Tag: archives security

Archivists on the Issues: “Sensitive documents”, NARA’s role in declassification, and contested spaces

Archivists on the Issues is a forum for archivists to discuss the issues we are facing today. Today’s post comes from Burkely Hermann, Metadata Librarian for the National Security Archive and current I&A Blog Coordinator. There will be spoilers for RWBY Season 2.

A Schnee Dust Company representative warns Weiss Schnee that there are “sensitive documents” on the list of files Weiss requested in a season 2 episode of RWBY

Recently, I was rewatching the young adult animated series, RWBY, and forgot that there is an episode including a scene where one of the protagonists, Weiss Schnee, a daughter of an unscrupulous company executive, requests files from her parent’s company, the Schnee Dust Company (SDC). In the season two episode, “A Minor Hiccup”, Weiss uses a computer terminal, which she accesses at a CCT (Cross Continental Transmit System) Tower, a prominent part of Beacon Academy, using her scroll on the elevator to access the upper level, Once there, she is helped by a communications operator, who patches her through to the SDC. Once at a terminal, she is greeted by the SDC employee who looks at her file list and states that some of records are sensitive. Weiss responds that she will treat the records “with care”, and without even a second question, her request is fulfilled. [1] The records are later used in an effort to figure out more of what the “low-level” villain, Roman Torchwick, is doing. The claim by Weiss about the sensitive records relates to a recent interview with lawyer James Trusty.

Trusty defended his well-known client, the former president, stating there were no classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and implied that not turning over documents was “not a crime”. He then claimed his client was being politically targeted, declared that the Presidential Records Act is a “non-criminal statute”, and said civil litigation is the answer instead, among other statements. The comments by Trusty on national television and those by Weiss in RWBY relate to what I’ve written about before in regards to how classification works within NARA (National Archives and Records Administration), British Public Record Office, South African State Archives Service, National Archives of Korea, United Nations, and other U.S. government organs and non-U.S. institutions. The aforementioned comments by Weiss and Trusty connect to the reality of document classification within archives, which remains an important issue considering a recent U.S. Senate hearing on over-classification, with calls for “original classifiers to assign sunsets at the front end,” i.e. dates at which classification would expire automatically, along with other changes, as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) system remains thoroughly broken.

This is not a new issue, are classified records inherent to U.S. government institutions in many ways. For years, U.S. government agencies have been writing declassified institutional histories based upon the “still classified records of the services”, including about U.S. foreign relations. This is coupled with continuing complexities of record classification, leading to issues with obtaining access to “security-restricted records”. However, it can be bypassed thanks to sympathetic archivists or with the proper procedures in place. There have been cases in which classified records have been destroyed reportedly to “protect” operational security of U.S. military actions, even though the records should have been preserved. [2] This makes it clear that archives are not neutral, but are contested spaces instead, which is obvious for libraries, galleries, museums, and other institutions, but is also the case for archives.

There have been efforts to keep classified records intact and store them correctly. This has especially been the case after 1972 when the Archivist of the United States (AOTUS) became the center of government-wide policy-making in terms of research with classified records. Many years before, in March 1946, a National Archives appraiser, Philip C. Brooks, was worried about accepting “highly classified” records from the State Department about the Office of Strategic Services, due to the unknown size of the records being transferred, and had questions about record organization, issue of eventual declassification, and how these records would affect other transfers. Apart from the above-mentioned historical example, there have been instances in which researchers were denied from using classified records. On the contrary, declassification has been said to open up information for “intensive private historical research”. Some records at the U.S. state-level have also been classified, causing those in charge of the records to become declassifiers. [3]

In the past, the Pentagon had a room aside for storing classified records when agencies were reportedly under “extreme space pressures” as a result of World War II. This reality has only been reinforced by ever-present institutional resistance toward declassifying records for scholarly research due to a directive-of-sorts which instructs archivists to “guard” the security of classified records no matter what. This can involve classification for political purposes. [4] There have been evolving challenges from records classification and secrecy, archivists have opened older classified case files for historians, and declassification has become an important duty for NARA, especially since the 1970s. Further scholarship has focused on movement of classified materials, reviews of classified records by NARA, and continued pushes to declassify additional records. [5]

Recently, some have tried to differentiate between the different cases involving classified records involving the former president and President Biden, with Sharon L. Lynch of Reuters writing that neither president “should have had any classified material in their possession” and that such records should be in the “legal custody of the U.S. National Archives.” Lynch added that it is illegal to willfully or knowingly retain or remove classified material, and stated that failing to properly secure and store such material “poses risks to national security if it should fall into the wrong hands.” This has been so egregious in the case of the former president that one of his defense attorneys said the president used a folder with a classified marking to “block a light in his bedroom that kept him up at night”. The former president has further declared that he has the “right” to go through classified records which should have been handed over to NARA. In light of these recent scandals, some have called for NARA to adapt its protocols “around the handling of all classified documents” to prevent future scandals. [6]

All the while, there have been a defense of existing rules at the agency to safeguard records in opposition to those who state that there are too many rules, claims of “political bias”, questions about what NARA “knew” (or didn’t know) about classified records found at the office of the Penn-Biden Center, and laughable comments that such records were safer at Mar-a-Lago than at NARA. Others have praised the agency for its new agreement with the George W. Bush Foundation on a proposal to privatize the presidential library for George W. Bush by “transferring certain operations from NARA to the Bush Foundation” or called for a “revamping” at how the agency collects information, particularly classified information is Top Secret or Secret. [7] There have been broader comments about how it is fairly common to misplace classified documents (and “classified spillage” of documents outside “protected places”), and mentions of secure areas to view documents, known as SCIFs or Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. Other articles have stated that many public officials have shared classified papers over the years, with some rightly questioning whether too many documents are being classified, or saying that the existing classification system is “clunky”. [8]

This is important to note because archivists, especially those at NARA, have a key role when it comes to declassification. Former AOTUS David Ferriero said the agency has a leadership role in ensuring that millions of classified records are “declassified and made available for the people to inspect and for historians to mine”. Archivists are like Weiss in that they are dedicated to treat classified documents “with care”, but their access to the records is not based on family relation. When it comes to classified documents, archivists become guards. People cannot copy documents held by NARA “with uncancelled security classification markings” and there are specific procedures for copying formerly national security-classified documents.

Classified records need to be more readily available to the public through more-common (or even mass) declassification, something which requires archivists to maintain their roles as declassifiers. More public availability of records will clash with the impossible institutional push to remain “neutral”, as the institutions are contested instead of “neutral”. In any case, archivists are vital since the amount of records, especially classified records from government agencies, flowing into institutions like NARA is bound to increase in years to come.

Notes

[1] The person she talks with tells her that she can talk to her sister Winter or her father but she says that she doesn’t want to, and her smile almost becomes a frown, implying a bad/fraught relationship.

[2] Nelson, Anna. “Government Historical Offices and Public Records.” The American Archivist 41, no. 4 (1978): 407-408; Hill, Edward. “Reviews.” The American Archivist 36, no. 2 (1973): 237; Herschler, David and William Slany. “The ‘Paperless Office’: A Case Study of the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Information System.” The American Archivist 45, no. 2 (1982): 151-152; Robinson-Sweet, Anna. “Truth and Reconciliation: Archivists as Reparations Activists.” The American Archivist 81, no. 1 (2018), doi: 10.17723/0360-9081-81.1.23; Soyka, Heather and Eliot Wilczek. “Documenting the American Military Experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.” The American Archivist 77, no. 1 (2014): 188, 191.

[3] Angel, Herbert. “Archival Janus: The Records Center.” The American Archivist 31, no. 1 (1968): 9; Heaps, Jennifer. “Tracking Intelligence Information: The Office of Strategic Services.” The American Archivist 61, no. 2 (1998): 301-302; Peterson, Trudy. “The National Archives and the Archival Theorist Revisited, 1954-1984.” The American Archivist 49, no. 2 (1986): 131; Harrison, Donald F. “World War II: A Bibliography of Books in English, 1945-1965” [Review]. The American Archivist 34, no. 4 (1971): 388; Epstein, Fritz. “Washington Research Opportunities in the Period of World War II.” The American Archivist 17, no. 3 (1954): 226; Baumann, Roland. “The Administration of Access to Confidential Records in State Archives: Common Practices and the Need for a Model Law.” The American Archivist 49, no. 4 (1986): 360, 364-365, 367.

[4] East, Sherrod. “Archival Experience in a Prototype Intermediate Depository.” The American Archivist 27, no. 1 (1964): 46, 51; Marrow, Mary. “Moving An Archives.” The American Archivist 53, no. 3 (1990): 423-424; Cox, Richard. “Secrecy, Archives, and the Archivist: A Review Essay (Sort Of).” The American Archivist 72, no. 1 (2009): 220-224, 227, 230.

[5] Leopold, Richard. “A Crisis of Confidence: Foreign Policy Research and the Federal Government.” The American Archivist 34, no. 2 (1971): 143-144; Rositer, Margaret (ed. Brenda Beasley Kepleyand Sara L. Stone). “Understanding Progress as Process: Documentation of the History of Post-War Science and Technology in the United States. Final Report of the Joint Committee on Archives of Science and Technology” [Review]. The American Archivist 47, no. 3 (1984): 298; Newman, Debra L. (ed. Brenda Beasley Kepleyand Sara L. Stone)  “The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Volume I: 1826-August 1919…[and] The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Volume II: August 1919-August 1920” [Review]. The American Archivist 47, no. 3 (1984): 309; Weir Jr., Thomas E. “News Notes.” The American Archivist 41, no. 4 (1978): 485; Goggin, Daniel T. and Carmen R. Delle Donne. “News Notes.” The American Archivist 36, no. 4 (1973): 606-607; Dowling, F.P. “News Notes.” The American Archivist 39, no. 3 (1976): 398-399; Dowling, F.P. “News Notes.” The American Archivist 39, no. 1 (1976): 83-84; Goggin, Daniel T. and Carmen R. Delle Donne. “News Notes.” The American Archivist 36, no. 2 (1973): 289-290.

[6] Meola, Lexi and Robert Weiner, “Op/Ed: Better protocols needed to keep classified documents out of the wrong house,” Indianapolis Star, Apr. 7, 2023.

