Archival Innovators: Dr. Meral Ekincioglu

March 17, 2020March 16, 20201 Comment

This is the latest post in our new series Archival Innovators, which aims to raise awareness of the individuals, institutions, and collaborations that are helping to boldly chart the future of the the archives profession and set new precedents for the role of the archivist in society.

Dr Meral Ekincioglu (courtesy of Dr Meral Ekincioglu).

In this installation of Archival Innovators, SAA Committee on Public Awareness (COPA) member Rachel Seale interviews Dr. Meral Ekincioglu on her research project and its findings in regards to diversity and underrepresented architecture communities in archives at pioneering schools of architecture in the United States.

Please describe your innovative project.

As a scholar with Ph.D. degree in postwar architecture history and a member of Society of American Archivists (2019-2020), my current research project aims to investigate diversity and inclusion in current historical documentation practice at archives and collections established by pioneering schools of architecture in the country. As participants of my research project (archivists, curators and librarians in architecture) have indicated in their written responses, they don’t know such research study information so far. With the rising tension on women, politics of gender and other identity-based issues happening in schools of architecture in recent times, such as “Convergence” organized by Harvard University-Graduate School of Design-Women in Design Group where I was one of the panelists,¹ my purpose with this research project is to stimulate a critical awareness of current strategies, policies and methods of historical documentation practice in architecture education with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and to establish a dialogue between the field of archive and architecture to make progress together on this subject.

With this research problem and concern, I contacted leading schools of architecture whose graduate programs were ranked the top ten (2018-2019) according to survey conducted by Design Intelligence ² and published by Architectural Record. ³ In particular, my focal point has been “schools of architecture” because education is the core of all other dimensions of architecture, such as academic career, teaching, the construction of (critical) architecture history-historiography, professional (design) practice, etc. Architecture record archivist at the Yale University-School of Architecture; special collection archivist at the Harvard University-Graduate School of Design; librarian at the Princeton University- School of Architecture; ⁴ curator at the architecture and design collections at the MIT Museum; architecture, urban planning, and visual resources librarian at University of Michigan; art, architecture & engineering library; head of special collections at University of Rice; and library manager at the Kappe Library-SCI-Arch have kindly participated to my research project. In addition, the director at Archives & Records at the American Institute of Architects (AIA), in Washington D.C., has shared how the AIA has advocated for some research and archiving to document women in architecture and underrepresented groups of architects to increase diversity in the profession, and the AIA’s organizational records within this context.

Where did you get your idea and what inspired you?

The starting point of my scholarly and architectural concern about lack of diversity and inclusion in historical documentation of multicultural United States architecture has been my advanced academic research project on immigrant, foreign-born women architects and politics of gender that I conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for two years. Secondly, following sentences (2016) by Professor Kenneth Frampton, architecture historian and critics at Columbia University have given a very significant impetus for my current research project: “….in trying to expand modern architectural critical history, the big issue is, what you include, and what you exclude…” ⁵ Thirdly, statements by Elizabeth Chu Richter (FAIA 2015 AIA President) has another motivation for me: “….There is plenty of anecdotal information that suggests there has been progress in building a more diverse and inclusive profession. Yet, the information is just that- anecdotal…..We need data, not anecdote…” ⁶ As the American Institute of Architecture-Diversity in the Profession of Architecture, Executive Summary (2016) also underlines, there is more work to be done to support and promote equity, diversity and inclusion in architecture, ⁷ and diverse and inclusive historical documentation in architecture is not an exception with this critical context.⁸ Finally, my architectural and personal roots come from Istanbul located in-between West and East cultures with its multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious history; and I worked as publishing coordinator and journalist in architecture. In other words, it is a natural desire for me to promote diversity in my expertise field due to my own roots, and effective communication among people, disciplines, fields and cultures has been always one of the important missions for me throughout my career in architecture.

What worked? What didn’t work? Were you surprised by the outcome or any part of your experience?

First of all, I would like to say that most of archivists, librarians and curators with whom I have contacted for this research project responded to me in a positive and supportive way. I think that they are deeply aware of critical issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in today’s multicultural U.S. architecture. When I had the opportunity to meet some of them at their programs, they were very open to establishing communication, to know my own scholarly research experience on immigrant women architects & politics of gender, to discuss recent critical issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in architecture. Their supportive approach and openness in communication have been very motivating for me to continue this research.

2. Jessica Quagliaroli -Meral Ekincioglu-Yale University

Dr. Meral Ekincioglu and Jessica Quagliaroli, Architecture Record Archivist at Yale University, School of Architecture (courtesy of Dr. Meral Ekincioglu).

In terms of surprising facts and outcomes of this research experience, the systematic documenting and collecting of historical documents at the schools of architecture who have participated to my research project did not seem to have a long history, according to participants’ written responses: The end of the 1960s – 1970s seem to be a threshold to establish their architectural archive programs or collections. More surprisingly, one of the architectural archives programs at a leading school of architecture began around 2000. If we remember, the historical background of the early architecture programs at major universities as first courses taught goes back in the country to the 1800s, and one of its characteristics is the role of immigrants from various cultures in its progress. With this historical background and characteristics, architecture education has been undergoing several challenging transformations in the early 21^st century, like globalization. ⁹ Within this picture, the most well-known collections (including models, photographs, and architectural drawings, etc.) now in existence began to be developed since the 18^th century in order to support teaching of architecture in the country as Alfred Willis points out in his essay. ¹⁰

In this respect, there seems to be a highly critical big gap in diverse and inclusive historical documentation practice at leading schools of architecture in the country, such as historical materials on pioneering profiles of foreign-born, underrepresented, minority students and professional -design- practitioners in their own history. Secondly, in spite of this critical picture, most of participants could not share a mission statement in effect to uncover, support and promote diversity in the content of archives and collections at their schools of architecture. Thirdly, although the architectural world has been using digital tools and apps extensively, and digital archives and collections enable everyone to search historical information and materials easier and faster, most of participants pointed out that their programs don’t have a digital archival project; one of them has a digitization project “underway”; one of them has “piloted” digital initiatives by scanning significant amounts of materials from their collections, etc.

Needless to say, increased access to historical materials for everyone has a remarkable potential to support and promote new findings and scholarly discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion in (multicultural US) architecture, its (critical) history and historiography. Among participants, the SCI-Arch library has a noteworthy project: Digitization SCI-Arch videotapes of public lectures which were approaching the end of their 40-year lifespan. Finally, we have been witnessing the appointments of women deans and head of departments in the US architecture in recent times, such as at MIT (J. Meejin Yoon as the head of the department of architecture, 2014-2018); Columbia (Amale Andraos as the dean of Columbia GSAPP, 2014-present); Yale (Deborah Berke as the dean of school of architecture, 2016-present); Princeton (Mónica Ponce de León as the dean of school of architecture, 2016-present); and Cornell (J. Meejin Yoon as the dean of Cornell University College of Architecture, Art and Planning, 2019-present). They have remarkable contributions to architecture in various ways. On the other hand, in terms of my research problem, one of the crucial questions is what those successful women’s academic leaders have brought to support and promote more diverse, inclusive and equal historical documentation practice at their programs and institutions in architecture so far; and what is their near future vision for this endeavor?

What’s next? Either for this project or a new development?

For this project, I plan to contact and to ask the same research questions to the next ten archival programs and collections at schools of architecture according to the same survey; and it would be great to bring together relevant archivists and architects to discuss together how to take steps for new developments on this subject. I completely agree with a participant’s comment: “there is a certain degree of inter-disciplinarity that needs to understood.” Needless to say, development in more diverse and inclusive collective memory in architecture might have a very positive impact on from pedagogical agenda to hiring practices, more diverse and inclusive workforce and leadership profiles for economic productivity in the field, more inclusive built environment and architectural spaces for everyone in the society regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, etc. For this, I think that we (research community and practitioners in historical documentation in architecture) should collaborate with each other in a more effective way.

Dr. Ekincioglu with Professor Reif, the MIT President, after their conversation about her advanced academic research project on immigrant women architects, diversity and inclusion in –the US- architecture and historical documentation in the field (courtesy of Dr. Meral Ekincioglu).

What barriers or challenges did you face?

If I could reach out to some archivists and organizations relevant to my research topic, it would be great to comprehend this issue and to discuss what we can do together. ¹¹ Open communication channels among various people and organizations, effective and long-term dialogue are very important to better understand the current problems, challenges and struggles for diverse, equal and inclusive architecture, and what can be done for historical documentation practice in light of these issues. In addition, according to the e-mail by Cornell University (on February 5, 2019), they did not have an archivist or a curator specifically attached to architectural and visual documents; so it was another challenge to find out their methods, strategy, policy etc. on diverse historical documentation for their own history. Finally, I could not find information if there is any recent data, survey etc. on the diversity in archivists and curators’ profile in architecture collections in the US.

How did you use archives /this project as a catalyst for getting different groups to talk to each other (cross-generational, cross-cultural, etc.)?

As a catalyst in-between archives and (critical) architecture history, in the coming months, I am very glad that my conference abstract has been accepted by “Midwest Archivists Conference (MAC) 2020 Annual Meeting” and hope to establish a productive bridge between two fields. In addition, two organizations have kindly invited me to present my project and discuss its findings with my concerns on diversity and inclusion. (Under current health issues, we have decided to re-schedule those presentations ). In addition, I have also contacted Boston Society of Architects, New England Society of Architecture Historians and the Archivist Round Table of Metropolitan New York Inc. to share my research studies on this topic. With those connections, I would like to bring into focus some questions and issues in-between two fields and professions; such as how can we raise awareness of each other’s work and research studies by considering recent critical discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion in (the US) architecture; what can we can do together (archivists and architects) to stimulate new architectural research on diversity, equity and inclusion, and for diversification of the archival records in architecture; what are long-held traditional practices, methods and policies in historical documentation of (multicultural US) architecture and how we can break down these traditions for more inclusive, diverse practice in this field; what are the changing role and responsibilities of archival programs and their practitioners as a response to rising influence of globalization, migration and gender-based political arguments in today’s (US) architecture; what are the expectations by archivists from scholars, professors, students and practitioners in architecture for more effective collaboration to support diverse and inclusive historical documentation.

What was your institution/archives like before you started developing this project? Does your institution have a history of supporting innovation in archives?

During my research studies at MIT, I have also created and developed a collection on pioneering Turkish women architects from the first (1930s-1960s) and second generations (1960s-present) for the Archnet that is partnership between the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries. (AKDC@MIT). This collection also includes a few significant (immigrant) Turkish and Turkish-American women architects with their contributions to postwar American and Turkish architecture. Archnet is is an open access on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, visual culture, and conservation issues as related to Muslim and Muslim-majority societies, their past and present. I think that there was a big gap in their sources on leading women profiles and documentation practice from those architecture cultures and geographic locations. As one of the significant feminist cases from modern, secular and Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, women architects in modern and contemporary Turkish architecture have been a timely step to get attention to diversity in women architects (It is in-progress to upload the entire collection and its editing). In addition, following my appointment with the curator at the MIT Museum (Architecture and Design Collections) for my current research project (April 2019), I am so glad to learn that it was organized “Women of MIT Wikipedia Hackathon as a celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the Department of Architecture” on August 6, 2019. ¹² When I began my advanced academic research project on immigrant women architects in postwar US at MIT in 2014, one of my essential concerns was the lack of historical documentation on (diverse) women architects, and today, I am happy to witness such efforts at the Institute related to the history of its architecture program, one of the oldest one in its field.

