The recordings of the 2021 SGA Annual Meeting are now available to view online! If you were unable to attend the conference live or missed a session you really wanted to attend, we invite you to view the playlist of presentations on SGA’s YouTube.
June 6-17, 2022 is the projected date for the Georgia Archives Institute. As of this writing, they plan on having the Institute in person. They will of course monitor the changing health concerns.
The Institute will be held at the Georgia Archives, located in Morrow, GA, just outside Atlanta. Classroom instruction will take place the first week, June 6 through June 10 and also on Monday, June 13. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday June 14-16 will be an on-site internship at a local institution, where you can ask all the questions you want and put your classroom instruction to good use. Friday, June 17 will be a wrap-up day, held back at the Georgia Archives.
The Georgia Archives Institute was founded in 1967 by Carroll Hart, Director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History (1964-1982). Lacking the funds to send staff to the National Archives Institute in Washington, D.C., Ms. Hart brought in prominent archivists to teach archival theory and the role of the modern archivist. She saw the need for basic instruction for beginners in the profession. At first the program was intended for the Georgia Archives staff, but it was soon expanded to include attendees from other institutions. The first official session was in August of 1967, with students traveling around the state visiting repositories, courthouses, and other institutions’ housing records.
Today, the Georgia Archives Institute is recognized throughout the archival community as one of the primary vehicles through which beginning archivists and students can learn theoretical and practical knowledge of modern archives.
Jepson Center at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, GA
Re-Cor-Dare is a solo art exhibition of Society of Georgia Archivists member and artist Sauda Mitchell (American, b. 1981).
About the exhibition:
“Mitchell’s prints, paintings, and artist books serve as compelling visual responses to her sustained engagement with archival collection materials. In researching personal papers, photographs, artifacts, and curated digital collections, her work explores thematic topics of study relating to the Black experience. Utilizing QR codes, selected works link to digitized collection materials focusing on their ability as teaching tools recalling stories embedded within the African American collective memory.
The hyphenated title, Re-Cor-Dare, calls attention to the definition of the word “record” through its Latin roots―explicitly “Cor” (heart) and “Dare” (to give). Through five distinct but interconnecting series, Mitchell traces the legacies of slavery in the United States from the Middle Passage to present-day social injustices faced by Black Americans. Ultimately, her work exists as a catalyst for discussion, reflection, and a celebration of the human spirit.”
The SGA Communications team is pleased to announce that
the Annual Magazine is now available.
Check it out here! The magazine includes reflections on 2020, the virtual annual meeting, documenting the coronavirus, the 2021 president’s address, and more.
Thank you to those who submitted contributions to the magazine. If you have any questions about the magazine, feel free to contact us.
Morrow, GA, January 28, 2021– Do you know someone who has done outstanding work using, preserving, or making historical records more accessible? Think about an historical or genealogical society, library, museum, county or municipal government, researcher, local historian, educator, or student. The Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC) wants to encourage and reward their exceptional efforts.
GHRAC established the Outstanding Archives Awards Program in 2003 to recognize outstanding efforts in archives and records work in Georgia. By publicly recognizing excellent achievements, the Board strives to inspire others. Hundreds of organizations and individuals play a significant role in the preservation of our state’s documentary heritage.
GHRAC has twelve different award categories for individuals and organizations. Award recipients will be honored at the Georgia Archives by the GHRAC Board at a ceremony during Archives Month in October. Nominations may be submitted February 1 through June 1.Nominations must be postmarked on or before June 1, 2021.
All of the following are eligible for an award. (You may nominate your own organization.)
local governments, courts, school systems, state agencies, and institutions
historical records repositories, historical societies, libraries, and museums
educators, students, and researchers
legislators and government officials
individuals and organizations who support archives and records management
specialized subject societies in related fields such as oral history, genealogy, folklore, archaeology, business history, etc.
Information about the GHRAC Awards Program is located on the website of the Georgia Archives, www.georgiaarchives.org. On the homepage, type “GHRAC” in the search bar. You can then click on the link to the “GHRAC Awards Program.” Here you will find the links for the Nomination Form and instructions, the Award Categories and Selection Criteria for all 12 awards categories, and a list of all prior award recipients.
A nomination package consists of the one-page nomination form (please provide all requested contact information), a 500-word summary or project description, a copy of the work itself, and any supporting documentation necessary to appropriately portray the complete work (such as in the case of a project which includes an exhibit, a website, or an audiovisual, instructional, service, or performance component). Please note specific requirements in the appropriate selection criteria for nominations.
