SSA Leadership

Maps Workshop Announcement!

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Maps: What Archivists Should Know will be Friday, April 13, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Library Parlor (on the sixth floor) of the UT Arlington Central Library. Ann Hodges leads a top-notch team including Imre Demhardt, Endowed Chair for the History of Cartography at UT Arlington, Ben Huseman, Cartographic Archivist at Special Collections, and Mark Lambert, Deputy Commissioner for Archives and Records at the Texas General Land Office, who will talk about the history of maps, maps as objects and research resources, and the description, storage and preservation, and digitization of maps. A behind-the-scenes tour of UTA Special Collections will be included. Continental breakfast and lunch included. Interested registrants can send their information (name, institution, position) and $50.00 registration fee to:

Society of Southwest Archivists

P.O. Box 301311
Austin, Texas 78703-0022

Or use the Paypal button at http://southwestarchivists.org/mapwksp.html to pay the Registration fee of $50.00. Please send contact information to Mat Darby at msdarby@austin.utexas.edu

SAA Education: Coming to Texas!

2012-01-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

[Web Seminar] Information Architecture for Electronic Records [DAS]
February 9; 1:00-2:30 PM CENTRAL TIME

Managing Electronic Records in Archives and Special Collections [DAS]
March 8-9 in College Station, Texas

EAC-CPF: Encoded Archival Context - Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families
March 23 in Austin, Texas [Scholarships Available]

Basic Electronics Records [DAS]
April 24 in Austin, Texas

Appraisal of Electronic Records [DAS]
October 5 in Austin, Texas

Digital Curation: Creating an Environment for Success [DAS]
December 7 in Austin, Texas

Dont see the workshop youd like to attend in your area? Contact us to see if we can bring it to you!

Execuitve Board Meeting

2012-01-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

The winter meeting of the Executive Board has been set for Monday, February 13th at 2:00 p.m. Officer and Committee Chair reports are due on Monday, February 6th. If you have an issue you would like the board to consider please notify a member of the Execuitve Board.

Change on Executive Board

2011-12-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Joel Minor has taken a new position out of our region and relinquished his position on the Executive Board. We thank Joel for his years of service to SSA as chair of the Professional Development Committee and as a member of the Executive Board. We wish him success and happiness in his new job. Please welcome Katie Salzman, of Texas State University to the Executive Board to complete Joel’s term of office which will expire in May 2012.

Upcoming winter educational opportunities you’ll want to know about!

2011-12-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

From the SAA listserv ...

[Web Seminar] Change Management…what you should know!
December 8 in your office, classroom, or home!

Style Sheets for EAD: Delivering Your Finding Aids on the Web
January 5-6 in San Antonio, Texas

Digital Curation: Creating an Environment for Success [DAS]
January 18 in Boston, Massachusetts

[Web Seminar] Information Architecture for Electronic Records [DAS]
February 9 in your office, classroom, or home!

Can't Travel?
Register for one or more of SAA's Online On-Demand Web Seminars! You'll be given access to the presentation for three months, and learn at your own pace in your home or office. To browse SAA's Web Seminars that are now available for purchase as audio CDs, please visit the SAA Bookstore.

Host a Workshop at Your Institution!
Go to the list of available workshops and contact us to get started.

Did You Know?
All of SAA's face-to-face workshops are submitted to the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA) for continuing education credits.

Questions?
Contact us at (toll free) at (866) 788-7858 or education@archivists.org.

UPDATE: Care & Identification of Photographs workshop

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

July 16-19, 2012: Care and Identification of Photographs (from daguerreotypes to digital)
Location: This workshop is hosted by the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX).

ONLINE REGISTRATION:
http://gawainweaver.com/workshop/care-id-photos-2012-austin/

What are the defining characteristics of individual photographic processes? How does environment affect the lives of photographic objects? In this 4-day intensive workshop, you will develop identification skills and knowledge about fine art and historic photographic processes, from the daguerreotype to digital prints. This workshop is intended for curators, collectors, archivists, collection managers, and anyone who studies or appreciates photographic prints.

Using handheld 60x microscopes and a large set of photographic and photomechanical samples, you will learn how a variety of processes were created, why they look the way they do, and how they deteriorate. Group ID sessions, using a digital microscope and screen projection, will allow participants to practice their identification skills in a guided setting. Preservation topics include enclosures, handling guidelines, environmental monitoring, the effects of temperature and relative humidity on collections, and the importance of cold storage for certain photographic materials.

Over 30 different processes are studied in great detail, from how daguerreotypes are made and how they are best preserved, to how long-lasting inkjet prints are created, and how to preserve and store color photographic materials and cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate-based photographic film.

The registration fee for this 4-day workshop is $795 (STUDENT PRICE: $645) and includes a handheld microscope, a color workshop notebook with lecture handouts, Quick ID Sheets for each process, and a selection of readings on photograph preservation. The Basic Photographic Sample Set, consisting of 18 identified photographic and photomechanical processes, is available with registration for $75.

Registration Includes: • 4-day workshop
• 240-page color notebook
• 60x LED handheld microscope
• OPTIONAL: Basic Photographic Sample Set

The Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA), a certifying organization of professional archivists, will award 15 Archival Recertification Credits (ARCs) to eligible Certified Archivists (CAs) attending this workshop. The American Society of Appraisers and the International Society of Appraisers will award 24 reaccreditation hours/professional development credits for qualified appraisers attending this workshop.

For more information, please contact the instructor:
Gawain Weaver
Photograph Conservator
San Francisco Bay Area
tel 415.446.9138
info@gawainweaver.com
http://gawainweaver.com/

Digital Archives Specialist Certificate Program

2011-11-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

SAA will be conducting a series of workshops in the SSA region starting in 2012 related to Digital Archives. The series is part of a certificate program "designed to provide you with the information and tools you need to manage the demands of born-digital records." Learn more about the program here.

SAA recently announced the courses scheduled in the SSA region in 2012:

3/13/2012

Preserving Digital Archives: Concepts and Competencies #1253 [DAS]
New Orleans, LA

3/15/2012 – 3/16/2012

Managing Electronic Records in Archives and Special Collections #1250 [DAS]
College Station, TX

5/22/2012

Legal Issues in Digital Archives #1252 [DAS]
Society of Southwest Archivists
Phoenix, AZ

10/5/2012

Appraisal of Electronic Records #1301 [DAS]
Zavala State Archives & Library Building
Austin, TX

12/7/2012

Digital Curation: Creating an Environment for Success #1303 [DAS]
Briscoe Center for American History
Austin, TX

Save the Date!

2011-11-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars NOW for a Care of Photographs workshop in Austin, TX, next July!

The Care and Identification of Photographs
Hosted by the Harry Ransom Center @ UT Austin
July 16-19, 2012
Registration will be $875 (students $645)

The workshop is organized and developed by Gawain Weaver, conservator and consultant in the care of photographs.
Check out his website for more information soon: http://gawainweaver.com/

National History Day

2011-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

The National History Day Committee of SAA's Reference, Access and Outreach Section is proud to announce a new online toolkit featuring a wealth of resources for teachers/students and archivists/librarians about National History Day (NHD).
See the NHD toolkit at: http://nhdarchives.pbworks.com

National History Day provides structure and guidance to teachers and students learning to work with archival materials. It also provides one of the most effective approaches for
archivists who want to reach out to middle and high school students.
See the NHD site at: http://www.nhd.org/

NHD sponsors annual competitions for middle and high school students using primary sources
to create original papers, documentaries, websites, exhibitions, and performances. The program guides teachers and students to high quality use and citation of archival sources. If you are thinking of reaching out to middle and high school students, National History Day may offer the structure you want for success.

The toolkit is an ideal resource for archivists and librarians who wish to get involved in National History Day. In it you will find practical information about outreach to NHD teachers, the annual calendar for NHD competitions, how to create subject guides for the annual competition, examples of excellence in outreach and collaborations, and information on managing class visits. There is also helpful information about how to work with novice researchers and best serve their needs.