3. Dr. Meral Ekincioglu presentation at the 71st Society of Architecture Historians International Conference April 2018

Academic presentation by Dr. Meral Ekincioglu based on her archival research on pionnering Turkish and TurkishAmerican women architects in postwar US at the 71^st Society of Architectural Historians, International Conference, St. Paul, MN, 2018 (courtesy of Dr. Meral Ekincioglu).

Thank you for this opportunity to reach out to your readers in archive and relevant fields to raise an awareness of diverse and inclusive architectural memory in today’s US.

Trained as an architect, Dr. Ekincioglu is a scholar in postwar architecture history and the subjects of her current academic study are politics of gender, multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion in her expertise field. Following her Ph.D. degree in Architecture, she conducted her advanced academic research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture Program for two years. Her scholarly endeavor brings into focus a critical insight into the politics of gender in institutional policies, academia, the profession, education, history and history-writing, and examines cross-cultural relations and transnational (design) practice in postwar architecture.

In her expertise field, she presented her research projects at the MIT-HTC Program, the International Women in Architecture Symposium at Virginia Tech., the MIT-Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Women’s Studies Speaker Series at the CUNY-Graduate Center, Harvard University, the 71st Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) – Annual International Conference where she was awarded by a SAH fellowship. In addition, she was a panelist at “A Convergence at the Confluence of Power, Identity and Design” organized by the Women in Design Group at the Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, at “A Square and Half – The Colors, A Tribute by Ivaana Muse” at the MIT Museum, a speaker 51st NeMLA, Northeast Modern Language Association, Annual Convention at Boston University (Convention title: Shaping and Sharing Identities: Spaces, Places, Languages and Cultures), at WikiConference North America on reliability / credibility information at MIT, and “Media in Transition 5 and 6”, two international conferences organized by the MIT-Comparative Media Studies.

Her recent conference abstract, “Tracing Diversity in Historical Documentation of Architecture Education in the US” has been accepted by Midwest Archives Conference, 2020 Annual Meeting. Dr. Ekincioglu is also an author and a contributor of two international publication projects on women architects (forthcoming 2021).

Prior to MIT, she was a research fellow at the Harvard University, Aga Khan History of Art and Architecture, Ph.D. Program, and research scholar at the Columbia University, Graduate School of Planning and Preservation, Ph.D. Program for her Ph.D. dissertation research. She created and developed the collection, “Women in Modern and Contemporary Territories of Turkish Architecture” at MIT to contribute to documentation of diverse women architects profiles, conducted short documentary film projects on immigrant and underrepresented figures in architecture, and has a certificate by Consortium for Graduate Studies, Gender, Culture, Women & Sexuality (GCWS) at MIT. Dr. Ekincioglu was a member of Society of American Archivists (2019-2020).

Notes and references:

See, https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/a-convergence-at-the-confluence-of-power-identity-and-design/, last accessed on 1.20.2020.
See for its survey, https://www.di-rankings.com/most-admired-schools-architecture/, last access on 1.18.2020; for research methodology of this survey, see, https://www.di-rankings.com/methodology/, the last accessed on 1.9.2020.
See for its publication, Gilmore, D., 2018, Top Architecture Schools of 2019, Architectural Record, September 4; https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13611-top-architecture-schools-of-2019; the last accessed on 12.10.2019.
Based on their e-mail on February 22, 2019, the Princeton University, School of Architecture was without an archivist at that time.
See for Kenneth Frampton conversation at the Harvard University, GSD, ChinaGSD Distinguished Lecture: Professor Kenneth Frampton, “Chinese Architecture”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8asbjkin-W0&t=3756s, (1:01:06), 10.29.2019.
See for its reference, Diversity in the Profession of Architecture Executive Summary 2016, the American Institute of Architects, http://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2016-05/Diversity-DiversityinArchitecture.pdf, p. 2, accessed on 10.15.2019.
See, Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion Commission Executive Summary January 25, 2017, http://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2017-01/Diversity-EquityDiversityInclusionCommission-FINAL.pdf, accessed on 10.15.2019.
At that point, I would like to underline a recent data project related to architecture history: The Society of Architectural Historians has just launched the SAH Data Project to collect information on the status of architectural history in higher education in the US. As it is indicated on their official link, their surveys aim to determine where and in what ways the field of architectural history is expanding, receding, holding steady, and to consider the structural or cultural factors behind such trends. See, “Society of Architectural Historians Launches Surveys for Study of Architectural History in Higher Education” by SAH News | Feb 21, 2020, https://www.sah.org/about-sah/news/sah-news/news-detail/2020/02/21/society-of-architectural-historians-launches-surveys-for-study-of-architectural-history-in-higher-education, last accessed on 3.15.2020.
For a well-detailed and in-depth discussion on the history of architecture education in the US, see Ockman, J. (ed.), Williams, R. (research editor), 2012, Architecture School: Three Centuries of Educating Architects in North America, published on the Centennial Anniversary of the Association of Collegiate School of Architecture, 1912-2012, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
See, Willis, A., 1996, “The Place of Archives in the Universe of Architectural Documentation”, The American Archivist, Vol. 59, No. 2, Spring, pp. 192-196; its link: https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.59.2.l54510w443504578, last accessed on 1.20.2020.
Such as the current curator of Drawings and Archives at Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, the New England Archivists (NEA) and AIA New York’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
See https://calendar.mit.edu/event/women_of_mit_wikipedia_hackathon?fbclid=IwAR0PEgbGMtQyNaQAUCpGmYhDRAgVYrzoBl9Ro cwJeSc0_AkiJYKzswYsZUw#.XgvjvUdKiM , https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/calendar/women-mit-wikipedia-hackathon; https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/MIT_Libraries_and_MIT_Museum/Women_at_MIT, (In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Department of Architecture), last accessed on 1.15.2020.

