SAA Council Honors IAAS with Exemplary Service Award

The International Archival Affairs Section (IAAS) was awarded the 2025 SAA Council Exemplary Service Award at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists in Anaheim, CA.

This award recognizes IAAS for its vibrant outreach between SAA membership and international archivists through its dedicated programming efforts, which have forged connections between SAA, its members, and the wider global community of archivists and their archives.

Two of our past Senior Co-Chairs--both present to receive the award on behalf of IAAS--were kind enough to provide a short testimonial on what serving in IAAS leadership meant to them:

"One of my favorite SAA service roles to date was serving on the steering committee and then chairing IAAS. The section's mission and scope is defined yet broad, the global archival landscape rich in both variety and similarity, and the people you meet are ever fascinating. As a leader, I was influenced by my deep curiosity in archival practice and theory outside of the USA, and also the value of North American work to the rest of the world. I will continue to stay involved with the Section well after my service terms. And it was a great pleasure to share in accepting the 2025 Council Exemplary Service Award on behalf of all the section members, and as one of many Section leaders." --Ellen Engseth, MLIS, MA

“It was my utmost privilege and honor to serve the Society of American Archivists’International Archival Affairs Section as a Member-at-Large, then as Junior Co-Chair, and ultimately as Senior Co-Chair. Being a member of and then leading the Steering Committee was a dream responsibility. It was a dream in that I was part of a larger chorus of driven, dedicated, and disciplined colleagues. We all simply wanted to get the best and most imaginative work done for the largest swath of archivists on the globe. We achieved that aspiration before and during my leadership tenure and because of the IAAS leadership DNA, that work ethos and ethic will carry on far into the future and meaningfully touch countless professionals around the world. If your archivistic concerns reach beyond the theoretical or practical confines of the US archives tradition, then I urge anyone interested in learning about or wishing to experience SAA leadership opportunities to consider running for IAAS Steering roles. Incumbents are nurtured and prepared for even greater aspirations to come.” --Karen J. Trivette, MLS, PhD

The IAAS committee would like to thank SAA for this wonderful award and our past leadership and committee members for all their contributions and hard work. And a big thanks to the entire IAAS membership for being a part of this amazing section!

Photo captions (top to bottom): Past IAAS Senior Co-Chairs at the 2025 SAA Annual Meeting at Anaheim, CA receiving the SAA Council Exemplary Service Award on behalf of IAAS membership; 2025 SAA Council Exemplary Service Award given to IAAS.

Learn more about IAAS and its award by clicking here.