Students and teachers will find videos about primary sources and archival research, information on how-to find archives with primary sources on specific topics, friendly explanations of what to expect when students visit an archives, and links to reliable online digital collections.

Interactive! Site visitors are invited to leave comments, contribute their repository information to the NHD list of participating repositories, and even suggest digital collections to add to the list of online primary sources.

This site puts educators, students, and archivists "on the same page." If you like it, tell your colleagues, tweet your friends, put it in your blog.

The Society of American Archivists National History Day Committee
Shaun Hayes, Doris Malkmus, Polina Ilieva, Kathryn Otto, Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Lisa Sjoberg, George Bain, Laura Katz Smith, Sherry Berger, Rob Sieczkiewicz, Gregory Kocken, and NHD Director of Curriculum Ann Claunch and Executive Board officer Steve Cure.

Archives: Basic Training in LA

2011-10-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

Becky Smith from Historic New Orleans Collection and Lisa H. Lewis from the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Department of the Archives, will be conducting a basic archives seminar at the Catholic Life Center Complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, December 2, 2011.

Pre-registration is required. Contact Leslie Meyer, PDC Chair, for the registration form.

SAA Educational Opportunities in Texas!

2011-10-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

From the SAA listserv ... Check out these upcoming workshops in the Austin and San Antonio areas!

An Introduction to Archival Exhibitions
October 14 in Austin, Texas - FULL - To be added to the waitlist, click here.

Encoded Archival Description
November 10-11, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas - early bird discount extended to October 17!

Rare Books for Archivists
December 7-8 in San Antonio, Texas

Style Sheets for EAD: Delivering Your Finding Aids on the Web
January 5-6 in San Antonio, Texas

SSA Supports "Guidelines for Reappraisal and Deaccessioning"

2011-09-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

The SSA has sent a letter of support to the SAA's Deaccessioning and Reappraisal Development and Review Team. The letter states SSA's support of the acceptance of the guidelines created by the team into the standard practices of the archival profession.

New Orleans to host 2014 Annual Meeting

2011-09-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Crescent City has been selected to host the annual meeting of the Society in 2014. We look forward to seeing you way down yonder in New Orleans.

Executive Board Meeting

2011-08-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

The SSA Executive Board will meet Friday October 14, 2011 in Houston, Texas. The meeting will be held at the Lora Jean Kilroy Visitor and Education Center of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston's Bayou Bend site.

Committee and Officer Reports should be posted to the SSAleadership group site by Friday October 7, 2011.

Committee chairs or thier representatives who are planning to attend should contact Carol Bartels. Officers and Boardmembers who are unable to attend should contact Carol as well.

SAA Workshop in Austin, Sept. 26-27

2011-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Society of American Archivists is offering a 2-day continuing education workshop, Arrangement and Description of Manuscript Collections, on September 26-27 in Austin, Texas.

Registration closes soon, so act fast if you want to take advantage of this opportunity. Certified Archivists will earn 10 recertification credits for attending. Complete details about the workshop, including registration information, can be found on the SAA web site here.

Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meetup at SAA!

2011-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Please join us to meet up with old friends, and make new ones!
-
The Rock Bottom Brewery
One West Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 6:30 - 8:00pm
Map: http://www.rockbottom.com/chicago
The brewery is an 8-10 minute walk from the Hyatt.

Please Note: Informal gathering - attendees responsible for own tab.

2011-07-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

SSA Member Mike Strom to Assume Leadership of Wyoming State Archives

Longtime SSA member Mike Strom, senior archivist for Special Collections, Mary Couts Burnett Library, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, will become state archivist for the State of Wyoming effective August 22nd, 2011 in Cheyenne.

Mike's been at TCU since 2004. Prior to that, he spent two and a half years as a processing archivist at Yale University. He has employed “More Product, Less Process” at TCU and has talked about his experiences doing so at numerous professional conferences. His article on MPLP, “Texas-sized Progress: Applying Minimum-Standards Processing Guidelines to the Jim Wright Papers,” appeared in a 2005 issue of Archival Issues. He's a former executive board member of SSA and has presented at the annual meetings of SSA and SAA.

Congratulations, Mike!

2011-05-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

The SSA annual conference starts today!!!

Registration begins at 2pm (goes until 8pm) at the Peabody. Go to the end of the long hallway on the entrance floor to find us. Ask the people at the hospitality table for information about Little Rock, local events going on (i.e. Greek Food Festival, Farmer's Market at the Rivermarket), places to eat, gas stations and etc. This is the place to go if you have any questions about the conference or about Little Rock!

Tonights reception is at the Peabody Hotel lobby from 6pm to 8pm. Don't forget to stop by the registration table before you go to the reception to get your free drink ticket. There will be food at the reception.

Newcomer's Breakfast is Thursday morning at 6:45am. Meet in the lobby by the duck pond. Old hands will meet newcomers and pick a breakfast spot. Breakfast is self-paid.

Little Rock Top 5 List - #5 - The Peabody

2011-04-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

SSA's Annual Meeting is at the Little Rock Peabody Hotel - a Forbes Four Star and AAA four-diamond luxury hotel.

It's also home of the world-famous Peabody Ducks, who march down the red carpet to the Lobby Fountain everyday at 11am and 5pm.

The conference rate at the hotel is $139.00 plus tax. And should you want to come visit Little Rock before conference or stay later, these rates are good for three days before and three days after.

To get the conference rate, check out the instructions on the SSA website on the Annual Meeting tab - http://southwestarchivists.org/annualmeeting.html.

And don't forget, Early Registration closes in 2 weeks on April 18th. Register now!

Registration is for the 2011 Little Rock Annual Meeting is open!

2011-03-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

Opportunity and Promise: Advocating Archives

Little Rock, Arkansas May 18-21, 2011

Registration is open for the Pre-Conference Workshops and Conference.

You have two options to register. You can register online and pay by credit card OR you can print and mail the form and pay by check.

Registration is found on the SSA Annual Meeting page - http://southwestarchivists.org/annualmeeting.html

SAA Workshops Reminder

2011-03-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

There is still time to register for the following two SAA workshops coming up:

Real World Reference: Moving Beyond Theory
March 24-25, 2011 / 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Austin, TX
Kathy Marquis and Tanya Zanish-Belcher(Instructors)
Early bird registration deadline: March 4, 2011!

You can register for the entire workshop or choose to register for Day One or Day Two - based on your needs! Remember that SSA members get a $25 discount off the nonmember rate by entering "RWRSSA" into the promotional space on the registration form.

As anyone providing reference services to users knows, archival reference is more than handing out boxes and watching the reading room. This two-day workshop is designed to provide an overview of traditional reference service and of the challenges introduced by Google "discovery," Web 2.0 applications, and "More Product, Less Process." There's much more here - http://tinyurl.com/4sgkt5e (URL for Real World Reference: Moving Beyond Theory)

Emergency Management for Archivists
May 17-18, 2011 / 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Little Rock, AR
Kara McClurken (Instructor)
Early bird registration deadline: April 18, 2011!

Fees for this workshop were universally discounted for the SSA meeting!

When it comes to disaster planning, the question is not if a disaster will strike, but when. By the time folks need information regarding how to prepare for and respond to an emergency situation, it is often too late! Preparation for and response to disasters are among the most important things that archivists can do to safeguard their collections, but one that is often postponed due to other competing priorities. As recent disasters have taught us, disaster preparedness involves more than just writing a disaster plan. A plan must be updated and read, and communication with colleagues and first responders is essential. There's much more here -http://tinyurl.com/4mnqsmn (URL for Emergency Management for Archivists).

NAGARA E-Records Forum

2011-03-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

A reminder about this year's E-Records Forum in Austin, Texas, April 7-8. This year's program will include presentations on:

Responding to a Preservation Order (Jason Velasco, KPMG)
E-Mail Management (Jesse Wilkins, AIIM)
Future Records Managers Skillsets (Pat Galloway, University of Texas at Austin, and Richard Pearce-Moses, Clayton State University)
A Review of State Government Digital Preservation (Kelly Eubank, North Carolina State Archives; Jerry Handfield, Washington State Archives; Robert Horton, Minnesota Historical Society; Pete Watters and Richard Pearce-Moses, Arizona State Library and Archives)
Digital Preservation - GPO's Program for Web Harvesting (Kate Zwaard, GPO)
RM Program Diagnostics (Stephanie Fawcett, NARA)
DOD 5015.2 review of version 3 (Jana Gallatin, DTIC)

For a program agenda, E-Records Forum registration, or hotel reservation information, please visit NAGARA's website. See the previous blog post (Jan. 24) for more information about the forum.