Do you know an Archival Innovator who should be featured on ArchivesAWARE? Send us your suggestions at archivesaware@archivists.org!

There’s An Archivist for That! Interview with Rebecca Cline, the Director of the Walt Disney Archives

March 3, 2020March 2, 20203 Comments

Photograph of Rebecca Cline. Courtesy of Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

This is the newest post in our There’s an Archivist for That! series, which features examples of archivists working in places you might not expect. COPA member Rachel Seale, Outreach Archivist at Iowa State University, brings you an interview with Rebecca Cline, the Director of the Walt Disney Archives.

Becky Cline joined The Walt Disney Company in 1989, and became a member of the staff of the Walt Disney Archives in 1993. Today, as Director of the Archives, Becky is charged with collecting and preserving all aspects of Disney history and making the material available to researchers from all areas of the Walt Disney Company — as well as to historians, writers, documentarians, and fans around the world. Her many responsibilities include maintaining and conserving the Archives’ collections of historical documents, artwork, character merchandise, costumes, props and memorabilia. In the years since the Archives was established at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, it has grown from a one-person department to its current staff of twelve, and has come to be recognized as a model among corporate archives in the country.

In her position with the Archives, Becky has also enjoyed participating in the research and development of many new and exciting programs and fan-based initiatives for the Walt Disney Company including the development and operations team for D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.

Born in Glendale, California, and raised in Los Angeles, Becky attended Glendale College and California State University Los Angeles, majoring in Theater Arts. After college, she worked for two years in the Rare Books Department of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, where she received her first taste of library/archives work.

As an author, Becky has co-authored the books Disney Insider Yearbook, The Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to Remember (Sept., 2019), The Art of Disney Costuming: Heroes, Villains and Spaces Between (Aug., 2019) and the upcoming Holiday Magic at Disney Parks (Summer 2020), and has written numerous articles on Disney history for magazines such as Disney’s twenty-three, Disney Magazine, The Disney Channel Magazine, Persistence of Vision, and The E-Ticket, as well as many other Disney internal publications and websites. She is also a frequent speaker on behalf of The Walt Disney Company, giving talks and presenting seminars on Disney history.

Cover: The Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to Remember by Steven Clark and Becky Cline, Disney Editions 2019. Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

How did you get your gig?

I started out in the Walt Disney Archives as a (Semi-Senior) Secretary. After college I planned to work in live technical theater which was my major, but couldn’t find steady work, so I took a job as a Library Assistant in the Rare Books Department at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. I had always loved libraries and reading, but after two years there I discovered a passion for rare books and materials and had a great desire to work in that field instead. In 1989, I heard from a friend that they were hiring a file clerk at the Walt Disney Archives and so I jumped at it. They had already filled the role, so I took a job at Disney Home Video for four years and then finally got a secretarial job in the Archives in 1993. Then, I learned everything I could about Disney and began writing and researching on my own. Eventually I was made an Assistant Archivist, and then moved on to build out our Collections department as the Manager of Collections, focusing on working with the department’s dimensional assets. When our Chief Archivist and Founder, Dave Smith, retired in 2010, I was made Director – a role I’ve held ever since. I just celebrated my 30^th anniversary with Disney and 26^th with the Archives. Oddly enough – I have no institutional library training, but my theatrical background has been of inestimable value in an entertainment archive setting – working with props, costumes, sets, art, curating exhibitions, budgets, and scheduling, assisting historical researchers and being a spokesperson, and acting as a presenter and on-camera interview subject – I wear lots of hats!

Becky Cline (Director, Walt Disney Archives) speaking at D23’s Destination D event – 2014, Walt Disney World, Orlando FL. Courtesy of Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

Tell us about your organization.

We were founded in 1970 as the first studio archives in the film/entertainment industry – and we are the largest of our kind. We now have a staff of 30 and work as teams in multiple areas – Research, Collections, Exhibitions, Operations, and a Photo Library and Digital Lab. The staff is comprised of employees from various backgrounds with various experience – some have traditional library and archival training, museum training, academic and film studies training, some even have business management training. They are all fantastic historians as well and are very passionate about The Walt Disney Company and its history.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Describe your collections.

The collections of the Walt Disney Archives cover all aspects of The Walt Disney Company. We keep all historical documentation from Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as co-founders of the Company, to motion pictures, television, theme parks, consumer products, publicity, publications, media collections (physical and digital), and corporate history. As the Corporate archive of the entire Disney enterprise, we cover the history of all areas and brands under the Disney umbrella – including ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and now 21^st Century Fox. Last year the Fox Archives merged with our department, and we are now one. Our collections are extensive and rather amazing in scope – from almost the beginning of Hollywood history, to today.

Research Collections

A significant portion of our research collection centers on Walt Disney, the man. Books, articles, speeches, interviews and more than 8,500 photographs just of Walt, himself. We also chronicle the history and genealogy of the Disney family. There is also a complete set of Company annual reports from 1940 to the present along with Company phone directories, employee periodicals, stockholder materials, and corporate officer materials.

Although the Company’s film collection is housed elsewhere, the Archives collects many films on various formats for reference, including all home entertainment releases, television programs, interviews, special events, and employee training films. We have scripts for Disney live-action films and television programs along with dialogue cutting continuities for animated films, costume breakdown and continuity books, shooting call sheets and other production information. Feature animation art is held in a special library that is part of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, but the Archives contains the live-action film, television, publicity and commercial art of the Company. We also keep documentation about the animated films, including shooting drafts, original story concepts, and transcriptions of story meetings – which are quite enlightening. Walt Disney first arranged a clipping service in 1924 and ever since the Company has been the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. These are generally arranged by year and subject.

