2021 Election: Candidate Statement

2021 Election: Candidate Statement

The steering committee would like to introduce the section to our candidate for the Co-Chair/Chair position. This position has a two year term where the candidate will serve the first year as Co-Chair and the second year as Chair of the section. To get to know more about the candidate please review the statement. Ballots will be managed by SAA staff, please keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens! 

Shelly Black
Cyma Rubin Library Fellow, North Carolina State University Libraries

Shelly Black (she/her/hers) is the Cyma Rubin Library Fellow at North Carolina State University Libraries where she supports digital preservation in special collections. She received her MLIS as a Knowledge River scholar and a BFA in photography from the University of Arizona. She is the 2021 recipient of the SAA Brenda S. Banks Travel Award and was selected as a 2020 American Library Association Emerging Leader. She is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association and REFORMA. 

Since first working in libraries and archives, I have been committed to making the historical record more inclusive of communities of color by de-centering whiteness in our collections and processes. As a mixed race woman of Japanese and Mexican descent, I am especially interested in amplifying intersectional voices within our collections and profession. Being an early career member, AAC has been important to me for finding like-minded archivists, and it would be an honor to serve as Vice Chair. I’d like to facilitate community building and create spaces where AAC members can uplift and support each other. I’d also like to identify ways to support archivists of color at different stages in the profession, from students to late career. I first joined SAA through the student chapter at my library school, and since then I’ve served on the Privacy & Confidentiality Section Steering Committee. I love meeting other archivists of color and allies, and I hope to find opportunities to collaborate and connect with other SAA sections, as well as external organizations, such as the ALA ethnic affiliates, DLF, or the BitCurator Consortium.