2011 Southwest Region Electronic Records Forum

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

The National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA) cordially invites you to register for the 2011 Southwest Region Electronic Records Forum, a unique conference focusing on current issues in Electronic Records Management sponsored by NAGARA, and co-sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration - Southwest Region, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, University of Texas at Austin School of Information, and the Society of Southwest Archivists.

This year’s Forum, April 7-8, will again be held at the Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn Downtown/Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

Join us for timely records management training, a continental breakfast (both days), a plated lunch on April 7, and an evening social/networking session with light food servings for attendees and vendors.

The conference is expected to attract 150+ Federal, State, Local, and Tribal records managers, archivists and information specialists as well as a number of attendees from the private sector and academia. The conference will feature a number of sessions with speakers from NARA, Federal Records Officers, and Academia.

If you have an interest in exhibiting your products or services please contact the NAGARA office at (518) 694-8472.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Attending both days: $199.00.

To Register for the E-Records Forum please go to: http://www.nagara.org/displayemailforms.cfm?emailformnbr=155003

Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn by Marriott 300 E. 4th Street Austin, TX 78701. The Courtyard per diem (government) is $104/night, single or double; the Courtyard or Residence Inn non-government rate is $169, single or double. Hotel Registration Deadline: March 16, 2011

To Register at the Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn by Marriot, please go to: http://www.nagara.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=153

C.F.W. Coker Award for Description nominations

2011-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

[Forwarded by request of John R. Nemmers]

The C.F.W. Coker Award for Description subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists invites nominations of finding aids, finding aid systems, projects that involve innovative development in archival description, or descriptive tools that enable archivists to produce effective finding aids. Individuals, institutions, or groups of individuals or institutions are eligible.

The full description of the Coker Award, nomination forms, and a list of past recipients can be found here: http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-coker

To submit a nomination, download the nomination form at the link above and return it to SAA at the address below:

Co-chairs, Awards Committee
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-3315

The deadline for applications is February 28, 2011.

Thanks!

The C.F.W. Coker Award subcommittee:

John Nemmers, Chair
jnemmers@ufl.edu

Brad Houston
houstobn@uwm.edu

Dierdre Joyce
defjoy@gmail.com

Joyce Chapman
joyce_chapman@ncsu.edu

Chris Burns, ex officio
chris.burns@uvm.edu

--------

John R. Nemmers

Descriptive and Technical Services Archivist

Special and Area Studies Collections

University of Florida Smathers Libraries

Gainesville, FL 32611-7005

352-273-2766

SSA Scholarships Deadline

2011-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

The February 4th deadline for submission of applications for SSA Scholarships is coming fast. Get your application in today!

-The Otis Hebert Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship, named after SSA’s founding president, awards up to $1,000 to further the professional training of a society member.
-The John Michael Caldwell Student Scholarship awards up to $600 to enable an SSA member enrolled in a graduate archival program to attend the annual meeting.
-The Annual Meeting Scholarship also provides up to $600 to assist an SSA member archivist with limited funding to attend the annual meeting.
-The Sister M. Claude Lane Award, administered by the Society of American Archivists, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of religious archives.

Please visit southwestarchivists.org for application forms and further information.

SSA Workshops in Little Rock

2011-01-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

Here's the rundown of the three main pre-conference workshops we'll be offering in Little Rock (a Basics of Archives workshop for non-archivists will also be offered):

Emergency Management for Archives - a two-day SAA workshop focused on disaster planning. See http://tinyurl.com/4h6euho for more information and to register.
Oral History on a Budget - a one-day workshop designed for those with beginning to mid-level knowledge of oral history.
Digital Archives Systems and Applications - a one-day workshop that will provide information on managing digital collections, including born-digital and digitized material. We will post a full description and registration information for this workshop and Oral History on a Budget soon at http://southwestarchivists.org/annualmeeting.html.

SAA Workshop Reminder

2011-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

There is still time to register for the following SAA workshop in San Antonio:

Managing Electronic Records in Archives and Special Collections
January 27-28, 2011 * 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM San Antonio, TX
Tim Pyatt and Seth Shaw (Instructors)

In this workshop you’ll get more than policy and theory! After review and discussion about electronic record issues facing colleges and universities, you’ll break into groups to discuss case studies and report findings. Day 2 will be devoted to “hands-on” experience with electronic records. Attendees will learn about and use open source tools for ingest and management of electronic records.

A $25 discount is available for SSA member. Contact Joel Minor for details.

SSA Session Proposal Deadline Approaching Fast

2010-11-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday November 24th is the deadline for submitting a session proposal for the 2011 annual meeting.

The meeting theme is “Opportunity and Promise: Advocating Archives” so please consider putting together a session proposal to share with your colleagues the opportunities both taken and created for reaching out to communities to build collections and document cultures and events, how you are fulfilling the promise of archives by preserving and making your holdings available and the innovative ways you have found to address the challenges facing your archive.

To make it easy for you a session proposal form can be downloaded for completion from the SSA Annual Meeting page, http://southwestarchivists.org/annualmeeting.html and emailed to program chair, Carol Bartels at carol@hnoc.org.The program committee looks forward to reviewing your proposal.

Workshop onDigital Preservation for Video 11/10/10

2010-11-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) Presents a Workshop onDigital Preservation for Video Wednesday, November 10, 20109:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Co-sponsored by Aurora Picture Show, Houston Cinema Arts Society, The Menil Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Southwest Alternate Media Project

Workshop topics include: basic digital file creation, preservation and access file formats and codecs, software, storage and trusted digital repositories, workflows for digitization, and technical and preservation metadata. In addition, participants will examine case studies of small and large-scale digitization projects in order to understand real-world applications of principles introduced in the workshop.

Workshop location:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
American General Conference Room
Audrey Jones Beck Building
5601 Main Street at Binz
Houston, TX 77005 Phone: 713-639-7733
www.mfah.org

Workshop fee and registration:
$100 Aurora, HCAS, Menil, MFAH, SWAMP, and IMAP members
$150 non-members
$50 artists and students
Pre-payment is required with registration.
Space is limited.

Register at www.imappreserve.org
Inquiries: imap@imappreserve.org

IMAP programs are supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and from individual contributions.

Participants will receive Archival Recertification Credits (ARCs) from the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA).

Fall 2010 SAA Workshops in Texas

2010-09-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

SAA is bringing more workshops to Texas! Register now and receive the early-bird discount!

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
October 22, 2010 * 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Dallas, TX
Roslyn Holdzkom (Instructor)

Get an in-depth, practical consideration of the key concepts and descriptive elements in Describing Archives: A Content Standard, the U.S. standard. Explore strategies for incorporating this standard into workflows for accessioning, arrangement, and description through discussions and hands-on work with a variety of exercises, culminating in a DACS-based analysis of existing finding aids. This workshop, a basic introduction to the standard, focuses on application of DACS rules and concepts, which participants can apply to repository processes and descriptive outputs. [Read More ].

Understanding Photos: An Introduction to Archival Principles & Practices
October 25 – 26, 2010 * 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
College Station, TX
Marcy Flynn

Laura Downey Standeff
(Instructors)

While photographs are some of the most versatile and heavily-used resources in archives, many professionals lack any specialized training in how to deal with them effectively. This introductory workshop teaches the basics of how to manage and care for photographs. You will discover how standard archival techniques can be applied successfully to photographs in eight modules: appraising and acquiring; reading and researching; identification and handling; preservation, storage and housing; accessioning and arrangement; description and cataloging; copying; and public service and outreach. [Read More ].

