Women's Collections Roundtable Ballot 2013

Anna Kephart

Anna's interest in women's history began when she scandalized the rest of her sixth-grade class by giving a National History Day presentation on the history of the development of the birth control pill, and its impact on women's lives since the 1960s.  Since then, she has had a strong interest in learning about and preserving the history of women, which was strengthened by attaining a BA in History and Classics from Kenyon College, focusing on female perspectives in both areas, and by working with archival collections relating to women in several archival internships.  She would love to bring her energy and enthusiasm to the WCRT, and would seek out ways to work with other roundtables to further our shared missions and goals.

Anna Kephart is currently an Archivist with History Associates, Inc., where she will be completing a backlog processing project at Cane River Creole National Historical Park in Natchitoches, Louisiana in June 2013. She graduated from the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in August 2012 with an MSLS and a concentration in Archives and Records Management. Before she joined History Associates, Inc., Anna was a graduate assistant with the Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and held additional archival internships with the United States Supreme Court, the University of Maryland, and the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, among other institutions.  Through these positions, and in the process of attaining her MSLS, she developed a passion for working with materials relating to under-documented populations, and would welcome the opportunity to work with others who are interested in developing and preserving women's collections.

Callie Wiygul

My name is Callie Wiygul, and I am a MLIS candidate (archives and special collections emphasis) at the University of Southern Mississippi.  I would like to throw my (very) novice hat in the ring for the Co-Vice Chair position for the Women's Collections Roundtable.  In August, I will begin my second year in the MLIS program; currently, I am completing a graduate archival practicum at the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C.  While my leadership experience outside the realm of graduate school is limited, my background in marketing (BS and several years of corporate experience) definitely constitutes the relevant experience needed to flourish in a position such as this.  I look forward to connecting with the other Co-Vice Chairs, leaders in the women's collections community and fellow SAA members.

Currently, I am the media coordinator for the Southern Miss Student Archivists' Association and president of the Library and Information Science Student Association at my university,  Further, I recently co-authored an article that was published in Texas Library Journal; please see the citation below.  Finally, I teach an undergraduate information literacy course, LIS 201: Introduction to Information Literacy, at my university as well.

Stephanie Bayless

I am the Archivist and Assistant Manager for the Manuscripts Division at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, which is the Arkansas history and genealogy department of the Central Arkansas Library System. Like many archivists, I do a little bit of everything including processing collections and creating finding aids, accessioning collections and working with donors as needed, and helping patrons in our research room. I am solely responsible for creating collection records and uploading finding aids for online access. I am part of a three-person staff for FORGOTTEN: The Arkansas Korean War Project, which includes oral history interviews, physical collections, a documentary, and an online presence. Additionally, I am the creator, administrator, and author of the Butler Center blog.

My main project right now is processing the congressional papers of Senator Blanche Lincoln, the second woman senator from Arkansas and the youngest woman elected to the Senate. I’m a Certified Archivist and I recently started the DAS certification program. My personal research interest is in women’s history with a focus on grassroots political participation. My first book,Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South, was published in 2011.

I am active with the Society of American Archivists (I serve on the Archival Innovator Award subcommittee and as the Key Contact from Arkansas) and the Society of Southwest Archivists (I am serving my third year on the professional development committee). I would love to be involved with the Women's Collections Roundtable to continue my support of women’s collections and history.

Leslie Fields

I’m Leslie Fields, Head of Archives & Special Collections at Mount Holyoke College. I first fell in love with women’s collections as an undergraduate at Smith College, when my women’s studies class required a research project in the College Archives. I chose to study a student from the 1920s who had lived in the same dormitory house I was then living in. From the moment I picked up Dorothy’s diary, I was smitten. I still remember the feeling of holding that little leather volume, squinting at the tiny penciled writing, and the thrill of reading someone else’s diary! When I walked back into my dorm later that day, ghosts greeted me. I thought, “Dorothy walked through these halls, climbed these stairs, lived in that room.” I saw everything anew. After that I went to graduate school to study history and archival management, and have had the great pleasure of working with archives at The Morgan Library and Museum, at Smith College, and, since April 2012, at Mount Holyoke College.  

 I have been involved in professional archival organizations at the local and regional level, but not yet at the national level. I would like to be more involved with SAA and I would like to develop collaborations with fellow professionals in women’s collections. I am especially interested in creating new outreach projects with women's collections, such as the women's history Wikipedia edit-a-thon I organized at Mount Holyoke this past spring. Serving on the Women's Collections Roundtable would be a wonderful opportunity to do all of these things!

Society of American Archivists

Women’s Collections Roundtable

Bylaws

(Underline = proposed addition.)

I. NAME.

The name of the Roundtable shall be “Women’s Collections Roundtable.”

II. MISSION.

The mission of this Roundtable is:

1. To identify and address the concerns of archivists who are interested in or responsible for women’s collections,

2. To promote the development, preservation, research use, and cooperative acquisition of women’s papers and archival collections documenting women, and

3. To develop a network of interested archivists, librarians, and historians to push for increased funding and support for women’s historical collections and archival projects on the local, state, and national levels.

III. MEMBERS. 

Membership in the roundtable shall be determined according to the guidelines established in Section X. of the SAA Governance Manual. The Roundtable’s activities will be of particular interest to archivists or other individuals who work with or have an interest in collections that document women.

IV. GOVERNANCE.

 A. Officers.

The officers of the Roundtable shall be two Co-Chairs and two Co-Vice Chairs. Each year, two officers will be elected for a two-year term. The first year in office, the elected officers will hold the positions of Vice Co-Chairs. The second year in office, the elected officers will hold the positions of Co-Chairs.

At minimum there must be one elected leader. No person may serve as Co-Chair of WCRT for more than two successive years. Only SAA members are eligible to serve as or vote for WCRT leaders.

 B. Duties of Officers.

Officers shall fulfill those responsibilities specified in Section X of the SAA Governance Manual. Specifically, officers will perform the following duties:

•  

  • Identify and consider issues in which a significant number of members have an interest;

  • Communicate to the SAA Council through reports, action items, and discussion items issues of priority to the Roundtable;

  • Coordinate the Roundtable’s endorsements for the SAA’s Annual Meetings;

  • Request space and coordinate Roundtable meetings for the SAA Annual Meetings;

  • Communicate Roundtable activity within the Roundtable and to the Society at large.

 C. Nominations.

The Co-Chairs shall issue a call for nominations, including self-nominations, for two Vice Chairs every June to all Roundtable members through the Roundtable’s official email list and website. All candidates for election must be members of SAA and the WCRT. A slate of candidates shall be established by the officers and announced no later than June 15.

D. Elections.

Elections shall be conducted online with the assistance of the SAA staff in accordance with the guidelines for Section elections as specified in Section IX of the SAA Governance Manual. Availability of the online ballot and the deadline for voting shall be announced by the Co-Chairs to all Roundtable members via the Roundtable’s official email discussion list and website. The officers will announce the results of the election during the SAA Annual Meeting. Newly elected officers will assume office immediately following the conclusion of the Annual Meeting and will serve two-year terms. In the event that a position is vacated prior to the end of a two-year term, the Co-Chairs will appoint another candidate to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term, after which a normal election shall occur.

E. Appointments.

Roundtable members may be appointed to additional leadership roles (e.g., newsletter editor, web liaison, ad hoc committee member, etc.) by consensus of the officers on a case-by-case basis.

V. MEETINGS.

The Roundtable shall hold a meeting in conjunction with the SAA Annual Meeting and may meet at other times as deemed appropriate by the officers. The time and agenda shall be communicated in advance via the Roundtable’s official email discussion list and website.