2017 Privacy and Confidentiality Section Election

Hello, Section Members! It's time to exercise the franchise and cast your vote for next year's Section leaders. We have three open offices this year - Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, and two seats on the Steering Committee. Please take a look at your worthy candidates below, and you'll be notified when the official ballot is ready!

 1.      Vice Chair / Chair-Elect

This individual serves one year as Chair-Elect for the Section, and the following year as the Chair. The Chair-Elect serves on the Steering Committee, serves as acting Chair in the Chair’s absence, and assists with Section business, including planning for the annual meeting.  In their eventual role as Chair, the incumbent directs and reports the activities of the Section, organizes and conducts the annual meeting of the Section, chairs the Steering Committee, acts as liaison for the Section to other bodies, appoints Section committees as needed, and is responsible for administrative matters, including, but not limited to, annual reports to the SAA.

Candidates

Daniel McCormack

Daniel McCormack, CA has served as the archivist/records manager for the Town of Burlington (Massachusetts), since 2002. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and Simmons College. He is primarily responsible for the town’s public health, personnel, and municipal business records. Prior to serving in Burlington he was a reference librarian at the Brockton (MA) Public Library and a journalist. A member of SAA since 1999, he previously served as the Lone Arrangers Roundtable liaison to the Standards Committee. Currently he is a member of the SAA Foundation’s National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives Grant Review Committee. He has served on numerous committees and task forces for New England Archivists. He is a member of the Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board.

Statement

Between changes to our laws and an increasing amount of sensitive data online, archivists face a rapidly evolving privacy landscape. More than at any time in recent history, the profession needs this section to be a strong voice for, and a place to address, the increasingly complicated issues surrounding privacy and confidentiality matters. As vice-chair/chair-elect, I am committed to continuing the work of this section with those who share our concerns while providing greater resources and advocacy for our members.

Every stakeholder has in interest in shaping the perspectives surrounding private and confidential information. The balance between restriction and access continues to shift and archivists need to have a voice in these discussions. This section must continue to be a place where we can have passionate and informed discussions about what is, and what should remain private. As a member of the Steering Committee I have been impressed with our cooperation with other sections and will advocate for greater combined efforts on a range of topics. We must continue our leadership role on behalf of archivists and the wider records community. We will be better together by sharing our knowledge, expanding our offerings of resources and assets, and working more closely with those in related fields.

All archivists are touched by privacy and confidentiality issues. As a section we need to take a broad view of our work and advocacy on behalf of the greater profession. We need to consider the impact of new technologies and the role of providers in how we regard online privacy. We need consider privacy and confidentiality in common with matters such as human rights and intellectual freedom. When threats to privacy arise, we should be willing need to speak on behalf of those whose rights are threatened – and the greater the threat, the louder our voices should be. Above all we need greater efforts from our members in advocating on these issues that impact us. Involvement has made this a vital section and I am committed to engaging our passions and promoting our interests on privacy and confidentiality matters to the archival universe and beyond.

2.      Steering Committee Member

The Member-at-Large serves a two-year term as member of the Steering Committee, which directs and coordinates activities of the Section.  Committee members collaboratively establish projects throughout the year, shape the Section’s long-term plans, and plan Section meetings.

Candidates

Haley Aaron            

Haley Aaron has worked as a Collections Archivist at the Alabama Department of Archives and History since 2014. She received her MLIS from the University of Alabama, her MA in History from Georgia State University, and her BA in Journalism and History from Samford University. Haley serves as treasurer of the Society of Alabama Archivists and has been a Certified Archivist since 2016. Her research interests include attorney-client privilege, processing legal records, and privacy concerns presented by oral history interviews.

Statement

Working at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) provides me with a unique perspective on privacy and confidentiality. Since ADAH collects both government records and private manuscript collections, we provide access to a wide variety of materials, including electronic records, medical records, legal records, and public records. As a processing archivist, I strive to respect the privacy and confidentiality of individual donors while providing the broadest level of access possible to researchers. The resources provided by the Privacy and Confidentiality Steering Committee have been invaluable as I have worked to streamline our review of sensitive materials and address privacy concerns such as attorney-client privilege.

By establishing best practices, providing practical advice, and promoting awareness, the Privacy and Confidentiality Section provides vital assistance to SAA members who have questions about how to respectfully and efficiently address privacy and confidentiality concerns in their collections. For archivists who have limited institutional guidelines for addressing privacy and confidentiality concerns, the opportunity to discuss best practices is essential. If chosen to serve as a member of the Steering Committee, I would like to help develop practical resources and promote dialogue about how to address emerging privacy issues.

Lydia Tang        

Dr. Lydia Tang is an Archivist-Librarian at Michigan State University Special Collections since 2015.  Previously, she was a Project Archivist in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, and earlier held a number of graduate assistant positions while obtaining her MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including at the American Library Association Archives, UIUC University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

Statement

As a potential steering committee member, I would like to expand the Roundtable’s web presence to be a resource for fellow archivists for guidance on addressing issues of privacy and confidentiality.  I would like to engage across institutions in sharing sample non-disclosure forms and processing manuals which address these issues in order to spread awareness and standardize the handling of these issues within the profession.  Thank you for your consideration!

Lauren Wittek         

Lauren Wittek is a current MLIS student working as a Reference & Learning Services Specialist at the University of Washington's Odegaard Undergraduate Library. This summer she will be working with special collections at UW's Labor Archives and plans on making archival work the focus of her capstone project. 

Statement

I have served as the 2016-2017 Privacy and Confidentiality section intern and am excited by the prospect of expanding my role within SAA. While I am new to the archival field, I am keenly aware of the role that confidentiality - or the lack thereof - can play in our everyday lives. If elected to this position, I seek to continue exploring the evolving ways in which archival materials are used and how the need for information intersects with privacy protection. 

Nicholas Wojcik        

Nicholas Wojcik has served as the Archivist/Collection Manager of Native American Languages since June 2011. He has an MLIS with a concentration in archives from the University of Oklahoma and have worked in a variety of public and private collecting settings, including the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Bizzell Memorial Library, the OU History of Science Collection, and the Thomas C. Oden Rare Books Collection. Within these various capacities he has been responsible for and fascinated with dealing with private and confidential resources and issues and is looking to further expand his knowledge and skills in this area of archives. 

Statement

Most of my experience comes from my current position working with Native American materials and members of various Native American communities, each of which have their own needs,  interests, and viewpoints when it comes to privacy and confidentiality issues. This can include, but is not limited to, sharing their Native language with non-community members; levels of access to language resources; and building relationships and trust with non-tribal archives, museums, and other information-based institutions. 

In addition to working directly with community members and these issues, I am also responsible for managing private and confidential information and resources about the museum, its staff, budgets, and plans on the departmental level. I see this potential opportunity to serve as a Steering Committee Member within the SAA Privacy & Confidentiality Section as a way to become more involved with SAA and help this important Section grow. I appreciate your consideration and welcome any questions you may have for me. In the meantime, I wish the Section the best in its endeavors and in its search to fill this and all vacant positions.