Fellow: Chela Scott Weber

Chela Scott Weber, senior program manager for data governance for Sound Transit, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) on July 30 during an awards ceremony at the Annual Meeting of SAA in New Orleans, LA. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.

Weber is co-editor of Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts, the recently released sixth volume in SAA’s Archival Fundamentals Series III, a contributor to Archival Accessioning, and the driving force behind numerous publications and other resources that have influenced archives practice. 

During her leadership at OCLC Research, Weber convened professionals across the US and Canada and led them in producing research, guidance, and tools that have reshaped the profession, which included leading the research team for the Building a National Archival Finding Aid Network project, the findings of which represent an unprecedented effort in research serving the archival community. She also led the creation of Total Cost of Stewardship (TCOS), a framework that proposes a holistic approach to understanding the resources needed to responsibly acquire and steward archives and special collections. 

The professional response to this work was immediate and telling. Weber and collaborators hosted several workshops to put the principles and tools into practice, and many archivists and library leaders credit TCOS with helping them reframe their approach to collecting and collection management with improved planning, communication, prioritization, and advocacy. SAA’s Accessioning, Acquisitions & Appraisal Section lists the TCOS cost estimators among its recommended tools. 

While with OCLC, she played a central role in ensuring that equity, inclusion, and justice were not treated as rhetorical commitments but as guiding principles for the work. She brought her training in the Art of Hosting facilitation methods into practice, shaping meetings, advisory groups, and leadership roundtables in ways that centered listening, shared authority, and productive engagement around what might be sensitive or difficult topics. 

In 2017, Weber published Research and Learning Agenda for Archives, Special, and Distinctive Collections in Research Libraries, created through an extensive consultative process with more than 65 thought leaders throughout the profession. This agenda synthesizes the archives community’s priorities into a shared research and practice roadmap, making complex challenges legible and actionable for institutions of many types. For this achievement, SAA Council issued a resolution in 2019 honoring Weber.

Earlier in her career, during her tenure at New York University Libraries, she supervised several new archivists who went on to assume important leadership roles in the field and in SAA; all of them cite her influence on their growth and accomplishments. In addition, her work at NYU Libraries broke new ground in the integration of archival technical services with larger research libraries, and many archives have looked to that work when planning and implementing their own integrated approaches. 

Weber’s record of service to SAA includes work on the Guidelines for Reappraisal and Deaccessioning, in manuscript and publication peer review, and as research agenda advisor to SAA’s Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment. She is known as a trusted voice in shaping how the profession understands and uses research to advance practice, and her scholarship, presentations, and editorial contributions—many published or delivered through SAA—demonstrate sustained engagement with the organization and a commitment to strengthening its intellectual and professional foundations. 

One of her supporters characterized her as “one of the field's most important thinkers and leaders.” Another noted, “She believes archivists can do extraordinary work, but only when expectations are clear and the structures around them support that work. Under her leadership, systems and workflows became tools for creativity and accountability rather than obstacles.” 

Another archives leader who has worked with Weber on multiple projects said, “Across her writing, teaching, leadership, and service, Chela has reshaped contemporary archival practice. She has changed how we understand our responsibilities, how we communicate our work, and how we imagine our future. Her influence is not episodic; it is built into the very structures and concepts the profession now relies on.”

Weber is one of six new Fellows named in 2026. There are currently 212 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.