Meet your 2024 Collection Management Section Candidates

Thank you to all of our wonderful candidates for volunteering to run for open SAA Collection Management Section positions.

 You will be voting for:

• One Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (or Co-chair), for a two-year term
• One Web Liaison for a two-year term
• Two Steering Committee members, for a two-year term.

 Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!

Vice Chair/Chair Elect (1)

Jonathan Kirkwood

Records Manager & Associate Librarian

University of Cincinnati

 Candidate Statement:

I am seeking election to the post of vice-chair for the SAA Collection Management Steering Committee. I currently serve as a member-at-large for the committee and have enjoyed participating with enthusiastic colleagues. I am an archivist and associate librarian  at the Archives and Rare Books Library of the University of Cincinnati. My responsibilities include processing University records, overseeing the records management program, developing the digital archive, and promoting the diverse history of the University  that stretches for more than 200 years. Future plans include expanding the University archives to collect more from faculty and student groups to better show the reach of faculty research and the diversity of the University throughout its history.  

I intend to apply this same dedication to serving as vice-chair. It is a great opportunity to work toward assisting fellow archivists inside and outside of SAA to develop and compare collection management practices, share knowledge and experience, and build lasting relations for the benefit of the archival community. These will help work toward a stronger profession. The more we share, the better we can curate our collections and make them accessible for users. 

Biographical Statement:

For over 16 years I have had the pleasure of working in archives, libraries, and museums, both large and small, and publicly and privately funded. Duties have involved reference, arrangement and description, digitization and digital archiving, strategic planning, and moving archives. These responsibilities have let me make collections more accessible and inclusive for users and accession collections to better represent diverse communities. I hold an MA in Public History from Western Michigan University (2013) and an  MLIS from Wayne State University (2021). My education and experience gave me opportunities to grow into a knowledgeable and responsive archivist capable of managing substantial and growing collections. I enjoy the work of our profession no matter the challenges set before me and plan on continuing for many years to come. 

Web Liaison (1)

Hilary Streifer

Librarian, Allen Lastinger Center for Florida History

University of North Florida

Candidate Statement:

I am excited to run for the position of Web Liaison for the Collection Management Section.  I have decided to run for this position so that I can contribute to the ongoing work of the Collections Management Section, a resource that I have found helpful throughout my career, as collections management has been a big part of my positions (past and present).  At the Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library, I oversaw all aspects of collections management for the library’s manuscript collections, from acquisition decisions, arrangement, description, preservation, grant project management, weeding, and space management.  Additionally, I successfully advocated for the implementation of ArchivesSpace, to better manage archives related metadata.  In my current position, at the University of North Florida, I oversee all aspects of collections management, from acquisitions to access. As an archivist for over ten years, I have relied on the resources and knowledge shared in the various SAA sections, and I would be honored to be able to participate Collections Management section as the Web Liaison.  

Biographical Statement:

Hilary Streifer is the inaugural Allen Lastinger Center for Florida History Librarian at the University of North Florida, where she oversees all aspects of collection building, management, and access for the newly established Allen Lastinger Center for Florida History. Before joining UNF in May 2024, she was at the Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library, in Massachusetts, for almost ten years.  At the Phillips Library she oversaw all activities relating to the library’s manuscript collections, from accessioning, processing, description, and collections management.    She holds a Masters in history from Villanova University, a Masters in Library and Information Science with a concentration in archives management from Simmons University, and a Digital Archives Specialist certificate from the Society of American Archivists.  She is also a participant in SAA’s mentoring program.

Steering Committee (2 positions)

Samantha Schafer

Collection Management Archivist for Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) 

Tulane University, New Orleans

Candidate Statement:

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked for a variety of institutions where, at times, I was the lone collection manager. Time and again I came back to this section and its discussion board, trawling through posts looking for solutions to issues that I was expected to solve with little more than Mylar and luck. As I have learned new skills, I have made a point to share my knowledge with both my institutional colleagues as well as those in other repositories, both through casual emails and purposely designed workshops and presentations. Recently, I participated in a RE-ORG workshop at the Hermann Grima House that connected local museum and archives collections workers to share both knowledge and manpower in the reorganization of the storage areas in that house museum.

I am interested in serving as a committee member because I firmly believe in sharing knowledge in our profession and paying it forward. As we discuss our experiences in collection management with our colleagues – the successes, the ongoing problems, the Macgyvered approaches and the resources we fall back on time and again – we make solving those problems easier for not only ourselves but for future generations as well. As the proverb says, a problem shared is a problem halved, and I’m willing and ready to pull on my nitrile gloves and start halving problems.

Biographical Statement:

Samantha Schafer is the Collection Management Archivist for Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) in New Orleans, Louisiana. She oversees the accessioning and processing program in TUSC and has recently completed the creation of an iterative processing manual for those workflows. She is responsible for the management of ArchivesSpace records and has worked to standardize those records for TUSC. She has also contributed to Tulane University Libraries’ Inclusive and Reparative Archival Description Working Group and the TUSC exhibition design team. She has participated in SAA’s Mentorship program on both sides of the program. Additionally, she has presented at the Society of Southwest Archivists’ Annual Conference for the previous two years and led workshops through the Oklahoma Archivists Association. Prior to joining the TUSC team, she worked at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and at the Citadelle Art Foundation in Canadian, Texas. She has earned a BA in English Literature with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas and an MLIS with a focus in archival studies and image technology from the University of North Texas.

Matt Gorzalski 

University Archivist 

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Candidate Statement:

I am excited about the opportunity to serve on the Collection Management Section (CMS) Steering Committee.  I was active in SAA service from 2014-2018, but increased involvement in the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) and personal circumstances diminished my SAA participation.  I am ready and reenergized to return to SAA service.  Collection Management continues to be a major component of my job as University Archivist.  I led our transition from Archon to ArchivEra in 2019-2020, and I continue to correspond with Lucidea regarding ArchivEra feature and functionality improvements.  I bring unique perspective to the CMS because ArchivEra is less-used than ArchivesSpace.  I successfully advocated and received firm commitment for a Preservica subscription that will be implemented in the upcoming fiscal year.  With the help of student workers, I continue to improve access of our backlog of unprocessed and largely un-appraised university record groups.  This has resulted in impactful space-saving and increased collection use.  Collection management is of great interest to me because of how its aspects (e.g. arrangement and description, appraisal, accessioning, etc.) facilitate access, use, and sound archival management.  Other tools I have used include CONTENTdm, Omeka, and Bepress.

Biographical Statement:

Matt Gorzalski has been the University Archivist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 2012.  He is responsible for all aspects of the university archives, including arrangement and description, reference, outreach, digitization, education, and preservation.  Previous positions include Archivist at The History Center (Diboll, TX) from 2010-2012 and Project Archivist at the Kansas State Historical Society from 2008-2010.  He received his Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008.  He won the SAA Emerging Leader Award in 2016.

Previous SAA service includes: Membership Committee Chair (2017-2018) and Vice Chair (2016-2017); Career Center Subcommittee Chair (2015-2016); Collection Management Tools Section Chair (2015-2016) and Vice Chair (2014-2015); Key Contacts Subcommittee Co-chair (2014-2015); and Key Contact, non-Chicago area (2013).  Service in MAC includes: Program Committees in 2023, 2022, and 2015, including chair of the 2023 committee; Membership Committee Chair (2017-2021); and State Representative for Greater Illinois (2013-2017).