2012 WCRT Election Candidate Statements

Tali Beesley

Statement:

As a new graduate, I feel I have the energy and enthusiasm to not only continue the creative work that the roundtable has pursued in the past, but to contribute to the planning of new exciting events and panels in furtherance of the roundtable’s mission to support the preservation and use of records documenting women.  I believe we can continue to build on our connections with LAGAR and other roundtables to promote those goals that we hold in common and to assert our presence as a vital component of SAA.  As a new professional, I will be eager to listen and learn from those with more experience.  In addition, I believe my previous career as an editor and my work as a SCOSAA board member creating panels, lectures, and brown bag series will be beneficial to the leadership team of WCRT.

Biography:

Tali Beesley graduated from the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 2012 with an archives concentration.  Through both her work and studies, Tali has striven to learn more about the needs and possibilities for women’s collections.  Her experience at the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture includes working on digital exhibits for the Center’s women’s liberation movement holdings and helping to prepare the recent Dorothy Allison exhibit.  Her schoolwork included researching under-documented populations and the possibilities for their representation in the archives.  Tali worked to promote understanding at SILS by lobbying to make SILS’ LGBTQIA association—Checked Out—an officially recognized organization.  She also created and moderated panels such as “Diversifying the Archives: Opportunities and Challenges in Representing Underrepresented Populations.”  Tali just moved to Washington, D.C. and is looking for more opportunities for professional engagement.

Helice Koffler, University of Washington

Statement:

My extensive work as a processing archivist and cataloger frequently has provided me with privileged access to those forgotten or untold stories of numerous women which all too often are buried in archival holdings. I have tried to promote the use of these collections whenever I create finding aids and catalog records, as well as through blogging and the use of other social media tools. I welcome this opportunity to become more involved in the SAA Women’s Collections Roundtable (WCRT) in a leadership role. As a potential vice co-chair of WCRT, I look forward to collaborating with the current roundtable leaders and members to help the WCRT fulfill its advocacy mission of connecting a community of users with the rich research materials to be discovered in women’s collections.

Biography:

I have been the Manuscripts and Special Collections Materials Cataloging Librarian for the University of Washington Libraries since 2008. Prior to this position, I have worked at a variety of archives, libraries, and museums, including the New York Public Library (as a member of the Wilson Processing Project), the King County Archives (Seattle), New York University (Fales Library/Special Collections), Columbia University, and the American Museum of Natural History. I received a BA (Art History and English) and MA (English) from Hunter College of the City University of New York, as well as an MLIS from the Palmer School of Library & Information Science, Long Island University. I have been a Certified Archivist since 2004. I am a past co-chair of the SAA Performing Arts Roundtable and currently a co-editor of its newsletter. I also have served on the Steering Committee of the SAA Manuscript Repositories Section.