We Want YOU! (To be a National History Day Georgia Judge!)

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
The 2019 National History Day in Georgia State Contest will take place Saturday, April 13, 2019, at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. Middle and high school students from across the state will compete their regional award winning NHD projects, and we need people like you to serve as their judges! If you are interested in being a NHD GA Judge please follow the below link and register to be added to the judges database.
Register to Judge Here
For questions regarding NHD GA Judging please contact NHD GA Co-Coordinator Jess Burke at jburke@georgiahumanities.org.

Borders Real and Imagined: Georgia Immigration Politics in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries (New Exhibit at UWG)

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
The University of West Georgia’s Ingram Library will display an exhibit on the history of immigration in Georgia in the Thomas B. Murphy Reading Room from January 24-May 10, 2019. Titled Borders Real and Imagined: Georgia Immigration Politics in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries, the exhibit will examine anti-Catholicism in the 1910s, refugees from Eastern Europe resettled in the state in the 1940s and 1950s, the Mariel Cubans cases of the 1980s, immigration reform bills presented in the US Congress in the 1990s, and the activities of the Multicultural Community Alliance in Carrollton in the early 2000s. The exhibit will reveal and illuminate the complex history of immigrants and refugees in Georgia, as well as the efforts of Georgia politicians to mold and shape national immigration policy.

In conjunction with the exhibit, Ingram Library’s Special Collections will host a panel discussion at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, February 26. It will feature Priyanka Bhatt, staff attorney for Project South, Steve Goodson, Professor of History at the University of West Georgia, and J. Salvador Peralta, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of West Georgia. It will be moderated by exhibit curator W. Michael Camp, and will be followed by a reception and exhibit tour.
For more information: 

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
52nd Georgia Archives Institute
June 10-21, 2019
Atlanta, Georgia

Designed for beginning archivists, manuscript curators, and librarians or those whose positions have expanded to include the management and care of their organization’s archives or manuscript/history collection, the Georgia Archives Institute provides general instruction in core concepts and practices of archival administration and the management of traditional and modern documentary materials.  Recipient of the 2016 Society of American Archivists’ Distinguished Service Award, the Institute is a two-week program held at the Georgia Archives in Morrow, Georgia, near metro Atlanta, which includes six days of classroom instruction and a three-day internship.

Instructional topics include appraisal, accessioning, arrangement and description, reference and outreach, security, copyright, born-digital records; as well as a whole day on the preservation and care of archival materials.  To link archival theory with real-world application, students will also participate in individualized, three-day internships at local archival repositories. The internship provides an opportunity for students to observe the operations of an archival facility combined with hands-on experience processing archival collections.

Pam Hackbart-Dean, a graduate of the University of Connecticut, has been Director of the Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 2006. Prior to that appointment, she was head of Special Collections & Archives at Georgia State University and was Assistant Head/Processing Archivist for the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Study at the University of Georgia. She has conducted a number of workshops on arrangement and description, as well as published articles and books on the subject. The Preservation of Archival Materials day-long session will be taught by Tina Seetoo, Preservation Manager at Delta Flight Museum.  The Born-Digital session will be taught by Dorothy Waugh, Digital Archivist, at the Rose Library, Emory University.

Tuition is $500 and enrollment is limited to 20 students.  Deadline is midnight on April 1, 2019 for receipt of application and $75 application fee (which is refunded if not admitted to the Institute).  Tuition scholarships are available from the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA) (http://www.soga.org/scholarships/hart) and the Friends of Georgia Archives and History (http://fogah.org/programs/dunaway-scholarship/).  Successful applicants, who are not members of the Society of Georgia Archivists, will receive a free membership for one year.

For an application to the Institute, detailed schedule and additional information, please visit our website at www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org or contact us at georgiaarchivesinstitute@gmail.com.

Labor Behind the Veil: Membership Event

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment

The tour of the Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion was so much fun!  We had 10 people (made up of members and friends of SGA) show up for the tour.  Matt Davis and his staff were absolutely wonderful and gave the group an in-depth tour that truly showcased the complexities of the laborers and inhabitants life experiences, during the Antebellum period.  Our tour also included a behind the scenes look into the unique climate control, lighting, and restoration structural system used at the mansion.  We ended the meet-up with lunch at The Brick which did not disappoint.
Photos Courtesy of Feechi Hall. 

Member Spotlight: LaToya Devezin

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment

In advance of our Annual Meeting next week, we figured it was the perfect time spotlight one of our members! 
Meet LaToya Devezin!  


With a BA in Music from Mary Baldwin College, an MA in Museum Studies from Southern University, and an MLIS from Louisiana State, LaToya is currently an archivist for the Carter Presidential Library and Museum and NARA. She loves trivia/board games, cooking, and making jewelry.