Credit Card Alert

2010-06-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

SSA’s Executive Board has learned from members of an alarming number of instances of credit card theft, and the common tie seems to be the Inn & Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe. If you used a credit card at the hotel (or if your institution did) please check your account to determine if your card number has been stolen. If you find you have been a victim of credit card theft, please notify your account holder immediately.

SSA President John Slate has alerted the hotel, but if you would like to contact them directly, their phone number is: (505) 988-5531 or (800)-727-5531. Their website provides email contact information: http://www.innatloretto.com.

We are very sorry to learn of these incidents, and we hope that they do not put a damper on your memories of a great conference.

Sincerely,
SSA Executive Board Members

Pre-conference workshops

2010-04-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Preservation of Photograph Materials is full, but there are still a few spots left in both Fundraising 101 and Caring for Native American Collections. If you are interested in attending either of these, you must register on-site (at the Loretto Inn) on the day of the workshops, Wednesday, April 28.

Check the Annual Meeting: Workshops page for further details on the workshops.

2010-04-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

PHOTOGRAPHERS NEEDED

The editors of Southwestern Archivist are looking for a few dedicated photographers to document the annual conference in Santa Fe. Due to limited space, we will not be reprinting conference papers in the newsletter as we have in past years, but we would like to have some members on site taking pictures and gathering comments from attendees. We'll feature these images and reports in the August issue. If you would like to be a roving reporter, please contact co-editor Katie Salzmann at salzmann@txstate.edu.

ANNUAL E-RECORDS FORUM

2010-03-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

NARA-SW Region's Annual E-Records Forum is scheduled for April 20-21, 2010, in Austin, Texas. This annual conference features current topics in archives and records management focusing on the challenges of the digital age. This year's keynote address will be delivered by the new Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero. SSA once again joins NARA-SW Region, NAGARA, Texas State Library and The University of Texas School of Information in co-sponsoring this event.

A preliminary program and additional information can be found at http://www.archives.gov/southwest/agencies/records-mgmt/preliminary-program-2010.pdf. Registration requests can be sent to ftworth.workshop@nara.gov or contact Bill Fellers at 817-831-5918.

SSA Dues

2010-02-10T14:51:00.001-08:00

More than 300 of the 517 members have sent in your dues. I'm going to nudge you soon by e-mail, so send me a check - or even cash. I'm afraid we aren't accepting credit cards yet.

Thanks, Gerri your SSA Treasurer

2010 SSA Scholarships Announcement

2010-01-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

The Society of Southwest Archivists invites applications for its annual scholarships. Don’t miss these opportunities to obtain assistance in professional development and annual meeting attendance! All scholarship applications must be postmarked by February 5, 2010. Scholarships available are:

Otis Hebert Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship: In honor of SSA's founding president, this scholarship is intended to further the professional training of working archivists in the Southwest.

John Michael Caldwell Scholarship: Presented annually, this scholarship enables an SSA member enrolled in a graduate archival program to attend the SSA Annual Meeting. This year's meeting will be April 27 - May 2, 2010 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Annual Meeting Scholarship: Presented annually, this scholarship was created to provide financial aid to an SSA member archivist with limited funding to attend the SSA Annual Meeting. This year's meeting will be April 27 - May 2, 2010 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Applications must be postmarked or emailed by February 5, 2010.

Eligibility requirements and application guidelines can be found at:
http://southwestarchivists.org

For more information, contact Scholarships Committee Chair:

Betty Shankle
Fort Worth Library Archives
500 W 3rd Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Betty.Shankle@fortworthgov.org

Thank you for promoting the archives profession.

Electronic Delivery of Newsletter

2010-01-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Everyone should be receiving dues renewal forms in the mail in the next day or so (if you haven't already). You will notice that this year there is an additional question on the form: "Do you want to receive the newsletter in an electronic format? Yes/No."

Your Publications Committee chairs want to make sure that it is clear that if you choose "Yes," you will receive a PDF version of the complete newsletter via email. If you choose "No," you will receive the printed version of the newsletter mailed to you as in the past. This option is an attempt to save SSA some printing and postage costs and is an either/or choice.

We are committed to continuing to produce and deliver a quality newsletter, and as always, we encourage you to submit repository news or other articles for inclusion. Be sure to renew your dues so that you remain on the mailing list (no matter what delivery method you choose).

- Katie Salzmann & Kris Toma

2010-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

REGISTER NOW
SSA 2010 Annual Meeting
Santa Fe, New Mexico
April 28 - May 1
http://southwestarchivists.org/HTML/Registration.htm

RESERVE YOUR ROOM
Inn and Spa at Loretto
Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
505-988-5531

Room rate $110/single, double (15.063%.tax).

Daily $10.00 Service Fee added.

CLICK TO MAKE ONLINE RESERVATIONS
The link above automatically gives you the conference price. If you make reservations via the hotel website use the group code "NM State".

VENDORS AND SPONSORS
Information for Vendors,
including sponsorship opportunities,
is now posted on the SSA Annual Meeting website.
Tell your favorite vendor!

Preliminary Program Coming Soon!

Pre-conference workshops

2010-01-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

The slate of pre-conference workshops for Santa Fe is set. All three are ½ day workshops and will be held on Wednesday, April 28 at the New Mexico History Museum, just two blocks from the conference hotel. Here’s what we have lined up:

TITLE: Preservation of Photographic Materials

INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Elder, AMIGOS Library Service

ABSRACT: Preserving the visual record is one of the most important roles of a cultural heritage institutions. This workshop deals with the unique challenges of preserving and caring for a photograph collection.

TIME: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., April 28, 2010

PLACE: Chavez Room, New Mexico History Museum

FEE: $100

MAXIMUM ATTENDEES: 20

------------------------------

TITLE: Fund Raising 101: Success in Starting a Fund-Raising Program for your Repository

INSTRUCTORS: Steve Hussman, Department Head for Archives and Special Collections, NMSU Library and Kristina Martinez, Library Development Officer, NMSU Library

ABSTRACT: Fundraising is rapidly growing as a major responsibility for archivists and a greatly demanded skill set.
The goal of this workshop is to: provide basic fundraising and development strategies; enable archivists to educate and cultivate donors and encourage them to support the overall programmatic needs of the repository and institution; empower them for future challenges of the profession.

Hussman and Martinez will provide both instruction and practice exercises to help provide for this overall learning process. Both presenters will draw upon real-life donor case studies to provide the basis of their instruction. The presenters will expect both participation and frank discussion from the audience.

TIME: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., April 28, 2010

PLACE: Meem Room, New Mexico History Museum

FEE: $75

MAXIMUM ATTENDEES: 20

--------------------------------

TITLE: Caring for Native American Archival Collections in a Culturally Responsive Way

INSTRUCTORS: Karen Underhill, Jolene Dezbah Manus, Ann Massmann, Diana Bird, Eunice Kahn, Stewart Koyiyumptewa and Jonathan Pringle

ABSTRACT: Hundreds of organizations hold archival collections, gathered with and without informed consent, which document Native American lifeways. Non-Indian archivists in traditional institutions often lack training in the many nuances of caring for such collections. Please join colleagues and a group of Southwest archivists who work in tribal and non-tribal settings to explore how best to care for Native American archival collections in a culturally responsive way, especially collections with culturally sensitive materials.

Designed to be highly interactive, this workshop will address sovereignty and associated rights of Native American communities; building relationships and balancing different approaches to knowledge management; issues in the collection, ownership, preservation, handling, access, and use of American Indian archival resources; and ways to share and/or repatriate some material.

TIME: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., April 28, 2010

PLACE: NMHM Classroom/Learning Center, New Mexico History Museum

FEE: $75

MAXIMUM ATTENDEES: 30

Registration information will be provided soon in the e-packets going out to members, and on the SSA website.