Press releases, press books and movie posters help tell the story of the studios and filmed product the Company has released over the years, too. We also maintain biographical material – including audio interviews and oral histories with many key Disney Cast Members, Employees, and Imagineers through the decades. Typed transcripts of significant interviews and speeches are available in both text and digital formats, for reference. Disney publications have been published in the U.S. since 1930 and we have a complete collection of more than 10,000 titles catalogued. There are also thousands of international Disney books, published in more than 40 languages. The Archives also maintains a complete file of domestic comics strips, books and magazines, along with most international titles, dating back to 1932. We also have preserved a practically complete collection of Disney recorded music – CDs, phonograph records and cassettes as well as digital files. We also have printed sheet music, production cue sheets, and song folios to round out our musical documentation.

The Archives also houses a vast collection that traces the history of all twelve Disney Parks, from Disneyland in Anaheim to Shanghai Disneyland in China. The research collections for those parks and resorts include correspondence, films, ticket media, employee publications, menus, Guest collateral and ephemera, and special event project files.

Dimensional Collections

Since the late 1920s, tens of thousands of merchandise items have featured the likeness of Mickey Mouse, and millions of items have featured our film, television and park properties. While we have never attempted to collect every item ever produced, we do maintain an excellent sample collection, catalogues, correspondence files, licensee materials and photographs that tell the story of our merchandise endeavors since the 20s.

Dimensional assets from our films, television and streaming properties, as well as theme park attractions, are one of our most interesting collections. Some of our thousands of props and costumes include the ornate prop storybooks that open Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Annette Funicello’s Mickey Mouse Club sweater and mouse ear hat, the 11-foot long Nautilus shooting model from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Davy Crockett’s ‘coonskin cap’, Mary Poppins’ carpet bag and the 20 foot -long “miniature” model of the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Our dimensional collections also include awards, animation models, live-action film models and maquettes, artwork, blueprints and drawings, park attraction vehicles, set pieces and much more – it’s a true treasure trove!

Our exhibition program was conceived with the intention of sharing these fabulous pieces of dimensional Company history with the world. To that end, we have been creating and presenting exhibitions for Disney fan events across the U.S. for the last decade, and even expanded to Japan and Hong Kong in recent years. This year we are launching a new traveling exhibition program that will let us share some of our favorite assets and stories with new audiences around the globe.

The first ticket purchased for Disneyland, bought on opening day July 18, 1955 by Roy O. Disney, co-founder of the Walt Disney Company. Courtesy of Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

Herbie, the “Love Bug” from the 1977 Disney film Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. Courtesy of Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

An original 1930 Mickey Mouse plush doll designed and hand made by Mrs. Charlotte Clark. Courtesy of Walt Disney Archives Photo Library.

Photography Collections

With the addition of the incredible photo library collection of the Fox Studios in 2019, our Photo Library collection of physical and digital media now numbers over 20 million items. The various types of negatives and color transparencies preserved in these collections cover all aspects of Disney history, from its beginnings to the present day. We have built and are constantly adding to a new online digital asset management system which is available to Disney employees (and outside researchers with approval from the Disney Legal Department.) This is a continually growing digitization program that uses state-of-the-art equipment and processes to capture all parts of our collection – some even in 3-D! It is one of our major initiatives and an accomplishment we are very proud of.

What are some challenges unique to your collections?

As with any Archive, our main challenges are always space and staffing! Even with what seems to be a large staff, when you look at the magnitude and various types of materials in our collections and the scale of our outreach programs – exhibitions, fan events, publications, historical lectures, training, internal orientations – it doesn’t seem like nearly enough staff. We also have to create and maintain proper storage facilities for everything from paper documents, original art, and fragile negatives to ride vehicles, automobiles, sailing ships, Audio-Animatronics® dinosaurs, and even Cinderella’s ornate coach! Our other main challenge is one that just about every other archival collection faces today, too, and that is the collecting and processing digital history. What used to come through the doors as paper is now digital and that requires a whole new set of skills to find, process, store and share. In our case, it is massive amounts of digital imagery and audio material. We are working through these issues with our new digitization programs and are seeking to implement a new and upcoming internal collections management system to not only help keep track of catalogued materials, but also to help with our knowledge management – with half a century of institutional knowledge at our fingertips, we want to make sure we’re doing all we can capture why and how we work the way we do here at Disney, for future generations, and archivists!

What is your favorite part of your job?

I must say I have a fantastic job that I love dearly – I get to work with wonderful, iconic historical assets, but my favorite part has to be working alongside the amazingly talented people here at Disney. I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to meet and share our history with the best and brightest filmmakers, artists, actors, musicians, animators, authors and creatives in the entertainment industry. I also get to share what I love so much with the millions of Disney fans out there in some pretty great ways – through our exhibits, events produced by our official fan club, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, historical presentations at theaters, parks and cruise ships, and even on film and television.

Upcoming celebrations

We open our new traveling exhibit, “Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic,” at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA on March 7, 2020. With lots more to follow, be sure to keep up with us on social media – we have some exciting plans in the works!

There’s An Archivist for That! Interview with Krü Maekdo, founder of the Black Lesbian Archives

January 22, 2020Leave a comment

Krü Maekdo wearing t-shirt that says "Black Lesbian Archives Grassroots Tour 20[??]"

Photo of Krü Maekdo (courtesy of Krü Maekdo).

This is the newest post in our There’s an Archivist for That! series, which features examples of archivists working in places you might not expect. COPA member Rachel Seale, Outreach Archivist at Iowa State University, brings you an interview with Krü Maekdo, the founder of the Black Lesbian Archives.

Krü Maekdo has been an innovator in community organizing, gracing stages around the world sharing, her charm, wit, and presence, while contributing to the exciting LGBTQ+ renaissance in many of our communities. CEO of Maekdo Productions, a multi-media and event planning company for women in the LGBTQ+ community as well as the Founder of Queer Black Creatives and Black Lesbian Archives. She works to diplomatically build and connect the world in creative ways. A Creative Director specializing in, Multi-Media, Event Planning, Kosmic Rootwork and Astrology.

