HRART elections: Candidate statements 2014

Candidate statements for 2014 Human Rights Archives Roundtable elections follow below. Please remember to vote!!!

JUNIOR CO-CHAIR

Jr. Co-Chair Candidate Statement: Emily Gibson

I learned about human rights from my mother. Through her activism, she showed her love, and through her example I learned to have compassion for the marginalized and underserved. As a library and information science student, I focused on serving poor and urban communities. Internships at the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History increased my interest in human rights, as did living in Detroit.

My first professional position upon graduating was Archivist and Collections Manager at the nonprofit, community archive, The Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida where I learned first-hand of the huge impact that archives can have on a community’s sense of self, pride and motivation for change. I am currently the Project Archivist for the records of the Pan American World Airways at the University of Miami Libraries Special Collections. 

It is with enthusiasm and an open mind that I would bring this experience to the position of Jr. Co-Chair, building on current projects like the Five Questions interviews and assisting with the ICA’s Human Rights Archive Directory.

Jr. Co-Chair Candidate Statement: Lisa Snider

Archivist, Canadian Museum for Human Rights

I am currently the Electronic Records Archivist at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas. As of September 2nd, I will be the Archivist at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. I am excited to be working at the only museum in the world dedicated solely to helping people understand, celebrate and promote human rights. I will be working with human rights materials every day, and it doesn't get much better than that!

I have always had an interest in human rights issues. I grew up immersed in the importance of fighting for human rights and keeping those stories alive, because my family experienced intolerance and genocide in Eastern Europe.

I have been a passionate human rights advocate for the last 15 years, particularly in the field of accessibility for people with disabilities. I have done a tremendous amount of work in the accessibility field since 1999, first as a web developer and then as an archivist. My book chapter on archival website accessibility was just published, I was the first to publicly work with accessibility and the long term preservation of born digital textual documents and I just created, and am Chairing, the Association of Canadian Archivists Accessibility Special Interest Section.

I would love to be part of the Human Rights Archives Roundtable as Jr. Co-Chair, as I would like to help promote and encourage projects, initiatives and collaborations related to human rights archives, and share them with the world.

WEB LIAISON

Web Liaison Candidate Statement: Emily Vinson

BIOGRAPHY: Emily Vinson is the archivist of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Previously, she worked at the WNYC Archives, where she completed a two-year NEH-funded digitization project, and at New York Public Library, where she was a IMLS fellow in preservation administration. Emily earned a BA in Art History and History from Tulane University, New Orleans, and an MSIS and CAS in Preservation Administration from University of Texas, Austin.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: I believe that one of the most important roles of the archival profession is to ensure the preservation of and access to the records of underserved communities, such as those represented in human rights archives. As the SAA Human Rights Archives Roundtable's Web Liaison I would hope to work with the archival community to foster conversation about pertinent issues and provide resources for topics reflected in human rights archives.