TS-EAD has been working hard to complete the development of EAD3. The core schema was redesigned this fall to support the creation of derivative forms, including Relax NG, XSD, and DTD versions, along with undeprecated versions of each. Many bugs were squashed along the way as well. The stable development version of the schema can be found at https://github.com/SAA-SDT/EAD-Revision/tree/develop.
Currently we are focused on developing the migration style sheet and finalizing the tag library...
A recording of this year's annual Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Description (TS-EAS) public meeting is now available to the community on SAA’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvJYqN7aYM. The meeting gives an overview of the structure of the subcommittee and a review of its work during the 2024-2025 term. This includes a discussion of current work on the revision of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and associated standards. Future updates on this standards work...
The RAO Section is organizing a Community Call to encourage discussion and support among SAA members. The focus of this Community Call will be on how the RAO community has been doing reference and outreach during this time of varied work environments. We hope this call will allow members to share challenges and successes, whether you are working remotely, in a hybrid model, or fully back in the reading room.
Please join us on Tuesday, November 10 from 12:30pm – 2pm EST. Feel free to drop in...
The RAO Section is organizing a Community Call to encourage discussion and support among members. This Community Call will be focused on how the RAO community has been performing reference work during this time of varied work environments. We hope this call will allow members to share challenges and successes, whether you are working remotely, in a hybrid model, or fully back in the reading room.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 27 from 1:30pm – 3:00pm EST. Feel free to drop in and stay as...
The election is now open! You can view the candidate statements here.
Important Dates:The elections will open on Monday, June 23 and remain open through Monday, July 15.
When you're ready to vote, please use this link and click on the Native American Archives Section ballot.
Please note that you must be a current member of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) to participate in the election.
Thank you for supporting NAAS leadership. Your voice matters!
Noah Huffman of the EAD Subteam reports that EAD3 v1.1.0 has been released. EAD3 Version 1.1.0 represents the first minor revision to EAD3 since its initial release in 2015.
Schemas
EAD3 v1.1.0 is available for download from Github at: https://github.com/SAA-SDT/EAD3/releases/tag/v1.1.0. The release package can be downloaded as a .zip or .tar.gz, and contains the full set of EAD3 v1.1.0 schemas: Relax NG, W3C, and DTD; the ancillary Schematron schema for validating external code lists,...
Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2025 Visual Materials Section election. Please take some time to review their candidate statements and get to know them so you can make an informed choice.
You will be voting for:
One Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (or Co-chair), for a three-year term; and
Two Steering Committee members (one three-year term, one two-year term).
Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot...
2025 IAAS Special Election: Slate of Candidates
The ballot will open on Monday, September 29, and remain open for 2 weeks, closing on Monday, October 13, 2025.
Please find the 2025 IAAS Special Election Candidate Statements below:
Open Position: Member-at-Large
(3-year term ending on 9/1/2028)
CANDIDATES (3 TOTAL):
1. Elaine Slayton Akin
Biographical Statement:
Elaine Slayton Akin holds a master's in art history from the University of Memphis and has been the Archivist of Riverside Avondale...
TS-DACS is thrilled to announce that SAA Council unanimously approved their proposal for two new required elements for DACS.
Chapter 8 (Description Control) will now include required element 8.2, Rights Statement for Archival Description. Chapter 13 (Authority Record Management) will include a new required element 13.10, Rights Statement for Archival Authority Records. Chapters 1 and 9 will also be updated to reflect the new required elements.
TS-DACS will begin work to add the new...
Co-chair Candidates
Stacie Williams: Stacie Williams is the Learning Lab Manager at the University of Kentucky's Special Collections Research Center, coordinating an undergraduate archives research internship, and she additionally teaches the graduate-level archives and manuscripts management course in UK’s School of Library and Information Science. She has previously worked at Tufts University's Digital Collections and Archives, the Harvard Medical School's Countway Library, and the Lexington...
The Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS) is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of EAD and EAC-CPF as well as the development of future companion standards, such as Encoded Archival Context for Functions. We are seeking self-nominations from the international community to join TS-EAS. Anyone outside of the United States who has experience working with or implementing archival encoding standards is encouraged to apply as an international member.Next year, the...
Please find the 2025 IAAS Special Election Candidate Statements below:
Open Position: Member-at-Large
(3-year term ending on 9/1/2028)
CANDIDATES (3 TOTAL):
Elaine Slayton Akin
Biographical Statement:
Elaine Slayton Akin holds a master's in art history from the University of Memphis and has been the Archivist of Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) in Jacksonville, Florida, since March 2024. She currently serves as an Early Career Member of SAA's International Archival Affairs Section (...
The SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force seeks member comment on the revised Guidelines on Access to Research Materials in Archives and Special Collections Libraries. These guidelines outline the responsibilities for researcher access, as well as legal and institutional obligations, for a repository in preserving collections for use.
The SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task force to Revise the Statement on Access to Research Materials was convened in 2017 to review, update, and expand the Statement on Access to...
The Diverse Sexuality and Gender Section co-chairs are proposing changes to the standing rules of this section.
General changes throughout the Standing Rules:
Inclusive pronoun usage
modify LGBTQIA to LGBTQIA+
Changes regarding Article 4. Governance include:
Defining the Social Media / Web Liaison(s) position and responsibilities
Establishing a Program Coordinator position
Establishing an option for past-chairs to join the Steering Committee and serve a term of two years ...
We are pleased to announce that the WCRT Bylaws Committee has completed our first draft. We are asking for member feedback on this draft before we send it in to the council for approval. Go here to read the draft and please comment on the blog, below this post or email alexandra.krensky@gmail.com or enovara@umd.edu. We would like your comments by April 15, 2013.
As a part of the celebration of National Archives Month, archivists around the nation are encouraged to use Twitter to promote a discourse with the public about archiving and the important role of archivists in society. For more information, please click here.
Vice Chair / Chair-Elect: Lisa Sjoberg
Bio: My current position is the College Archivist and Digital Collections Librarian at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Since I joined SAA in 2005 as a graduate student, I have been a member of the Reference, Access and Outreach Section. I have been fortunate to serve on RAO task forces (National History Day and currently as co-chair of the Teaching with Primary Sources working group). I have also served as the RAO Communications Liaison for two...
The Winter 2012 RAO Newsletter is now available! Kathryn Otto, Chair, thanks past officers, introduces current members, and provides an update on the section’s ongoing progress on its work, including, the National History Day and Archives Toolkit, the newly renamed Working Group for Data-Driven Decisions in Processing and Public Services, the Teaching with Primary Resources group, results from the Skill Survey, and outreach efforts with C-SPAN. Read more about it on the newsletter! Kathryn...
We are accepting content and images that focus on highlights, practices, and institutions that are relevant and of interest to RAO members. What types of material are you interested in seeing? Events at other archival institutions? Tips and hints? Photos or other images?
Please send your content to Lisa Sjoberg, RAO Communication Liaison, at sjoberg@cord.edu.
With fall unfolding, now is a great time to focus on developing wonderful RAO-related session proposals to submit for the 2013 SAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans. For information about how to do this, see: http://www2.archivists.org/conference/2013/new-orleans/call-for-session-proposals-archives-new-orleans-2013.
The deadline to submit your proposal to the SAA program committee and to sections and roundtables for endorsement consideration has been extended and is now Monday, October 8,...
We are conducting a survey to identify trends in instruction services, successful methodologies and resources, and needs for tools and professional support for teaching with primary sources. The survey will take about 15-20 minutes. Respondents who complete it will be entered in a drawing to win one of five copies of the recent publication Past or Portal? Enhancing Undergraduate Learning through Special Collections and Archives, courtesy of ACRL.
The survey will be available until...
Attendees of the 2015 SAA Annual Conference in Cleveland will have a fun opportunity to give back to the host city by participating in a charitable service project. We will be partnering with Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4K) to provide a volunteer opportunity for interested meeting goers.
Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4K) is the only non-profit organization in Greater Cleveland providing new shoes and clothes at no charge throughout the year to thousands of children in need. For the past 46...
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...
Do you have an idea for an article, book, or presentation about design records but don't want to go it alone? It can be intimidating to get started, so why not work with your colleagues! There are several ways through SAA to get involved, including Archival Outlook, American Archivist, and the Case Study Series. There are also other publications outside of SAA you can contribute to. The upcoming issue of American Archivist is dedicated specifically to design records, but that doesn't mean you...
The Society of American Archivists' (SAA) Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS), in collaboration with the Encoded Archival Standards Section Steering Committee, will be hosting a webinar in November 2022 to introduce the new version of the EAC-CPF standard.
Encoded Archival Context - Corporate bodies, Persons, and Families (EAC-CPF) is an international standard maintained by SAA for encoding contextual information about persons, corporate bodies, and families related to...
