Last updated in 1999, the updated Guidelines for College and University Archives is ready! Approved by the SAA Council on July 26, 2023, these new Guidelines represent years of work by dedicated C&UA Section members and invaluable input from Section membership. The Guidelines are available on the righthand menu in the Section microsite sidebar and will be available soon in the SAA Standards Portal.
This work could not have come to fruition without the efforts of Michelle Sweetser, Sandra...
New to writing and research? Looking for a writing partner or need inspiration for your next project?
Explore research interests and opportunities with the recently launched Research Matching Spreadsheet. This newly created spreadsheet aims to connect interested writers, researchers, and scholars of all archives activities into one place. Stay tuned for announcements from College & University Archives Section leadership for casual meetups to discuss this new resource.
Comments Sought
Draft version 2 of “Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries” is now open for comment through Friday, February 17, 2017.
The proposed standard is available here on the SAA website or a PDF of the document can also be downloaded below. Provide your comments on any aspect of the proposed standard by commenting on individual pages of the document as presented here on the SAA website. You do not...
Please join us for the first public online talk of 2024 of the Society of American Archivists' (SAA) Crisis, Disaster, and Tragedy Response Working Group (CDTRWG).
Cautious Balance: Collecting and Presenting the Experience(s) of 9/11 Survivors
Jan Seidler Ramirez, Executive Vice President of Collections & Chief Curator, 9/11 Memorial and Museum
Summary
It has been ten years since the 9/11 Memorial Museum opened to the public, thirteen years since the dedication of the outdoor...
By Kerri Anne Burke, Global Curator, Citi Heritage Collection
Bob Clark of the Rockefeller Archives Center, L.J. Strumpf of the IBM Archives and I spoke at the Spring 2018 joint meeting of the New England Archivists and Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York. The panel was organized and moderated by Jamie Martin of the IBM Archives. The panelists spoke on the value of business records and how business archivists must advocate the worth of business records to internal audiences,...
The Business Archives Section is opening a position for an Early Career Member on the section steering committee. This position is intended for individuals starting out in the field to have an opportunity to be mentored by section leaders, and expand their leadership skills and resources. Immediate responsibilities will include supporting the Newsletter, the Quarterly Conference Calls, and the Education Director, but may be tailored to individual interests. This position is open to students and...
Enhance your knowledge of the final major battle of the War of 1812 by joining SAA’s Military Archives Roundtable (MART) on a “staff ride” to study the New Orleans Campaign (December 1814 – January 1815). Examine the Battle of New Orleans using archival sources such as letters, diaries, and maps that tell the story from individual participants’ points of view. Hear from soldiers, sailors, Marines, British military, and pirates! The New Orleans Campaign Staff Ride is a free bus tour open to all...
Vice-Char/Chair-Elect
Gina RappaportHead Archivist/PhotoArchivistNational Anthropological ArchivesSmithsonian Institution
Bio: Gina Rappaport is the head archivist and archivist for photograph collections at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Anthropological Archives (NAA), a position she has held since 2009. In this position she is responsible for all aspects of the management of the NAA’s photograph collections, as well as general oversight of NAA operations and outreach. Before joining...
Steering Committee Roster
The Women Archivists Section (WArS) will hold its 2026 Annual Meeting on Tuesday May 19th from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT. Following a short business meeting, WArS will facilitate a panel discussion, "What I Wish I Knew When I Started Archiving."
In this lively panel discussion, experienced archivists will share the lessons that they wish they had known when they first entered the profession. Panelists from varied backgrounds will reflect on their...
Online Access at the Annual Meeting: We Weigh In...We Hope You Will, Too!
January 17, 2013
The Online Access Subgroup of the Annual Meeting Task Force is continuing its work to identify and recommend ways to improve online access to SAA's annual meeting. We've heard a lot of ideas (and concerns) from members, both at this past year's annual meeting and through other channels. We'd like to take this opportunity to share the areas that we've prioritized based on your feedback and on our...
The ALA/SAA/AAM Joint Committee on Archives, Libraries, and Museums (CALM) encourages you to voice your support for the funding agencies that support Libraries, Archives, and Museums!
Here are several actions to take right now to support IMLS from the American Library Association’s (ALA) District Dispatch
Support IMLS and sign on to the Office of Museum Services Appropriations Letter through American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
Share your federal funding impact story through the Society of...
We would like to thank everyone who attended the annual meeting of the Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards this past Tuesday. The presentation slides for the event are now available in the committee’s GitHub repository at https://github.com/SAA-SDT/TS-EAS-subteam-notes/blob/master/TS-EAS-Notes/2025/TS%20EAS%202025-07-22.pdf.
As mentioned, a follow-up community session on the ongoing standards revision process will be held on Thursday, August 14 at 12:30 PM ET. A link to...
Are you passionate about preservation and excited to share skills and knowledge with your colleagues? Would you like to get more involved with SAA and expand your leadership experience? Maybe it's time to help lead the Preservation Section!
We are seeking candidates for two positions:
Vice-Chair/Chair Elect
Member-At-Large
If you are interested in nominating yourself, or would like to nominate someone else, please send the name and a 4 or 5 sentence statement of interest/professional bio...
Feeling peckish? Graze the Idea Snack Bar during the RAO meeting at SAA! We'll be tweeting throughout our meeting on Thursday, August 14 from 3:30pm - 5:30pm using the hashtags #SAA14 and #SAARAO14. The Idea Snack Bar is a virtual component of the meeting--a place where you can post questions and contribute ideas about the RAO work and issues that frustrate or inspire you! Whether you're at the meeting in DC or following along at home, we invite you to share your expertise and experience...
SAA’s Description Section and the Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards recently completed a three-part webinar series on controlled vocabularies. The series' presentations focused on the purpose of data value standards, how to approach their usage, and the current encoding options in Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and Encoded Archival Context (EAC-CPF). Along with other technical aspects of their implementation, the sessions provided examples of the practical application of...
A Talk by Dr Jennifer Douglas, University of British Columbia
Wednesday, February 5th, 2025, 10am PST (1pm EST; 6pm GMT)
Online - Recording of Presentation (YouTube)
AbstractTamarin Norwood is a writer, a life writing scholar, and a bereaved mother. In an award-winning essay published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, Norwood reflects on the care she received in hospital after the death of her newborn son and introduces the notion of institutional love. Referring to how nurses...
The steering committee would like to express our heartfelt thank you to all of you who voted in this year's special election, and in particular to our candidates!
After a particularly close race, our new Member-at-Large and Education Chair is Jesse Keel.
Jesse Keel is an associate preservation specialist at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA. She provides preservation consultations, training programs, assessments, and disaster advice to a variety of cultural heritage...
The BAS Steering Committee organized the Business Archives Section Colloquium as part of the 2017 Society of American Archivists Conference in Portland, Oregon. This year’s theme was “Finding Inspiration in Your Company History Using Media and Design.”
Eric Chin introduces the team from Wieden+Kennedy.
Following introductions by Past Chair Jamie Martin (IBM) and incoming Chair Eric Chin (NBCUniversal), Thomas Harvey & Britton Taylor of Wieden+Kennedy led a vivid...
A recording of the Museum Archives Symposium, co-hosted by the Museum Archives Section and the Yale Center for British Art May 10, 2024, is now available. Timestamps for each session have been added to the program site.
By Suzanne E. Shapiro, PVH Historian / Heritage Brands Archivist
Cluett, Peabody and Co. (makers of ARROW brand) factory photo circa 1900. Image courtesy PVH Archives.
Overview
The PVH Archives is a digital and physical resource created to preserve all archival materials pertaining to PVH Corp. and its portfolio of iconic apparel brands including CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, and the Heritage Brands—Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Warner’s, and Olga....
Dear section members and everyone else interested in archival history,
Please join us this coming Monday, July 26, 12-1:30 PM (ET), at our annual section meeting. Information on our agenda, our speakers, and how to RSVP can be found here.
Sebastian Modrow, Chair
The Web Archiving Section is excited to announce the 2020-2021 Steering Committee leadership! The new roster is as follows:
Chair: Tori MachesVice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Melissa WertheimerEducation Coordinator: Ryder KoubaCommunications Manager: April FeldmanSecretary: Kiera SullivanStudent Member: Allison Fischbach
Congratulations and best of luck to those newly elected!
A part of the charge for the Annual Meeting Task Force is to offer Council specific recommendations for reasonable changes that can be made to the meeting’s structure and administration. The Content Subcommittee is charged with making recommendations on the current format, schedule and type of content. To this end, the Subcommittee has conducted a review of annual meetings for professional organizations from allied fields (including libraries, museums & international archival...
It's that time of year again: SAA election season! Since we recently wrapped up a special election, this is your second opportunity this year to stand for section leadership. If you would like to get more involved with SAA and expand your leadership experience, this is your chance!
We are seeking candidates for two positions:
Vice-Chair/Chair Elect
Member-At-Large
If you are interested in nominating yourself, or would like to nominate someone else, please send the name and a 4 or 5...
Title: Preparing Strong Conference Presentations
Start date: June 10th, 12pm Eastern
End date: June 10th, 1pm Eastern
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Link for Zoom registration
This workshop will help SAA members prepare and feel confident about any upcoming conference presentations at the SAA Annual Meeting, Research Forum, and any others. First-time, experienced, and future presenters are all encouraged to join us.
Topics covered include:
online v. in-person conference talks
creating...
