AHS elections slate, 2019

2019-2020 AHS Elections

Vice-Chair/Chair-elect candidates

Sebastian Modrow

Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts

Special Collections Research Center

Syracuse University Libraries

In my day-to-day life I am the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (Syracuse, NY). I hold a German Master’s equivalent (Exam of the State) in Latin and History (University of Greifswald, Germany), a Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History (University of Rostock, Germany) and a MLIS (Syracuse University).

I am currently working on a book chapter focusing on the cultural heritage institutions of Classical Antiquity for an edited volume on the history of archives, libraries and museums. I am also about to finish a collaborative translation project of a medieval chronicle. My long-term project is a book on the Archives of ancient Rome. Besides my curator duties, I also teach semester-long courses for various programs (Spring 2019 and 2020: “IST 600 The History of Archives and Libraries in the Western World”; this semester (Fall 2019): “MUS 600/IST 622 Introduction to Cultural Heritage Preservation”).

As vice chair/chair elect I would like to connect the Archival History Section more with other SAA Sections and demonstrate the value of the historical perspective to the organization as a whole. With my personal interest in the history of pre-modern archives and libraries I would also like to broaden the discussion about the history of the archival profession.  

Steering Committee candidates

Michelle Ganz

Archives Director, McDonough Innovation 

BIO: 

Michelle Ganz is the Archives Director for William McDonough, in Charlottesville VA. Michelle attended the University of Arizona where she completed her Masters of Library Science degree in 2007. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University, receiving a B.A. in Literature in 2003. In 2008 Michelle received her Archivist Certification. Michelle is an active member with the SAA and ACA, serving in a number of elected and volunteer positions. When she’s not doing all things archival she enjoys reading and cooking.

STATEMENT: 

I have always believed that the history of our profession is critical to developing an archival zeitgeist. I have been a longtime member of the section and would love the opportunity to give back to it by serving on the steering committee.

Ingi House

Job Title and Institution: Archivists for Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency - Department of Defense

Bio and Statement:

Ingi House is originally from Kansas where she got her B.A. in history from the University of Kansas and M.L.S. from Emporia State University. She moved to the East Coast and worked at the National Archives then at the Defense Acquisition University where she became a Certified Archivist. Her continued enjoyment of military history led her to the West Coast where she worked for the U.S. Navy at the Seabee Museum. After fulfilling two years there she decided to expand on her reference and processing skills at the National Archives in San Francisco. After working on various collections there she realized she missed the Department of Defense and their mission. She now works at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency leading their Knowledge Management Archival section. In her spare time she writes, and has published several poems in professional and literary journals.

Ironically archivists do not often preserve their own history or are aware that it needs to be preserved. The archive profession is constantly changing and as technology changes we, as archivists, can take a tip from what we tell everyone else, preserve your own history! I am committed to helping archivists help themselves in this ever changing world. As our professions become more and more IT based, we must also make sure that we take care of the physical documents as well and make sure our profession keeps up with both areas. After all, anyone can down load an access copy of the Constitution, but people travel far and wide to see the actual document!  

Susan Tucker

Job Title:  Consultant, currently as curator of the Josephine Louise Newcomb Letters Project and L’dor V’dor: An Exhibition on the History of Jewish Women in New Orleans, and as editor on Maud’s Library, an online creation of the Women’s Library created at the 1885 Cotton Exposition. 

Candidate Statement and Bio:

I would very much like to extend my time (2018-2019) on the Steering Committee of the Archival History Section. I am convinced that, though there are many pulls on our professional time, knowing our own history is central to the work of all archivists, a binding and common interest upon which the Section can build. During 2018, I was involved in finding the speaker for the annual meeting and in the awards committee. I would be interested in the coming year in our overall Sections work on the blog and in reaching more archivists.  

My own background includes editorship of a book on the history of scrapbooks (2006); authorship of ethnographic studies, articles, and a book on the gendered and nuanced intersections of genealogy and archives (2002- 2019); and writing on, and teaching about, records within activities as diverse as women’s colleges, art education, sewing, Mardi Gras, music, and environmental activism (articles and exhibition catalogs written, and courses taught, 1992-2015). I hold a Ph.D. in Archivistics from the University of Amsterdam. I worked for almost thirty years building the Newcomb Archives of Tulane University, and I have served a number of local, state, and regional professional associations. In 2017, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities honored me with its award for Lifetime Contributions. It would be a privilege for me to use this background in support of AHS’s programs and newsletter.

Natalie Worsham
Graduate Student at Louisiana State University

I am a current graduate student at LSU working on a dual degree of Masters of Library and Information Science and a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies. Both my Bachelors (Nicholls State University, 2011) and Masters (Southeastern Louisiana University, 2014) degrees are in History. I am set to graduate in December 2019 and am eager to enter the archives profession. I volunteer on the weekends at the Historic New Orleans Collection in the archive to get experience processing collections.

I became a member of SAA in my first semester of my MLIS program and was the intern for the Archival History Section from August 2018 to August 2019. In this role, I helped to draft posts, copyedit book reviews, and other tasks for Archival History News, the section’s newsletter. I have since volunteered to continue to work on AHN as a co-editor. I would like to continue my involvement with SAA and the Archival History Section in the capacity of a Steering Committee Member. I appreciate the professional connections that I have made as well as staying abreast of the current scholarship related to archival history.