IMLS Call for Grant Applications - December 15, 2009 Deadline

2009-09-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

The following is a text-only press release from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).An HTML version of this release can be viewed on the agency's Web site at http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/092309.shtm.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2009

IMLS Calls for Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant Applications

Application Deadline: December 15, 2009

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invites proposals from libraries, archives, and library agencies, associations, and consortia for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grant program. Categories of funding for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program are as follows:

• Doctoral programs in library and information science; • Master’s programs in library and information science; • Research about library and information science as a profession, establishment of ongoing research capacity in graduate schools of library and information science, and research conducted by untenured, tenure-track faculty in graduate schools of library and information science in their field of research (Early Career Development program); • Pre-professional programs to interest future professionals in library and information science as a career; • Programs to build institutional capacity in graduate schools of library and information science by developing or enhancing programs; and • Continuing education for library and archives staff.

The grant period for these projects is up to three years, except for doctoral program projects, which may be up to four years.

Responding to the ongoing changes in the information professions, since 2003, IMLS has awarded more than $130 million in grants to fund the education of 3,543 master's degree students, 192 doctoral students, 1,496 pre-professional students, and 26,482 continuing education students. These grants have helped build the skills and abilities of the people who maintain the nation’s information infrastructure at the grassroots level—librarians, archivists, and school library media specialists.

Application guidelines and instructions are available online. Please direct any questions about the program to Kevin Cherry, Senior Program Officer, 202-653-4662, kcherry@imls.gov; Chuck Thomas, Senior Program Officer, 202-653-4663, cthomas@imls.gov; or Karmen Bisher, Program Specialist, 202-653-4664, kbisher@imls.gov.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

Upcoming SAA workshops in the area and on the Web

2009-08-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

The following face-to-face workshops are available to SSA members with a $25 discount off the SAA non-member rate by entering the codes (in italics) into the promotional space on the registration form. The Web Seminars do not involve a discount.

Introduction to Web 2.0 in Archives
….Or what you need to know in a nutshell – Web Seminar
October 13

Understanding Photographs:
Introduction to Archival Principles and Practices
November 5-6 in New Orleans
UPPSSA09

Copyright: The Archivist and the Law
November 5-6 in Fort Worth
CPYSSA09

Grant Proposal Writing
November 16 in College Station
GPWSSA09

Becoming an Archives Consultant
….Practical Information & Tips – Web Seminar
November 17

Archivists’ Guide to Balancing Legal Issues in
Photograph Collections
November 20 in Fort Worth

LAPSSA09

Encoded Archival Description
February 25-26 in New Orleans
EADSSA10

For details or to register, visit the education calendar at
twww.archivists.org.

Questions? Contact us at
education@archivists.org or 866-SAA-7858.

Help needed on SSA welcome table in Austin

2009-07-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Help please - I need volunteers to man the SSA welcome desk at the upcoming SAA meeting in Austin. The table will be in the registration area of the Hilton from 8am until 4pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We'll be giving away pencils, information about SSA, and getting 10 dollar donations in exchange for a lovely steel water bottle with our new logo on it. Please contact me if you can volunteer for an hour. schaadg@doaks.org
Thanks, Gerri

Invitation to the ACA 20/1000 Celebration at SAA

2009-07-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

It is our great pleasure to invite you to join us for food, fun, cheer, and dancing—and one or two mystery guests—as the Academy of Certified Archivists celebrates two happy milestones in 2009: membership exceeds 1,000 archivists, and the Academy is now 20 years old. The Academy is pleased to invite you to this celebratory fête to be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists, in Austin Texas, on August 13, 2009.

Please bring your friends and guests, your dancing shoes, and your appetite, but not your wallet—this celebratory event is free. We expect an old-fashioned Texas party, featuring the live music from Cornell Hurd Band of Austin, truly a first-class down home celebration, great food and great company.

The party will kick off at 8 pm in Salon K of the Governors Ballroom on the 6th Floor of the Austin Hilton hotel. Thanks to the sponsorship of several generous donors, including Scotiabank Group, George Blood Audio (Safe Sound Archive), Hollinger/Metal Edge, The American Philosophical Society, and Capitol Hill Management Services, the party promises to be a certain highlight of the week!

We are eager to have you join us!

With all best wishes,
Marty Levitt, ACA President
Jane Nokes, Chair, 20/1,000 Celebration

P.S. We would appreciate your RSVP to Jane Nokes, Chair 20/1000 Event Committee, by August 3, 2009. Jane Nokes may be reached at jane.nokes(at)scotiabank.com.

Southwestern Archivist call for conference papers

2009-06-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

The August 2008 issue of Southwestern Archivist featuring condensed versions of papers presented at the annual meeting was so well received that we've decided to do it again!

If you presented a paper at the conference in Shreveport, please consider submitting a version of your presentation for publication. Papers should be between 500-1000 words in length, and should include at least one accompanying image (photograph, chart, screen shot, etc).

The deadline for conference papers to be published in the August issue is July 1. (The deadline for all other newsletter content is July 10). Please contact Katie Salzmann at salzmann@txstate.edu if you plan to submit your conference paper or if you have any other questions.

Michael McColgin

2009-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Melanie Sturgeon, Arizona State Archivist, reported that Michael McColgin passed away at 5:00 a.m. this morning (Friday, June 12, 2009). Michael, long-time conservation officer for the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, served as president of the Society of Southwest Archivists from 2006-2007. Michael will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues.

There will be a memorial service for Michael this Sunday afternoon (June 14) at 3:00 p.m. at the Desert Heritage Church, located at 1020 N. Horn in Mesa, AZ.

SAA Brings MPLP Workshop to Austin in June

2009-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

SAA has scheduled the workshop Implementing "More Product, Less Process" for June 26 in Austin. Early registration is available through May 26. SSA members, as always, will receive a $25 discount off the SAA non-member rate by entering the promotional code MPLP09SSA. You may register now by going here and logging into the registration system. Any questions, e-mail SAA Director of Education Solveig De Sutter at sdesutter@archivists.org.

SLOTTO 2009

2009-05-05T14:39:00.001-07:00

Attention SSA Members! When packing for the annual meeting, don't forget to bring your SLOTTO items! Books, knickknacks, posters, c.d.s, T-shirts... anything worth raffling in support of your colleagues and the SSA scholarships!

Don't forget to bring a little extra cash for SLOTTO tickets - you never know what prize you'll bring home!

There will be a sign-up sheet near the registration desk to work the SLOTTO table. See if you can sell the most tickets!

Contact Emily Hyatt, SSA Scholarships Committee Chair, with questions.
ehyatt@consolidated.net
936-829-3543

2009 Election Results

2009-05-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the 169 members who voted in the recent election! You are helping to chart the course for SSA's future. Thanks also to all who agreed to run for office. We had an extremely strong slate of candidates, and any of the people on the ballot would have served SSA well.

Society of Southwest Archivists officers, board, and elected committee chairs are:

Vice-President/President Elect: John Slate
Treasurer (2009-2011): Gerrianne Schaad
Executive Board (2009-2011): Amanda Focke, Michelle Mears, and Pati Threatt
Nominating Committee (2009-2011): Ellen Brown
Scholarship Committee (2009-2012): Brian Collins

The newly-elected officers and committee members will be presented at the annual meeting in Shreveport. Please be sure to offer them your congratulations - and offer to help with SSA's work!

SSA Nominating Committee

Carol Roark, Chair
Ann Massmann
Joel Minor

Deadline for Shreveport hotel reservations April 23

2009-04-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hotel conference rates for the SSA 2009 annual meeting have been extended through April 23. Even if you have not yet registered but think there is a possibility that you might, you should reserve a hotel room by April 23 in order to get the conference rate. Local Arrangements cannot guarantee the conference rate after that date. Check the SSA Meeting Wiki for a list of alternative hotels should the need arise.

Thanks,

Laura

Web Site Survey

2009-04-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

The SSA wants your opinion of its website. Do you visit regularly? Do you hate it? Do you love it but wish it had more bells and whistles? We've launched a short survey to improve the website. Please help us by taking a moment to answer a few questions.

You can access the survey from the SSA website: http://southwestarchivists.org/HTML/web09.htm. They survey is open through the end of May.

