Elections 2018!

Spring is finally here, which means it's time to elect next year's Lone Arrangers leadership.

Here are this year's candidates:

Vice Chair/Chair Elect

Ruth Slagle

Bio

While completing my B.A. in History at Asbury University, 2014, I had my first encounters in an archive through an internship working in a backlog collection. After receiving my MLIS degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, May 2017, I worked as a student archivist for the Madison County Clerk and Recorder's Office in Virginia City, Montana through SHRAB in partnership with the Montana Historical Society. This past September, I started as the Public Services Librarian at the Baptist College of Florida, where I supervise Information Literacy, Distant Learning Services, the Rare Book Collection, and the college's archives. This fall I will teach an Archives Management course for undergraduates. As an archivist, I am my own advocate working with students and faculty.

Candidate Statement

As a member of this committee, I would like to take away useful strategies and methods for further advocating the presence of archives in our society and local influences. As a newer member and professional, I want to connect with other archivists in the field and build on my current knowledge of best practices. When I started my position, I felt so lost and this section's forms helped me feel connected to others going through the same experience. I am running to for Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect because I want to be more involved in the archives profession and give back. I also know the only way to not feel overwhelmed is by connecting with other archivists. During college and graduate school, I held various positions of leadership. It would be great to collaborate with another section such as archival educators and post our meeting minutes to be easily accessible. I look forward to working with everyone in the future.

Steering Committee

Michael Maloney

Bio

Michael Maloney is the librarian and archivist for the Schenectady County Historical Society in Schenectady, New York where enjoys assisting researchers with genealogy and local history, researching and writing blog posts for the library’s blog, processing and arranging the archives and planning programs to promote Schenectady’s rich history, and participating in outreach programs. He has also supervised several digitization projects for New York Heritage. Mike is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference as well as a member and newsletter editor of the Capital Area Archivists of New York. He also teaches genealogy classes for the Schenectady County Community College’s Community Education department. He previously worked at the Albany County Hall of Records, the Albany Public Library and was an intern at the New York State Archives and received his M.S.I.S from SUNY Albany in 2012.

Candidate Statment 

The lone arrangers section has been very helpful to me in the past and I found the lone arrangers listserv to be engaging and supportive. I would like to give back to this section by joining the steering committee. I hope to advance the goals laid out in the lone arrangers strategic plan and to work towards keeping the Lone Arrangers section educational, welcoming, and fun.

Nora Reilly

Bio

I have worked in libraries since 2004 with only a brief interruption while I completed a MFA in Writing. Before I moved permanently into the archives and special collections field, I worked both as a public and school librarian. Since 2015, I have been fortunate to serve as Archivist/Assistant Librarian in my current position at the New York School of Interior Design. I am the first Archivist on staff, and it has been a challenge and a pleasure to grow an archives program from the ground up. I truly love my job as an Archivist, I am continually inspired by the materials I process and the researchers I serve.

Candidate Statement

As I stated above, I am the first Archivist on staff at my institution which only formally established an archives program in 2013, in anticipation of the school's centennial. (I suppose this makes me a Lone, First Arranger.) I have relied heavily on the discussions within this section to guide me; not only when I need a specific answer to a question, but often I simply scroll through discussions for my own edification. I am throwing my name into the hat for this position to give back to a section that I have benefited from immensely over the years. I hope I can bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas to the table, and I would be thrilled to work on the SOLO newsletter. My favorite pieces in SOLO are the profiles of fellow Lone Arrangers and their collections. I especially enjoy when the archivists write about their journey; how they became an archivist, and then how they came to be in their current position. The profession is filled with interesting people and collections. As part of my service, I’d be happy to solicit articles, report on the activities of my fellow Lone Arrangers, and work to get their stories out into the world.

Casey Bower

Bio

Casey Bowser became the Archivist for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, an international, apostolic community of women religious, in July of 2017. As a lone arranger, she has endeavored to bring the Archives into the 21st century through digitization projects and educational outreach through social media. She believes that the legacies of congregations of women religious should be shared with the public and archives are the key to protecting, sharing, and promoting this essential history.

Casey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Public History from Saint Vincent College and a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the Society of American Archivists, ACWR, the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the American Alliance of Museums.

Prior to her work with the Sisters of Charity, Casey cared for museum collections at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania for five years. As the Registrar, she was responsible for the physical objects in the collection, as well as the archival information related to each piece of artwork. In addition, Casey has several years of museum and archival experience through her work at the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery, the Archives of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media, and Historic Deerfield.

Candidate Statement

In agreement with the mission of the Lone Arrangers Roundtable, my goal as a member of the Steering Committee would be to help “provide education, stimulate communication, and encourage support among archivists working in a ‘lone arranger’ setting.”

As an archivist working in the small subset of the archives of women religious, I have encountered firsthand the struggles associated with being a lone arranger and have found the discussions on the LAR list-serv extremely relevant to my institution’s needs, far more than other groups. I hope to become a part of this great resource through the Society of American Archivists.

My goals as Steering Committee member would be to help encourage more local and regional support groups among the Lone Arrangers membership and provide online or in-person educational opportunities. The unique challenges of Lone Arrangers deserve a place in the overall conversation of archival study, theory, and management, so it’s important that members feel supported outside of their physical institutions. The collegiality among members of the section is apparent, but I think this can be extended as a true network of support in the field.

In addition, the revitalized section newsletter, Solo, can be utilized to not only share our successes and failures, but also provide informative and educational resources for the community.

Ultimately, my hope would be to continue and extend the great work of the Lone Arrangers Roundtable. For many archivists, it is the only real resource they can access conveniently and afford financially.