ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2019 Recap!

Tacos, live music at Austin City Limits, thought-provoking sessions, and dynamic vendor exhibits are a few of the highlights that more than 1,900 attendees experienced at ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2019, the Joint Annual Meeting of CoSA and SAA in Austin, TX, July 31–August 6. Among the many others:

• Fifty archivists participated in the first-ever Archives Managers Unconference, which included lightning-style presentations on leadership and a “think tank” session at which participants brainstormed ideas for working together.
• Five new books debuted in the SAA Bookstore: the first three volumes in the Archival Fundamentals Series III, Archival Values: Essays in Honor of Mark A. Greene, and A Matter of Facts: The Value of Evidence in an Information Age.
• During plenary sessions, Trevor A. Dawes, Vice Provost for Libraries and Museums and May Morris University Librarian at the University of Delaware, delivered a powerful speech on creating inclusive institutions; and Archivist of the United States David Ferriero spoke with SAA President Meredith Evans on the role of archives in academic, nonprofit, and federal institutions.
• More than 30 award recipients were recognized for their contributions to SAA and the profession, including SAA’s newest distinguished Fellows: Cheryl Stadel-Bevans, Jeannette A. Bastian, Louis Jones, and Terry Baxter.
• Sixty archivists honed their storytelling skills in the introductory Storytelling Workshop, sponsored by the Committee on Public Awareness and led by two-time Moth GrandSlam winner Micaela Blei, PhD. Later, ten archivists told their heartbreaking and funny stories about encounters in the archives during A Finding Aid to My Soul.
• More than 400 individuals participated as session chairs, speakers, or moderators in the 87 education sessions, 7 pre-conference courses, and 38 section meetings offered, and 66 individuals presented professional or graduate student posters for discussion.
• SAA’s “Peace, Love, Archives” t-shirts raised more than $1,000 for the SAA Foundation. New this year were “Peace, Love, Archives” tote bags.
• For the first time, archivists from around the country tuned into the conference via 18 live-streamed sessions.

Browse photos of the conference on SAA's Google Drive (if you use any, please credit photographer Craig Huey) and watch for the September/October issue of Archival Outlook for more coverage of the Joint Annual Meeting.

Session speakers: We encourage you to upload your presentation to the online schedule for the benefit of anyone who missed your session or would like to know more. And consider submitting it for publication in American Archivist or Archival Outlook!

Thank you to all attendees for your participation! Remember that attendees have access to all recorded sessions and 18 live-streamed sessions. Watch your email for information about downloading the MP3s (those who weren't there can order the live-streamed and session recordings package). We encourage you to complete the conference evaluation form so that we can continue to improve and enhance the SAA Annual Meeting. (Couldn’t make this year’s conference? We’d like to hear from you, too!) 

Offset your travel to the Joint Annual Meeting—and beyond! SAA is partnering with Cool Effect to provide you with a simple way to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by our travel to the Joint Annual Meeting (and beyond). Cool Effect is a crowd-funding platform that provides individuals with a way to support carbon emissions reductions by funding carbon-reducing projects around the world. SAA has chosen to support the Nitrous Oxide Abatement project at this time, but we encourage you to explore Cool Effect’s range of projects to see if there’s one you’d prefer to support. Learn more.

Get conference prices for SAA books. Whether books sold out, your luggage was full, or you weren't able to attend, you can experience the same great prices on SAA books as conference-goers through August 30. Use this Rain Check to submit your book order and receive excellent books at a great discount!  

Lastly, consider submitting a program proposal for ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2020. It's never too early to begin planning for next year's conference! 2020's theme is "Creating Our Future." Continue the conversation by submitting a program proposal for the Joint Annual Meeting in Chicago.