For further information, please contact:

Pati Threatt
Frazar Memorial Library
Box 91445
McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA 70609
337-475-5731
pthreatt@mcneese.edu

Early Bird deadline for meeting reservation - April 15

2009-04-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

Early bird registration for the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting, May 20-23, featuring plenary speaker, Bruce Montgomery, CA, ends April 15. Don’t miss out. Check out pre-conference workshops and program on the SSA website , download the registration form to mail or e-mail, or pay online with a credit card through Paypal. If you have any questions about registration, contact Peggy Carter at Louisiana Tech University, 318-257-2935, or peggy@library.latech.edu. Regular registration continues through May 8. Reservations cut-off date for the SSA conference rate is April 18, 2009.

Seats Still Available for Archon Workshop

2009-04-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

SAA's Archon™ workshop, Implementing DACS in Integrated Content Management Systems: Using Archon™, still has several seats available. SAA has kindly set aside over half the seats exclusively for SSA members and has extended the early bird deadline for this workshop to April 22. Remember that SSA members, who are not SAA members, will receive $25 off the non-member rate by entering the promo code DARCSSA09!

You may register for this workshop right now by clicking here.

Thanks,

Mat Darby
Chair, Professional Development Committee
http://southwestarchivists.org/HTML/Education.htm
msdarby@mail.utexas.edu

Call for Poster Presentations

2009-04-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting
Shreveport, Louisiana
May 20, 2009

The Society of Southwest Archivist’s 2009 Annual Meeting is set for Shreveport, Louisiana, May 20-23, 2009. Laura McLemore and her enthusiastic Local Arrangements Committee are planning an exciting meeting revolving around the theme, Into the Future Full Steam Ahead! Attendees at the Shreveport meeting will experience lots of Southern hospitality peppered with local culture – art, music, film, and architecture.

The 2009 SSA Program Committee invites your proposals for poster presentations. Topics may address research on, or innovation in, any aspect of archival practice. Posters are to be displayed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday, May 20, 2009. Presenters should be available to discuss their poster topics with conference attendees from 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.

Please submit an abstract (250 words or less) for a 10-minute poster presentation. In addition, please include presenter’s name, affiliation, address, email address and phone number. Abstracts will be evaluated by the 2009 SSA Program Committee chaired by Brenda McClurkin (University of Texas at Arlington).

The deadline for poster proposals is: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Notification of Program Committee decisions will be made by April 30, 2009

Please submit proposals to: mcclurkin@uta.edu

For more 2009 SSA Annual Meeting information, go to: www.southwestarchivists.org

Questions?
Brenda S. McClurkin, CA
Chair, 2009 SSA Program Committee
The University of Texas at Arlington
mcclurkin@uta.edu

Annual Meeting to Feature 3 Pre-Conference Workshops

2009-02-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

The Professional Development Committee has lined up the following workshops for the annual meeting in Shreveport. Information on how to register for these workshops will be arriving in the next couple weeks. If you have questions regarding the workshops, please contact Mat Darby at msdarby@mail.utexas.edu.

Doing More with Less: Cost-Effective and Time-Saving Approaches to Caring for Collections
Instructors: Tish Brewer & Shannon Phillips, The Center for Art Conservation (Dallas, TX)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Spring Street Historical Museum, 525 Spring Street [a short walk from the hotel]
Attendance is limited to 15.
Cost: $50

This workshop will provide archivists and librarians with useful preservation and conservation recommendations and handy tips. During this time of budget cuts and belt-tightening, many archivists and librarians are left with little or no budget for preservation- or conservation-related projects. With this in mind, we will explore do-it-yourself approaches to caring for your collections and demonstrate cost-effective and time-saving execution of minor conservation treatments and offer attendees hands-on experience with these methods.

The first part of the workshop will consist of a presentation covering collections management issues ranging from space-saving storage solutions to environmental monitoring with opportunity for addressing participants’ specific questions. The second part of the workshop will include demonstrations and hands-on lessons in humidification and flattening, making small amounts of paste, time-saving approaches to mending paper materials, and more!

Becoming a Film-Friendly Archivist
Instructors: Snowden Becker & Katie Trainor, The Center for Home Movies
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
LSU-Shreveport
Attendance is limited to 30.
Cost: $75

This workshop furnishes the practicing archivist with skills to identify, assess, and preserve history caught on film. Upon completion of this workshop participants will be able to:

• Perform basic identification of film materials and evaluate their condition and contents;
• Set preservation priorities for film materials and get accurate estimates for preservation work;
• Identify sources of preservation funding and discuss methods for integrating motion picture materials into access, exhibition, and outreach efforts;
• Begin thinking about film as an essential and approachable part of any archive collection, as well as the historical and cultural record archivists work to preserve;
• Regard future acquisitions of film with confidence and a positive attitude.

Implementing DACS in Integrated Content Management Systems: Using Archon™
Instructor: Christopher Prom, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tuesday & Wednesday, May 19-20, 2009, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
LSU-Shreveport
Attendance is limited to 25.
Cost: TBD
Note: This workshop is being presented by SAA, who will handle registration through its web site. SSA members, who are not also SAA members, will receive a $25 discount on registration.

This two-day, hands-on workshop focuses on how to describe collections according to the rules of DACS, the national content standard for preparing such descriptions within the context of one integrated content management system. Archon™ * is an open source application available for managing descriptive information about archival records and manuscript collections. The archival data elements and rules supplied by DACS are an integral component of Archon™ and provide an easy way to integrate standards-based description into a repository’s processing workflow. Practical exercises, lecture, class discussions, and demonstrations assist in learning Archon’s™ basic functions and relationships to DACS.

Dues

2009-02-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

This is your treasurer again. This is the end of month one and only half the membership have sent in dues. If you have paid - thanks. If you haven't paid - please do soon. I'll be sending out an e-mail reminder soon.

membership

2009-01-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

I've had a bonanza of membership forms and checks coming back. Thanks. It's an official record - 133 so far and it is only January 22. Thanks and keep up the quick returns!

Call for Nominations

2009-01-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Help SSA Thrive and Grow!!

Meet other archivists, gain valuable experience (it looks good on a resume!), help the archival community prosper, and earn the respect of colleagues by serving in an elective office.

The Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for the following positions:

Vice-President/President Elect (one-year term)
Treasurer (two-year term)
Executive Board (two-year term, three positions)
Nominating Committee (two-year term, one position)
Scholarship Committee (three-year term, one position)

The responsibilities of each position are found at http://southwestarchivists.org/PDF/constandbylaws.pdf and http://southwestarchivists.org/PDF/ssaman7.pdf .

If you would like to serve or know someone who might be an ideal candidate, please contact a member of the Nominating Committee:

Chair, Carol Roark, carol.roark@dallaslibrary.org
Ann Massmann, massmann@unm.edu
Joel Minor, minor@txstate.edu

Scholarship Application Deadline is February 6, 2009

2009-01-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Society of Southwest Archivists invites applications for its annual scholarships. Don’t miss these opportunities to obtain assistance in professional development and annual meeting attendance! All scholarship applications must be postmarked by February 6, 2009. Scholarships available are:
Otis Hebert Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship: In honor of SSA's founding president, this scholarship is intended to further the professional training of working archivists in the Southwest.
John Michael Caldwell Scholarship: Presented annually, this scholarship enables an SSA member enrolled in a graduate archival program to attend the SSA Annual Meeting. This year's meeting will be May 20-23, 2009 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Annual Meeting Scholarship: Presented annually, this scholarship was created to provide financial aid to an SSA member archivist with limited funding to attend the SSA Annual Meeting. This year's meeting will be May 20-23, 2009 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Applications must be postmarked or emailed by February 6, 2009.
Eligibility requirements and application guidelines can be found at:
http://southwestarchivists.org
For more information, contact Scholarships Committee Chair
Emily E. Hyatt
The History Center
102 N. Temple
Diboll, TX 75941
ehyatt@consolidated.net

SAA National Disaster Recovery Fund Awarded

2008-11-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

SAA announced this week that an award of $2,000 to purchase dehumidifiers to stabilize its collections has been made to the Galveston & Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library Association, Galveston, Texas, by the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives. The Rosenberg Library was hit hard by Hurricane Ike floodwaters. Follow the links for more information about the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives, or to make a contribution.

