Season 7, Episode 6: Lyric Evans-Hunter, Allegra Favila, and Lia Warner

What is on the minds of our newest professionals? In this episode, host Nicole Milano speaks with Lyric Evans-Hunter, Allegra Favila, and Lia Warner, all new or recent graduates of New York University’s Archives and Public History program. They share how they came to the field, what they find exciting and daunting about the profession, and how we might increase mutual understanding between archival practitioners and those who rely on our work.

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras

Check out Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s, an exhibition organized by the the Grey Art Gallery, that explored “mid-20th-century abstract art from North Africa, West Asia, and the Arab diaspora—a vast geographic expanse that encompasses diverse cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds.”

Also take a look at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, a collection of more than 300,000 images documenting the history and culture of those with African descent.

Season 7, Episode 5: Rachel Chatalbash, Susan Hernandez, and Megan Schwenke

In this episode, co-hosts Nicole Milano and Camila Zorrilla Tessler speak with Rachel Chatalbash, Susan Hernandez, and Megan Schwenke about their recent book Museum Archives: Practice, Issues, Advocacy (Society of American Archivists, 2022). Chatalbash, Hernandez, and Schwenke discuss museum archives and archivists, the genesis of the publication and its connection to the Museum Archives Section of SAA, and what they hope readers will learn from the volume.

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The editors want to thank all the contributors to the publication: Seth Anderson, Susan Anderson, Brad Bauer, Ellen Brooks, Rebecca Chandler, Emily Connell, Maygene Daniels, Sarah R. Demb, Nancy Enneking, Christina Velazquez Fidler, Jessica Gambling, Heather Gendron, Melissa Gonzales, Rebecca Morgan, Samantha Norling, Suzanne Noruschat, Michael Pahn, Lesley Parilla, Lynette Stoudt, Dawn Sueoka, Jennie Thomas, Madeleine Thompson, Lindsay Turley, and Kathleen M. Williams.

Episode Extras

Read more about Museum Archives: Practice, Issues, Advocacy in the March/April 2023 issue of Archival Outlook, and order your copy via the SAA Bookstore!

Season 7, Episode 4: Kristine K. Fallon, Aliza Leventhal, and Jody Thompson

In this episode, co-hosts Anna Trammell and Chris Burns speak with Kristine K. Fallon, Aliza Leventhal, and Jody Thompson about their new book Born-Digital Design Records (Society of American Archivists, 2022), the ninth installment of SAA’s Trends in Archives Practice series. The interview explores the unique challenges of managing born-digital design records, prior efforts to address these issues, emerging research on user needs, and much more. Give it a listen!

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Episode Extras

The authors reference various resources in this episode including “An Archive of Interfaces: Exploring the Potential of Emulation for Software Research, Pedagogy, and Design” by Daniel Cardoso-Llach, Eric Kaltman, Emek Erdolu, and Zachary Furste; “Attending to Process and Data: A Research Alignment for Historical Videogame Production Artifacts and Their Archives” by Eric Kaltman; and “Digital Visual Literacy” by Anne Morgan Spalter and Andries van Dam.

To learn more about Born-Digital Design Records, see SAA’s press release and read Aliza Leventhal’s interview from the September/October 2022 issue of Archival Outlook.

Order your own copy via the SAA Bookstore!

Season 7, Episode 3: Marika Cifor

How did archivists partner with activists to document and preserve the history of AIDS activism? How are archivists and community partners activating AIDS archives to reveal AIDS’s continued impact on marginalized communities? What lessons can archivists take from this moment of social and community memory-building as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic?

In this episode, co-hosts Anna Trammell and Chris Burns speak with Marika Cifor about her recent book, Viral Cultures: Activist Archiving in the Age of AIDS (University of Minnesota Press, 2022). Cifor is an assistant professor at the University of Washington. In this episode, Cifor discusses her inspiration for exploring AIDS archives, how the concept of vital nostalgia can inform archival theory and practice, and lessons for memory workers and activists interested in documenting other social justice movements. 

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras

Visit Marika Cifor’s about page and faculty website and learn more about the projects and collections mentioned in the episode:

Listen to additional conversations about the book via the University of Minnesota Press podcast.

Season 7, Episode 1: Archivists Connect at ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2022

More than 1,000 archivists came together in-person—many for the first time since 2019—in Boston in August during ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2022, the annual conference of the Society of American Archivists. Another 1,000 archivists tuned in virtually. In this episode, co-hosts Chris Burns and Anna Trammell talk with attendees about their favorite conference sessions, the perks and challenges of remote work, the “glass half-full” lessons we can take away from the pandemic, and the joy of connecting with other archivists.  

