Archivists

2026 SAA Annual Conference New Orleans – After Report by Chaun Wynn

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In a routine fit of self-defiance, I endeavored to re-engage with the archival profession after a mental health hiatus by attending the 2026 Annual Conference set in New Orleans, Louisiana. What I saw, gave me renewed hope for accountability, the fair and humane treatment of disabled and marginalized heritage workers and cultural stewards, and inclusion within our profession. I watched as outgoing Society of American Archivist President Derek Mosely spoke words of inspiration and quoted motivating words from his predecessors to a crowd of faces that were uncertain and unsure of how to respond to our nation’s cultural preservation challenges. He spoke of revisiting the takeaways of our previous presidents and using them to build our future. I felt the message in my archiving heart. We need to build on our foundations.


As a Georgia archivist, I found solidarity in seasoned information stewards, former mentors, and students & new professionals as we navigated the conference sessions and meet ups. Although time flew as I was enjoying the camaraderie of my peers and the culture of New Orleans, lasting connections were made. My confidence and resolve to be the leader I needed during my formative years as a junior archivist were strengthened and the connections I’ve developed and cultivated in the field of archives were evident in these last few weeks. I highly recommend that any new or aspiring information professionals apply for travel scholarships (local and national) and plan to attend the annual conference at least once, if not for the scenic destinations, for the wealth of knowledge that only face to face interactions can bring to archivists and other motivated cultural heritage workers.


Some of my most treasured memories this year were:
1. The Opening Plenary – Seeing President Moseley speak always makes me feel proud and represented as a Black Archivist in the south


2. Listening to the accounts of the panel of the Cold Case Review Board discuss their work on the case of Chrispon Charles (1928-1949) and the sense of accomplishment they feel when helping families understand what happened to their loved ones


3. Engaging with the vendors – specifically the Community Care Workshop folks. I felt that equipping my community to preserve its legacy through records care is possible even as an independent or lone archivist


4.Taking in the culture of NOLA! The conference built in a day where attendees could just enjoy the city’s art and culture

Chaun Monique Wynn, MLIS, CA
Wynn Archival Research & Consulting
Clark Atlanta University

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SGA Scholarship Recipient attends Fall Workshop

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Submitted by Sheron Sylvestre, recipient of the Anthony R. Dee’s Educational Workshop Award

SGA’s Workshop Series: Rooted in Memory with Dr. Julie Johnson attended on 10/11/2023

An exploratory exercise in movement and how we can work through emotion/trauma through movement, Dr. Johson made a wonderful workshop in which the audience were invited to move together, share nonverbal greetings, and understand the root of Dr. Johnson’s work, Idle Crimes & Heavy Work, through movement.

Her work on the deeply rooted memory of the Black women prison labor for the building of the Chattahoochee Brick yards or prison labor camps is vital for a greater understanding of the labor and trauma these women faced and the passage of this trauma through embodied memory, to their offspring.

With police reports of the atrocities committed against Black bodies from archives, Dr. Johnson painted an excellent picture of the, indeed, heavy work both mentally and “in the body” one may experience while viewing these archives. A bridge between this past and a brighter future was built during this workshop, where the “heavy” work done by archivists to uncover these awful truths, can bring to light a greater understanding for Black women and men of their past and how the hands of their ancestors built Georgia. This workshop was a great connection between a tangible past and future through archives, and through the exploratory exercises conducted with the group, I gained a greater understanding of myself, my body, and my own memories, unleashed through movement.

Learn more about the scholarship SGA offers on our website, https://www.soga.org/scholarships.

Apply Now for a SGA Scholarship

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The Society of Georgia Archivists is now accepting applications for the 2023 Anthony Dees Educational Workshop Scholarship, Larry Gulley Scholarship, and the Taronda Spencer Award. These awards provide funding for individuals to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society of Georgia Archivists and Pre-Conference Workshop. 

Completed applications must be received by August 31, 2023, 11:59 p.m. ET.

This year’s SGA Annual Meeting will take place October 12-13, 2023 at Kennesaw State University with this year’s Pre-Conference Workshop, held virtually preceding the meeting on October 11, 2023.

About the Scholarships:

  • Anthony Dees Educational Workshop Scholarship – Provides funding to attend the SGA-sponsored Pre-Conference Workshop, “Embodied Memory Mapping,” an Annual Membership to SGA (or 1-year renewal), and a $75 credit to apply to a Society of American Archivists (SAA) class or book purchase in the SAA bookstore
  • Larry Gulley Scholarship – Provides funding to attend the SGA Annual Meeting, an Annual Membership to SGA (or 1-year renewal), and a $100 credit to apply to a Society of American Archivists (SAA) class or book purchase in the SAA bookstore
  • Taronda Spencer Award – Provides funding for those currently enrolled as a junior or senior at an HBCU with a demonstrated interest in archives -or- students of African-American, Asian/Pacific-Islander, Latino, or Native American descent to attend the SGA Annual Meeting, an Annual Membership to SGA (or 1-year renewal), and a $150 credit to apply to a Society of American Archivists (SAA) class or book purchase in the SAA bookstore.

How to apply: Please fill out the online application portion for the appropriate scholarship: Anthony Dees Educational Workshop Scholarship, Larry Gulley Scholarship, and/or Taronda Spencer Award. Then, to complete your application email your resume or CV, cover letter, and any other required materials to scholarships@soga.org.

Complete applications supplemental materials must be received by August 31, 2023, 11:59 p.m. ET.

Eligibility: Specific requirements are listed on each scholarship award page. Please note that scholarship winners are responsible for submitting their workshop and/or conference registration forms by required deadlines. After the conference, recipients will submit a brief article on their experience for use in the SGA Blog.

Visit https://soga.wildapricot.org/scholarships for more information on the available scholarships.

SGA’s Summer Workshop Series 2023

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SGA’s Summer Workshop Series has extensive opportunities this summer and fall to learn about the value of preservation and archives in Black communities.

The SGA Summer Workshop Series: Rooted in Memory highlights the value of Archives and Preservation in Black communities. This 5-month series highlights the importance of preservation from knowledge production at the level of the body to institutional repositories. These workshops center work of HBCU archives, archivists, and Black Memory Work(ers) and will take place during the Summer and Fall quarters of this year and will be open to the public.

Learn more about the speakers here, https://rb.gy/hvxgt.


Sign up for the workshops here, https://soga.wildapricot.org/events and learn more about the scholarship opportunity to attend a workshop from SGA here, https://rb.gy/vmy76.

Call for Proposals for the 2023 SAA Research Forum, due May 1, 2023

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[MAY 1] DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS FOR THE SAA RESEARCH FORUM 

On behalf of the 2023 Research Forum Program Committee, we invite you to submit abstracts (of 300 words or fewer) for either approximately 10-minute platform presentations or 2-minute poster presentations. Topics may address research on, or innovations in, any aspect of archives practice or records management in government, corporate, academic, scientific, or other settings. 

The 2023 Research Forum will be conducted as two Zoom-based virtual sessions, each three-and-a-half hours long, on July 12 from 1:00 – 4:30 pm CT and July 19, 1:00 – 4:30 pm CT. In addition, professional posters will be displayed online with presenters’ contact information so that one-on-one discussions can take place.

Presentations on research results that may have emerged since the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting Call for Proposals deadline are welcome, as are reports on research completed within the past three years that you think is relevant and valuable for discussion. Please indicate whether you intend a platform or poster presentation. See the full call here: https://www2.archivists.org/am2023/research-forum-2023

Special topics this year include: global challenges; equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice; collaboration across GLAM domains (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums); repository-level data; centering users; and building audiences. These topics are detailed in the SAA CORDA Research and Innovation Roadmap (beta version.)

Abstracts will be evaluated by the 2023 Research Forum Program Committee convened by Jennifer Gunter King (Emory University) and Sarah Pratt Martin (Simmons University).

Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 1, 2023. You will be notified of the review committee’s decision by June 1.

Proposals should be submitted here and must include: Presentation title, your name and affiliation, email address, whether your proposal is for a platform or poster presentation, if you are a first time presenter, and an abstract of no more than 300 words.

Best,

Jennifer Gunter King, Research Forum Chair
SAA Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment

Apply for the Carroll Hart Scholarship today

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The Society of Georgia Archivists is now accepting applications for the 2023 Carroll Hart Scholarship. The application deadline is March 6, 2023.

This year’s Georgia Archives Institute will be held June 5-16, 2023.

For full details, please go to https://soga.wildapricot.org/scholarships/hart

The Society of Georgia Archivists awards a scholarship for attendance at the Georgia Archives Institute held each summer in Atlanta. The purpose of the scholarship is to enhance archival education and membership. The scholarship is named for Carroll Hart, former director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History, founding member of the Society of Georgia Archivists, and founder of the Georgia Archives Institute.

Individuals eligible to compete for the scholarship are:

  • Those engaged in compensated or volunteer archival work at any level in an institution in the state of Georgia.
  • SGA members employed outside the state of Georgia.
  • Graduate students preparing for a career in archives at a college or university in Georgia, or SGA student members studying outside the state of Georgia.

Preference will be given to applicants who do not have access to institutional support for attending the Georgia Archives Institute.

The scholarship will cover an amount equal to the non credit tuition for the Institute, but not to exceed $500, and a year’s membership in the Society of Georgia Archivists. Please note that individuals must apply separately to the Georgia Archives Institute and pay the application fee to the Georgia Archives Institute. All regular deadlines and requirements for the Georgia Archives Institute apply. After participating in the Georgia Archives Institute, the recipient will submit a brief article on the experience for use in the SGA Newsletter.

How to apply:

Please fill out the online portion of the application for the Carroll Hart Scholarship. Then, to complete your application email your resume or CV and cover letter to scholarships@soga.org. Your application is not complete until these documents have been received.

Complete applications including cover letter and CV or resume must be received by March 6, 2023.

Read the 2023 SGA Magazine Today!

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The new SGA 2023 Magazine has just been published online, visit here to read the full issue, https://soga.wildapricot.org/publications/magazine 

This year’s issue is full of professional development opportunities, words from our former and current presidents, a new member spotlight, updates on a couple of institution’s grant projects, and a post on remembering SGA’s first President Edward Weldon after his passing in late 2022.

Habersham Education and Research was founded to collect the history of Habersham County in Georgia and make it more accessible to the public. The history of the county is spread out into the Clarkesville Library, courthouse and local historians residences. The most important project Habersham Education has focused on is the digitization and indexing of local newspapers, a valuable resource for researchers and genealogists. With the help of a SGA Spotlight grant the Digitize Habersham project launched in November of 2022 after two years of work of digitizing and indexing. Peter Madruga from Habersham Education and Research details more about this project in the new SGA Magazine. If you are interested in the Georgia Archives Month Spotlight grant learn more on our website. 

Georgia State University in partnership with the University of Maryland received a CLIR Hidden Collections grant to digitize the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department Southeast Division Records. The department operated in Atlanta from 1964-1989 and was instrumental in ensuring equal job opportunities and the creation of training programs for marginalized communities. The collection has 78 linear feet of mainly documents with some audio visual material. Not only does the team want to make the documents available online, they also are collaborating with the Digital Library of Georgia to create online educational resources. Read more about how this grant project is progressing in the new magazine, available to read now!

Thanks to all of our contributors for submitting something to be featured in this year’s SGA Magazine. We have years and years of a backlog of our quarterly newsletters which were the predecessor of the SGA Magazine. If you want to learn even more about SGA as an organization take a look through our previous issues on our website, https://soga.wildapricot.org/publications/newsletterbackissues . Consider submitting an article next year or if you cannot wait, submit it as a blog post here.

2023 Georgia Archives Institute Announcement

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Submitted by Jill Sweetapple, GAI Outreach

June 5-16, 2023 is the date for the 2023 Georgia Archives Institute. 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 5 through June 9 and also on Monday, June 12. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday June 13-15 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 16 will be a wrap-up day, held back at the Georgia Archives.

Pam Hackbart-Dean, Head and Professor, Special Collections & University Archives, Interim Associate University Librarian, University of Illinois Chicago Libraries, will serve as primary instructor. Preservation of Archival Materials will be taught by Tina Seetoo, Preservation Manager at Delta Flight Museum. Born-Digital and Digital Preservation will be taught by Katherine Fisher, Head of Digital Archives, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Tuition is $500 and enrollment is limited to 20 students. The application will go live on January 1, 2023 with a deadline of midnight on March 15. There is an application fee of $75, but if your application is not successful, your fee will be refunded. 

