Meg Tuomala, Candidate for Council

Meg Tuomala

Lead, Access & Outreach, Gates Archive

“The largest value SAA provides to its members is the opportunity to participate in work that advances the archival enterprise. From our annual meetings to our sections and committees, I truly believe that wherever you are in your career, there is a place for you and your voice in SAA."

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Lead, Access & Outreach, Gates Archive, 2019–present.
• Archivist, Access & Outreach, Gates Archive, 2016–2018.
• Assistant Archivist, Gates Archive, 2014–2016.
• Electronic Records Archivist, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2012–2014.
• Digital Archivist, Washington University in St. Louis, 2011–2012.
• Records Services Archivist, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010–2011.

EDUCATION

• MSLS, Archives and Records Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• BA, Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Archives Leadership Institute.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Society of American Archivists: Program Committee, Co-chair (2018), Member (2017); Standards Committee, Co-chair (2015–2016), Member (2013–2015); Privacy and Confidentiality Section, Steering Committee (2014–2016); Records Management Section, Steering Committee (2012–2014); 
• Northwest Archivists: Annual Meeting Program Committee, Chair (2016); Board Member (2017–2019). 
• Chapel Hill Historical Society: Board Member (2013–2014). 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND AWARDS

• “Review of The International Business Archives Handbook: Understanding and Managing the Historical Records of Business,” Journal of Western Archives 9, no.1 (2018).
• “Business as Usual: Integrating Born-Digital Materials into Regular Workflows,” in Description: Innovative Practices in Archives and Special Collections (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).
• “Finding Balance Between Archival Principles and Real-Life Practices in an Institutional Repository,” Archivaria 73 (2012).

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• Society of American Archivists: "Archives Confidential: Enacting Privacy Policies and Requirements in Digital Archives" (2015); "From Crawling to Walking: Improving Access to Web Archives" (2014).
• Northwest Archivists: "Internships 2.0" (2018).

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

As a governing leader of SAA, how will you use your three years on the SAA Council to provide value to SAA members, to increase opportunities for participation for all members, and to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment in which SAA members can share, learn, and grow together?

CANDIDATE'S RESPONSE

The largest value SAA provides to its members is the opportunity to participate in work that advances the archival enterprise. From our annual meetings to our sections and committees, I truly believe that wherever you are in your career, there is a place for you and your voice in SAA. But there are barriers to participation. Finding your place, finding the space, and ensuring that your voice is heard are challenging. If elected to the Council I will work to address these challenges so that more members can participate in a meaningful way.

Finding your place. Our membership is motivated to serve, but with an organization as large as SAA it can be difficult to identify opportunities for participation. Council members must make themselves aware of the needs of members, component groups, and allied organizations so that we can prioritize projects and initiatives and ensure they are resourced. If elected to the Council I will use my position as liaison to sections and committees to help connect groups and individuals and facilitate collaboration.

Finding the space. In our busy, modern lives it can be difficult to prioritize participation. For most of us, involvement in SAA is extracurricular. Finding the space for service can be tough. If elected to the Council, I will work with component groups to find solutions for making their work accessible to members who have limited time to give. Some ideas are to provide expertise or training for agile projectization of tasks. There are examples of this already happening in SAA, such as standards being put into a continuous review cycle, making the work more approachable. Increasing access to virtual collaboration spaces is another way to lower the barrier to participation.

Being heard. Once members begin to participate, they may struggle to make themselves heard. Whether based in fact or perception, it can seem like new or differing opinions are being overlooked in favor of more established ones. If elected to the Council I will make myself available to members to hear their concerns and ideas. But simply listening is not enough. Leaders must use their position to amplify the voices of those with different backgrounds and perspectives. This is crucial to ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment—one where we feel safe discussing successes and failures; one where we are all sharing, learning, and growing together.  

Having participated in SAA over the course of my career, I have experienced first-hand the value it brings. It has made me a better archivist, a better colleague, and a better advocate for the issues that affect us. It has prepared me for leadership roles at my job, with regional organizations, and with SAA. The work I see you doing and your commitment to SAA is inspiring. Let’s bring more along with us.

2019 ELECTION HOME