2024 Steering Committee Elections

Thank you to our candidates for standing for the 2024 Manuscript Repositories Section election.

Section members, please review the candidate statements below and get to know the candidates so you can make an informed choice.

You will be voting for:

• One Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, for a two-year term; and
• Three (3) Steering Committee members (two-year terms).

Ballots are open June 24 - July 15, 2024.

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate

The following candidate is running for the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect position:

Eric Stoykovich

Manuscript Librarian and College Archivist, Watkinson Library and College Archives, Trinity College (Hartford)

I have been a member of SAA for just over 10 years, serving in various capacities, including as Chair of the Archival History Section. Since 2020, I have been on the Steering Committee of the Manuscripts Section. I look forward to continuing the engagement with practitioners within and outside of manuscript repositories. More than ever, working with manuscripts has connections to many other areas of professional archival work, including collaborative instruction and research, donor outreach and researcher accessibility, and conscientious arrangement and description. The health of the section depends on listening to and drawing interest from other professionals whose work is only indirectly related to the handwritten, the personal or family papers, or the non-institutional archives that the section has traditionally focused on.

As College Archivist and Manuscript Librarian at Trinity College’s Watkinson Library since 2019, I have responsibilities for both institutional archives as well as non-institutional collections. Working through a processing backlog of our College Archives, I am also overseeing the re-processing of manuscript collections, some of which had barely been accessioned under previous management. As a liberal arts college, Trinity is committed to the undergraduate educational experience as well as a focus on pedagogy. Therefore, I have been able to obtain funding and support for the Watkinson Library Institute, which I co-direct with the Rare Books Librarian. The Institute has prepared and taught faculty during 2.5-day workshops on ‘Teaching with Special Collections and Archives.’

 Beyond my day-to-day work with manuscript and archival collections, I frequently review archival history monographs for a variety of journals. I served as founding editor of the online-only Archival History News (the newsletter of the Archival History Section) for over five years. I am also a Certified Archivist in good standing.

Steering Committee Member Candidates

Amy E. Armstrong (she/her)

Head of the Archives Cataloging Unit, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

I have over seventeen years of experience facilitating discovery and access to material in archives and special collections, currently as head of archival processing at the Harry Ransom Center. I supervise the work and professional development of the archivists and project staff in my unit, help implement standards and best practices for processing archival materials, work with stakeholders to establish processing priorities, review finding aids, and I continue to process archival material in a variety of formats. I love that aspect of my job and am fortunate that I am still able to practice and apply all that I have learned throughout my career to making archival materials available to broad audiences.

In addition to overseeing the processing of collections, I have taken an active interest in the operations beyond my unit and have attempted to positively influence policy, priorities, and the overall culture of my institution at a macro-level. I initiated and co-chaired an employee engagement committee, formed various reading groups, and served on the Center's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Description and Access Standards Working Group (previously known as the Conscious Description and Access Working Group prior to the passing of state legislation that prohibited work focused on DEIAB initiatives). I have served as a panel reviewer for NEH and NHPRC grant applications on several occasions.

To this point, I have focused my professional energy closer to home and sought to positively impact the institution where I work and contribute to the field by mentoring and encouraging students and early-career professionals. I am excited to broaden my scope and contribute to our field in a different capacity. I am particularly interested in learning ways to advocate for our descriptive work in ever-increasingly restrictive political environments in states such as Texas.

Some skills I bring to any experience include my enthusiasm for learning, ability to observe and assess strengths and needs, offer suggestions for improvement, and prioritize inclusion and equity. I see opportunity for growth almost everywhere and believe it's important to practice open communication, encourage diverse voices and experiences, and explore new ideas and different approaches.

Holly Deakyne

Political Papers Archivist, University of Delaware Special Collections

I have worked in numerous archival settings, including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Ohio University, the Getty Research Institute, and the New-York Historical Society, primarily as a processing archivist for personal and professional papers. I hold an MLS from Pratt Institute with a specialization in archives and BA in art history from Florida State University. In my current position, I am appraising, arranging, and describing congressional papers in a hybrid collection. In addition, I supervise student workers and am working with others in the department to update the description and access components of our electronic records processing workflow. 

I previously served on the SAA Museum Archives Section Standards and Best Practices Working Group from 2013 to 2017. I have been a member of the Manuscript Repository Steering Committee since 2022 and am interested in renewing my service. We have organized several virtual educational events for archivists, and plan to continue providing programs relevant to archivists' interests to help them expand their knowledge and skills in the profession and to connect with others with the same interests.

Lindsay Sheldon

Director of Archives and Academic Technology, Washington College

I serve as the Director of Archives and Academic Technology at Washington College. I use my skills as an Archivist to ensure the care, preservation, and accessibility of Washington College’s archival and special collections. Before entering the Academic area of the profession, I worked at the Georgia Historical Society. I started into the world of Archives beginning as a digitization intern and working through my MLIS until I was an Archivist. My background in photography and art has allowed me to understand how the visual makes some of the strongest connections for potential users of archival material, prioritizing digital archives and engaging the community with blog posts while we continue to work through our backlog. I strive to give the collections in my care the dissemination and description so they will be beneficial to researchers while also doing my utmost to ensure their preservation for the future. Recently, I have been embarking on migration and conservation projects that have allowed me to connect with conservators and vendors in these areas, I hope that these projects will give us a new avenue to connect with the community and create future digital humanities projects.

I obtained my MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013. I received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000 and a postgraduate degree in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 2001. I have been a member of SAA since 2011 and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Archives Conference since 2019. While in Georgia, I was a member of the Society of Georgia Archivists, and I served on the Georgia Archives Month and Annual Meeting Planning committees. 

While I work at an academic library I understand that the collections outside those of the institution give the greatest context and understanding to the larger role the College plays. Bringing forward the individual experiences held in the manuscript collections are the most beneficial for our students. When I work with our students in the First Year Seminar, Magpies of the Archives, class I most often use the manuscript collections to peak their interest for further research. I would be honored to work with my fellow committee members on ways to advance and promote manuscript collections in all types of archives.

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Society of American Archivists

Manuscript Repositories Section

Section Leadership

Created | 29 June 2004

Last updated | 28 September 2018