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Thank you to all of the candidates for the 2023 Description Section election. Please read below for candidate biographies and statements of interest.
You will be voting for:
Ballots will be managed by SAA staff; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!
Betts Coup
Bio:
Betts Coup is the Interim Head, Manuscript Section at Houghton Library at Harvard University, where she currently manages a team of processing and accessioning archivists and all related documentation. She has been responsible for the development and editing of description (and redescription) policies and has carried out numerous processing and accessioning projects. She has engaged in usability studies of finding aid content and exploring user feedback for and questions about finding aids and continues to be driven by questions about accessibility, usability, and archival description in her daily work. Betts is currently the co-chair of the Reparative Archival Descriptive Task Force and a member of the Shared Descriptive Practices Working Group at Harvard. Within the SAA sphere, she has been a Member-at-Large of the Description Section Steering Committee from 2021-2023 and is a member of the Descriptive Notes Editorial Committee; she is also a member of the inaugural User Experience Section Steering Committee and has been on the EAS Section Steering Committee from 2019-2023. She is Chair of the SNAC Editorial Policy and Standards Working Group and member of the SNACSchool team. Betts has an MLIS with a focus on Archives Management from Simmons University and an MA in the History of Art and Architecture from New York University.
Statement:
My work in the archival field for the past nine years has consistently focused on description, and I have a great passion for exploring the ways in which our descriptive practices impact users and access. Much of my recent work has focused on reparative descriptive projects as well as ensuring that we have shifted to a norm of creating description conscientiously, with inclusivity and diverse perspectives in mind. I see the Description Section’s role in continuing to provide resources and outlets for discussion around the various topics that impact archival description as invaluable. As Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, I would relish the opportunity to be part of conversations around shifts and trajectories for archival description and the ways in which we can center a range of users in our practice.
Bio:
My name is Jacqueline (she,her,hers), and I am an early career archivist who is concerned with how we describe and digitally showcase our collections. In my experiences across institutions in California, Texas, and currently in Tennessee at Vanderbilt University, I have been able to work with finding aids that range from Word docs to databases like CuadraStar, and ArchivesSpace. In Texas, I worked on preparing finding aids for digest into TARO as a standardized form across Texas. For description work, I served on a task force for reparative description and formulated local controlled vocabularies about religious persecution movements. Before becoming an archivist, I worked in museum collections and curation. With the museum foundation, I see a different perspective in how museum collections are described and documented for the public and within the institution.
Statement:
Understanding the range of the materials our members describe is helpful to consider current and future conversations in the section. My current work focuses on university archives - our institution is beginning to use ArchivesSpace to document our holdings. One of the more recent discussions I have grappled with is balancing local vocabularies with controlled vocabularies - how do we connect the profession as a whole and still maintain the highly individualized archival repositories? Description is a powerful tool, and with resources like this section’s newsletter we can come together as colleagues to understand how to address this balance. On a personal note, I am excited about boosting the use of EAC-CPF beyond our individual repositories to use in a linked data setting, such as SNAP or utilizing our finding aids beyond a local or even statewide system for users to easily find our collections. I would be honored to serve in this section to grow my skill set and also share my excitement for this topic! I can’t wait to build on existing resources on validation, xml editors and the like!
Corey Cherrington
Assistant Archivist
On Assignment to Gates Archive via Hansell Tierney
Bio:
I am an Assistant Archivist on assignment to Gates Archive (GA) via Hansel Tierney. At GA, I work on the processing team, where I write archival description about physical and digital collection items, contribute to work on inclusive vocabularies and equitable description, and support other teams at the archive as needed. I have been in this position for almost one year and was an intern for Gates Archive the year prior. When I was an intern, I was simultaneously completing my Master of Library and Information Science degree at the University of Washington. I also hold a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in European History, Politics, and Society. Additionally, I have published papers about history, information science, and other topics.
On a personal note, I am an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribe, am from Northern California, am a burrito enthusiast, and I adore dogs.
Statement:
I am excited by the prospect of joining the Description Section as a Member-at-Large, as this is a fantastic opportunity to network with other archivists who are passionate about description. Archival description is my bread and butter, and I’m always searching for ways to improve my skills; there is no better way to do this than to network with other professionals in this field. I am also interested in taking part in conversations in our field about the ways in which we are changing and will continue to change our approaches to description as culture shifts and stakeholders’ needs change.
Additionally, if selected to be a Member-at-Large, I would look forward to supporting the Section Steering Committee. I am a supportive team member and enjoy jumping into new tasks to help others when needed. The Description Section is a very important part of the Society of American Archivists, and I am passionate about helping carry this Section into the future, while building upon my own skills in archival description.
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