Rose Buchanan and Stephanie Luke to Join American Archivist as Reviews Editors

Rose Buchanan, archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and Stephanie Luke, metadata librarian for special collections at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), have been named joint Reviews Editors of American Archivist, the journal of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the leading publication in the archives profession.

As Reviews Editors, Buchanan and Luke will join the journal’s Editorial Board and work in collaboration with Editor Amy Cooper Cary to commission review essays that evaluate recent publications, resources, and technologies relevant to archivists; manage a cadre of reviewers; and edit copy for the reviews section of the journal.

Buchanan and Luke will also oversee contributions to the American Archivist Reviews Portal, which features reviews of the digital resources and technologies that have an impact on the archives profession. The transition of American Archivist to a digital-only journal in 2021 provides a unique opportunity for the new Reviews Editors to reimagine the Portal’s role in the journal as well as the format and content of reviews more broadly.

“I’m excited for the vision that Buchanan and Luke bring to this role,” said Cooper Cary. The Reviews Portal and the reviews published in volumes of American Archivist have developed in parallel but separately. “With an online journal, we have an opportunity to explore a more fluid publishing stream that would merge the Reviews Portal with other journal content and improve access to all reviews material,” added Cooper Cary.

Buchanan is currently coeditor of SAA’s case study series, Access Policies for Native American Archival Materials. She is a member and immediate past chair of SAA’s Native American Archives Section, a member of NARA’s Task Force on Racism and Reparative Description and Digitization Working Group, and a member of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. She holds an MLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA in public history from North Carolina State University.

Luke holds dual master’s degrees in library science and English literature from Indiana University, Bloomington. She is editor of the UTA Special Collections’ blog Compass Rose and chairs UTA Libraries’ Committee for DEI in Metadata and Digital Projects, which is part of the Libraries’ Plan of Action for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In addition to her archival work, she has taught undergraduate courses in literature, composition, and professional writing for eight years.

Both Reviews Editors will continue the work to prioritize DEI in the content and from among reviewers. “I want to encourage reviewers to interrogate how publications contribute to making our profession, libraries, and archives more diverse and inclusive. Without the input of many voices and viewpoints, we cannot truly be representative of our community,” said Luke. Buchanan added: “Reviews reflect ongoing conversations about the current and future state of the archives field, and everyone should feel welcome to contribute to and participate in these discussions.”

Buchanan and Luke succeed Bethany Anderson of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, who held the position for more than six years before being named this fall joint editor-in-chief of Comma, International Journal on Archives, which is published by the International Council on Archives. During her two terms, Anderson significantly expanded the number of reviews in the journal, developing a robust pool of reviewers and publishing reviews of international resources written in other languages. She also oversaw the transition of the Reviews Portal to a new website in 2016 and, in 2019, cofounded and produced the Archives in Context podcast, sponsored by SAA’s American Archivist Editorial Board, Publications Board, and Committee on Public Awareness.

Established in 1938, American Archivist is a peer-reviewed, online journal that seeks to reflect thinking about theoretical and practical developments in the archival profession; the relationships between archivists and the creators and users of archives; and cultural, social, legal, and technological developments that affect the nature of recorded information and the need to create and maintain it.