Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award: Audrey Newcomer

Audrey Newcomer, the former director of archives and records at the Archdiocese of St. Louis, is the 2013 recipient of the Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award. The award honors an individual archivist who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Sadly, Newcomer passed away in December 2012, but not before leaving her mark on the archives profession. Newcomer had been active in the library and archives field since 1981 and joined the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2001 as the director of archives and records. In addition to her leadership within the archdiocese, Newcomer served in a variety of leadership positions, including positions with the Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists, St. Louis Area Religious Archivists, and SAA’s Archivists of Religious Collections Section. She taught records management workshops and served as the director of education for the St. Louis Chapter of ARMA International. She also contributed to the forthcoming second edition of Managing Diocesan Archives and Records: A Guide for Bishops, Chancellors, and Archivists. 

Newcomer’s nominator noted that as the director of archives and records, she “made that office highly respected and admired not only in the St. Louis area but throughout the country and is held up as a model for archdiocesan archives. . . . Audrey’s passion and commitment to the archival profession was admired by all who knew her.” 

Created in 1974, the award is funded by the Society of Southwest Archivists and honors Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., a Dominican nun who was the first professionally trained archivist at the Catholic Archives of Texas in Austin.