If submitted electronically, one copy of the nomination package should be emailed to: Linda.Pickering@usg.edu. If submitted as hard copy, seven (7) complete nomination packages should be sent to: GHRAC, c/o Linda Pickering, Georgia Archives 5800 Jonesboro Rd. Morrow, GA 30260 (Copies will not be returned). Nominators should pay particular attention to the following requirements: 1. Georgia students who research and write in an area other than Georgia history or a Georgia subject must use the resources of Georgia records repositories to qualify for these awards. 2. A letter of support from a professor, teacher, adviser, or other appropriate representative of an organization or institution must accompany students who nominate themselves or are nominated by a family member. Award recipients are typically notified in August or September, and the annual GHRAC Awards Reception and Ceremony are held at the Georgia Archives in October.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get involved and shine the spotlight on the organizations and individuals all across Georgia who are dedicated to preserving and sharing our history, and improving our record keeping.
The majority of recordings are set as unlisted, which means you won’t find them by searching YouTube or visiting SGA’s channel. To access the presentations, please save and use the playlist links above.
For Immediate Release January 6, 2021 CONTACT: Sheila McAlister, mcalists@uga.edu, 706-542-5418 WRITER: Mandy Mastrovita, mastrovi@uga.edu, 706-583-0209
Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) awards eight Georgia cultural heritage institutions across the state Competitive Digitization service grants. Eight institutions (and nine projects) are recipients of the eighth set of service grants awarded in a program intended to broaden partner participation in the DLG. The DLG solicited proposals for historic digitization projects in a statewide call, and applicants submitted proposals for projects with a cost of up to $7,500.00. DLG staff will provide free digitization, metadata, and hosting services so that more of Georgia’s diverse history can be found online free. This subgranting program was presented the 2018 Award for Excellence in Archival Program Development by a State Institution by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC). Preference in the selection process was given to proposals from institutions that had not yet collaborated with the DLG. The Archives of the Society of Mary, Province of the USA, the 6th Cavalry Museum, the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home, and the Midway Museum are all new partners for the DLG. The selected collections document all corners of the state and life from the 1700s to the 1996 Olympics. There’s something for everyone: family researchers will find plantation, funeral home, county government, and nursing home records; art enthusiasts will learn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s growth from its founding in 1945 to the mid-1980s; those interested in protest and politics can study community resistance to the 1996 Olympics, view the effects of segregation policies in urban planning, and encounter the changing face of Atlanta and Savannah’s public spaces in the 1950s. The materials document the state’s African American, Roman Catholic, and military communities. The recipients and their projects include: Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives (Music and Broadcasting Collections) Digitization of 24 scrapbooks from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Collection dating from 1945 to 1985 that include newspaper clippings of concert previews, reviews, and highlights of guest performers, composers, and conductors, as well as photographs, advertising materials, and organizational records such as memos and correspondence. The bulk of the ASO scrapbooks are from the 1950s-1960s and document the arrival of Music Director Robert Shaw in the late 1960s and the effects of the Civil Rights movement on the orchestra. Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives (Women’s Collections) Digitization of audiovisual items from the Carol Brown Papers, 1993-2012 (bulk 1993-1994) focusing on pro- and anti- LGBTQ+ activities in traditionally conservative Cobb County and the campaign to move 1996 Olympic events out of the County. Further, in a time of daily protest, the collection illustrates the power of creative, peaceful protest. City of Savannah Municipal Archives Digitization of the selections from Park and Tree Commission minutes from 1896 to 1920 that reflect the intersections of urban planning and civil rights, trends in landscape design, development of Savannah’s cemeteries (both African American and white, since Savannah had segregated cemeteries), and details such as the use of convict labor in city infrastructure projects. These records offer insider perspectives into the decision-making process related to these Jim Crow-era policies that are not often found in government records. Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System Digitization of the Rees Funeral Home Funeral Records and the Lincoln County Courthouse Records. The Rees Funeral Home Funeral Records document funeral arrangements and obituaries for Lincoln County residents from 1940 until 1960. The Courthouse records consist of Lincoln County legal records dating back to the 1700s. Archives of the Society of Mary, Province of the United States Digitization of films and slides dating from 1938 to 1979 and drawn from Marist College educator Reverend Michael Kerwick’s films and from the papers of Marist educator Rev. Vincent Brennan. The materials document the Marist School community in Atlanta and, more broadly Roman Catholics in Georgia. 6th Cavalry Museum Digitization of a collection of holiday menus created for the 6th Cavalry troops at Fort Oglethorpe from 1925 to 1940. The holiday dinner menus offer a glimpse of food and culinary traditions and of military life through troop rosters and highlights of each year’s troop activities. Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home Digitization of the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home Archives documents the first maternity shelter where “only” African American women were allowed, by local Mitchell County doctors, to receive midwife delivery for their newborns. Materials in the collection include registers of the mothers and babies born between 1949 and 1971. Midway Museum Digitization of the Julia King Collection, composed of original land grants/deeds, plantation documents, indentures, estate documents, photos, and letters connected with the Roswell King family’s Liberty County plantation and the county itself from the late 1700s through the middle of the 20th century. The collection will be of particular interest to those doing family research on the enslaved in Liberty County. Georgia Historical Society Description of architectural drawings from the Savannah-based, woman landscape architect Clermont Lee. Lee is best known for her work designing gardens and parks for historical landmarks throughout Georgia. The drawings are from 1940 through the mid-1980s and include projects in and around Savannah, as well as several throughout Georgia and the larger Southeast. More information about our partner institutions is available below:
About the Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives (Music and Broadcasting Collections) The Georgia State University Archives Music and Radio Broadcasting Collections began as the Johnny Mercer Collection and grew to include related materials that include: other musicians’ and artists’ papers, early country, bluegrass and Southern gospel music, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra archives, and records of WSB Radio and other Georgia stations. The collection contains more than 20,000 pieces of published sheet music, Tune-Dex cards, and arrangements by American songwriters, as well as 50,000 recordings from a variety of genres. For more information, visit the Music and Radio Broadcasting Collections research guides at research.library.gsu.edu/musicradio
About the Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives (Women’s Collections) The Women’s Collections chronicle women’s activism and advocacy in Georgia and the Southeast. Within this curatorial area are several notable collections: the Donna Novak Coles Georgia Women’s Movement Archives, the Lucy Hargrett Draper Collections on Women’s Rights, Advocacy and the Law, and the Archives for Research on Women. For more information, read the Women’s Collections research guides at research.library.gsu.edu/womenscollections
About the City of Savannah Municipal Archives The City of Savannah Municipal Archives collects, manages, preserves, and makes accessible records documenting the City of Savannah’s history; administers the records management program and the City Records Center to increase the efficiency of City agencies; and shares the City’s history with City employees, citizens and visitors through outreach activities. The Municipal Archives services reference requests from researchers and the general public which relate to archival and historical City records under its administration in the City Records Center and shares the City’s history through a variety of public outreach activities, including tours of City Hall, permanent and rotating exhibits, and special programs. Visit www.savannahga.gov/475/Municipal-Archives
About the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System The Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System aims to provide quality library services and materials to children and adults in the community in order to meet their informational, recreational, and educational reading needs. Visit gchrl.org/
About the Archives of the Society of Mary, Province of the United States The mission of the archives is to collect, preserve, and make available manuscripts, records, photographs, audiovisual materials, artifacts, books, and other items that document the ministries, houses, and personnel of the Society of Mary in the United States. Although Marists first arrived in Louisiana in 1863, items in the collection date from the early 1800s through 2020. The provincial archives for the U.S. Province have been housed in the rectory at Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia since 2000, when the former Washington and San Francisco provinces consolidated into the Atlanta province. The archival collection of the former Boston province was moved from Framingham to Atlanta in 2014.
About the 6th Cavalry Museum The 6th Cavalry Museum preserves the rich military history of the Fighting Sixth Cavalry, stationed at The Post at Fort Oglethorpe from 1919-1942. The story of the 6th Cavalry began in 1861 as a U.S. Cavalry Regiment. Located on the Post’s original parade ground/polo field, the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, surrounded by officer’s homes and other Post buildings. The museum opened in 1981 through the volunteer efforts of the local WWII 6th Cavalrymen, their families, and interested residents. Visited by presidents, military heroes, and celebrities, the museum houses artifacts, uniforms, weapons, accoutrements, photos, and vehicles. Visit 6thcavalrymuseum.org/
About the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home in Camilla, Georgia was the only facility where African-American women could deliver babies in Mitchell County, for many years prior to the Civil Rights Movement. It was owned by Beatrice (“Miss Bea”) Borders (1892–1971), a midwife who delivered over 6,000 babies at the home between 1941-1971.