What attracted you to the archives profession?
I’m originally from New Orleans, LA and I became interested in the archives profession in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina while working on cultural preservation projects in the city.  I wanted to learn how to properly preserve items from the community, and I ended up going to graduate programs in both museum studies and archives management.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
Providing access to collections and assisting customers with reference requests.
What’s the most interesting piece that you’ve come across?
It’s a tie.  The first item is a gold tooth belonging to a famous musician that was punched out in a fight.  It was donated by the man who punched him.  The second piece is a really beautiful hand carved wooden cross that someone gave to President Carter to bless him on the campaign trail.
Did you have an alternative career path?
Yes, prior to becoming an archivist, I was an opera singer, and I spent most of my time switching between singing opera and jazz, which is difficult to do vocally because the genres are so different.  While nursing a vocal injury, I began working on the cultural preservation projects in New Orleans that led to my interest in becoming an archivist. 
What’s your advice for new members entering the profession?
I would encourage all new members entering the profession to find a mentor, gain as much experience as you can, establish good working relationships because our profession is small, and to not be afraid to contact colleagues if you have technical questions or need advice. 

Dr. Thomas A. Scott Receives GHRAC Lifetime Achievement Award

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment

Dr. Thomas A. Scott
From KSU Faculty Profile

Kennesaw State University is so very proud to announce that their own Dr. Thomas Scott has won the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Lifetime Achievement Award!

The award will be presented during GHRAC’s annual Awards Program in October, which is National and Georgia Archives Month, at the Georgia Archives in Morrow, GA. 

Dr. Thomas A. Scott is professor emeritus of history at Kennesaw State University, where he taught from 1968 until his retirement in 2011. He is a former recipient of KSU’s highest faculty honor, the Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Scott has led the KSU Oral History Project for many years and is the author of three books: Cornerstones of Georgia History; Cobb County, Georgia, and the Origins of the Suburban South; and Kennesaw State University: The First Fifty Years.
In retirement, Tom continues to serve on a part-time basis as Campus Historian. He thoroughly enjoys retirement and is an avid sports fan from the Braves to KSU football to all the sports teams at his alma mater.

Fun Fact: Tom ran track and cross country at the University of Tennessee in the early 1960s and has been doing interviews of his old track coach and fellow athletes for their website, The Chuck Rohe Track Era.

GHRAC is the state’s advisory board to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia with respect to the Georgia Archives and historical records throughout our state. 


Georgia Archives Month Spotlight Grant

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
This year’s recipient of the Georgia Archives Month Spotlight on Archives grant is Georgia State University’s Special Collections and Archives. Located on the Atlanta Campus of Georgia State University (GSU), the Special Collections and Archives “collects and preserves unique and rare historical materials in selected subject areas. The department promotes the use of these materials by the Georgia State University community, scholars and the public. Its goal is to advance scholarship and to further the educational, research and service missions of the university.”[1]Collecting areas include the Southern Labor Archives, Popular Music and Culture Collections, Women’s / Gender & Sexuality Collections, Social Change Collections, University Archives, Rare Books, and Photographic Collections.
 

The Gallus, photographer unknown; pre 1986.
Photo is from the LGBT Institute’s Gregg Daugherty Papers (Q162).
The event for which GSU Special Collection and Archives received the Spotlight on Archives grant is called “Mags, Bars and (Drag) Stars: A History of Atlanta’s Gay Bars and Community Magazines.” It will take place on Tuesday, October 2, 2018 from 4:00-6:00pm in the Special Collections Department at GSU.
Special Collections and Archives
University Library South, 8th Floor
100 Decatur St. SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
This event is free and open to the public. Speakers Gregg Daugherty and Ashley Coleman Taylor will talk about the impact of gay publications and bars in building Atlanta’s LGBTQ communities. To learn more about the speakers, please see the following link: https://blog.library.gsu.edu/2018/09/10/mags-bars-drag-stars-a-history-of-atlantas-gay-bars-and-community-magazines/
 

Pearl LaKisha Long, Fajita Marinara, unknown; Photographer – Mitch Grooms;
 Photograph taken for Armory Calendar; 1984.
Photo is from the LGBT Institute’s Gregg Daugherty Papers (Q162).
The Georgia Archives Month Spotlight on Archives Grant is intended to help archives,
museums, and heritage institutions in Georgia promote public awareness of their archives and
manuscript collections. The Georgia Archives Month Committee annually awards funds to a selected institution to help fund an event to be held during Georgia Archives Month, which is recognized in the month of October.

[1] “Special Collections & Archives,” Georgia State University Library, Special Collections and Archives,  https://library.gsu.edu/search-collections/special-collections-archives/(accessed September 11, 2018)

So You Want to Be an Archives Leader?