Last Chance: Call for Papers

2008-11-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting

Shreveport, Louisiana • May 20-23, 2009

Plans are well underway for the Society of Southwest Archivist’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Shreveport, Louisiana. Laura McLemore and her enthusiastic Local Arrangements Committee are planning an exciting meeting revolving around the theme, Into the Future Full Steam Ahead! Attendees at the Shreveport meeting will experience lots of Southern hospitality peppered with local culture – art, music, film, and architecture.

The 2009 SSA Program Committee invites your proposals for program sessions. Full proposals are encouraged. Sessions are scheduled for 90 minutes and typically include three papers though panel discussions or other formats are also welcome. For proposals, include title and brief description of the session; titles and brief descriptions of each paper; names of session organizer and each presenter including affiliation; address, email address and phone numbers for all. Also include audio-visual equipment needs for the session, and whether or not session presenters will provide their own equipment. Individual papers may also be submitted with complete information included in the proposal. The committee may form sessions based on individual papers submitted.

Deadline for session proposals:

Monday, December 1, 2008

Please submit all proposals online through the SSA Web site.

Call for Papers (electronic version):

http://southwestarchivists.org/HTML/Program.htm

Session Proposal Form:

http://southwestarchivists.org/HTML/cfp09.htm

Questions?

Brenda S. McClurkin, CA

Chair, 2009 SSA Program Committee

The University of Texas at Arlington

mcclurkin@uta.edu

phone: (817) 272-7512 fax: (817) 272-3360

Call for DSA Nominations

2008-09-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

The Distinguished Service Award Committee is accepting nominations for the award to be presented at the SSA’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Shreveport, LA. This award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the Society of Southwest Archivists and the archival profession over a number of years. This award is sponsored by Metal Edge, Inc.

As SSA’s most prestigious award, the Distinguished Service Award honors someone whose long-term efforts contributed to the success of the organization. Nominations must be received by Friday, January 16, 2009.

There is no nomination form. Instead, nominations should be made in a letter that covers the contributions the nominee has made to SSA and to the profession. To strengthen the nomination, letters of support are encouraged.

For further information, contact Tim Blevins, Chair of the DSA Committee.

Please send completed nominations and support letters to Tim, preferably via e-mail:
Tim Blevins
Special Collections
Pikes Peak Library District
P.O. Box 1579
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
tblevins@ppld.org
Ph 719-531-6333 ext. 2228

Other DSA Committee Members:
Kathlene Ferris
University of New Mexico
kferris@unm.edu
Ph 505-277-7172

Mike Strom
Texas Christian University Archives
m.strom@tcu.edu
Ph 817-257-7595

Nominations must be received by Friday, January 16, 2009.

AUSTIN 2009 Host Committee Needs your help!

2008-08-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Next year's Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting will be held in Austin, Texas, right in the middle of our SSA region. If you'll be attending the SAA meeting in San Francisco next week, the 2009 Host Committee for the Austin meeting needs your help!

There will be an AUSTIN 2009 table available in the Registration Area during all registration hours (beginning on Tuesday at 8:00 am), and the 2009 Host Committee need help staffing it and talking up the Austin meeting and handing out goodies. If you are willing to help out and staff the table at some point during the meeting, please contact Host Committee Chair, Brenda Gunn – bgunn@austin.utexas.edu.

Thanks!
Austin 2009 Host Committee

SSAers at SAA

2008-08-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Are you planning on attending the Society of American Archivists conference in San Francisco this month? If so, please keep the readers of Southwestern Archivist in mind. We would love to include a spread in the November newsletter about SSAers at SAA. Please consider writing a brief article about an interesting session or round table you attend (or participate in); contribute an article about the SSA mixer or other receptions/tours; or submit photos of you and other SSAers enjoying the conference.

Call for Newsletter Articles

2008-08-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

The editors of Southwestern Archivist are seeking feature articles and columns for upcoming issues of the newsletter. While we will continue to send quarterly calls for repository news, we encourage you to write a feature article that reflects one of the upcoming themes:

November 2008: Politics in the Archives
Feature articles and an interview are needed.
Suggestions: articles about presidential libraries, political collections, government archives, documenting elections/campaigns, etc.
Deadline for submission: October 10

February 2009: Archives and Grants
Feature articles and a “how-to” are needed
Suggestions: articles about successful grant projects, administering grants, information about granting agencies, etc.
Deadline for submission: January 10

May 2009: Archival Buildings/Spaces
Feature articles, a “how-to,” and an interview are needed.
Suggestions: articles about renovation/construction projects; space management/design; working with architects and contractors; green buildings, etc.
Deadline for submission: April 10

August 2009: Annual Conference Review
Conference papers, a “how-to,” and an interview are needed.
Deadline for submission: July 10

November 2009: Archives and Technology
Feature articles, a “how-to,” and an interview are needed.
Suggestions: articles about digitization and other projects; emerging technologies; keeping staff current with technology; reformatting/migrating archival resources, etc.
Deadline for submission: October 10

If you have an interest in writing but need ideas or suggestions, Katie Salzmann (salzmann@txstate.edu) will be happy to work with you to define a topic. Remember, the quality of the Southwestern Archivist depends on your submissions!

Survey Says?: SSA Launches Membership Survey

2008-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

The SSA Board invites you to take a moment and complete a short, 10-question survey. Your answers to these questions will assist us in making decisions regarding the extended annual meeting format and to plan accordingly for future meetings. Please click on the appropriate state link below according to where you live and work. If you have any problems with the survey page, please contact Mat Darby (msdarby@mail.utexas.edu).

**************

SSA MEMBERSHIP SURVEY

ARKANSAS

ARIZONA

LOUISIANA

NEW MEXICO

OKLAHOMA

TEXAS

OUT-OF-REGION

SSA Offers "Train the Trainer" Opportunity

2008-06-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

If you ever thought you would like to conduct a workshop, but felt your teaching skills could use some improvement, now is your chance to do something about it. SSA is offering the opportunity for one SSA member to attend the workshop "Train the Trainer" to be presented Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at SAA's annual meeting in San Francisco.

From SAA's education catalog: "[Train the Trainer] addresses the essentials of adult learning and provides practical know-how to make training come to life. Discussion includes setting the tone, selective lecturing, increasing participation, improving discussions, and managing the 'difficult' participant." [For a complete description, click here.]

SSA will cover the cost of workshop registration and a room for one night at the Hilton San Francisco. In return, the recipient of this award will work with the Professional Development Committee to create and present a workshop for SSA members, somewhere in the SSA region, within a year.

To be eligible for this award, you must be an SSA member in good standing, and provide the following:

1. A brief resume or curriculum vitae;
2. One or more letters of reference;
3. A personal letter which describes:
a. Your reasons for wanting to attend "Train the Trainer"
b. The workshop you would like to develop and present to SSA members

You may submit these items to:
Mat Darby
Chair, SSA Professional Development Committee
The Center for American History
1 University Station D1100
Austin, TX 78712-0335

or via e-mail to: msdarby@mail.utexas.edu

The submission deadline is June 20, 2008. The recipient of this award will be notified no later than July 1, 2008.

Photos from the SSA Meeting

2008-05-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

SLOTTO 2008

2008-05-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Attention SSA Members! The Scholarship Committee needs your help at the Annual Meeting. Please sign up to work at the SLOTTO table - there are still many slots open! Contact Scholarship Committee Chair Emily Hyatt (ehyatt@consolidated.net) to sign up.
Don't forget to bring your fun, unusual, and interesting items for SLOTTO as well! We're counting on you!

New Southwest Fares!

2008-04-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

We all knew it was coming - and it's finally arrived. Southwest Airlines released their latest special fares for travel including our SSA meeting dates.

Low Fares You’ll LUV! Book by May 1 for travel May 8 - May 31, 2008.
The link above will take you to fares offered to/from Houston Hobby airport. They include cities within our region including Austin, El Paso, Harlingen, Little Rock, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and Tulsa.

With air fares on the rise, if you haven't booked your travel to Houston yet, and you can before May 1, be sure to take advantage of these special rates from Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Airlines new deals

2008-04-22T06:53:00.001-07:00

Southwest Airlines announced new travel specials with a 7-day advanced purchase that includes travel through May 22. These include flights to/from Houston Hobby airport from select locations across the SSA region, such as El Paso and Phoenix. Take the opportunity now to sign up for e-mail alerts for future specials.

Also, if you have not made your hotel reservation with the Doubletree Downtown, don't wait any longer. Our block expires on Monday, April 28. There is no guarantee that you will be able to get a room at that hotel (or any other in the downtown area) for our conference week. You definitely won't find one for as little as $119/night.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Deadline for Early Bird Registration SSA meeting

2008-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Only two days left to register under the Early Bird rates for the SSA annual meeting in Houston.

View our Program online and also take advantage of the opportunity to register online today!

Note the excellent pre-conference workshops that are still available, as well as the pre-conference architectural walking tour and two post-conference Houston tours. All are still open for registration at great affordable rates.

We will be accepting registrations at the regular rate from April 19-May 12. However, if you THINK you might be attending, please don't wait to make a hotel reservation at the Doubletree Downtown Houston. Our reservations block expires on April 28, and there is another conference in town this same weekend that will make it difficult to get a downtown hotel room at a late date (and don't even ask about the "regular" pricing.)

Don't delay - call 713-759-0202 and book your room at the conference rate of $119/night (single-quad).

If you're looking for a roommate or other information, check out our wiki .

Lone Arrangers Resource Online

2008-04-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Do you work in an archive- or library- by yourself? Allllll alone, or just in your department? So do we! Join your lone arranger colleagues at http://lonearrangers.ning.com where you can discuss your questions and issues with people who understand your problems. You can use the resource wiki to find forms, publications, and other resources, and create or join groups of lone arrangers located in your part of the world.

The site is open to any and all lone arrangers.

If you have any questions or problems with the site please feel free to contact Christina Zamon (Christina_zamon@emerson.edu) or Jessica Steytler (jsteytler@14Beacon.org)

Local Arrangements Update

2008-03-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

As we predicted, the NASA Mission Control (Building 30) tour is an early sell-out!

Right now we have about a quarter of our expected registrants. We've heard only good comments about being able to register online. So don't delay, make your plans and go register for the Annual Meeting! There is still space available in the pre-conference workshops and all of the remaining tours. We expect a flurry of registrations before our April 18 "early bird" deadline.

Remember to make your hotel reservations at the Doubletree before April 28. And if you run into a sold out Tuesday night, call the Crowne Plaza before May 8. (See post below for more information.)

We have confirmation from 11 exhibitors, and are waiting to hear from just one more, which will give us a full room on Friday.

Visit our wiki to share information, find a roommate, or ask questions.

Hotel Blocks

2008-03-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Those individuals planning to attend the NARA Electronic Records Workshop and/or the Wed. morning preconference workshop, may have noticed that the Doubletree Hotel has a limited number of blocked rooms available for Monday and Tuesday nights. They are quoting SSA members an inflated rate of $245/night. We have spoken with the Doubletree and the primary problem is that we are scheduled concurrently with another, much larger, conference taking place in the city. The Doubletree expects to be completely sold out for Tuesday night within a few more days.

If you are planning to register for the NARA workshop and/or the Wednesday morning preconference workshop, we encourage you to call the Crowne Plaza Houston-Downtown, located at 1700 Smith Street, Houston, TX 77002. Phone 713-739-8800. We have secured a rate agreement of $149/night. This rate will be available to SSA until May 8 only. The Crowne Plaza is located across the street from the Mickey Leland Federal Building - site of the NARA workshop - and SSA local arrangements will supply transportation to/from Rice on Wed. morning for the preconference workshop.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope you'll join us Wed.-Sat. at the Doubletree for the rest of the conference. Remember to make your hotel reservations before April 28! (The sooner, the better!)

Houston 2008

2008-03-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Registration and Program information for the SSA Annual Meeting 2008 in Houston went into the mail on Saturday, March 8 and should be arriving in your mailbox this week. A pdf version of the program information has been sent to the SSA webmaster and should be available on our Annual Meeting page soon.

The meeting runs from Wed. May 21 - Sat. May 24. Early bird member registration (through April 18) is $125. Three pre-conference workshops on Wednesday, May 21 are being offered at $50 each. There will be an architectural "strolling" tour of downtown Houston (above ground, below-ground, and sometimes actually on the ground) on Wed. May 21 from 2-4 p.m. Saturday afternoon choose from a guided tour of the Houston Heritage Society homes located in Sam Houston Park, or cruise the Houston Ship Channel. All tours are only $15 each.

Make your reservation at the Doubletree before April 28 in order to get our special conference rate of $119/night. Bring the family and stay through Memorial Day weekend in order to really visit the many varied museums and other things to do while in town.

New this year is online registration that allows you to identify which sessions you're interested in attending, and pay online with a credit card.

So check your mailbox. Check the SSA website. Get out your travel request form. It's time to make your plans for SSA 2008: Houston!

Call for Nominations: 2007 Waldo Gifford Leland Award

2008-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Have you read a great new book about archives? Have you come across an exceptional finding aid for a newly-processed archival or manuscript collection? Have you encountered a documentary publication that is head and shoulders above the rest?

If you have, why don’t you consider nominating it for the Waldo Gifford Leland Award?

The Leland Award subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists invites you to nominate a monograph, finding aid, or documentary publication published in North America in 2007 for the Waldo Gifford Leland Award. (Please note: periodicals are not eligible.) The prize is awarded each year to encourage and reward “writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the field of archival history, theory, and practice.”

Established in 1959, the award honors American archival pioneer Waldo Gifford Leland, president of the Society of American Archivists in the 1940s and one of the driving forces behind the founding of the National Archives.

More information and nomination forms can be found at http://www.archivists.org/recognition/index.asp. The deadline for applications is February 28, 2008.
Please help us to recognize the best in our profession!

Call for Newsletter articles

2008-02-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

The editors of the Southwestern Archivist are seeking feature articles and papers for upcoming issues. While we will continue to send a quarterly call for repository news, we encourage your commitment to writing an article that reflects one of the themes selected for the year.

May 2008: Preparing for disaster / protecting your materials / disaster recovery Deadline for submission: April 10
“How-To” and feature articles needed

August 2008: Annual Meeting papers / recaps
Deadline for submission: July 10
“How-To” and feature articles needed, as well as papers (or abstracts of papers) delivered at the annual meeting

November 2008: Political archives
Deadline for submission: October 10
“How-To” and feature articles needed

Please contact Katie Salzmann (salzmann@txstate.edu) with your topic and have your article assigned to an upcoming issue. If you have an interest in writing but need ideas or suggestions, Katie will be happy to work with you to define a topic.
Feature articles (including the “How-To” series) should be between 600 and 1500 words. If at all possible, up to three photographs with captions should accompany the article.

The quality of the Southwestern Archivist depends on your submissions. By contributing to the newsletter, you’ll help sustain the publication that benefits all SSA members.

Reminder: If you are an ACA member, writing a newsletter article of at least 350 words on a topic in the archival domain will earn 5 credits towards recertification. An article related to, but not in the archival domain, will earn 2 credits.
Note: We will continue to call for repository news for each issue of Southwestern Archivist. We are sending this message to announce the themes for future issues and allow individuals to have opportunities and time to write feature articles.

General submission guidelines:
All submissions should be written in a style consistent with inclusion in a professional publication, and in general, should not be written in the first-person. Submissions must include author contact information following the article text: Preferred name, institution, mailing address, and preferred contact information - phone/fax (optional), and/or e-mail (optional). Please note that articles may be edited to conform to style conventions and space limitations.

Submissions are accepted at any time up through the issue deadline. Early submissions are appreciated.

Accompanying photographs are welcome and encouraged. Ideally, at least one (and up to 3) photographs should be submitted with each article contributed (although they are subject to space limitations). Please include appropriate captions and citations.

SSA leadership

2008-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

This is the inaugural post of the SSA Leadership Blog.