The SSA will take down this blog on June 1, 2013. Please visit our new website at http://southwestarchivists.org.

Learning Opportunity in San Antonio

A P R I L    P R O G R A M – San Antonio Chapter of ARMA International

Tuesday,  April 16, 2013                                 
Embassy Suites Hotel San Antonio – NW I-10, 7750 Briaridge, San Antonio, TX
11:00 am—1:00 pm

Digital Archives

Carol Brock, CRM

Carol Brock is a Certified Records Manager and the Records Management Expert for IQ Business Group.  She is currently working with DOI to implement enterprise-wide content management using auto-categorization. 

She is the former Director of Information Assets for the US Government Accountability Office. She successfully spearheaded a NARA pilot project for simplified records scheduling and implemented an enterprise-wide electronic recordkeeping system for which she earned the National Archivist’s Achievement Award.

She has 27 years of Federal RM experience as a contractor, consultant, and Federal employee. Carol is also a Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin working on a Ph.D. in Digital Preservation. 

Carol is an active member of ARMA and AIIM:  in June 2010, she provided invited expert testimony, “Federal Electronic Records Management:  A Status Report” on behalf of ARMA, International before the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Price includes luncheon and program: 

Members $25   Non-Members $30.  
Payments are at the door with check, cash, or credit card  

You may RSVP by registering at http://armasanantonio.org by Friday

preceding the meeting (April 12, 2013).  

Upcoming Workshop in Texas!

Processing and Managing Congressional Papers Workshop

February 22, 2013, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the University of North Texas - Willis Library, 4^th floor classroom

Congressional papers pose unique challenges to even the most seasoned archivists.  This workshop will provide an overview of current thinking on congressional papers including acquisition, appraisal and processing. During this workshop we will look at sample processing plans, address electronic records issues and learn what to do if sensitive or classified documents are found within a collection. We will examine the types of documents typically encountered in congressional collections and their purpose within a congressional office. We will discuss the use of congressional papers in current research, how to promote the use of congressional papers and the unique benefits of holding congressional papers. Participants are encouraged to come ready to discuss challenges they face in their own collections.

Instructor Morgan Davis Gieringer is the Head of Archives and Rare Books at the University of North Texas. She has served as the Head Project Archivist for Congressman Richard A. Gephardt’s papers and as Senior Archivist at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. Between 2008 and 2012 Morgan was Co-editor of the Congressional Papers Roundtable Newsletter. Instructor Robert Lay is the Archivist for the Carl Albert Congressional Archives at the University of Oklahoma.

This workshop will inform archivists about the unique nature of congressional papers and special considerations in the acquisition, appraisal and processing of congressional papers.  Participants will be better equipped to make the decisions necessary to work with these large and often complicated collections.  The cost of the workshop is $80 and is co-sponsored by the University of North Texas Libraries

Please contact Leslie Meyer [lmeyer@petroleummuseum.org] to register.

Call for Nominations - Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award

The Society of American Archivists’ Awards Committee is currently accepting nominations for the Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award. This award was created in 1974 and recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Criteria for nomination include:

·       Involvement and work in the Archivists of Religious Collections Section of the Society of American Archivists.

·       Contributions to archival literature that relates to religious archives.

·       Participation and leadership in religious archives organizations.

·       Evidence of leadership in specific religious archives.

Only individual archivists are eligible for nomination. The award is funded by the Society of American Archivists, in conjunction with the Society of Southwest Archivists, in honor of Sister M. Claude Lane, the first professionally trained archivist at the Catholic Archives of Texas in Austin, who served there from 1960 until her death in 1974. A certificate awarded by SAA and a cash prize provided by the Society of Southwest Archivists is presented to the winner at the annual Society of American Archivists meeting. 

For more information on the Lane Award, and to download the nomination form, please see:

http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-lane

All nominations shall be submitted to the Awards Committee by February 28, 2013.  Electronic submission of nominations is accepted; please see the nomination form for more information. 

As you may know, we have both a Twitter and a Facebook for SSA.  https://www.facebook.com/southwestarchivists, and

https://twitter.com/SWarchivists.