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
Hello SGA members,

What do you want to know about becoming a leader in the archives world? Have questions about what it’s like behind the scenes at other Georgia archives?
The nominating committee is asking any and all members to submit questions (can be done anonymously) for the panel at this year’s conference in Athens, titled “So You Want to Be an Archives Leader: SGA Fellows on Leadership.” We are asking for questions on leadership within the profession, within SGA and general questions on the profession that experienced fellows and other past and present SGA leaders will answer during this panel.
We will be accepting questions during the panel but want to solicit some questions before hand to prepare panelists and to help guide the session. 
Please submit that question you have always had in the back of your mind and come to our session at this years SGA Conference!

Submit your question through this link, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTpIUrnnK4jCXFn4iPi7X3iqznGWYGHyXn8SljOzwBaA_dZA/viewform?usp=sf_link.

Thanks,
2018 Nominating Committee,
Wendy Hagenmaier
Kevin S. Fleming
Megan Kerkhoff

Georgia Archives Celebrates 100 Years

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment
Georgia Archives 100th Anniversary
Gov. Nathan Deal to speak
Atlanta— July 5, 2018 — The Friends of Georgia Archives and History (FOGAH) will host an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Georgia Archives on Saturday, August 18, beginning at 4:30 pm EST in Morrow.
The celebration will begin at the Georgia Archives lobby, located at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow at 4:30pm with a reception, tours, and a chance to see the current exhibit on Georgia’s earliest land records. Attendees will then move next door to the National Archives at Atlanta, for a program featuring dinner and special speakers.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal will speak at the event, as will United States Archivist David Ferriero. Other speakers will include Steve Engerrand, Deputy State Archivist, and Georgia State Senator Valencia Seay, and Dr. Steve Wrigley, Chancellor for the University System of Georgia.


After its founding in 1918, the Georgia Archives occupied a small area in the state capitol.  In 1929 it moved to Rhodes Hall on Peachtree Street which housed the state’s records until Georgia opened a new Archives and Records Building in 1965.  The Archives moved to its current home in Morrow, Georgia adjacent to the National Archives Atlanta and Clayton State University in 2003.


Reservations are required and the deadline for purchasing your tickets is August 8. Tickets are $60 per person.


As the repository for official state government records, the Georgia Archives collects, provides access and preserves the permanently-valuable public records of the State of Georgia. The Georgia Archives also collects and maintains papers of private citizens and organizations which complement the government records collection and are relevant to Georgia’s history.  For more information about tickets, go to www.fogah.org.



For more information, press only: Jill Sweetapple, sweetapplej30324@gmail.com

City of Savannah Launches New Portrait Exhibit

SGA Communications DirectorLeave a comment

The Municipal Records and Archives Division of the City of Savannah will be displaying “Capturing the Soul: Portrait Photography from the W.W. Law Collection” at the Beach Institute African American Cultural Center through January 2019.

The display features thirty portraits from the W. W. Law Photograph Collection which highlight the evolving nature of photography, portraiture as an art form, as well as material culture through time. The images date from the 1870s through the 1990s, and document the lives of individuals both prominent and anonymous. 

The city received the W.W. Law Collection from the W.W. Law Foundation as a donation in 2014, and is in the midst of a multi-year archival project to process and open the collection to the public for research use and have been opening it in phases as reach certain milestones are reached.
Over the years, the department has exhibited portions of the collection at the Beach Institute, Carnegie Library and  Savannah’s City Hall and look forward to continuing those efforts around town as processing is completed. The goal is to introduce new audiences to the work of W.W. Law and his multi-faceted collection, which spans a diverse career in the Civil Rights Movement, historic preservation, museums, history, music and more.
The display uses the photograph collection “as a springboard to look at portrait photography over time,” says Luciana Spracher, Director of the Municipal Records and Archives Division. “Law’s collection is so diverse and spans such a large time period that it was a wonderful opportunity for us to select a nice sampling of images that capture the evolution of photography from the 1870s through the 1990s through the lens of portraiture. This also allows us to focus on the individual, the named and unnamed.
“With Law, we have a tendency to focus on his Civil Rights Movement and all the movers and shakers he interacted with. This exhibit allowed us to shift away from him and zero in on the faces of others and, through their portraits, shine the spotlight on them, even if we don’t know their names or what they did. Perhaps by doing this, someone will come forward and provide this information and help us fill in those gaps. The exhibit features 30 portraits selected because they spoke to us in some way — men, women, children and families — but really there are so many wonderful images in the W.W. Law Photograph Collection, we hope this exhibit will encourage visitors to explore the larger collection, the majority of which is digitized and available online at www.savannahga.gov/wwlaw.”
For more on the Beach Institute: http://www.beachinstitute.org/