About the Midway Museum Since its founding, the Midway Museum has been supported by the descendants of the Midway Church members who have provided 18th- and 19th-century family heirlooms, documents, books, genealogical lineages, heirloom furnishings, paintings, and artifacts. Many Midway Church descendants still live in Liberty County and coastal Georgia, serve on the Board of Governors, and visit during the Midway Church’s annual Homecoming. Visit themidwaymuseum.org/
About the Georgia Historical Society Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history. GHS houses the oldest and most distinguished collection of materials related exclusively to Georgia history in the nation. Visit georgiahistory.com/
About the Digital Library of Georgia Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project. Visit the DLG at dlg.usg.edu.
The Society of Georgia Archivists held its 51st Annual Meeting November 11-13, 2020–its first-ever all-virtual conference–with the theme “Building Partnerships and Dismantling Barriers.” Our keynote speaker was Dorothy Berry, Digital Collections Program Manager at Harvard’s Houghton Library, whose talk was titled, “My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Remembering Black History in the Archives.”
In spite of all the changes and challenges presented by this year, the conference was the best-attended of any meeting in the Society’s history, boasting 206 registrants, 200 attendees, 58 presenters, 26 presentations, and seven vendors. SGA was proud to be able to offer free registration to members and presenters, and $35 registration to non-members.
Our two pre-conference workshops were similarly well-attended, hitting capacity in both virtual events. On November 5, 2020, Magda Pecsenye, creator of the Tilmor Process, presented “Manage Your Team to Greater Efficiency and Engagement with the Tilmor Process,” and on November 6, Shaundra Walker, Interim Director of the University Library, Georgia College, presented the workshop, “Critical Race Theory and the Archive.”
All meetings were held via Zoom, and the conference planning committees opted to have two day-long tracks to minimize the number of links attendees would need to manage. We chose not to employ a managed content platform, choosing instead to provide the links to registered attendees via the annual meeting program and daily email blasts. This decision allowed overhead costs for running the meeting to be kept to a minimum.
The planning committees additionally kept a Slack workspace with multiple channels open for the duration of the conference. This space was used not only to troubleshoot technology issues, but also to provide an informal chat environment for attendees to connect with one another and with vendors. The SGA Executive Board also maintained a channel to address questions about our duties, share opportunities for committee work, and to encourage members to run for office.
Our vendors, too, had an important role to play in the conference. Depending upon their chosen level of sponsorship, vendors were able to give presentations during conference breaks, and were thanked by facilitators at the start of each session. Some sponsors contributed either virtual or physical giveaways for our attendee swag bags and raffle prizes.
In all, we are pleased with the conference’s success and happy to answer questions from other state and regional organizations planning a similar shift to an online conference. Feel free to contact us anytime.
Written and contributed by Angela Stanley, 2020 SGA President.
Select records documenting events in the presidency of Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981 are now available in the Digital Library of Georgia. There are two collections. The first, Notable Events and Accomplishments of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Administration, 1977-1981, is available at https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/carter_jcpa and pulls together key presidential directives, presidential review memoranda, daily diary entries, and other related materials that describe events such as the Camp David Accords (1978), the hostage crisis in Iran (1979-1981), the Panama Canal Treaties (1977-1978), and the progression of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The second collection, the Presidential Files, Office of the Staff Secretary, is available at https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/carter_pfoss and includes communications to President Jimmy Carter and his senior staff, dating from January 1977-May 1979.
These archival materials are housed at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and provide significant insight into the Carter administration. The research and evidential value span disciplines including political science, public administration, history, international/foreign relations, and archival studies, among others.
Dr. Meredith Evans, Director, Jimmy Carter Library and Museum notes: “These records provide critical documentation of Jimmy Carter’s dedication to democracy and diplomacy locally and globally. We are committed to making these materials accessible and are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Digital Library of Georgia.”
Description: Presidential review memorandum. President Jimmy Carter expresses his concern with the Soviet Union covertly intercepting United States telecommunication systems and requires the Special Coordination Committee to execute a review of previous U.S. counteractions to the USSR.
About the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, houses U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s papers and other material relating to the Carter administration and the Carter family’s life. Visit https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/
Earlier this year, Georgia’s own Courtney Chartier, Head of Research Services at the Rose Library at Emory University, was elected Vice-President/President-Elect of the Society of Georgia Archivists. She will takeover as the 76th SAA President in 2021-2022.
SGA Communications reached out to Courtney to ask her about her goals as SAA President and how her earlier experiences with SGA helped prepare her for the role.
What motivated you to accept the nomination to run for VP/President-elect of SAA?
