The Steering Shares series provides an opportunity to learn more about the I&A Steering Committee and the issues that committee members care about. This introduction post comes courtesy of past I&A Chair Hope Dunbar, Special Collections Archivist at SUNY Buffalo State.
As the immediate past-chair of the Issues and Advocacy Committee, I’ve had the opportunity to help direct our projects throughout the past year. I will be echoing many of the sentiments shared by my other committee members in their Steering Shares.
I&A is so essential because it provides a concentrated focus on issues related to archival advocacy—a task which can at times be onerous, but has never been more essential to historical preservation and cultural heritage institutions. In our political climate, regardless of political affiliation, it is easy to become exhausted, to be worn down by the immense number of highly adversarial policies, positions, actions, laws, and events. I&A provides a constant and steady voice on topics effecting archivists.
It has been an honor to serve as the I&A Chair, and I look forward to serving on the committee in the 2017-2018 term.