For info, visit: krumaekdo.wixsite.com/info/about

How did you get your gig?

I created the Black Lesbian Archives June 2017 after realizing that the stories of our lives were not being documented online, in our local libraries, institutions, collection departments, etc. I felt it would be a great way not only to bring awareness, but to build our communities through experimental storytelling. As well as educating ourselves through our own generational linkages and experiences.

Tell us about your organization.

The Black Lesbian Archives idea started after spending some time in Williamsburg, VA then moving to Chicago, IL. The first exhibit was created after attending an exhibit about Lesbian herstory in Chicago of the 60s, 70s & 80s. I noticed there was a lack of Black Lesbians in the exhibit and everything truly sparked from there. The first exhibit was held at Affinity Community Services in June of 2018 through July and the rest is herstory!

(photo by Law91Media)

Describe your collections.

The Black Lesbian Archives collections I would describe them as having a whole lot of personality! So raw, so honest. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Mostly physical but eventually transferring into digital so we can make them available globally in a way that’s more accessible to all.

At the DC LGBT Center for the Black Lesbian Archives Pre-Kick Tour Stop (photo by Krü Maekdo).

Issue of Sinister Wisdom being held, title at top, illustration of an old Black Woman, sub title "special issue: on being old & age"

This was at the William Way LGBT Center in Philly in their archival vault (photo by Maria).

What are some challenges unique to your collections?

One of the challenges is figuring out an innovative way to preserve archives without having the largest set of funds/backing and to keep it going. The more I learn about archival preservation, the more I understand there’s so much you wouldn’t expect that goes into the backend of archival preservation. We gonna make it work for us though.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of this project is the collaborative effort. Hearing and learning the ways in which we archive. Also the storytelling aspect of archiving which is my favorite! We have created a whole community about how we are growing and preserving the stories of the past, present and future interweaves our destines.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With the new year comes a new opportunity to participate in the Black Lesbian Archives Grassroots 2020 tour. The Black Lesbian Archives Grassroots 2020 was created to bring awareness, educate, preserve and bridge generational gaps within our communities so in turn, we can understand ourselves and the communities beyond us.

Krü Maekdo sitting on steps with tee that says "Black Lesbian Archives Grassroots 2020 Tour"

Photo o Krü Maekdo. Promo for the Black Lesbian Archives Grassroots 2020 Tour (courtesy of Krü Maekdo).

For more information check out blacklesbianarchives.wixsite.com/info/grassroots-tour and email: blacklesbianarchives@gmail.com or call 469-430-8568. Leave a voicemail and we’ll get back.

Stay tuned for future posts in the “There’s an Archivist for That!” series, featuring stories on archivists working in places you might not expect. If you know of an archivist who fits this description or are yourself an archivist who fits this description, the editors would love to hear from you—share in the comments below or contact archivesaware@archivists.org to be interviewed for ArchivesAWARE!

There’s an Archivist for That! Interview with Christine “LadyBee” Kristen, Burning Man’s Archivist, Art Collection Curator and Photo Gallery Editor

December 18, 2019December 18, 20194 Comments

Photo of Christine "LadyBeen" Kristen standing outside on asphalt with tall grass in the background.

Christine “LadyBee” Kristen.

This is the newest post in our There’s an Archivist for That! series, which features examples of archivists working in places you might not expect. COPA member Rachel Seale, Outreach Archivist at Iowa State University, brings you an interview with Christine “LadyBee” Kristen, Burning Man’s Archivist, Art Collection Curator, and Photo Gallery Editor.

Christine Kristen (a.k.a LadyBee) is Burning Man’s Archivist, Art Collection Curator and Photo Gallery editor. She was Burning Man’s art curator from 1999 to 2008, where she dealt with all things visual and aesthetic, including managing the art and the art grant program, photo-editing the Image Gallery, writing art content for the Burning Man website, working with the ARTery, managing the archives, and lecturing and writing about the art of Burning Man. She is the co-author of “The Jewelry of Burning Man,” with Karen Christians and George Post, and the curator of the exhibition “PlayaMade: Jewelry of Burning Man,” which debuted at the Fuller Craft Museum near Boston in 2017. It opens at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Seattle in January 2020. She has an MFA in sculpture from the Art Institute of Chicago.

How did you get your gig?

I was an art-world dropout who left New York City in the early 90s, disgusted with the art world I experienced there; I stumbled upon Burning Man in 1995 and was instantly at home, attracted to the intelligent, creative outsiders who were doing radical creative acts in the Black Rock Desert. As I had an art background (MFA Sculpture, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) I was hired by Larry Harvey in 1999 to run the new art grant program; for ten years I did that as well as several archival tasks, like starting our Material Culture archives and our (at the time) physical archive of press articles, books, and magazines.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’m not trained as an archivist; I developed my skills by doing, in an environment that encouraged outside-the-box thinking. I left in 2008 to work for an arts startup which ran out of funding, and did some independent curating but realized that I only wanted to work for Burning Man, so I returned in 2012 as the art collection curator and archivist.

Tell us about your organization.

