Michael Barera, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Michael Barera

University and Labor Archivist,
The University of Texas at Arlington

“I would identify and recruit potential candidates for service to SAA by looking to archivists who have unique perspectives and skill sets and are passionate about sharing them as well as pairing enthusiastic and capable early-career archivists with SAA volunteer opportunities that fit their interests and skills.”

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

• University and Labor Archivist, The University of Texas at Arlington, 2019–present.
• Archivist, Texas A&M University–Commerce, 2015–2019.

EDUCATION 

• MSI, Archives and Records Management/Preservation of Information, University of Michigan.
• BA, History, University of Michigan.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

• Academy of Certified Archivists: Mission, Vision, and Value Statements Task Force, Member (2018–present); Liaison to SAA Students and New Archives Professionals Section (2017–2019).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND AWARDS 

• “Creating Innovative Programming for Nontraditional Audiences,” co-authored with Marta Crilly, Norie Guthrie, Andrew Hinton, Sheon Montgomery, Marc Levitt, and Brittany Newberry, Archival Outlook (January/February 2020): 8, 18.
• “Take This, It’s Free!,” co-authored with Adam Northam, Archival Outlook (September/October 2018): 12–13, 32.
• “Take This, It’s Free: Public Domain Clearance Project at A&M–Commerce Libraries,” co-authored with Adam Northam, The Southwestern Archivist 41, Issue 2 (May 2018): 23.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• Society of American Archivists: “Reaching Outside the Reading Room: Engaging Non-Traditional Audiences through New and Engaging Programming,” 2019.
• Texas Library Association: “Becoming a Wikibrarian” and “Take This, It’s Free,” 2018.
• The University of Texas at Arlington: “A Walk Through the Wikiverse,” 2017.

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The work of the Nominating Committee is critical to the success of SAA as an organization. Describe how you would identify and recruit potential candidates who represent a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and who demonstrate commitment to SAA’s Strategic Goals.

CANDIDATE’S RESPONSE

In my time as an archivist at The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University–Commerce, as well as during my education and internships at the University of Michigan, I have developed a real appreciation for the diversity of the profession and those whom we serve. Most especially in my work on the Academy of Certified Archivists’ Mission, Vision, and Value Statements task force, I have experienced first-hand the ability of a diverse group to collectively achieve something that none of its members could have accomplished single-handedly. That experience has also helped me greatly appreciate the viewpoints of archivists with experience in different institutional backgrounds, a variety of archival roles, and in different regions of the country.

I would identify and recruit potential candidates for service to SAA by looking largely to the regional archival organizations, where archivists often make their first breakthroughs in scholarship and service to the profession. With my extensive experience with Wikipedia and understanding for how it interfaces with the archival profession, I have a real appreciation for archivists who have unique perspectives and skill sets and are passionate about sharing them. I believe that archivists with these diverse perspectives and skills have a tremendous amount that they can share with the profession as a whole. Similarly, I believe there are very many early-career professionals with a lot of talent and extremely high career development potential, and pairing these enthusiastic and capable young archivists with SAA volunteer opportunities that fit their interests and skills will provide a great mutual benefit to both early-career archivists and the profession as a whole.

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