The SAA Membership Committee is responsible for the following:
- Membership Service. Identifying the needs of members and recommending the development of services to meet those needs.
- Increasing Membership. Recommending means for increasing SAA's membership base, especially among underrepresented groups including, but not limited to, people identifying as Black, Latino/a, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander.
- Keeping Membership Informed. Recommending to the SAA Executive Director, the Council, and other SAA committees and related associations ways in which to make prospective and current members aware of the resources, services, and membership benefits of SAA.
- Welcoming New Members. Recommending ways to acknowledge new members and to encourage participation in SAA activities. Conducting welcoming activities via the committee's Key Contact program, which comprises seventy volunteer Key Contact and District Representatives that welcome new members in their state or province.
- Identifying Nonmember Needs and Perceptions. Gathering information on and analyzing non-members’ needs and perceptions of SAA. Recommending ways in which to meet these needs to attract non-members to join SAA.
The Membership Committee runs the SAA Membership Blog, which shares the work of the SAA Membership Committee and its Key Contacts, Career Development, and Mentoring programs; highlights the perspectives and experiences of SAA members; and shares resources about SAA and archival work. Current and former members of the blog project team are Devhra BennettJones, Alison Clemens, Cheryll Fong, Daniel Hartwig, Natalie Johnson, Helen Kim, Megan McShea, Jennifer Motszko, and Lydia Tang. Visit the blog to learn more: http://membership.archivists.org/
The Membership Committee wants to hear from you! You may browse our Member Roster under Committee Resources to find a point of contact for the Committee, or you may contact us at saamembershipcommittee@gmail.com.
News & Announcements
The Barriers to Participation survey conducted by the SAA Membership Committee in early 2017 highlighted lack of financial support for annual meeting and workshop attendance as a significant barrier to continuing education and greater participation in SAA. As a follow‐up to that survey and as a continuation of the Committee’s efforts to learn more about SAA’s membership, the group developed this 6 question survey to explore professional development support among the membership.
