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Thank you to our candidates for standing for the 2021 Manuscript Repositories Section election.
Section members, please review their candidate statements and get to know the candidates so you can make an informed choice.
You will be voting for:
Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!
The following candidate is running for the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect position:
Laura Bell
Currently I am an Archivist in the Special Collections & Archives at the University of Baltimore where my main responsibilities involve collections management and collections processing, as well as archival accessioning and the creation of online finding aids. I also develop physical and digital exhibits, coordinate social media outreach for the library, work with students and volunteers working on archives projects, and am part of the library's digital preservation task force. I am dedicated to providing preservation and transparemt access for both analog and digital manuscript collections. I earned my Master of Library Science (MLS) degree with a Specialization in Archives and Records Management from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2018 and my B.A. degree in English from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2014. I am a Certified Archivist through the ACA.
I have been a member of SAA since 2016 and am currently a member of the Manuscripts Repository Section steering committee. Previously, I was a Students and New Archives Professionals (SNAP) Section (SNAP) Section, Ex-Officio, New Professionals Blog Editor. I have enjoyed participating in SAA and have appreciated the opportunities it creates for archivists to connect to each other and to new resources as our work evolves.
I'm excited for the opportunity to contribute further as the Manuscript Repository Section Vice-Chair. If elected, I look forward to continuing our outreach efforts including the resume review program and our 'what I didn't learn' discussion series. I'm excited for the chance to work with the steering committee to further develop our section offerings.
Kara Flynn
Previously, I have worked as the Special Collections Librarian and History Liaison Librarian at Augusta University, as a Project Archivist at the Senator John Heinz History Center Library & Archives, and as a Special Collections Project Cataloger at Haverford College. I hold an M.L.I.S. with a concentration in Archives Management from the University of Pittsburgh.
In my current position, I provide research and reference assistance, create engaging public programming, lead the exhibits team, and regularly provide primary source instruction for undergraduate courses in a range of disciplines. During my time in the profession, I have had a range of experiences and job duties, starting in archival processing and later working as a lone arranger and liaison librarian managing all aspects of a small Special Collections & Archives before focusing more on outreach and instruction in my current position.
I strive to be an engaged member of the archival professional community and would be honored to serve as a Steering Committee member for the Manuscript Repositories Section of the Society of American Archivists. I have presented my work at a variety of conferences and have published articles in various archival journals but feel the most engaged with the profession when I have contributed to SAA committees and task forces. I currently serve on the RAO Exhibits and Events committee as a member of the Foundational Documents Taskforce, and I previously served as a member-at-large on SAA’s Students and New Archival Professionals Section (SNAP) Steering Committee. I think that the Manuscript Repositories Section represents an important leadership group in supporting our colleagues in the profession who come from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds, and who represent a diversity of archival environments and areas of expertise. I would look forward to the opportunity to engage the section with the wider profession.
I received a MLS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a specialization in archives in 2002 and BA in History from the University of Iowa in 2000. I have been at the Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections since 2002.
My position entails the selection of collections for acquisition, including university, local and state related materials as well as shepherding alumni, faculty and private individuals through the donation process. In addition, I accession and inventory new acquisitions, perform reference services, process collections, supervise students and serve on MSU Libraries’ committees related to accessibility, hiring and best practices.
My previous committee work has been at the state level where I was a board member-at-large for the Michigan Archival Association from 2010-2017 as well as chair of the MAA Marilyn McNitt Memorial Scholarship Committee from 2013-2017.
I look forward to the opportunity to expand my service and work on behalf of the Manuscript Repositories Section, SAA as well as collaborate with my colleagues.
Associate Professor Lorraine A. Stuart is Head of Special Collections/Curator of Historical Manuscripts and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously, she directed the archival program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from 1995-2016. A long-standing member of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), she served as representative to the Committee on Archives, Libraries and Museums and chair of the Museum Archives Section. She has spoken on descriptive practices, documentation and digital preservation at numerous national and regional conferences and the 2015 ICOM-CIDOC conference. She has a Digital Archives Specialist certification and is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. She has served as a grant reviewer for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, president of the Archivists of the Houston Area, and a board member for the Society of Southwest Archivists and the Society of Mississippi Archives (SMA). She is currently the SMA representative to the Regional Archival Associations Consortium. She earned her BA in art history from the University of Texas at Austin and her MLIS from Louisiana State University of Baton Rouge.
The series, “What I didn’t learn in Library School”, piqued my interest in running for the Manuscript Repositories Section’s steering committee. As the Head of Special Collections at a university with an archival studies certificate, I am particularly interested in archival education. In general, I am a proponent of programming that is practical in nature and addresses the everyday scenarios that those new to the profession or working as “lone arrangers” face. If elected to the steering committee, I would champion programming of this nature that, as we have all learned, can be offered remotely at little or no cost.
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Society of American Archivists
Manuscript Repositories Section
Created | 29 June 2004
Last updated | 28 September 2018
