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This year, the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable is holding elections for Junior Co-Chair, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster. Below, please find bios and statements from the nominees:
Chapman University
Angel Diaz is the California’s Gold Archivist at Chapman University. She was previously a Project Archivist at the University of California Los Angeles’ Chicano Studies Research Center, as well as a Project Cataloger at the Autry Museum. She earned both a BA in United States history and a MA in Education from the University of San Francisco, and an MLIS from the University of California Los Angeles.
As Junior Chair/Chair Elect of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable, I will focus on supporting students and new archival professionals of color as they begin their careers by highlighting job opportunities, bringing forth discussion topics on current issues of race and archives, and celebrating the work being done by current AACR members. I also hope to bring about open communication and collaboration with other roundtables and sections. Discussion forums and joint events not only help members network, but they also provide a great space for discussion of pressing issues and the development of new projects.
Chicago State University
Aaisha N. Haykal serves as the University Archivist at Chicago State University. She is a graduate of Syracuse University where she received two bachelor degrees English and Textual Studies and African-American Studies and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she received her Master of Science in Library and Information Science. She enjoys educating undergraduates and graduate students about the power of primary sources, developing public programming to bring history to the people, is concerned about preserving digital objects for the long-term, and has assisted community organizations in documenting their own history. She is a member of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), American Library Association (ALA), Chicago Area Archivists (CAA), and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)-National and Chicago branch.
My involvement in the Archives and Archivists of Color Roundtable (AACR) has included attending the annual meetings and serving as a liaison between the Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Heritage (LACCHA) and AACR for the past three years. At the 2013 SAA Annual Meeting I served as one of the moderators/panelists for a session that was dedicated to enhancing diversity throughout archives in its many facets, we had a good response from attendees and insightful ideas were proposed. As the AACR Junior Co-Chair I would bring some of these ideas to fruition including, but not limited to discussions about different leadership styles that take into consideration cultural differences; visible and invisible privileges; and setting up regional affiliates and virtual programs with aims to reduce isolation and to foster mentoring relationships. I would continue and expand current initiatives such as the Twitter and Facebook chats with AACR members and other interested parties as it encourages cross learning and knowledge sharing.
As the AACR Junior Co-Chair I will carry out the mission of the roundtable, advocate for diversity in the profession and in the organization, create programs and opportunities that support the professional development of all members, and work well with other groups within and outside of SAA.
University of North Texas
Yvonne Ivey has over five years experience working in library science and research. She is a 2013-2015 ARL/SAA Mosaic Fellow at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Yvonne is a candidate for Master's in Library and Information Science at the University of North Texas, where she is studying archival studies with a certificate in digital curation management. Yvonne is a research assistant working in the College of Information. Her passion for archival work and public relations has facilitated her professional and academic success. Yvonne hopes to use her communication skills and marketing background to remodel and refresh archives for the coming technological-savvy future. She is a recent graduate of Spelman College, a recent awardee of the ALA Spectrum Scholarship and the Andrew W. Mellon Recruiting Tomorrow’s Library Leaders Scholarship 2013 Awardee.
I would be honored to serve on the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable as the Junior Co-Chair to help lead the Roundtable’s activities for 2014-2015. I am a second-year graduate archival studies student at the University of North Texas currently interning at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. I have the privilege of being an awardee of the Association of Research Library/Society of American Archivist Mosaic Scholar Fellowship 2013-2015 and an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar 2014-2015. The AAC roundtable presents an excellent opportunity for archivist to continue the discussion of identifying and addressing the need to preserve the history of people of color, but also work to get minority archivist more involved within the profession. As a new comer to the field, I see so much opportunity and growth in being an active member of the AAC roundtable. Since entering into the archival profession, I have strived to foster inclusiveness and diversity into the profession and organizations. As the only African American archivist at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and one of the few African American archival studies graduate students at the University of North Texas, I have learned there are a lack of programs and initiatives, which welcome and ignite the interest of minority undergrads into the profession. If elected as the Junior-Chair, I will work to learn more about the opportunities and vastness of the profession and how I can continue to change the common perceptions of the profession to improve the development of a representative workforce that truly reflects the concerns of minorities. I will bring my enthusiasm, experiences, and creativeness to the roundtable and pledge to actively continue to pursue the mission of the AAC Roundtable if elected at Junior co-chair.
University of Delaware
Tammi Kim is an Assistant Librarian in the Manuscript and Archives Department at the University of Delaware where she works with political papers. She previously worked as a Processing Assistant for the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia. In 2011, Tammi graduated from UCLA with her MLIS in archival studies and management. She also holds a BA in British and American Cultural Studies from Georgia State University. Tammi has been a member of SAA since 2009. She has been a member of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable since 2012 and has served on the Nominating Task Force since 2013.
I am passionate about supporting and promoting the mission of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable within and outside the archival profession, including the potential for collaboration with other SAA roundtables to work on relevant issues that arise. If I am elected as Junior Co-Chair/Chair Elect, I would like to further develop outreach and advocacy efforts to various constituencies and stakeholders. I also believe strongly about continuing efforts to increase participation and collaboration amongst members of the roundtable during the annual SAA roundtable meeting and through informal meet ups and social media.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Sonia Yaco is an assistant professor and Special Collections librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 2007 to 2013, she was the Special Collections librarian and university archivist at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She is the founder and Senior Advisor of the Desegregation of Virginia Education (DOVE) Project, a history preservation initiative. Yaco is a also a Senior Advisor to the Kids in Birmingham 1963 project. Previously, Yaco was a reference archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Prior to becoming an archivist, Yaco was a computer developer and owned a computer consulting business for 25 years. She holds a Masters of Arts degree from the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Yaco is a regular contributor to scholarly archival journals on topics that include confidentiality laws, the history of school desegregation, social activism among historians and archivists, and the use of voice recognition software in oral history projects. She is the co-author of “Historians, Archivists, and Social Activism: Benefits and Costs.” Her co-authored chapter “A Documentation Case Study: the Desegregation of Virginia Education (DOVE) Project” appears in the Society of American Archivists publication, Through the archival looking glass: a reader diversity and inclusion.
I’ve been a member of AAC for several years and would like to contribute more to the group. After 25 years as a computer professional, I have the skills needed to be the Roundtable’s webmaster. Responding in a timely manner was important when I was a business owner and still is as a Special Collections librarian, and would be as ACC’s webmaster.