LACCHA 2016 Annual Report

SAA 2016 LACCHA Meeting

The Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Heritage Archives Roundtable held its annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga. The following is a report from the meeting.

Wednesday August 3, 2016 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Salon E Hilton Atlanta, 255 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

Attendees: 14

6:00-6:10              Welcome + words from our Council Liaison, Kris Kiesling

Co-Chairs George Apodaca and Margarita Vargas-Betancourt opened the meeting and introduced Kris Kiesling, LACCHA’s Liaison with the Council. Kris Kiesling announced the decision to change affinity groups to eliminate the distinction between sections and roundtables, and that the SAA is open to ideas for renaming sections. All roundtables/sections will receive standardized amended bylaws. Non-members may join up to three (3) discussion lists. She also noted that report deadlines must be completed by September 1, and rosters by June 1. The SAA is also investigating software to support online communities.

6:15-6:40              Chair report

Co-Chairs George Apodaca and Margarita Vargas-Betancourt reported on LACCHA’s activities for2015-2016:

·       Itinerant Archivists trip to Ecuador  

·       Desmantelando Fronteras/Breaking Down Borders

·       SAA Diversity Award Statement on the Orlando and Archivists’ Role in Creating a More Diverse Society by Leaders of AACR, LACCHA, and LAGAR

·       Participation of LACCHA in the SAA Leadership Forum Panel Discussion on Diversity

·       We obtained funding to bring Enrique Chmelnik, President of the Association of Mexican Private Archives and Libraries (AMABPAC) and Director of the Center of Documentation and Research of the Jewish Communities in Mexico (CDIJUM), to our annual meeting.

They also announced the 2016 election results and introduced the incoming Junior Co-Chair: Ana Rodriguez.

6:45-7:00              Feature presentation

Enrique Chmelnik,  President of the Association of Mexican Private Archives and Libraries (AMABPAC) and Director of the Center of Documentation and Research of the Jewish Communities in Mexico (CDIJUM), gave a presentation on Mexico’s new laws regulating archives and how those laws affect private archives and libraries, such as CDIJUM. He described in detail the negative impact of such a law to private archives and libraries.

The presentation caused a great impression; some of the meeting participants have expressed the desire of following up with the issue, either finding a venue where Enrique Chmelnik could publish on the issue or on a statement from SAA. However, following up must follow close discussion with Mexican specialists because international relations between both countries are sensitive.

Finally, we announced Enrique Chmelnik’s participation in the Diversity Forum which took place on Thursday August 4, 2016. During the forum, Chmelnik discussed the history of the Jewish people in Mexico, the issues that minorities like them face in Mexico, and the significance of the Center of Documentation and Research of the Jewish Communities in Mexico to preserve the cultural heritage of the community. Afterwards, members of the audience as well as other presenters in the forum expressed a great interest in the talk.

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