That’s a BIG task; Burning Man is complex and layered; basically it’s a temporary community in the Black Rock Desert that lasts for eight days each year — a city of 80,000 people characterized by art, creativity, generosity, gifting, and radical inclusion. This year we had over 400 art installations, scattered across a flat, barren desert. We have an airport, medical services, a DMV (our Department of Mutant Vehicles), several radio stations, two newspapers, a center cafe and performance space, ice sales, and lots of portable toilets. We do not have stages, hire bands, or put on entertainment; our community brings its hundreds of interactive theme camps, costumes, performance, and art. As Larry Harvey, our founder, said, “We create the hive, the participants bring the honey.” But it doesn’t end there; we are actively engaged in bringing art from the desert to cities; in addition to our art grant program for work on the playa, the prehistoric lake bed where Burning Man takes place, we fund temporary interactive art all over the world via our Global Arts Grants. We now have Regional groups in 35 countries all over the world who put on their own versions of Burning Man, with our guidance; there are over 100 such events annually. Within the Burning Man Project are two groups that do good in the world year round: Burners Without Borders, a disaster relief organization that helps out wherever they’re needed, and began when Hurricane Katrina struck during Burning Man 2005; and Black Rock Labs, which originally gave free or low-cost solar panels to schools within the desert event site area.

View of office space, lots of objects on desks and art on the walls and pillars.

Communications and Fundraising departments.

View of office space, plants and people sitting atdesks.

Burning Man world headquarters, San Francisco.

Presentation occuring with presenter dressed up as a Furry, and a large caterpillar sitting on a mushroom behind them. Audience sitting in chairs with backs to camera.

A staff meeting chaired by a Furry, with Emma Hardy’s Caterpillar from the Man Base in 2005 on the left, a Pepe Ozan banner on the right.

Burning Man is guided by our Ten Principles:

Radical Inclusion
Gifting
Decommodification
Radical Self-Reliance
Communal Effort
Civic Responsibility
Leave No Trace
Participation
Immediacy

They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception. We are a global community of creative souls, doers, makers, gifters, artists and free thinkers.

Describe your collections.

I manage five archives; our press archive is now created digitally via the Meltwater Feed, a service to which we subscribe. Each week I archive domestic and international press, YouTube videos and TV and radio spots; all of these files are stored digitally. We also archive a few hard copies of magazines when it’s beneficial to do so. The second archive I manage is our library; Burning Man has allowed me to release my inner librarian! There are now 175 books in our library; these are books entirely about Burning Man, or with significant content about us. Our library also contains many magazines which have featured us, including National Geographic, Raw Vision, Wired, Leonardo Journal, Time, Architectural Review, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, Forbes and Art Forum.

Shelves, that look like cubbies, with books.

Burning Man Library.

The third archive is our Internal Print Production collection, which I started in 1999; it includes the materials we hand out to participants on arrival in Black Rock City — a city map, our What Where When, a guide to all playa events; an art map, and some logistical information. Also in this archive are the dozen stickers we produce each year, based on a design contest that participants enter; postcards/posters for our local events; tickets; programs from our annual fundraising events; and years of annual journals which are no longer produced.

Room filled with flat map cases, cabinets, and boxes. On the wall sign says "Burning Man Museum".

The Archive Room at HQ flat files of photographs, posters and city plans , file cabinets on the left contain some of our press archives.

The Material Culture Archives.

The fourth archive is our collection of photographs and videos; we have flat files full of photographic prints back to our first year, 1986, and a large collection of digital files. Our Documentation Team is given assignments and covers all aspects of the event and related events; these are submitted digitally. We have VHS tapes from the earlier years, which have been digitized, and many DVDs of more recent videos; all of these have been digitized and archived.

The fifth archive is our Regional Archive, which contains printed materials from the 100+ events that occur worldwide including Afrika Burn in South Africa, Mid-Burn in Israel, KiwiBurn in New Zealand, Tropical Burn in Brazil, and the original regional burn, Burning Flipside, in Austin, Texas. They produce an event map and guide, like Burning Man, and also stickers, buttons, t-shirts and other memorabilia.

A wall of images from the 1990s, depicting history of Burning Man. Includes magazine covers and photographs.

The History Wall – images from the 1990s.

Large painting by JennyBIrd Alcantara , small painting, center, by Josh Coffy, organ and sheet music from the Church Trap by Rebekkah Waites, 2013

Large painting (left) by JennyBIrd Alcantara , small painting (center), by Josh Coffy, organ and sheet music from the Church Trap by Rebekkah Waites (art installation to the right), 2013.

What are some challenges unique to your collections?

Much of Burning Man is ephemeral and experiential, living on in participants’ memories, and in videos and photographs. Some of the art installations are burned at the event, never to be seen again. We are fortunate in that the Nevada Museum of Art maintains an archive donated by one of our founders; they created a historical exhibit that was included in the Smithsonian’s wildly successful show, No Spectators, which traveled to the Cincinnati Museum of Art, where it broke all previous attendance records, and is now at the Oakland Museum of California. Artists were asked to create work for the exhibit, which also features films, photographs, jewelry, costumes and an outdoor Temple.

What is the favorite part of your job?

My favorite task is curating and producing art for our World Headquarters (HQ) in San Francisco. Each year, post-event, I identify the best photos of the most interesting art, and a local burner and muralist prints and mounts them for us. I also seek artifacts from art installations, posters and items from our theme camps, and gift items from the event. I design the displays at HQ, and hang the art. I co-wrote the book, Jewelry of Burning Man, and I have a travelling exhibit, Playa Made: Jewelry of Burning Man, which I guest curated for the Fuller Craft Museum near Boston, and which will open at the Bellevue Art Museum near Seattle, this January. Each year I create a display at HQ of the jewelry I collect on playa; I have a maker group of over 90 people, and we meet each year at the event. My jewelry collection goes back to 1995. My style of display is far from minimal; I like to cover every available space with the art and objects from our madly creative community.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All photographs in this post courtesy of LadyBee.

Houston Archives Bazaar 2019

December 10, 2019December 4, 20191 Comment

Vince Lee

This post was authored by guest contributor Vince Lee, Archivist at the University of Houston, and current member of SAA’s Committee on Public Awareness (COPA).