It felt like a natural progression. Over the years I’ve held a lot of positions in our volunteer organizations. I was on the SGA Board for years before serving as President; I worked a lot of SAA groups before serving as a Council member (I was also on the Board of Regents of ACA for, before an unsuccessful run for President).
I first got involved with SAA as a student; I was Vice-President of our student chapter at the iSchool at the University of Texas. The whole Board worked together really closely and carpooled to attend the annual meeting in New Orleans. We slept about 5 to a room and went to every event with free food. It was so much fun and I met so many “fancy” archivists (people well-known in the field) and it really impressed me that at SAA a student could walk right up to the editor of American Archivist or a scholar whose works I read in class and start a conversation. It made me want to get more involved and cultivate that same accessibility for others throughout my career.
There are two people who really encouraged me to get involved and stay involved throughout my career: David Gracy and Brenda Banks. David was my professor in graduate school and Brenda was my first boss in Atlanta. It’s not a coincidence that they were both SGA Presidents and SAA Presidents. I explicitly wanted to follow in their footsteps.
What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure as SAA President?
I did not run with a specific platform, mainly because there are too many important issues in the profession. What became clear to me from my years on Council (it’s a three-year term) is that SAA is not maximizing its potential, and that’s what I want to confront. Going on to Council, I knew I’d be in a position to make change (and I was involved in some work that I am really proud of), but I was surprised at how remote I felt. Very few members take advantage of the open-door policy to contact their Councilors or the President; very few people vote in elections or comment on new standards and other documents. Conversations may happen on social media, but there would be a certain faction in power that thinks those are not “real” conversations.
This is all to say that it was hard to understand what is truly valuable to members. But that should be a priority for Council and the President: to actively keep the pulse and respond to it. I 100% see that as a social justice issue for the organization. Are we not hearing because we aren’t taking all voices seriously, or not seeking them out? The conversations on social media are serious ones, about race, about gender, about fair labor and bad, abusive management, and those topics need to be surfaced and engaged by SAA in a serious way.
How did your experiences with SGA prepare you to take on this national leadership role?
Being on the SGA Board prepared me for SAA tremendously! It’s so essential to understand how Committees work (or don’t work), and what governance really is. Some of it is incredibly dull and process oriented, but you learn how important it is.
Another major lesson that I learned is how to read a budget. The SGA budget is a bit smaller than SAA’s, and the training was essential. I was lucky enough to be on the Board with a very strong Treasurer (Michael Nagy, from the Salvation Army Archives), and I learned so much from him and realize the value of a member who has strong budgeting and financial skills.
What advice do you have for SGA members who might be interested in taking on leadership roles in professional organizations locally, regionally, or nationally?
One piece of advice is to look at all the different groups in the organization and find something that you are really interested in to get started. That way as you are leaning how the organization works, you are doing it while being engaged with your own passion. SAA has over 50 specialized sections now, as well as Committees and Task Forces. Most sections can’t find candidates to run very year for their leadership, so there are lots of opportunities to get involved.
A good way to get started is to find someone you know who is already involved (or has been) and pick their brain. Find out what are the issues people/groups are already working on and how groups work. Consider how you want to contribute and ask about how that fits in to the organization. If you don’t know anyone, then I am a big fan of cold calling. Anyone in SGA is always free to email me (anyone in any organization is free to email me, but I won’t pretend like Georgians and Longhorns don’t get special treatment!).
Most importantly: your opinion is valid. Sharing your thoughts is the best way to show your interest, meet others who are working on the same issues, and lead you to get involved with making changes. Speak up when you don’t like something, but also, and I can’t stress this enough, speak up when you do like something. Folx are always more inclined to complain than compliment, and while complaints are important for growth and change, these organizations also need to know when they are on the right track and serving members well.
About Courtney Chartier:
Courtney Chartier is the Head of Research Services at the Rose Library at Emory University. Prior to her position at Emory, Courtney worked at the Archives Research Center of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. Courtney was the 2014 President of the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA), and is currently the 2020-2022 Vice-President/President-Elect for the Society of American Archivists Council, an Instructor in Archives at Georgia State University, and co-founder of the Atlanta Black Archives Alliance. She has served as Scholarship Chair and Outreach Manager for SGA, Regent for Outreach for the Academy of Certified Archivists (2012-2014), and as a Council member (2016-2019), and the Chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable (2010-2012) of SAA. Courtney attended the University of Texas (BA, American Studies; MS, Information Studies) and the University of Mississippi (MA, Southern Studies).
sogablog.org 