The Local Government Records Roundtable will meet in Cleveland on Friday August 21 at 4:30

The Local Government Records Roundtable will meet in Cleveland on Friday August 21 at 4:30

The meeting will include a presentation from a government archivist working in the Cleveland area, Judith Cetina: 

Judith G. Cetina has a  BA (1971), MA (1974) and Ph.D. (1977) in History from Case Western University; and completed fellowships at the Case Western Reserve University Archives and the Western Reserve Historical Society. She has been with the Cuyahoga County Archives since 1977 and has been the County Archivist and Manager of the County Archives from 1985 to the present. Judith also has an MA from the Dept. of Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University. She has been a certified archivist since 1989 and served as Regent for Certification Maintenance and President of the Academy of Certified Archivists. Judith was also a member of the Ohio Historical Records Advisory for two terms, and served one year as Board Chair. Her publications include a book for Arcadia Publishing: Cuyahoga County: The First Two Hundred years (2011), a book that celebrated the County’s Bicentennial and included images and text. Judith also co-authored a second book for Arcadia entitled Irish Cleveland, released in 2015. In 2012 she was on a Committee to commemorate the Centennial of the Cuyahoga County Court House, and was part of a panel presentation on the Court House given at the Cleveland City Club.

Although most, if not all, States in the U.S. have State Archives, and some municipalities have archival institutions as well, County Archives are not quite as prevalent although numbers may be growing. In Ohio approximately 25% of the 88 counties have Archives, or records centers;  and Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties were among the pioneers in the Buckeye State. My presentation will provide a brief historical sketch of the Archives growth and progress; address the challenges of serving as both Archives and records center, among other obstacles faced; discuss its role in public outreach; and look toward its future in an age of digitization.