[7] “Strict Rules at the National Archives Preserve Treasures,” Wall Street Journal, Mar. 30, 2023; Johnson, Ron, and Chuck Grassley. Electronic. “Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley Ask About Review of Classified Records By FBI and NARA.” Electronic, March 27, 2023 (also see here); “Fox’s Mark Levin: Classified documents are “safer at Mar-a-Lago” than “at the National Archives”,” Media Matters, Apr. 3, 2023; Rigby, David. “Petty Tyranny at the U.S. National Archives,” Wall Street Journal, Mar. 23, 2023; Quinn, Melissa and Arden Farhi, “National Archives says it retrieved nine boxes of Biden records from ex-personal attorney’s Boston office.” CBS News, Mar. 9, 2023; x, Connelly, Gerry. “Chairs Maloney, Connolly Issue Statements on Revised Agreement Between the National Archives and George W. Bush Foundation.” Nov. 16, 2022; Jacobson, Sheldon H. “Do classified document revelations highlight problems at the National Archives?” The Hill, Jan. 30, 2023.

[8] Waxman, Olivia B. “Classified Documents Get Misplaced All the Time. A Former National Archives Official Explains Why,” Time, accessed April 9, 2023;Herb, Jeremy, Katie Bo Lillis, Katelyn Polantz and Zachary Cohen, “‘I had to sleep with that document’: How the government tries to prevent classified government documents from spilling out,” CNN, Jan. 24, 2023; House, Billy. “Kissinger, Albright Among Officials Who Shared Classified Papers,” Bloomberg News, Mar. 9, 2023; Lopez, German. “Too Many Top Secrets,” New York Times, Jan. 27, 2023; “What Biden’s Documents Reveal About the Confusing Classification System,” Time, accessed Apr. 9, 2023;

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Archivists on the Issues: Intellectual Access to Archives

Archivists on the Issues is a forum for archivists to discuss the issues we are facing today. Today’s post comes from regular writer for I&A’s blog, Lindy Smith, Reference Archivist at Bowling Green State University’s Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives.

In my final post on access and accessibility in archives, I am examining intellectual access. By this, I mean the language, theory, practices, and other non-physical barriers that exist in archives. Once a patron has navigated the obstacles of digital access and physical access that I discussed in my previous posts, they finally make it to our reading rooms either in person or virtually and want to use our collections. What gets in the way of this process?

Description can often get in the way, sometimes through its absence and sometimes through its presence. When description is non-existent or not online or not accessible or too minimal to be useful, it is detrimental to access. This is not news to anyone. But sometimes seemingly great description can also be a barrier to access. Say you have an important, highly used collection and you decide to write a DACs-compliant EAD finding aid at the item level, post it online with excellent SEO and cross list it in all appropriate union catalogs. It is a thing of beauty. It has extensive notes, a detailed inventory, and follows archival standards. It is easy to find. If you know where to look.

But then you have an ESL patron who speaks limited English and cannot read it all. Or a seventh grader working on a History Day project who has a middle school reading level and does not understand some of the terminology. Or a patron who is completely unfamiliar with archival description and does not understand the complicated series structure or how to use the detailed information you have painstakingly input. Based on my experience in various reading rooms, these kinds of casual patrons make up a significant portion of our users.

There’s something to be said for gaining familiarity with the systems in place, but for the patron who only wants to make one visit to see something for personal reasons or the student using it for one class, or the patron who is frustrated by a first visit and never comes back, our systems are exclusionary. We cannot write description for everyone, but it is important to recognize that language, reading level, structure, jargon, and many other factors can hinder access for some users.

Many of these issues can be mitigated with good reference help, but this leads to another question I think about often: how do we determine an appropriate balance of labor between patrons and archivists? How much do we require them to do and how much are we willing to do for them? What is policy mandated and what is grey area? What can we change to improve the patron experience? Obviously, patrons need to take the first step to make contact. They need to provide information about the subject of their interest or the items they’d like to request. They need to adhere to any established policies regarding registration information, payment for reproduction, collection handling, etc. Archivists have to respond to requests, pull requested materials, and explain necessary paperwork and policies.

But between this is a whole world of negotiation, personal preference, and available resources. How much time do (can) we spend with a single patron? Where do we draw the line? I like to think that we should be willing to take more on ourselves as the gatekeepers to make things easier and more pleasant for our patrons, but that is not fair when so many of us are already overloaded with work. On the other hand, it is not fair to put all of the work on our users, especially when it is our policies that are creating extra work for everyone.

Many archives have policies regarding remote research time, but what about patrons who require additional assistance with finding aids or computers or microfilm readers or handling fragile collections or the photocopier? How do we ensure smooth hand offs to other archivists when schedules require that multiple staff members be involved? How do we enforce policies that require official ID cards when we are trying to reach out to user groups that may not possess them? How do we respond to concerns about patron confidentiality when we are storing information about patrons and their research topics? How do we reassure patrons who feel targeted by security policies that require surveillance?

How might we rethink our policies and procedures to make things easier for everyone involved? While it is not a magic bullet or a possibility for everyone, there is something to be said for tapping into aspects of industry or libraries that are already familiar to our patrons. Along these lines, there are some technological solutions to help streamline the reading room experience. The biggest and best known in Aeon, which is a great product, but prohibitively expensive for most of us. Other archives have come up with in-house solutions using existing free products, like Trello or Google Forms.

At my institution, we have been working with our web developer, access services department, and catalogers to come up with a solution that allows us to treat special collections materials like ordinary library materials. Briefly, our web developer came up with a button that is enabled in our catalog on materials that have the Lib[rary] Use Only status that allows users to request items for future use. It generates a form that collects name and contact information as well as the date they would like to use the item(s) that is emailed to the appropriate collection. Patrons can also request items on site without scheduling them ahead of time. We use the emails as pull slips and place the items on our hold shelf. When the patrons arrive, we set up a courtesy card in our ILS (Integrated Library System- we use Sierra) that allows them to use only special collections materials (a proper courtesy card with ordinary borrowing privileges has an associated fee but a special collections card is free). We then check the materials out to their account while they’re using it on site and check it back in once they’ve finished. We explain at the time of checkout that they are not allowed to leave our floor with the items and we have not had any issues with this. The one drawback is that we do not yet have all of our special collections in the catalog, which is where our fabulous catalogers come in to create records. We are also in the process of implementing ArchivesSpace and are hoping that our developer will be able to create a similar request feature for use there. All special collections will eventually be represented in both places.

Obviously, a solution like this is only available to archives with access to an ILS and some developer time. If you are interested, our web developer has made the request button code available on GitHub. But if you think outside the box, you may be able to come up with your won solution with the resources available to you. Libraries have been using similar systems for decades to track use and it is past time for archives to do the same.

My posts here have been much more question-based than answer-filled, but these are important issues with lots of room for discussion. I look forward to continuing that discussion with any of you who are interested and hope you will take the opportunity to use some of these questions to help examine your own work.

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Research Post: “Protect from Potential Grizzlies”: How Local, State and Federal Concealed Carry Rules Apply to Libraries, Archives, and Museums

I&A Research Teams are groups of dedicated volunteers who monitor breaking news and delve into ongoing topics affecting archives and the archival profession. Under the leadership of the I&A Steering Committee, the Research Teams compile their findings into Research Posts for the I&A blog. Each Research Post offers a summary and coverage of an issue. This Research Post comes from On-Call Research Team #1, which looks into real-time issues affecting archivists and archives. 

Please be aware that the sources cited have not been vetted and do not indicate an official stance of SAA or the Issues and Advocacy Roundtable.

Proposed and already enacted concealed carry legislation in numerous states has spurred questions regarding policies for libraries, archives, and museums. What can – and cannot – individual institutions and organizations do regarding patrons and guns given their locally applicable bills? Concerns vary not just by state and institution type, but even by possible need for concealed weapons.  For example, Wyoming’s need for weapons in primary and secondary schools may be affected by the potential for grizzly bears nearby, a suggestion posed by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

On American college campuses, various state rules apply to concealed carry. Four states allow guns on campuses, six states allow for guns on campus in restricted areas, 10 states allow campuses to choose, 10 states allow storage of weapons in vehicles, and 20 states prohibit guns on all campuses. Employment status can be a factor, as well. In Tennessee, although students can only store weapons in vehicles, faculty and staff are allowed concealed carry. While these variations only apply to college campuses, laws can be more convoluted with other institutions: public or federal buildings and state parks, for example. Since libraries, archives, and museums can be within public, state, corporate, federal, or college entities, we will all be affected by concealed carry laws differently.

Proponents for concealed carry argue that states that allow it on campuses, provide improved safety and that threats to the learning environment are false. These proponents argue instead that active shooter incidents such as the Virginia Tech massacre may have ended more quickly and safely with an armed student body on hand.

People working in libraries, archives, and museums voice concerns that guns can create more violence rather than less, but they are also concerned that concealed carry can limit free speech and introduces complicated security issues. Faculty and students may not safe practicing academic freedom under the new rules. In one instance in Utah, a feminist speaker backed out of a campus event after threats were made on her life and the Utah State University could not provide increased support for her safety. Concealed carry proponents believe that such situations can be mitigated and that the university could have provided better security, albeit at increased cost and intrusiveness of individual searches.

Another, more common example of security complications can be found in archives and manuscript repositories. They typically have patrons place bulky materials, such as jackets and bags, in lockers, but having patrons remove guns can violate state laws and possibly be illegal.

Many states have been in the news for legislation regarding concealed weapons on college campuses, which covers Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Texas. At the University of Texas at Austin, guns are restricted in its Tower area, due to the 1966 sniper attacks by Charles Whitman. Often, libraries are not included as restricted areas on college campuses. Some areas can be negotiated, but if a state wholly allows for concealed carry, then libraries and archives cannot create rules or policies that negate the relevant legislation. Virginia’s Richmond Public Library found this out when they posted that guns were prohibited and the Virginia’s Citizens Defense League (rightly) disagreed. After changing the rule to read that it was prohibited “except as permitted by the law,” the League still determined the language was not acceptable and protested.

Overall, it is the burden of each library, archives, and museum to determine what policies they are allowed to enact based on the laws and regulations of their state and the rules within their affiliated institutions. This poses issues for creating standards and for enacting and managing policies effectively. After all, your institution may need protection from a grizzly.

A bibliography is provided below. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list and some articles may require a subscription.

All States

Texas

Tennessee

Colorado

Utah

  • Annale Renneker, “Packing More than Just a Backpack.” Journal of Law and
    Education, vol. 44, no. 2 (Spring 2015): 273-282.
  • Jennifer Sinor, “Guns on Campus Have Already Curtailed Free Speech.”
    Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 61, no. 10., 2014 October 27. Accessed January 3, 2017. http://www.chronicle.com/article/Guns-on-Campus-Have-Already/149663

Idaho

Resources for understanding and tracking legislation

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Announcing…Candidates for Our 2016 Election!

Drumroll… announcing the fantastic candidates for Issues and Advocacy Roundtable leadership for 2016. A big round of applause to each of these individuals for running!

Voting will will start during the first week of July and will be open for two weeks. Descriptions of each position’s responsibilities can be found here, and in the I&A Bylaws.

Note: because we have so many (wonderful!) candidates, this post is lengthy. But oh so worth the scrolling!

Candidate Listing (scroll down for bios and statements)

Vice-Chair (Two-Year Term: first year as Vice-Chair and second year as Chair) (vote for one candidate)
Hope M. Dunbar
Rachel Mandell

Steering Committee Member (Two-Year Term) (vote for two candidates)
Stephanie Bennett
Samantha Dodd
Keith Phelan Gorman
Lucinda Manning
Alessandro Meregaglia
Megan Miller
Blake Relle
Alison Stankrauff

Steering Committee Member (One-Year Term) (vote for two candidates)
Megan M. Atkinson
Hilary Barlow
Laurel Bowen
Tara Kelley
Daria Labinsky
Rachel Seale

Candidate Bios and Statements: Vice-Chair (vote for one)

Hope M. Dunbar
Bio:
I would like to nominate myself for the position of Vice-Chair for the Issues & Advocacy Roundtable. I am currently an Archivist at SUNY Buffalo State College in the Archives & Special Collections Department. Previously, I have had roles in the Special Collections & Rare Book Department of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library; the Library & Archives of the John Felice Rome Center, Italy; and the Archives & Special Collections Department of the Newberry Library, Chicago. I participated in the I&A Legislator Research Team in early 2016.

Statement of Interest:
In addition, prior to my work in the archives field, I was an attorney in Illinois focusing on government and federal mediation. I have worked in Washington, D.C. and Chicago for federal offices, including the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the U.S. Dept. of State, and the U.S Dept. of Education, and understand the necessity of institutional advocacy. Based on my interdisciplinary background, I can offer additional perspectives and expertise. Archives, special collections, and the humanities as a whole must advocate just as fervently as other fields to maintain funding and support. Additionally, we know our profession best including its benefits and its challenges; it is our duty to actively represent these realities to those outside our field. I believe this committee is essential to this advocacy.

Rachel Mandell
Bio:
Rachel Mandell graduated with her Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2012. She then pursued a personal goal to live abroad and also gained international experience as a visiting scholar at the Center for Art and Media Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany.  Rachel continued her exploration of central Europe as she was awarded a 2013-2014 Fulbright grant in Vienna, Austria. In addition to developing an appreciation for Viennese coffee houses, Rachel concentrated on audiovisual archiving by working in the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Phonogrammarchiv—the oldest sound archive in the world and the Austrian Film Museum, where she digitized and archived amateur films.  Since returning to her hometown of Los Angeles, Rachel began to transition into the next stage of her archival career by getting more involved with both the local archival community and also establish herself within the larger field of archivists. During her 12-month post as the LA as Subject Resident Archivist, Rachel completed short term archival projects at four member institutions of the LA as Subject organization—a network of institutions in Los Angeles that collect materials documenting the history of the city and its diverse population of residents. She was then offered the Digital Archivist position at California State University, Dominguez Hills, working on a large-scale collaboration called the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. The goal of this project is to bring together disparate records, photographs, oral histories, and other archival materials relating to the incarceration of Japanese Americans in California during the World War II era. She is also the current Issues and Advocacy Intern. Together with the Issues and Advocacy Roundtable team, Rachel has contributed to the improvement of the Issues and Advocacy Toolkit and hopes to continue working with the Issues and Advocacy Roundtable in the future.

Statement of Interest:
I hope to be selected as the next Vice Chair of the Issues and Advocacy (I&A) Roundtable. This past March I became an active member of the Roundtable when I accepted the position of I&A Intern. I saw the internship as a unique opportunity to get involved with the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and expand my professional network beyond my local archival community. As I specified in my statement of interest, I hoped to contribute to the improvement of the Issues and Advocacy Toolkit by designing a survey that would target areas that need improvement. I believe I have accomplished this initial goal.  I designed and administered the nine question survey that we used to help identify layout and user interface issues as well as solicit advice from the community about how to improve the content of the toolkit. We received 31 responses total and nine of the respondents also agreed to participate in a future focus group. I am currently in the process of creating hypothetical scenarios for the focus group, which will hopefully exploit further weaknesses in the content of the toolkit.

Working with the I&A team has been a rewarding experience, which has inspired me to apply for the Vice Chair position.  If selected, I hope to continue working towards implementing changes to the toolkit. I would love to see the new and improved toolkit come to fruition! In addition to my experience as the I&A intern, I believe that my enthusiasm for collaboration and strong communication skills would make me an excellent candidate for this position. I look forward to the chance to serve the I&A Roundtable and to support fellow archivists advocate for our profession and increase dialogue and awareness of important archival issues.

Candidate Bios and Statements: Steering Committee Member (Two-Year Term) (vote for two)

Stephanie Bennett
Bio:
Stephanie Bennett is the Collections Archivist for Wake Forest University, which is also her alma mater. She holds an MSLIS with an Archives Management concentration from Simmons College and is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivist. Bennett worked previously at Iowa State University, Boston College, and corporate research firms. She is an active member of the Society of American Archivists, the Society of North Carolina Archivists, where she was recently a Member at Large on the Executive Board, and the Midwest Archives Conference.

Statement of Interest:
Archivists often are affected by the reverberations of societal or political happenings. Gun laws affect reading room environments and policies, for example; activism causes us to rethink the nature of our work; environmental changes affect our storage conditions or the records we collect; this list could go on. I respect the work that I&ART does to help archivists think through political and personal issues and advocate for policies and changes that will benefit us, our communities, dare I even say humankind? And the recent changes to the website have been great! I would be thrilled to continue I&A’s good work and contribute to helping archivists navigate contentious issues, find allies, and ultimately act on our concerns.

Samantha Dodd
Bio:
Samantha Dodd is an archivist in Special Collections at the UT Arlington Library. Prior to joining UTA, she served as the archivist for the Dallas Historical Society. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in history with a minor in education from UT Arlington in 2009, a Master of Arts degree in History at UT Dallas in 2012, an Archival Administration Certificate from UT Arlington in 2013, and became a certified archivist in 2013. Fueled by a passion for higher education, and wanting to develop her skills and abilities as an archivist, Samantha attended the University of North Texas from 2013-2014 and earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree. In 2014 she was one of twenty-one candidates selected to participate in the American Association for State and Local History’s Seminar for Historical Administration.

Statement of Interest:
I would like to take a more active role in the Issues and Advocacy Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists. My passion in this profession is advocacy, whether it is advocating for awareness,  relevancy, rights, or any number of issues facing archivists. As SAA recently endorsed the History Relevancy Campaign, I would like to help continue the discussion and promote the efforts of this campaign as this issue of history’s relevancy can directly impact archives and archivists.  Furthermore, by joining the leadership of the roundtable, I hope to encourage increased participation by members, and to instill in our membership a passion for perspective. By looking ahead, and looking around us, we can see the issues and problems coming down the line, and formulate our responses before facing the issues head on.

Keith Phelan Gorman
Bio:
Keith Gorman is the Assistant Dean of Special Collections and University Archives at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).  During his past six years at UNCG, he has actively promoted the value of the department’s unique collections, instructional services, and digital projects to faculty, students, administrators, donors, and the general public.  As a result of Keith’s advocacy, his department has been able to acquire new positions, grow donations, and quintuple the number of class sessions being taught.  In addition, Keith has identified and cultivated local stakeholders through the development of off-campus programs that emphasize life-long learning.

Trained as a historian, Gorman received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  After a decade of teaching history at Simmons College, Keith decided to pursue a new career that brought together his deep interest in how individuals access information and his passion for empowering communities to understand and craft their own history.  He received a MLS (archives concentration) from Simmons College and has held positions at the Smithsonian Institution Archives and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

Throughout his fourteen year career in archives, Gorman has actively engaged educators, service organizations, librarians, local businesses, elected officials, and funders to promote the social and cultural value of rare and unique collections.  For example, over the past academic year, Keith initiated a community engagement program that focused on digital information literacy and teaching with primary sources.  Teaching thirty-five class sessions at area middle school and high school students, Keith was able to stress the impact an academic library at a public university can have on a community.

Statement of Interest:
With my diverse professional background in archives, museums, and academia, I believe that I would be an effective and innovative contributor to the Issues and Advocacy (I &A) Roundtable.  In this challenging economic and political climate, it is critical for archivists to be able to effectively “tell their story” and forcefully address the issue of return on investment.  Drawing on my own experience of promoting archives as a cultural hub, I believe I could help contribute to the reframing of how archives are being represented in a community’s collective imagination and political discourse.

If elected to the position, one of my goals would be to consider new ways to broaden dialog between archivists and K-12 educators.  For archivists, local teachers and students have always had the potential to be collaborators and vocal supporters.  With rapid shifts in pedagogy, teaching standards, and learning tools, teachers are seeking new ways to effectively incorporate primary sources into curriculum design. Through targeted outreach to area educators, archivists could develop and scale programs to meet teacher needs and at the same time demonstrate their educational/cultural value to community leaders.

Lucinda Manning
Bio:
I (Lucinda Manning) have worked as both a professional archivist and librarian since 1980 in various historical societies, and in college and university libraries, including URI, NYU, Barnard, and Teachers College at Columbia University. For twelve years, I directed the UFT Archives & Records Center for the United Federation of Teachers labor union in NYC. More recently, I have worked on consulting projects, was the Curator of Archives for the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich and was also a Consulting Archivist for the National Office of the ACLU in NYC. I am also currently serving on three committees for the ALA United for Libraries division including their Newsletter Committee and their Intellectual Freedom Committee.

Statement of Interest:
My academic background includes an undergraduate degree in print journalism/graphic design; graduate study in U.S. history (with an emphasis on 19th and 20th C. social change movements, including civil rights, women’s studies & labor history); and an MLS in academic libraries and special collections from the University of Rhode Island. She has recently served on the NYC Archivist Round Table’s Advocacy Committee and on the SAA Diversity Committee, as well as participating in many local, activist, community and political activities in New York.

Our profession’s role in helping to preserve our cultural and historical history (and the many related and critically important archival/information issues – including privacy, records security, intellectual freedom, records management concerns, long-term preservation of our multi-cultural US history – that are shared, of course, with other similar professions such as librarianship, the historical profession and cultural museums) have all been a major focus throughout my archival and library career.  I would very much enjoy serving as a member of our SAA Issues & Advocacy Round table leadership with others who are also interested and passionate about helping to formulate effective responses to all of the increasingly important professional advocacy and information concerns outlined above.

Alessandro Meregaglia
Bio:
I work as an archivist/librarian at Boise State University’s Special Collections and Archives, where I manage our digital collections and respond to reference questions. I have a Master of Library Science (Archives & Records Management specialization) and a MA in History from Indiana University. Prior to joining Boise State, I worked as a project archivist at a non-profit organization.

Statement of Interest:
As an academic archivist and during my time with a small non-profit organization, I understand the vital need for advocacy in archives of all sizes and want to build on the efforts that the I&A Roundtable has already accomplished (the Advocacy Toolkit, the blog, etc.).

Earlier this year, I participated on Legislators Research Team for I&A, which gathered information about key legislators. That experience reiterated the need for advocacy in archives when I noticed that legislators on archival governing committees had little experience with archives. Maintaining awareness about public policy affecting archives directly (or indirectly through other cultural institutions) is key to strengthening the profession while also making sure archivists’ voices are heard. I look forward to the opportunity to serve SAA and the archival profession on the I&A Steering Committee.

Megan Miller
Bio:
Megan Miller is the Digital Imaging Technician for the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s Beckman Legacy Project. Her academic training is in history: she received her MA from Temple University, where her coursework focused on public history and archival studies, and her AB from Bryn Mawr College. She is a member of MARAC’s Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion.

Statement of Interest:
There are dramatic changes I would like to see (in society, in the profession), but incremental progress is still progress. I can’t wave a magic wand and suddenly provide funding for cash-strapped institutions, force stakeholders to realize the value of archives, or make the profession instantly welcoming and accessible to a diverse talent pool. I can help a bit with the grind: spotlighting new issues, keeping longstanding issues from being forgotten (or incorrectly deemed to be solved), and making sure that momentary gains are not allowed to disappear. I want to help the conversations and resources I&A fosters migrate throughout the profession.

Blake Relle
Bio:
Blake Relle received his Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in archive management from LSU in 2013.  Currently, he serves as an Archives Specialist at the Louisiana State Archives where he fulfills request for materials made by the public as well as state agencies. From 2013 to 2015, he served as a digitization intern at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.  Professionally, Relle has presented on “How to get new archival professionals involved in archival organizations?” and “Should archival professionals do continuing education?” At the upcoming SAA meeting in August, Relle will be on a panel that will discuss how archives and museums can provide access to their collections to people with disabilities. Relle serves as Website and Social Media Coordinator for the New England Archivist Early Professionals and Students Roundtable.  In this capacity, Relle manages and updates the Roundtable’s website and social media accounts.  He co-wrote a blog post for ProjectArc regarding how the Toronto City Archive reduced its energy consumption by 59%.

Statement of Interest:
This opportunity will provide a way for me to give back to my profession as
well as learn from others. I will have a chance to learn about the issues facing the archival community as well as help find solutions to these issues. We have to work together because we can do more as a whole than we can individually.

Alison Stankrauff
Bio:
I have served as the Campus Archivist at the Indiana University South Bend campus since 2004. I am a lone arranger, and inherited an archives that had not had an archivist for ten years. What draws me to be a leader in the Issues and Advocacy Roundtable is the strong draw that I feel to issues of social justice. What I think that this means for my participation in this roundtable is that I see it as an advocate for archivists as well as the publics that we serve. I would work to make sure that critical issues that are central to the concerns of archivists and preserving – and making accessible – the historical record are addressed. Previous to my current position, I served as a reference archivist at the American Jewish Archives, and previous to that, as a technician at the Reuther Labor Archives at Wayne State University. I interned at the Rabbi Franklin Archives at Temple Beth El in metropolitan Detroit. I graduated with my Masters in Library Science with Archival Administration concentration in 2002 from Wayne State University, and I have a Bachelors degree in history from Antioch College.

Statement of Interest:
I’m Alison Stankrauff, Archivist and Associate Librarian at Indiana University South Bend. I’m committed to being vigilant for the archival profession and the archival record that we collect, protect, make accessible. When either of those are in danger, I believe it’s my duty to do my part to personally advocate for what’s at stake – and motivate others to do the same – with a collective voice.

Candidate Bios and Statements: Steering Committee Member (One-Year Term) (vote for two)

Megan M. Atkinson
Bio:
Megan M. Atkinson is the University Archivist for Tennessee Technological University.  She has worked for over six years as an archivist.  Her primary goal is making as many collections as possible available for research to the users.  Her previous positions include the National Park Service, Louisiana State University, and Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities. She has a BA in History from West Chester University and an MLIS from Drexel University.

Statement of Interest:
I have always advocated for archives, but I recently took a position where few knew I existed or the importance of the archives.  Although this was not a novel idea-given most of my jobs were this way-this was the first time that I was in a position where it was my duty to advocate for myself and not the duty of my supervisor.  As a result, I feel that advocating for myself at the lower level, my university, will be greatly aided by my participation in Issues and Advocacy and advocating as a whole for the profession and archives nationally and internationally. I participated in the Legislator and Research Team pilot program and would like to participate and dedicate more time towards this effort, which aids all archives and archivists.

Hilary Barlow
Bio:
Hilary Barlow is a Preservation Staff Member at Penn State University and a Volunteer Archivist at the Centre County Historical Society in State College, PA. She completed her Master of Information degree in Archives & Records Management at the University of Toronto in 2015 and worked as an Archives Intern for Democracy Now! Productions in New York City. As an MI student, Hilary served as President of the Master of Information Student Council. She is an active member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference and has contributed to the I&AR blog.

Statement of Interest:
In my archives career thus far, I have tried to keep advocacy at the center of my practice. As President of my student union, I advocated for an information master’s program more open and accessible to students. As an Archives Intern at Democracy Now! Productions, I learned how archives can document social movements and a long history of independent reporting. I feel that the Issues & Advocacy Roundtable engages with the challenges our professional faces most urgently today. I want to be more involved in collaborating with other archivists and determining what issues to bring to light.

Laurel Bowen
Bio:
I am the University Archivist at Georgia State University, where I provide records and research services for university administrators, the academic community, and the public.  I have an M.A. from Cornell University.  To increase public awareness and appreciation of the value of archives and archivists, I enjoy demonstrating the powerful, practical, and sometimes unusual ways that records can be used to advocate for citizens in their local communities.

Statement of Interest:
I’ve served for one year on the Steering Committee and would like to be considered for a second year.
1. Our profession is enhancing its advocacy efforts to make a bigger impact on issues that affect the public interest. I’d like to be part of this effort as a member of the I&A Steering Committee.
2. The Steering Committee identifies, discusses, and recommends issues to be brought forward for action, and coordinates its work with other advocacy groups. I’d like to get a clearer view of what motivates our profession to take action and the forms that action takes, so our Roundtable can be increasingly successful in advocating for our members’ concerns.
3. I hope to see our Roundtable continue to offer opportunities for members to be actively involved in advocacy efforts.  See https://issuesandadvocacy.wordpress.com/
4. Engaging in advocacy issues on the Steering Committee also stimulates thought on larger challenges such as (a) How do we as a profession advocate effectively for citizens, records, and the public interest when public officials can be elected with mega-contributions from a few sources?  (b) What strategies can be employed to persuade officials to provide timely access to public records? I would appreciate your vote.

Tara Kelley
Bio:
Tara D. Kelley is a moving image Archivist / Librarian at New York Public Library. She became the Specialist for the Mikhail Baryshnikov Archive in 2012, and began work with the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division at the Schomburg Center in 2014. Kelley is a founding member of the AMIA Film Advocacy Task Force, promoting the continued use of film for archival preservation and creative work, and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the SAA Issues & Advocacy Roundtable. She earned her MLIS at Rutgers University and is a graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation at George Eastman Museum.

Statement of Interest:
I am a moving image librarian and archivist at New York Public Library. I started with NYPL’s Library for the Performing Arts as the project archivist for the Mikhail Baryshnikov Archive and now work in the Moving Image and Recorded Sound division at the Schomburg Center.

I currently serve as a member of the I & A Roundtable Steering Committee and seek an additional year-long term. This would allow for continuity with our current News Monitoring and Awareness Research Team and for the development of additional projects.

As a member of SAA and AMIA, I value partnerships with similar organizations, as we share common concerns and extend our reach by working together. As just one example: when the Cinemateca Brasileira moving image archive caught fire, the ability to share news from AMIA with the SAA community was helpful in generating attention and support for the archive. I hope to have the opportunity to advocate for our communities again this year.

Daria Labinsky
Bio:
I am an Archivist at the National Archives at St. Louis, where I have worked since 2010. Before coming to NARA, I worked for eight years as a Local History and Reference Librarian at the Rio Rancho Public Library in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. I earned a BS in Radio/TV/Film and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University, and an MLS from Emporia State University. I am an active member of the Society of American Archivists (member of I&A Research Team, several roundtables, Government Records Section), the Regional Archival Associations Consortium (steering committee member and subcommittee chair), the Midwest Archives Conference (formerly public information officer), and the Association of St. Louis Area Archivists.

Statement of Interest:
As a former journalist I have always been especially conscious of attempts to curtail the free flow of information. The few months I have served on the Issues and Advocacy News Media Research Team have only increased my awareness in potential threats that archivists need to know about—because they may physically affect archives and archivists and/or may restrict access to, and openness of, public records.

In my current position I haven’t had much chance to advocate for archives on an institutional basis, other than to participate in promotional efforts such as the #ThisIsArchives Twitter event. When I was a public librarian in New Mexico, I participated in Librarian Legislation Day, during which librarians met with state Congresswomen and Congressmen and lobbied for budget increases. I would be interested in working with the I&A Roundtable on similar activities on a local, state, or even national level, or in participating in other initiatives that further the cause.

Rachel Seale
Bio:
In January I assumed my new position as outreach archivist for Iowa State University Special Collections & University Archives. I spent the last six years working in the Alaska & Polar Regions Collections & Archives (APR) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I spent two years working primarily in reference and processing collections, then moved on to cataloging manuscripts and rare maps, working with donors, and appraising potential donations. In addition I organized presentations and exhibits that highlighted the collections and services of APR. I received my MSLIS with an Archives concentration from Simmons College in January 2006.

Statement of Interest:
Issues & Advocacy is an exciting roundtable. I am interested in a leadership position within it because, now more than ever, I think there is a need for committed professionals to advocate for our profession and for the organizations we work in. I have just recently started getting involved with this roundtable, I am a member of one of the on-call research teams that monitors breaking news and provides a summary and then coverage of the relevant issue. I am eager to get more involved with this roundtable and do have leadership experience within SAA. I have spent the last 3 years in different leadership positions in the Security Roundtable (secretary, junior co-chair, and senior co-chair).

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