Katherine M. Wisser, Candidate for Council

Katherine M. Wisser

Associate Professor and Director,
Archives Management Concentration,
School of Library and Information Science,
Simmons University

“As representatives of the membership, Council members should seek and promote transparency in decision-making and communicate the interrelationship of the Society's mission with the agenda of the organization."

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Associate Professor and Director, Archives Management Concentration, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University, 2009–present.
• Director of Instructional Services, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008–2009.
• NC ECHO Metadata Coordinator, State Library of North Carolina, 2003–2008.
• Libraries Fellow, North Carolina State University.

EDUCATION

• PhD and MSLS, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• MA History, University of New Hampshire.
• BA, Bates College.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Society of American Archivists: Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Standards, Co-Chair (2016–2019); Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Context–Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families, Co-Chair (2012–2017); Archival Educators Roundtable, Chair (2010–2013); EAC Working Group, Chair (2006–2011); Description Section, Chair (2005–2006); EAD Roundtable, Chair (2003–2004). 
• Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Archives and Records Advisory Committee (2017–present).
• Perkins School for the Blind (Watertown, Massachusetts): Archives Advisory Board (2012–2017).
• American Textile History Museum (Lowell, Massachusetts): Advisor (2011–2016). 
• Society of North Carolina Archivists: President (2003–2004).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND AWARDS

• Wisser, Katherine M., Hayley Mercer, Mitch Nakaue, Adrienne Pruitt, Susan Pyzynski, and Jessica M. Sedgwick, “Exploring Relationship Description: A Report from the Describing Relationships Workshop, Simmons College, February 2018,” Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies 6, article 10 (2019).
• Wisser, Katherine M., “Module 19: Introducing EAC–CPF,” Putting Descriptive Standards to Work, in Putting Descriptive Standards to Work, Trends in Archival Practice series,(Society of American Archivists, 2017).
• Wisser, Katherine M., “Investigating the “Small World” of Literary Archival Collections: The Impact of EAC–CPF on Archival Descriptive Practices—Part 1: Relationships, Descriptions and the Archival Community,” Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies 2 (2015).
• Wisser, Katherine M. and Joel A. Blanco-Rivera, “Surveillance, Documentation and Privacy: An International Comparative Analysis of State Intelligence Records,” Archival Science (2015).
• Wisser, Katherine M., S. Closs et al. (eds.),“The Error of Our Ways: Using Metadata Quality Research to Understand Common Error Patterns in the Application of Name Headings,” Metadata and Semantic Research: 8th Research Conference, MTSR 2014, Karlsruhe, Germany, November 27–29, 2014, Proceedings (Springer International Publishing, 2014).
• Wisser, Katherine M. and Jackie Dean, “EAD Tag Usage: Community Analysis of the Use of Encoded Archival Description Elements,” American Archivist 76, no. 2 (2013): 542–566.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• “Watergate, Covfefe, and Presidential Records,” The Archivists Roundtable of Metropolitan New York, 2019.
• "Excavating Description: Discoveries That Won't Surprise You and Why They Matter," Indiana University, School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering (SICE), Department of Information & Library Science (ILS) Colloquium, 2018.
• “Pedagogical Funambulism: Balancing Theory and Practice in Archival Studies,” New England Archivists, 2016.
• "The Accessible Archive," Keynote address; "Robert Cormier: Censorship and Intolerance," Fitchburg State University, 2015.
• “Friend, Foe or Frenemy: The Challenges and Opportunities of Relationship Vocabularies,” Research Forum, Society of American Archivists, 2015.
• "Surveillance, Documentation and Privacy: An International Comparative Analysis of State Intelligence Records" with Joel Blanco-Rivera, International Council on Archives, 2013.
• "Social Network Analysis and Archival Description: The Small World of Literary Figures," Archival Education and Research Institute, 2013.

ONLINE CV: https://www.simmons.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/CV-KatherineWisser.pdf

In the past, the SAA Council has had to face situations that challenge the strategic priorities and values of the organization. How would you balance the need to support members’ needs and the archival community with the financial needs of the organization?

CANDIDATE’S RESPONSE

SAA Council members have a difficult charge. They need to weigh the needs and interests of a diverse membership body against the enduring mission and values of the Society and the evolving state of the profession. Resources are limited and difficult choices often need to be made. All decisions made by the SAA Council should be based on data drawn from multiple sources, including the experiences of Council members and the membership at large. As representatives of the membership, Council members should seek and promote transparency in decision-making and communicate the interrelationship of the Society's mission with the agenda of the organization. Importantly, Council members also need to represent the membership in terms of its makeup—a mix of academics, professionals, and policy makers. My varied experiences in academia, practice, and service to the national and international archival community positions me well to serve the SAA membership.

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