It’s time to Vote!

It is time to vote for the 2025-2026 PLASC section Steering Committee!

You will be voting for:

- One Co-Chair, for a two year term

- One Secretary, for a one year term

Nazelie Doghramadjian 

Secretary

PhD Candidate, University of Michigan School of Information 

Bio: 

Nazelie Doghramadjian is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Information. Her research focuses on intellectual choices made in the Armenian community in the United States when preserving their records and their impact on academic archives and special collections. She works with community stakeholders, scholars, and practitioners alike. She holds a B.A. in Humanities from Villanova University. Her work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and juried proceedings such as Archival Science on Armenian women’s archives, and the Association for Library and Information Science Education on personal archival stewardship. She has presented her work on archival silences, narrative approaches to recordkeeping, and best principles for working with diaspora archives at several conferences in the archival, American, and Armenian studies fields. Before starting graduate school, Nazelie worked for a variety of non-profit organizations including Data & Society Research Institute, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and A Better Tech NYU. 

Candidate Statement:

My name is Nazelie Doghramadjian and I am running for Secretary for the Society of American Archivists Public Library Archives and Special Collection Section. I am interested in this position because of my previous administrative experience as well as my current archival research, and the direction toward special collections and finding aids that it has pointed me in. As the Executive Assistant at Data & Society, I kept meeting minutes, managed the time and schedules for the senior leadership team, and engaged in board administration through assembling board books, archiving and making accessible meeting minutes, bylaws, and resolutions. I participated in the administrative functioning of nonprofits, and also gained confidence interacting with and leading meetings for those in more senior positions. I especially hope to engage in this type of work as the Secretary for PLASC.  

In my current work as a doctoral student, I focus on the stewardship practices of community archivists and practitioners alike, and work specifically with a community member in metro-Detroit assembling a family archive and preparing it for institutional donation. As part of the agreement with the institution in question, both the community member and I have the agency to arrange, describe, and create a finding aid for the collection. This experience has opened up my world of special collections and institutional archives work, and I have been eager to learn more about special collections in academic and public libraries and archives. It is through this experience with PLASC that I hope to offer meaningful contribution to the great work of the section and learn more about public library archives alongside dedicated archivists, scholars, and practitioners in the space.   Thank you for your time in considering my application, and I look forward to getting involved with such an exciting section within SAA!

Bianca Finley Alper

Co-Chair

Supervising Librarian & Archivist, Anne T. Kent California Room, Marin County Free Library

Bio:

I hold an MLIS with a concentration in Special Collections and Archives and a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from the University of Arizona College of Information Science where I was a Knowledge River Scholar researching the information needs of marginalized and minoritized communities in the US and community-based archival initiatives. I come to the library and information sciences profession after working for over a decade as a curator and exhibition developer in museums, libraries, and archives with a wide-range of experience in curation and collections management of multimedia art, public history, and cultural heritage collections. My academic and professional experience sits at the intersections of the development and stewardship of archives and special collections, public history, and collective memory and centers participatory and community-based initiatives for inclusive representation and widespread accessibility focused on promoting collections engagement and impact across stakeholder communities.

Candidate Statement:

I currently hold the position of supervising librarian and archivist for The Marin County Free Library’s Anne T. Kent California Room, a local history archives and special collections. The Anne T. Kent California Room is a work unit of a county public library system and is physically situated in a public library branch. The Anne T. Kent California Room serves the cultural, primary source, and reference information needs of library patrons, staff and residents of the County of Marin, and the general public. In alignment with Marin County Free Library’s Anti-Racism & Equity Strategic Plan, the Anne T. Kent California room strives to become a more inclusive and accessible community resource for all Marin County communities. 

I am interested in serving as Co-Chair of the Public Library Archives and Special Collections section to participate in a cohort of learning and advocacy for historic collections and cultural heritage held in public libraries across the country. I have previously held positions in public museums, special collections and archives at public universities, and in community-based archives. I am currently in my first position managing an archives and special collections work unit in a public library, addressing community, service model, and collections stewardship needs. As Co-Chair of the PLASC section, I hope to contribute my knowledge and experience and learn from colleagues to further best practices while bringing greater awareness to the unique challenges and opportunities in our area of practice.