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Bio: My current position is the College Archivist and Digital Collections Librarian at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Since I joined SAA in 2005 as a graduate student, I have been a member of the Reference, Access and Outreach Section. I have been fortunate to serve on RAO task forces (National History Day and currently as co-chair of the Teaching with Primary Sources working group). I have also served as the RAO Communications Liaison for two years, and am the editor of the RAO Newsletter.
Statement: My involvement in the RAO section has allowed me to work with amazing people and also to learn how the Section operates. This knowledge and experience is one of the skills that I will bring to the Section as the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect. Another skill I have to offer is passion. My archival bailiwick is promoting the use of collections. I am deeply invested in generating new methods and ideas for reference, access, and outreach not only at my place of employ, but in the profession more broadly. I love learning and pursuing new ideas, and I really enjoy looking at the big picture to innovate new practices and advance archives. Finally, as a lone arranger in my day job, I rely on collaboration to make progress on initiatives. Therefore, one of the best words to describe me is “connector” because I thrive on being in conversation with others and linking people to resources they are seeking whether that is information sources, people, or ideas to lead them on their path of discovery. Because of all of these interests, I have strong listening and interpersonal skills, and I enjoy serving others. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my involvement in the RAO Section, and I thank the RAO leadership for the nomination to serve as the next Vice Chair/Chair-Elect.
Bio: My job for the past five years as part of the Ford Historical Resources Collaborative at The Henry Ford has been to provide research and reference services to my colleagues at the Ford Motor Company Archives, drawing on the significant collection of historical records and photographs that the company donated to us in 1964. I’ve also facilitated public access to our collections during regular reference shifts in our reading room. It’s been extremely helpful as a processor and cataloger (which I was in a former life, and still try to do when I can) to see how the collections I’ve described are actually being used. In addition, for over a year now I’ve been the social media liaison for Historical Resources (which includes archivists, librarians, and curatorial, conservation, and registrar staff). This involves coordinating blog posts — from recruiting writers, to educating, encouraging, and editing – along with serving as a resource on collections information for our institution’s social media manager.
Outside of work, I’m the co-editor of Michigan Archival Association’s biannual newsletter, Open Entry, and am also a member of the MAA board. In both roles, it’s been my mission to ensure that our members are well informed and have a voice in the organization. As part of SAA’s Annual Meeting Task Force over the last two years, I’ve helped analyze current practices and formulate recommendations for updating and improving SAA’s annual meeting. Specifically, on the Online Access Subgroup of the task force (first as a member and later as its chair), my group and I researched and recommended ways to increase and modernize online access to the annual meeting. Through it all, communicating our charge to SAA members and gathering and listening to their input was crucial. The task force’s work continues this summer with the hosting of a forum for member discussion of our final report. I’m also a member of MAC (Midwest Archives Conference), and I served on its 2011-2012 Nominating Committee.
Bio: Jodi Allison-Bunnell is the Program Manager for Northwest Digital Archives at the Orbis Cascade Alliance, where she has worked with archives and special collections repositories in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska since 2007. Her prior positions were at Oregon State University, the University of Montana, and the University of Maryland. She holds an MA in American History and an MLS from the University of Maryland at College Park and a BA in English summa cum laude from Whitman College. She is active in the Society of American Archivists and Northwest Archivists. She is most likely the only archivist in the US with a cat and a vat of sauerkraut in her office.
Bio: Matt Herbison is the Reference & Outreach Archivist at the LegacyCenter of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Matt writes, "I enjoy advocating for the rights of archives users—and for the obligation and right of archivists to actively cultivate and meaningfully engage as many new archives users as possible. I have a particular interest in working with K-12 and undergraduate students and teachers to bring primary sources into the classroom in both face-to-face and online settings, with the goal of building 'simple' document analysis skills all the way through to the complex task of intelligently incorporating archives into students' research processes.
Statement: For the last two-plus years, I've been working with the RAO Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Working Group, as a member of the TPS Survey group and as a leader of the group creating the TPS Bibliography. I have also done stints as Web-person for MARAC and the SAA Museum Archives Section. I am active in local groups, including leading the THATCamp Philly organizing group, am a founding member of the Greater Philadelphia Digital Humanities Group (PhillyDH), and am currently Immediate Past Chair of the Delaware Valley ArchivistsGroup. I'm also a member of the 2013 cohort of the Archives Leadership Institute.
Prior to arriving at MIT, Nora worked with archives at the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives and Records Preservation, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, the Massachusetts State Archives, and on a number of grant-funded archives projects.
Statement: I bring a breadth and depth of experience in reference having worked with researchers in a variety of different archival repositories. I have initiated and collaborated on many outreach efforts, from newsletters, to presentations, to exhibits, and enjoy working with faculty in difference disciplines (including architecture, music, history and writing) to tailor instruction sessions to the needs of a class. Whether working in a one-person archives or in a larger repository, I have worked with professional colleagues and interns to make collections available for use as quickly as possible, and to find ways to share information about our holdings. I enjoy working in archives and learning from my colleagues. I hope for the opportunity to work more closely with my RAO colleagues to share ideas about how to inform and engage researchers and others about the amazing materials we curate.