archivist (Spring 1991, Vol. 54, No. 2)
1989: Maureen A. Jung (California State University, Sacramento), "Documenting 19th-Century Quartz Mining in Northern California," American Archivist (Summer 1990, Vol. 53, No. 3)
1988: Greg Kinney (University of Michigan), "The Records of Land District Offices of the U.S. General Land Office for the States of the Northwest Territory," American Archivist (Spring 1989, Vol. 52, No. 2)
Created in 1959, this prize encourages and rewards writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the field of archival history, theory, or practice.
Monographs or documentary publications in print or digital editions first published in English during the preceding calendar year are eligible. Periodicals are not eligible.
A completed nomination form and THREE copies of the publication.
The Society of American Archivists Foundation, in honor of Waldo Gifford Leland, who authored the landmark Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington (1904), was active in the organization of the Conference of Archivists in 1909, played a central role in the establishment of the U.S. National Archives, and served two terms as SAA President during the 1940s.
A certificate and cash prize of $1,000.
1959
The Leland Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee consists of three members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio). One member of the subcommittee shall be appointed each year by the SAA President-elect for a term of three years. The senior member of the subcommittee in years of service shall serve as its chair.
Preview and/or start the nomination form. All nominations must be submitted by February 28 of each year.
2024: Eira Tansey, A Green New Deal for Archives (Council on Library and Information Resources, 2023)
2023: James Lowry, Disputed Archival Heritage (Routledge, 2022)
2022: Jason Lustig, A Time to Gather (Oxford University Press, 2021)
2021: Cheryl Oestreicher, Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 2020)
2020: Jean-Christophe Cloutier, Shadow Archives: The Lifecycles of African American Literature (Columbia University Press, 2019)
2019: Trevor Owens, The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018)
2018: Anthony Cocciolo, Moving Image and Sound Collections for Archivists (Society of American Archivists, 2017)
2017: Phil Bantin, Building Trustworthy Digital Repositories: Theory and Implementation (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016)
2016: Sonja Luehrmann, Religion in Secular Archives: Soviet Atheism and Historical Knowledge (Oxford University Press, 2015)
2015: Michelle Caswell, Archiving the Unspeakable: Silence, Memory, and the Photographic Record in Cambodia (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014)
2014: Ellen Gruber Garvey, Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance (Oxford University Press, 2013)
2013: Astrid M. Eckert, The Struggle for the Files: The Western Allies and the Return of German Archives after the Second World War (Cambridge University Press, 2012)
2012: Francis X. Blouin, Jr., and William G. Rosenberg, Processing the Past: Contesting Authority in History and the Archives (Oxford University Press, 2011)
2011: Dr. Laura A. Millar, Archives: Principles and Practices (Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2010)
2010: Karen D. Paul, Glenn R. Gray, and L. Rebecca Johnson Melvin, An American Political Archives Reader (Scarecrow Press, 2009)
2009: Philip C. Bantin, Understanding Data and Information Systems for Recordkeeping (Neal Schuman Publishers, 2008)
2008: Deidre Simmons, Keepers of the Record: The History of the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007)
2007: Waverly Lowell and Tawny Ryan Nelb, Architectural Records: Managing Design and Construction Records (Society of American Archivists, 2006)
2006: Mary Jo Pugh, Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 2005)
2005: Richard J. Cox, No Innocent Deposits: Forming Archives by Rethinking Appraisal (Scarecrow Press, 2004)
2004: Gregory S. Hunter, Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives: A How-To-Do-It Manual (Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2003)
2003: Joan Echtenkamp Klein, “Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection" Website
2002: Richard J. Cox, Managing Records for Evidence and Information (Quorum Books, 2001)
2001: Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger, Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives (Research Libraries Group, 2000)
2000: Charles Dollar, Authentic Electronic Records: Strategies for Long-Term Access (Cohasset Associates, 1999); Certificate of Commendation: Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Archives of Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St. Petersburg (Routledge, 1997).
