Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Society of American Archivists
The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936, the organization serves upwards of 6,200 individual and member institutions.
The society supports its members and the archival profession through publication and professional workshop programs and semi-annual meetings. Currently, workshops are given all across the United States and attend to current archival concerns and issues such as Encoded Archival Description, the digitizing of archival materials, and preservation and conservation of materials, among others. The programs it offers include: Online On-Demand Programs, Online Real Time Programs and Face to Face Programs.
The Society of American Archivists was established in 1936 on the heels of the creation of the National Archives. The organization was born in the wake of the dissolution of the Public Archives Commission of the American Historical Association. The early days of the organization were fraught with difficulty related to membership as well as professional identity. The American Library Association created a commission on archives, which founding president Albert R. Newsome found disrespectful. There was also tension between the public archives tradition championed by Margaret Cross Norton and the historical manuscripts tradition as the governing philosophy. Public archives tradition puts emphasis on records management and administrative aspects of archival work, whereas historical manuscripts focuses more on the preservation and maintenance of important documents for research purposes. The tension and debate between the two fundamental functions of archives would continue into the 1950s, spilling into elements like elections and where to hold annual meetings.
The first issue of the society's journal, the American Archivist, appeared in 1938. In 1942, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as an honorary member of the SAA due to his commitment to archiving federal, state and local government documents. After World War II, SAA joined with other international archivist societies to create the International Council on Archives and an archives for the United Nations. A number of committees focused on various interests of the society, including Church Records and College and University Archives. These committees helped legitimize the society, which aided them in a 1956 dispute with National Association of State Libraries over the differences between their two professions. This eventually lead to a joint committee between the American Library Associate and SAA to discuss the nuances and differences of the two professions.
By the 1970s, the majority of membership in SAA was made up of college and university archivists. These archivists, as well as the influence of more progressive social justice movements, allowed for the restructuring the organization as a whole, democratizing elections and restructuring committees. There was also a push for better professional resources as well as education standards. Coming out of the 1960s, there was a large movement of activist archivists, with members taking a greater interest in political and social issues. This forced SAA to take stances on different contemporary public issues that affected the profession. Social historians like Howard Zinn and Sam Bass Warner brought their views to the annual SAA meeting 1971, challenging archivists to re-examine policies and assumptions.
In the 1980s, a large portion of the society's focus was on outreach. Systematic studies were conduct to assess who archives users were, how they used the archives, and why. The struggle for creating a professional identity continued as standards for education programs, certification, and institutional evaluation became the forefront of discussion. A Task Force on Goals and Priorities, created in 1982, aimed to amend those issues, attempting to unify the organization under one professional umbrella. New challenges also emerged with the widespread use of the Internet and digital technologies. SAA partnered with the Library of Congress in developing Encoded Archival Description in 1993. EAD is an XML Document Type Definition and a standard for encoding archival finding aids, allowing them to be made accessible online. SAA also offers certification for Digital Archives Specialists, which allows for the profession to work within the emerging technological landscape and capture digital records.
In November 2017, SAA released a Strategic plan for 2018–2020, which outlined four major goal areas for the future: advocating for archives and archivists, enhancing professional growth, advancing the field, and meeting members' needs.
In the 1970s, the SAA began to collaborate with the American Association of Museums and the Association for State and Local History to form a Joint Committee on Opportunities for Minorities in Museums, Archives, and Historical Agencies. Phil Mason and Elsie Freivogel were appointed but outreach to minority members of the SAA was poor. Many minorities were unaware of the Joint Committee and expressed that there had not been any direct communications from the committee's representatives.
Hub AI
Society of American Archivists AI simulator
(@Society of American Archivists_simulator)
Society of American Archivists
The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936, the organization serves upwards of 6,200 individual and member institutions.
The society supports its members and the archival profession through publication and professional workshop programs and semi-annual meetings. Currently, workshops are given all across the United States and attend to current archival concerns and issues such as Encoded Archival Description, the digitizing of archival materials, and preservation and conservation of materials, among others. The programs it offers include: Online On-Demand Programs, Online Real Time Programs and Face to Face Programs.
The Society of American Archivists was established in 1936 on the heels of the creation of the National Archives. The organization was born in the wake of the dissolution of the Public Archives Commission of the American Historical Association. The early days of the organization were fraught with difficulty related to membership as well as professional identity. The American Library Association created a commission on archives, which founding president Albert R. Newsome found disrespectful. There was also tension between the public archives tradition championed by Margaret Cross Norton and the historical manuscripts tradition as the governing philosophy. Public archives tradition puts emphasis on records management and administrative aspects of archival work, whereas historical manuscripts focuses more on the preservation and maintenance of important documents for research purposes. The tension and debate between the two fundamental functions of archives would continue into the 1950s, spilling into elements like elections and where to hold annual meetings.
The first issue of the society's journal, the American Archivist, appeared in 1938. In 1942, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as an honorary member of the SAA due to his commitment to archiving federal, state and local government documents. After World War II, SAA joined with other international archivist societies to create the International Council on Archives and an archives for the United Nations. A number of committees focused on various interests of the society, including Church Records and College and University Archives. These committees helped legitimize the society, which aided them in a 1956 dispute with National Association of State Libraries over the differences between their two professions. This eventually lead to a joint committee between the American Library Associate and SAA to discuss the nuances and differences of the two professions.
By the 1970s, the majority of membership in SAA was made up of college and university archivists. These archivists, as well as the influence of more progressive social justice movements, allowed for the restructuring the organization as a whole, democratizing elections and restructuring committees. There was also a push for better professional resources as well as education standards. Coming out of the 1960s, there was a large movement of activist archivists, with members taking a greater interest in political and social issues. This forced SAA to take stances on different contemporary public issues that affected the profession. Social historians like Howard Zinn and Sam Bass Warner brought their views to the annual SAA meeting 1971, challenging archivists to re-examine policies and assumptions.
In the 1980s, a large portion of the society's focus was on outreach. Systematic studies were conduct to assess who archives users were, how they used the archives, and why. The struggle for creating a professional identity continued as standards for education programs, certification, and institutional evaluation became the forefront of discussion. A Task Force on Goals and Priorities, created in 1982, aimed to amend those issues, attempting to unify the organization under one professional umbrella. New challenges also emerged with the widespread use of the Internet and digital technologies. SAA partnered with the Library of Congress in developing Encoded Archival Description in 1993. EAD is an XML Document Type Definition and a standard for encoding archival finding aids, allowing them to be made accessible online. SAA also offers certification for Digital Archives Specialists, which allows for the profession to work within the emerging technological landscape and capture digital records.
In November 2017, SAA released a Strategic plan for 2018–2020, which outlined four major goal areas for the future: advocating for archives and archivists, enhancing professional growth, advancing the field, and meeting members' needs.
In the 1970s, the SAA began to collaborate with the American Association of Museums and the Association for State and Local History to form a Joint Committee on Opportunities for Minorities in Museums, Archives, and Historical Agencies. Phil Mason and Elsie Freivogel were appointed but outreach to minority members of the SAA was poor. Many minorities were unaware of the Joint Committee and expressed that there had not been any direct communications from the committee's representatives.