Lori Lindberg, Candidate for Vice President/President-Elect

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Lori Lindberg

Cummins Heritage Center Leader and Archivist

she/her

 

Being an archivist is a calling. The records we keep are for others to use to inform, hold accountable, prove, dispel, empower, drive, inspire, uplift, and justify. When I described what I wanted from librarianship but wasn’t quite finding, I was told, 'Lori, it sounds to me like you want to be an archivist.'

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BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Being an archivist is a calling. The records we keep are for others to use to inform, hold accountable, prove, dispel, empower, drive, inspire, uplift, and justify. I first got the call when looking into becoming a librarian. When I described what I wanted from librarianship but wasn’t quite finding, I was told, “Lori, it sounds to me like you want to be an archivist. Let me connect you with one.” There it was. I went to grad school, got my MLIS. I’ve spent a lot of my career in corporate archives, but as a consultant I did pretty much any archival work available. I’ve also done research (InterPARES) and contributed to this profession I love by building education programs both at the graduate school level (SJSU’s MARA) and the professional level (SAA’s DAS). I’ve written contributions to various books and encyclopedias. I’ve written a few book reviews. I’ve earned a few accolades along the way that showed me that my contributions were valued (two SAA Distinguished Service Awards). I have a made a ton of acquaintances, some true friends, built a big network, placed my students in repositories all over the country, and loved every minute. I still do this work. I chose my company so I could build another program from scratch, and I will work until I feel I can work no longer, or I hit seventy—whichever comes first.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Each candidate prepared a diversity statement according to SAA guidelines.

At Cummins, valuing and including our differences in decision-making is our competitive advantage. When you come to work at Cummins you accept and commit to diversity and inclusion. It is a core value. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to work there. And the people are from everywhere! With a worldwide footprint, I can receive physical and virtual visits from a Scottish employee of thirty years, an engineer from India, or a service technician from Brazil. I personally come from a family with a lot of variety in the mix: White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, young, old, varied religious faiths, no faith, pagans, LGBTQ+, etc. Loving them all means a lot of experiences and interaction, both good and bad. Putting myself in a loved one’s shoes has taught me a lot. Helping each other is critical, as is keeping our minds open, our senses sharp, and never forgetting we are family first. We are better together.

At Cummins, I preserve our long history as an inclusive company and see it as a core strength of my collections. Using information from just one perspective as an example: Our collections document when our first African American employee was hired (1920, our second year in business), and preserve the records of our long-time Chairman J. I. Miller, the first non-clergy president of the National Council of Churches and a financial and logistical supporter of the 1963 March on Washington. Selected pieces of Miller’s correspondence are particularly powerful regarding Cummins’ culture of DEI. We also created DEI information products from data found in our collections. I have a list of every HBCU that has received a grant from the Cummins Foundation (the Foundation is also a continuous supporter of the United Negro College Fund since the Foundation’s inception), as well as a list and photos of every African American executive and their work. We will continue to develop these and other DEI information products while examining our diverse work population of 60,000+ individuals.

At SAA I will strive to adopt some of Cummins’ approaches to DEI to ensure that SAA has some of the best tools and products available to examine and support our varied population of archives professionals.

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

One of SAA’s four strategic goals is meeting members’ needs. With the evolving state of the world, the archives profession, and efforts to bridge communities of practice, how do you envision meeting members’ needs in this new “normal”? 

CANDIDATE'S RESPONSE 

I envision working more closely with our sections and associated regional and state archives groups to provide more continuous local SAA presence in our communities of practice.

I envision SAA revising our dues structure to accommodate various types of archives professionals, including part-time, intermittent, underemployed, and undefined levels of earnings.

I envision SAA developing more quality online education responsive to member’s needs and designed according to established quality assessments for this type of education.

I envision SAA having a larger presence within our various SAA student chapters. Listening to them, noting their concerns, and using information that students provide to inform future SAA decisions and initiatives is critical to their support as new professionals. They are a big component of our future. We need an SAA Student Chapter of the Year Award!

I envision SAA providing more opportunities for people of all communities to come together and listen to each other. Together, we can perform concrete actions to learn about, help, and advocate for one another.

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