Currently, there are also four scholarships that fit your situation and aid your ability to attend the Institute. You can find links and more information here:
https://www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org/support

For additional information, please visit our website at www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.orgor contact us at georgiaarchivesinstitute@gmail.com.

SGA’s President Reflects on our Annual Meeting Theme

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Submitted by 2022 SGA President Cathy Miller

This year’s annual meeting theme, Sustaining Archives: Practical Solutions for the Future, in my mind, speaks to not only what we have done to sustain the work of our archives, but the work we have done over the last three years to sustain ourselves. During the meeting, specifically in our keynote and in one of the planned sessions, the importance of self-care was emphasized. And boy howdy, can I say what an advocate I have become for self-care in these times. 2022, which is really just 2020 dressed as two kids in a trenchcoat, has been a year, to say the least. There’s been good, sure, but also, to put it plainly, there’s been a lot of suckitude. I hope that everyone who attended the meeting took away many learning moments regarding the work they do, but I also hope that attendees may have taken away new leases on life – I know, that’s a tall order, but bear with me a moment. Maybe you met a colleague at the meeting who plays Animal Crossing as religiously as you do, and before you know it, you are Switch friends and visiting each other’s islands and conspiring about how to take Tom Nook’s empire down. Or you found someone who shares the same hobby as you and you are able to trade ideas. Or you made a colleague who lives near you and now you have a new friend to go grab coffee or food with. In leaving the annual meeting, I hope you were able to take away something that sustains you as the person you are, not the archivist/librarian/information professional that you are.

SGA Keynote Address at the 2022 Annual Meeting

We have a lot of vocational awe in our profession. We are either told by someone or we tell ourselves that we are so lucky to be working in this field and getting to do the things we do, thus we’ll let slide the often poor pay, lax benefits, and multitude of other black marks that our profession is guilty of. I am here to say that while the work we do is awesome and important, the work will never love you back. So please, sustain yourself, however that is, be it treating yourself to a yummy food or drink treat on the drive home from work or going to the dollar spot in Target to see what new and exciting things await you. I’ve been reading T.J. Klune’s Under the Whispering Door – the premise of the novel is that Wallace, a workaholic lawyer, has died and he is given one week to get his afterlife in order and cross over to the great beyond. Wallace decides to embrace living a lifetime in those seven days. Let’s not be like Wallace. Live your life in the present. Leave work promptly at your 7 or 8 hour mark. Go enjoy being you with the people and pets that matter most to you in life.

SGA Members tour the Bartow History and Booth Western Museums

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Submitted by Marion Hudson

We had a good turnout for our SGA membership outing in August. The Booth Western Art Museum and the Bartow History Museum hosted some wonderful tours to 11 of our members.

The first tour included a behind the scenes look into the Bartow History Archives, recently named for the Mulinix Family of Bartow County. Our guide, Trey Gaines, then took us over to the Bartow History Museum and discussed the history of the building. The group had time to explore the temporary exhibit of It’s All Fun & Games: Iconic Toys of the Past and the permanent collection on the upper floor.

A docent led highlights tour at the Booth Western Art Museum covered many of the museum’s permanent and loaned collection. Pat, a long time docent at the Booth, led a great tour full of interesting history and facts about art and artists housed at the Booth. A horse created from recycled materials, “Walking Horse” by Leo Sewell, was a great talking piece among the group! The piece is created from repurposed metals.

Walking Horse by Leo Sewell

After the docent tour, Marion Hudson, gave the group a look at the Booth Research Library. Marion has been the librarian/archivist for the Booth since 2020. Many of the SGA members enjoyed lunch in the Booth Café with its wonderful view of the Bartow History Museum, which is housed in the historical courthouse. 

We thank the Booth Western Art Museum and the Bartow History Museum for their hospitality. For more information on the Booth Western Art Museum and the Bartow History Museum visit the websites below. Both are sister museums to the Tellus Science Museum and Savoy Automobile Museum; all are part of Georgia Museums, Inc.

See their websites at www.boothmuseum.org and www.bartowhistorymuseum.org.