Women's Collections Section 2017 Ballot

Meet our wonderful slate of candidates for the 2017 WCS election. The two individuals receiving the most votes will serve as co-Vice Chairs of the roundtable in 2017-2018 and co-Chairs of the roundtable in 2018-2019.

Annalise Berdini

Biography

Annalise Berdini is the Digital Archivist at UC San Diego Library Special Collections and Archives. Previously, she has worked as a Manuscripts/Archives Processor for UCSD Special Collections and Archives, and at various institutions in Philadelphia as part of the PACSCL/CLIR Hidden Collections Processing Project. She holds an MSLIS from Drexel University with concentrations in Archives and Digital Libraries. She was an oral historian for the Women’s March on Washington Archives Project, and is a member of SAA (Mentoring Program, WCRT, WARs, ERS). She also serves on UCSD Library’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is the incoming San Diego representative for the Librarians Association of the University of California Committee on Diversity.

Statement of Interest

I have always been passionate about creating chances for more voices to be represented in the archives, and as part of UCSD Library’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, I’ve helped create improved recruitment recommendations to be more inclusive in hiring practices and retention. I would like to bring that experience to the Women’s Collections Section to help others address these challenges in their own institutions, and also to guide others to resources for navigating implicit biases, challenging conversations, and inclusive job postings. My experiences as part of the Women’s March on Washington Archives Project this year gave me the chance to be more active as part of an SAA section and was inspirational in its scope and mission. There was so much excitement on the part of the interviewees; to have their voices not only heard, but captured as part of an official record. I believe that there are many opportunities for the Women’s Collections Section to facilitate these kinds of projects on a broader scale. As vice co-chair, I would like to work with the section to capture and collect the voices of people whose words may not normally find their way into an archives, to help educate our colleagues on ways to foster more inclusive hiring practices in their institutions, and to reach out other sections to identify and address opportunities for collaborative projects and presentations.

Laura Romans 

Biography

I am currently the Manuscripts Archivist with the Special Collections department at the University of Tennessee Libraries. Previously, I worked on the South Carolina Digital Newspaper Program, a part of the National Digital Newspaper Program with the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for Humanities. I earned my MLIS from the University of South Carolina and my BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University.

Working closely with instruction librarians and researchers, I aim to reveal our lesser-known collections, especially to give a voice to the women represented in our collections. I strive to support this through new acquisitions as well, and when reprocessing older collections, in order to shed light on the experiences of women over the last centuries.

Statement of Interest

As I grow in my career, I am eager to become more involved with SAA and with fellow archivists, and joining the leadership of the Women’s Collections Section feels like a natural fit. I truly believe in the value of community and see this section as an opportunity for us to work together and learn from one another, particularly in bringing awareness to the fascinating women in our collections. If given the chance to serve on the leadership, I hope to expand our communications and our connections to share ideas on how to better preserve and promote women’s collections.