Minutes for the SNAP Meeting at the SAA Annual Conference - 07/26/2017

SNAP Steering Committee 2016-2017

Date: July 26, 2017

Location: SAA Annual Conference, Oregon Convention Center

Time: 2:30 PST

1. Welcome from Kelly

2. Jamie Martin, IBM Corporation Archives/Business Archives Section Chair

   1. Partnered on past Twitter chat about business archives

   2. BAS wants to work more closely with SNAP members

      1. There’s a lot to learn about business archives and they want to share their knowledge!

      2. A lot of people fall into business archives but it’s a great path that you can intentionally seek out

      3. They’re looking for ways to collaborate with SNAP in the future

      4. Tips for business resume and cover letter crafting:

         1. First line of review is HR; tailor your resume & cover letter to the HR member. Use key words from the job posting. Make sure you meet and explicitly state that you have the appropriate education.

         2. Look up tips for business writing. Be concise and to the point! Bullet points are your friend.

         3. You might interview with someone who is not an archivist. Be sure to translate archives terms so that the interviewer understands what you’ll bring to the table.

      5. Where to look for business archives:

         1. SAA job list

         2. ArchivesGig

         3. Business Archives Section listserv

         4. Go directly to company websites

      6. They are a resource for SNAP members who want to apply to business archives jobs! They often have leads on jobs and are willing to help.

3. Introduction of new Steering Committee members/thanking outgoing members

   1. If SNAP members ran for a new position, but weren’t selected, there are ex officio positions available. Members can reach out to us if they’re interested, or if they have any suggestions and comments about SNAP leadership and activities.

4. Review of goals and accomplishments

   1. Kelly wanted to create a situation where SNAP could coordinate a group living situation/dormitory for a reduced fee for SAA. Wasn’t able to accomplish this for SAA Portland, but is hopeful it could happen next year in DC.

5. Student Chapter Manual - Emily Kintigh

   1. Continued the project of creating the Student Chapter Manual

   2. Created a manual that answered a lot of the questions that SAA student chapter leaders often had

   3. They sent out questions and received feedback from student leaders

   4. It will be a living document so it can be continually reviewed

   5. It will be sent out as a resource for all student leaders

6. Council Report - Erin Lawrimore, Council Liaison

   1. Update from Council Meeting

      1. Issued statement about 2019 meeting. Currently scheduled to meet in Austin, Texas, but TX has a bathroom bill on their legislative slate. The council is considering moving the conference.

      2. Discussed the introduction of an Independent Archivists section.

      3. Membership committee survey on barriers to participation. All the prep materials are online.

      4. Discussed component group funding.

      5. Approved SAA’s support for two ICA documents.

         1. Principles of Access to Archives

         2. Basic Principles in the Role of Archivists and Records Managers in Support Of Human Rights

      6. 8am tomorrow: New Member Coffee! Opportunity to meet & greet on a more informal level

7. Lightning Talks - Greta Pittenger; Gayle Schechter; Ryan Leimkuehler; Valencia Johnson, Will Clements, and Kathryn Antonelli

   1. “Making the most of a short term assignment,” Greta Pittenger

      1. Started as an intern and now a temp at NPR as a Research, Archives & Data Strategy

      2. Short Term Assignments have become very prevalent in our profession. Would love to chat more after the presentation about how this has arisen.

      3. What to do when you find yourself in these opportunities:

         1. Set goals right away

            1. What do you want to gain from the experience? What do you need to do to reach that goal?

         2. Seek mentors and peer relationships

            1. Take advantage of the knowledge of others

            2. Ask for feedback!

         3. Keep a record of what you’ve learned and accomplished

            1. Take notes, make observations & reflections

      4. Make sure to think about health and wellness

         1. These professional situations can be stressful

         2. Think about practical issues like: will you have health insurance? What do you need to take care of yourself?

      5. Think about your support network and the logistics of a temporary move

      6. Read the 2017 WArS/SAA Salary Survey. It includes some great info about project positions

   2. Gayle Schechter

      1. Interned at UMass Boston, working with their Lecco’s Lemma Hip Hop collection

      2. Boston is often overlooked when thinking about the Hip Hop revolution

         1. Boston had a vibrant underground hip hop scene in the 1980s

      3. The collection consists of over 400 audio cassettes, mostly demos sent to the radio show and recordings of the show itself

      4. The archive launched last November. It had been minimally processed but everything was digitized when Gayle arrived.

      5. Gayle finished processing the collection and worked on the metadata, finding aid creation, and other related tasks

      6. UMass Boston and BPL have been working with the community to add more materials to the collection

      7. As a longtime hip hop fan she loved describing these materials and making them accessible to people!

   3. “Born-digital Access Research Project,” Valencia Johnson, Will Clements, and Kathryn Antonelli, Graduate Fellows at Princeton University

      1. Project Goals

         1. Survey the field

         2. Goal of the project was to create recommendations for a born-digital access policy

      2. Lit Review--Most useful articles:

         1. AIMS report

         2. Hackfest report

         3. Spec kit 329

      3. Survey

         1. They contacted 59 individuals at 31 institutions, received 21 responses from 20 institutions

         2. Every institution provides some form of access to digitized or born digital materials

      4. Recommendations

         1. Default to unrestricted remote access

         2. Encourage donors to allow for broad remote access

         3. Streamline restrictions

         4. Leave copyright to researchers’ responsibility

      5. Lessons learned

         1. Don’t be afraid to make bold recommendations

         2. Forge relationships in order to create and share knowledge

         3. Digital practices are constantly evolving and can outpace the literature

8. Ending Announcements

   1. Academy of Certified Archivists welcomes member feedback! They want to cater to our section and they’re interested in partnership.