Jasmine Jones, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Jasmine Jones

Metadata and Technical Services Archivist, Smith College

“As a Nominating Committee member, I would work with my colleagues to select a ballot of leaders that embody diversity and embrace inclusion, that are not only strong advocates of archival issues, such as governmental accountability and transparency, privacy, access, and funding, but are also strong advocates of their communities.”

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Metadata and Technical Services Archivist, Smith College Special Collections, 2015–present.
• Digital project manager, University of California, Los Angeles Library Special Collections, 2013–2015.

EDUCATION

• Archives Leadership Institute, 2016 cohort.
• MSLIS, Archives Concentration, and MA, History, Simmons College, 2013.
• BA, European Studies, Minor in Russian Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, 2007.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Society of American Archivists: Collection Management Tools Section, Chair (2016–2017), Vice Chair (2015–2016); Intellectual Property Working Group, Intern (2015–2017); Issues and Advocacy Section, Steering Committee Member (2013–2014), Advocacy Survey Team (2012–2014); Human Rights Archives Section, Web Liaison (2012–2014); Archives and Archivists of Color Section, Social Media Intern (2012–2013). 
• ArchivesSpace User Advisory Council: Appointed Member (2016–present). 
• DLF 2016 Forum: Program Committee (2016); Inclusivity Committee (2016). 
• People’s Archive of Police Violence: Advisory Archivist (2015–2017). 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND AWARDS

• “‘I Go to School But I Never Learn What I Want to Know': Archival Advocacy and Outreach as Expressed in Formal Education Settings,” with Jeremy Brett and Leah Edelman, Provenance, 2017.
• “Persuasion, Promotion, Perception: Untangling Archivists’ Understanding of Advocacy and Outreach,” with Jeremy Brett, Provenance, 2013.
• ARL + DLF Fellow from Underrepresented Groups, 2015. 

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• "Access and Diversity: How to Create Practical and Ethical Minimal Archival Description," Intersections: Technology and Public Services in Special Collections Symposium, 2017.
• Society of American Archivists: "Radical Empathy in the Archives," 2017; "Negotiating Access: Breaking Down Intellectual Property Barriers to Digital Projects," 2014. 
• "Learning From the Past to Make a Better Future: Five Easy Things Activists Can Do to Save Their Histories," Civil Liberties and Public Policy conference, 2017. 
• "Digital Inclusion: On the Ethics of Communal Stewardship," Preservation and Archiving Special Interest Group Annual Meeting, 2016. 
• "Power, Production, and Fair Partnerships: Developing Digital Scholarship in the Library," King’s College Digital Humanities Early Career Conference, 2015. 

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

An essential component of the Nominating Committee’s work is identification of rising and seasoned leaders within SAA and the archival profession who embody the varied facets of professional diversity. Describe how you interpret this core responsibility and how you will identify candidates who represent a variety of backgrounds and perspectives and who demonstrate commitment to SAA’s strategic goals.

CANDIDATE'S RESPONSE

With the strategic goals for 2018–2020 and its diversity-focused initiatives, SAA has continued a concerted effort to ensure that diversity is foundational to the vision and evolution of the organization, its leadership and members, programming, and the collections its members steward. It is the core responsibility of the Nominating Committee to promote this commitment by putting forth a ballot of leaders that not only are themselves diverse—defined as not only demographically diverse, but also including cognitive, institutional, experience, and other diversities—but also for whom inclusion and equity is an imperative. Being an inclusive leader in SAA means being proactive and agile in the face of the diverse needs of the membership and profession, as well as responding with intention and critical consideration of their needs. This requires that these leaders are not only listening and learning from within the organization, but are looking beyond the profession’s borders at policies, decisions, or movements that will impact SAA, archivists, and their user communities. It also means amplifying the underrepresented and seeking opportunities for dialogue with the membership. To do this, the Nominating Committee should look to individuals who are consistently shown to empower and engage with the communities they serve within and outside of SAA.

If elected as a member of the Nominating Committee, I would work with my colleagues to select a ballot of rising and seasoned leaders that embody diversity and embrace inclusion, that are not only strong advocates of archival issues, such as governmental accountability and transparency, privacy, access, and funding, but are also strong advocates of their communities. To this aim, I would collaborate with SAA leaders and groups for candidate recommendations and look to strong teams cultivated out of successful projects, programs, and initiatives.

Additionally, if elected, I would collaborate with my committee colleagues to make more transparent the work of the Nominating Committee. I believe that through transparency of practice and building a more robust understanding of the nomination process and the requirements of the positions by the membership, members will feel better oriented to the organization and more willing to step into leadership or other ways of participating in SAA.

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