Recent posts from groups

We are soliciting volunteers to stand for election to roundtable leadership.  We need candidates for Vice Chair and at least four candidates for steering committee.   A. Steering Committee The Steering Committee is composed of between six and eight members willing to serve, including the officers (a Chair and a Vice-Chair).   The Steering Committee directs and coordinates the activities of the Roundtable and approves appointments made by the Chair and the Vice-Chair if vacancies occur....
May 14, 2015   Issues and Advocacy Section
We're pleased to announce the winner of the latest bloggERS! Caption these Bits! contest. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Please click here to access them. Any questions can be directed to a Steering Committee member.
The 2015 Preservation Week Poster is now available for download (see attachment below). Please post and share!
Apr 29, 2015   Preservation Section
Heads up for anyone with an interest in video game preservation: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking an exemption to the Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies (17 USC §1201(a)(1)). The exemption is proposed for users who want to modify “videogames that are no longer supported by the developer, and that require communication with a server,” in order to serve player communities who want to keep maintain the functionality of...
Apr 28, 2015   Electronic Records Section
 The Mercy Heritage Center—a museum, education center, and the National Archives for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas -- has published its first digital exhibit, titled Civil War Sisters: Healing the Wounds of the Nation.   It focuses on the role of the Sisters of Mercy in the American Civil War. It also explores the context of that time period—what was medicine like in the 1860s? What was Catholic American life like in the 1860s? What was the American Civil War? How did the history of the...
What is an RAO Hot Topic? An RAO hot topic is an issue, a concern, an idea that has sparked recent attention in RAO circles.  It can be something that seems novel or cutting-edge; it can be an enduring issue that is garnering new attention or approaches.  What Makes an RAO Hot Topic HOT? An RAO hot topic can be provocative and even fractious; it can also be surprising and funny. Above all else, a hot topic should engender passion, engagement and excitement.    What is an RAO Cool Demo? An...
Once a month, bloggERS! invites readers to submit captions for images related to electronic records and the history of technology, sourced from archives around the world. Submit your caption below by 4/22. Digital archives, preservation, and curation humor are encouraged. We’ll choose three finalists and invite readers to vote for the winner.
Apr 15, 2015   Electronic Records Section
RAAC Steering Committee meeting minutes from the March 9, 2015 meeting are available online at: Meeting Minutes 
Thank you to everyone who was able to us at the Museum Archives Section Business Meeting at the CoSA - NAGARA - SAA Joint Annual Meeting that took place on Friday, August 15 at 12:30PM (Marriott Wardman Park, Room Washington 2 [Exhibition Level]) Business Meeting Agenda: 12:30 – 12:35 p.m.  Greeting and Introductions – Outgoing Cochairs Heidi Abbey and Jennie Thomas 12:35 – 12:50 p.m.  Survey Results – Heidi Abbey 12:50 – 12:55 p.m.  Ballot Results and New Officer Introductions – Incoming...
Apr 13, 2015   Museum Archives Section
John Rees, Archivist and Digital Resources Manager at the National Library of Medicine, discusses the challenges for archivists of identifying and redacting personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI) in born-digital content. The topic is based on a breakout session during the Electronic Records Section meeting at the 2014 annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists.
Apr 13, 2015   Electronic Records Section
Thanks to everyone who cast a vote in bloggERS! inaugural caption contest! Check out the winning caption.
Mar 24, 2015   Electronic Records Section
With an expanding capacity to store information in the digital age, do archivists still need to consider the size of collections in making appraisal decisions? Is it more compelling to accept a collection that can be held on a few CDs than one that occupies 30 cubic feet of climate-controlled compact shelving? Should archivists make different acquisition decisions for digital and physical collections? These questions were the topics of a break-out discussion at the 2014 Electronic Records...
Mar 22, 2015   Electronic Records Section
Last week, we kicked off the bloggERS! caption contest, Caption These Bits!, by asking readers to submit captions for our first image. Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas -- the witty electronic records humor out there is inspiring! The bloggERS! editorial team voted for the top three captions and now we need your help to choose the winner. Cast your vote for your favorite caption by 3/23 and then we'll announce the winner.
Mar 18, 2015   Electronic Records Section
We’re excited to kick off a new repeating bloggERS feature: Caption These Bits! Once a month, bloggERS will invite readers to submit captions for images related to electronic records and the history of technology, sourced from archives around the world. Submit your caption below by 3/17. Digital archives, preservation, and curation humor encouraged. We’ll choose three finalists and invite readers to vote for the winner.
Mar 10, 2015   Electronic Records Section
Check out the latest bloggERS! post, Big Data and Big Challenges for Archives, by Glen McAninch. It's based on a breakout session at the ERS section meeting of last year’s SAA annual meeting.
  The RAAC Steering Committee is happy to announce that we are making progress toward our goals for 2014-2015. We will send follow-up emails soon regarding upcoming elections, our annual meeting, and more detailed announcements regarding our works-in-process as they reach new stages of completion.  In the meantime, we wanted to share highlights of RAAC’s work to date. Below is a sampling our mid-year accomplishments!   Disaster Planning & Recovery Subcommittee: How do regionals help their...
The AHS's Bibliography of Archival History is now available! Please find the PDF attached at the link. A group of core texts from the Bibliography can be found here: http://www2.archivists.org/groups/archival-history-roundtable/core-bibliography-of-archival-history. 
Mar 2, 2015   Archival History Section
In the latest post on bloggERS! Nat Wilson, Digital Archivist at Carleton College, discusses the need to move towards automation in descriptive metadata creation. What are your thoughts?
Feb 25, 2015   Electronic Records Section
If so, please consider running for a Steering Committee position! You can find more information here.
In its efforts to learn more about how archives and special collections repositories are currently quantifying their holdings, the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Standardized Holdings Counts and Measures for Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries is seeking examples of survey instruments, worksheets,  methodologies, etc. that have been used to: Provide a number for collections [of archival and/or manuscript material], titles [bibliographic units], and/or...
RAAC Steering Committee meeting minutes from the January 12, 2015 meeting are available online at: Meeting Minutes