If you're on social media, you can follow or "like" SSA.  Both sites are public, however, and free to view without logging in.  We've also established #SWarchivists hastag for others to use for tweets about or of interest to SSA.

Several folks have logins for these sites and can make posts. However, if you don't and you'd like something posted, I've created a Publicity Request Form, found here:  http://bit.ly/UVOUH0.  I've kept it simple; just enter the information you want shared, any links, and the dates.  The best part of this is that you can set reminders--such as the day before a deadline--ahead of time and I'll post them.

This system should streamline the process, and get posting more regular and consistent.  Also, SSA leaders can see how we are using Facebook and Twitter, and make plans and changes.

Thanks! And let me know if you have any questions or comments!

SSA letter regarding Georgia State Archives funding

SSA has sent a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia asking that funding be restored to provide access to the Georgia State Archives.

Excerpts:

• The people of the state of Georgia especially, as well as researchers in the U.S. and abroad depend on access to Georgia’s state archives. As a public official, you undoubtedly recognize the importance of open public records to the preservation of a democratic society, a recognition codified by the Georgia State legislature in the Georgia Records Act that ensures all public records “shall be open to personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place, and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.” 

• You must act with your fellow elected officials to reverse the devastating decision to deny access to the archives:
•  Restore a minimum of $1 million to the Georgia Archives budget to return its operations to 5 days a week of public access hours and eliminate projected staff reductions.
• Reverse the Secretary of State’s proposed budget cuts to the Archives by November 1 to ensure uninterrupted service to the public.

See the urgent Action Alert http://historycoalition.org/2012/09/17/action-alert-help-save-the-georgia-state-archives/ for full details and watch the Archives list and news for further updates.

Atlanta Journal Constitution article Sept.  19, 2012: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/deal-pledges-to-keep-georgia-archives-open/nSFhZ/

Professional Development Opportunities in October

October 12: Appraisal of Electronic Records [SAA DAS] in Austin, TX

Check here for more details.

Course Description

Increasingly, archival records are created in electronic formats. As a result, archives of all types need to be responsible for the preservation of electronic records. After a  review of the fundamental principles of archival appraisal and appraisal policies, you’ll be introduced to the unique issues that need to be addressed when appraising electronic records. Case studies will highlight the practical aspects of appraisal when dealing with electronic records.

Upon completion of this course you’ll be able to:

·         Develop an appraisal policy for your archives.

·         Include electronic records on records retention and disposal schedules.

·         Address technical issues (such as metadata, software dependence, etc.) that arise when appraising electronic records.

·         Appraise electronic records for your archives.

·         Who should attend? Archivist Practitioners, Records Managers. Anyone responsible for the archival appraisal of electronic records. 

What should you know already? Archival appraisal of records, as well as some basic knowledge about digital preservation and electronic records.

Attendance limited to 28.

October 17 – 18: Basic Book Repair Techniques in Boerne, TX

Sponsored by Amigos Library Services

If your circulating collection needs TLC, our Basic Book Repair workshop will provide the hands-on training you need.

Rebecca Elder, our Adjunct Field Preservation Services Officer, will teach a two-day Basic Book Repair workshop in Boerne, TX (near San Antonio) October 17-18. This course is designed to provide information and hands-on experience in basic book and paper repair for general (non-rare) library collections. You will learn about treatment decisions, repair options, and supplies. You will also practice a variety of repair techniques in the supervised, hands-on portions of the workshop. Topics and techniques covered include surface cleaning and paper repair, attaching loose pages, book structure, paperback reinforcement, endsheet replacement, enclosures, workflow, and selecting supplies and equipment.

Ms. Elder is an experienced book and paper conservator who has taught our book repair workshops for the past seven years. This workshop is limited to 10 participants in order to provide quality, hands-on instruction and will fill quickly. Online registration is available.

If San Antonio is not a convenient location and your library would like to host a book repair or other preservation-related workshop for your staff, contact Elizabeth Klein to discuss scheduling a regional or on-request workshop at your location.

The Imaging and Preservation Service is funded in part by a grant from the Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities.