By Jill Sweetapple, SGA Blog Contributor

We, the GAI board, were disappointed last year, when the 2020 Georgia Archives Institute had to be cancelled due to COVID 19, and wanted badly to hold the Institute this year. After much discussion, the board decided on an all-online format. Sadly, this meant there would be no internships, but cancelling for a second year seemed so much worse. GAI 2021 concluded on June 14.

We were again lucky to have Pam Hackbart-Dean as our primary instructor, as well as Tina Mason Seetoo on Preservation and Katherine Fisher on Digital Preservation. To give everyone a breather now and again, we enlisted the help of guest speakers. Our topics included Anti-Racist Archival Description, Content Management Systems, Born Digital Records and Working with Community Archives. Our guest speakers volunteered their time and we valued the addition of other voices in archives for the students.

Meeting online via Zoom meant there would be no reception. The 2021 class had twenty-one students, and thanks to our sponsors, we sent everyone a goodie box with Georgia-themed treats and a mini Hollinger box. We hosted students from all over Georgia, but also from Connecticut, Alabama, Texas, Florida and South Carolina.

We also hosted several scholarship-supported attendees. We thank the Society of Georgia Archivists, the Friends of Georgia Archives and History, Georgia Public Library Service and the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council for providing these opportunities for attendees that may not have been able to take part otherwise.

On the last day of the 2021 six-day course, students, instructors and board members met for an informal online wrap-up. We heard about the Society of Georgia Archivists, the Clayton State Archival program, and the Regional Archival Associations Consortium, and heard from students about their experiences at this year’s Institute.

Our GAI sponsors include BMS Cat Fire, Water & Reconstruction Services, the Georgia Archives, HF Group, Hollinger Metal Edge, the Digital Library of Georgia, Master Enterprises, Inc., Patterson Pope, Preservation Technologies, PreserveSouth and the Society of Georgia Archivists.

We certainly hope that the 2022 Institute, scheduled for June 6 through June 17 2022, will once more include internships, a reception and our ability to meet everyone in person. You can keep an eye on our renovated website and our Facebook page for updates. In the meantime, we congratulate the 2021 graduates!

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