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras

If you missed ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2022, or attended but didn’t get to all the sessions you would have liked, don’t worry! All education sessions, both plenaries, and the open forums were recorded and are available for on-demand access on the conference websiteRegister today to get access—and join us next year for ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2023, which will take place July 22–29, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Season 6, Episode 4: SAA Foundation with Bob Clark and Beth Myers

“Archivists helping archivists”—in this episode, cohosts Nicole Milano and JoyEllen Williams speak with Bob Clark and Beth Myers, members of the Society of American Archivists Foundation Board. Myers and Clark discuss the Foundation’s purpose, goals, and opportunities for engagement. Listen to learn how the Foundation supports SAA, archivists, and the profession.

Bob Clark is director of Archives at the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC), a historical research center for the study of philanthropy. In addition to managing a talented team of thirty-two archives and IT professionals, he actively engages with the RAC’s records-creating organizations, such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation, to shape information governance, records management, and archival programs that are responsive to the digital environment. From 2001 to 2015, he served in various leadership roles at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, including as supervisory archivist, deputy director, and acting director.

Beth Myers is the director of Special Collections at Smith College Libraries, a position held since 2014. She provides leadership and oversight to a unit that averages twenty staff and encompasses the three primary repositories of Special Collections. Myers is responsible for personnel, budget, developing internal and external funding streams, working with donors and developing strategic initiatives and planning. A dedicated archival professional, Myers participates actively in the Society of American Archivists, most recently as chair of the A*CENSUS II Working Group and member of the Foundation Board. She has published reviews, articles and book chapters related to the field of archives and special collections.

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras

Get involved with the SAA Foundation’s work by applying for a Strategic Growth Grant, nominating yourself or a colleague for an SAA award or scholarship, volunteering for the Foundation Board, or making a donation. Donations to the SAA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, are tax deductible.

Season 6, Episode 2: Amy Cooper Cary and Stacie Williams

Interested in publishing with the Society of American Archivists? Cohosts Anna Trammell and Chris Burns talk with SAA Publications Editor Stacie Williams and American Archivist Editor Amy Cooper Cary about the many publishing opportunities that SAA offers. Williams and Cooper Cary provide an overview of these opportunities and ways that archivists of all experience levels can engage in scholarship, and they discuss their own personal journeys as writers and editors.

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras

Read past issues of American Archivist—and get involved! Browse the Editorial Policies and Submission Guidelines for writing an article or review, or sign up for being a peer reviewer.

Learn more about the SAA Publications Program more broadly, including writing case studies, modules, books, Archival Outlook articles, and more. 

Season 5, Episode 6: Archives, Community, and Education at the Library of Congress with Danna Bell and Guha Shankar

Cohosts Nicole Milano and JoyEllen Williams interview Educational Resource Specialist Danna Bell and Folklife Specialist Guha Shankar from the Library of Congress. During this conversation, Bell and Shankar discuss the intersection of archives, community, and education, specifically addressing how the country’s renewed focus on social justice impacts their work at the Library of Congress. 

Episode Extras

Check out some of the resources that Bell and Shankar mention, including the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog and the American Folklife Center’s Civil Rights History Project.

Season 5, Episode 5: Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia’s Anti-Racist Description Working Group

Many archivists are reevaluating workflows and practices in order to create more equitable, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist metadata in their repositories. This important work is foregrounded by the Anti-Racist Description Resources, authored by the Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia’s (A4BLiP) Anti-Racist Description Working Group. Archives in Context spoke with A4BLiP’s Anti-Racist Description Working Group members Alexis A. Antracoli, Annalise Berdini, Faith Charlton, Valencia Johnson, and Katy Rawdon on the creation of the Anti-Racist Description Resources and ways that archivists can begin addressing racist and oppressive description in their repositories.

Episode Extras

Learn more about Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia, and check out the Anti-Racist Description Resources.

Season 5, Episode 4: Petrina Jackson and Verónica Reyes-Escudero

As American society reckons with racial injustice, many archivists wonder how they can combat systemic racism in the workplace and the profession. Archives in Context reached out for guidance from Petrina Jackson, director of the Special Collections Research Center, Bird Library, Syracuse University; and Verónica Reyes-Escudero, Katheryne B. Willock head of special collections, University of Arizona Libraries. As chair and incoming chair of the Rare Books and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, Jackson and Reyes-Escudero called upon their colleagues “to take action to recognize and destroy structural/systemic racism and inequality in our workplaces and in our profession.” Learn more about how you can help create a more diverse and inclusive profession in this episode.

Read the transcript.

Episode Extras