1999: Not awarded
1998: James. M. O'Toole, The Records of American Business (Society of American Archivists, 1997)
1997: Anne Kenney and Stephan Chapman, Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives (Cornell University Library, 1996)
1996: Charles H. Lesser, South Carolina Begins: The Records of a Proprietary Colony, 1663–1721 (South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1995)
1995: Joan D. Krizack, Documentation Planning for the U.S. Health Care System (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994)
1994: F. Gerald Ham, Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 1993)
1993: Helen W. Samuels; Varsity Letters: Documenting Modern Colleges and Universities (Society of American Archvists and Scarecrow Press, 1992). Certificate of Commendation: Charles Dollar
1992: Thomas Wilsted and William M. Nolte, Managing Archival and Manuscript Repositories (Society of American Archivists, 1991)
1991: Richard J. Cox, American Archival Analysis: The Recent Development of the Archival Profession in the United States (Scarecrow Press, 1990); Marie B. Allen and Michael Miller, The Intergovernmental Records Project Phase 1 Report (1990)
1990: Henry P. Beers, French and Spanish Records of Louisiana: A Bibliographic Guide to Archive and Manuscript Sources (Louisiana State University Press, 1989)
1989: Not awarded
1988: Nancy E. Gwinn, Preservation Microfilming: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists (American Library Association, 1989)
1987: Frederick J. Stielow, The Management of Oral History Sound Archives (Greenwood Press, 1986)
1986: John Barton and Johanna Wellheiser, An Ounce of Prevention (Scarecrow Press, 1985)
1985: John Fleckner, Native American Archives: An Introduction (Society of American Archivists, 1984)
1984: Richard C. Berner, Archival Theory and Practice in the United States: A Historical Analysis (University of Washington Press, 1983)
1983: James M. O'Toole, Guide to the Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston (Scholarly Title, 1981); Lucy F. West, The Papers of M. Carey Thomas in the Bryn Mawr College Archives: Reel Guide and Index to the Microfilm Collection (Research Publications, 1981)
1982: Edward E. Hill, Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians (National Archives and Records Service, 1981)
1981: H.G. Jones, Local Government Records (American Association for State and Local History, 1980)
1980: Harold C. Syrett, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton (Columbia University Press, 1979)
1979: Ronald R. McCoy, The National Archives: America's Ministry of Documents (University of North Carolina Press, 1978)
1978: Richard C. Davis, North American Forest History: Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (ABC-Clio Ltd, 1976)
1977: Not awarded
1976: Kenneth W. Duckett, Modern Manuscripts: A Practical Manual for their Management, Care and Use (American Association for State and Local History, 1975)
1975: Not awarded
1974: Peter Walne, A Guide to Manuscript Sources for the History of Latin America and the Caribbean in the British Isles (University of London, 1973); David Iredale, Enjoying Archives (David and Charles, 1973)
1973: Ernst Posner, Archives in the Ancient World (Harvard University Press, 1972); Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the USSR; Moscow and Leningrad (Princeton University Press, 1972)
1972: Martin Schmitt, Catalogue of Manuscripts in the University of Oregon Library (University of Oregon, 1971)
1971: Walter Rundell, Jr., In Pursuit of American History: Research and Training in the United States (University of Oklahoma Press, 1970)
1970: Edgar B. Nixon, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Foreign Policy (Harvard University Press, 1969)
1969: Henry P. Beers, Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America (Washington, 1968)
1968: Andrew Oliver, Portraits of John and Abigail Adams (Harvard University Press, 1967)
1967: H.G. Jones, For History's Sake: The Preservation and Publication of North Carolina History, 1663–1903 (Chapel Hill, 1966)
1966: Edward E. Hill, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (National Archives, 1965)
1965: Ernst Posner, American State Archives (University of Chicago Press, 1964)
1964: Morris L. Radoff and Phebe R. Jacobsen, The County Courthouses and Records of Maryland, published in two parts (Annapolis, 1960, 1963).
1963: Kenneth W. Munden and Henry P. Beers, Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War (National Archives, 1962)
1962: Philip M. Hamer, A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States (New Haven, 1961)
1961: Oliver W. Holmes, "Public Records—Who Knows What They Are?," SAA Presidential Address (1961)
1960: Julian P. Boyd, "These Precious Monuments of… Our History” Lecture (Princeton University)
1959: Theodore R. Schellenberg and Manual C. Stampa, Archivos Modernos: Principles y Tecnicas (La Habana : Imprenta del Archivo Nacional, 1958)