The second biennial Houston Archives Bazaar was hosted at the White Oak Music Hall on November 14, 2019. Over 22 organizations representing local, regional, and state institutions participated in the Bazaar:

Sandwich sign with graphic on top three quarters of sign than text below that says "It's Free! Sunday, Nov. 17, 201- - 10 a.m. – 2.pm. Houston Archives Bazaar"

Houston Archives Bazaar Poster directing visitors to the event (Photo Courtesy of Vince Lee)

Exterior view of building on street corner, partial text of building name shown.

White Oak Music Hall-site of the Houston Archives Bazaar (Photo courtesy of Vince Lee)

Visitors and attendees to the Bazaar were greeted at the door where they would sign in, fill out a name tag, and get their passports from the registration table. From there visitors were encouraged to visit as many tables within the Bazaar and take part in activities. They would present their passports at each table where they would be stamped. At the end of touring the Bazaar visitors take their stamped passports to get free swag such as a Houston Archives Bazaar (HAB) tote bags, pencils, pins, and other ephemera. No self respecting visitor or archivist attending a Bazaar would want to leave empty handed, and as archivists we all love free stuff!

Person with hair in bun with glasses standing behind table with purple table cloth with name tags, folders, booklets, and next to sign that says "Claim Prizes & HAB Swag Here!" Adjacent table with purple table cloth and 4 people standing behind it on right.

Registration Table for the Houston Archives Bazaar (photo courtesy of Vince Lee)

What sorts of visitors can you expect to find at an Archives Bazaar? From my own personal experience of visitors at our table (University of Houston Special Collections), I ran across genealogists looking for additional resources to track down family history, students at area colleges and universities looking for potential research projects, high school teachers and administrators seeking potential topics and primary source materials for research for their students as well as seeking potential collaborations with area repositories for field trips and tours. There were heavy users of archives such as researchers looking for news-clippings and audio-visual clips to bolster their research, advocates of archives from the Houston community such as artists, historians, and donors looking to find a home for their materials.

In short there were a wide variety of folks that came out to visit the Houston Archives Bazaar for a variety of reasons and interests. The Houston Archives Bazaar truly was a gathering place of activity that reflected the different constituencies that archives and archivists serve each and every day. As if that wasn’t enough it was a free event and open to the public!

Display materials representing the various collecting areas of the University of Houston Libraries-Special Collection (Photo Courtesy of Vince Lee)

In addition to the tables which showcased collection materials of each of the participating repositories, attendees had an opportunity to contribute to a time capsule-they could write a short note or letter to themselves in the future, deposit an item or artifact, and doodle or draw something to someone in the future. There was also an oral history booth that did short 15-minute recordings for attendees wishing to contribute their memories and stories of Houston — whether it was growing up in Houston, going to school here, or a memory of a neighborhood or area and how Houston has changed.

People standing around sign that says "Oral History Storytelling" and table with clipboards on it.

Oral History Storytelling Booth (Photo courtesy of Vince Lee)

Close up of brown box with sticky note with "Time Capsule" written on it, sitting on table with purple table cloth.

Time Capsule for deposited materials (Photo courtesy of Vince Lee)

Two people sitting behind table with purple table cloth with standing sign that says "Houston Time Capsule" standing to the left, person in front of table sitting and engaging.

Houston Time Capsule Booth (Photo Courtesy of Vince Lee)

The 2019 Houston Archives Bazaar for me represented a unique opportunity in which archives and archivists come together not only in engaging with the public with our material holdings and explain what we do as archivists, but it is also an opportunity to take stock of the existing relationships we have with one another as institutions and fellow archivists, not to mention the potential new relationships forged through the community we serve. That’s something we all can be thankful for this holiday season.

Have some interesting archival or special collections outreach event or highlights you’d like us to share? Email us at archivesaware@archivists.org !

Responses & Retrospectives: Not Just Your Problem: Metadata Shame, Imposter Syndrome, and Archivists by Jodi Allison-Bunnell,

December 3, 2019October 24, 20194 Comments

Jodi Allison-Bunnell (courtesy of Jodi Allison-Bunnell).

This is the latest post in our series Responses and Retrospectives, which features archivists’ personal responses and perspectives concerning current or historical events/subjects with significant implications for the archives profession. Interested in contributing to Responses and Retrospectives? Please email the editor at archivesaware@archivists.org with your ideas!

It usually happens during the tour of the stacks: As we stand among the grey boxes, in a dark corner, a colleague will lean toward me and confess, sotto voce, that their metadata—accession records, finding aids, donor records, or digital collections—is really a mess. Their eyes are downcast with shame at the gap between the standards that they know and what they actually have. They are certain that they are the only individual or institution with this problem.

But what I know—and am always truly delighted to tell them—is that they are not at all alone. Twenty-three years of work in large and small institutions, a regional consortium, and as a consultant has shown me that everyone has ugly metadata. Everyone carries shame about it. And it doesn’t need to be that way.

Last spring, at the annual meeting of Northwest Archivists in Bozeman, Montana, I co-presented a panel with fellow consultants Rachael Woody and Maija Andersen to predict the future of archives in 2020 (http://northwestarchivists.org/resources/Documents/NWA%202019%20Program.pdf). During that panel, we discussed a number of important themes, including salaries in the archival profession (Rachael’s passion!) and the continued certainty of constrained resources. I used the framework of “The good, the bad, and the ugly” to predict that a year from now, your metadata will still be ugly. And there’s no shame in that.

Metadata shame is part of a larger phenomenon: imposter syndrome. First identified in 1978 by Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Dr. Suzanne A. Imes, it’s when an individual believes they have insufficient skills, intellect, and experience for a given task or environment, usually professional, despite objective evidence to the contrary. (Clance, Pauline R.; Imes, Suzanne A. (Fall 1978). “The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention” (PDF). Psychotherapy Theory, Research and Practice. 15 (3): 241–247). Although Clance and Imes’ initial paper was focused on high-achieving women, the term has since been applied to all genders of highly intelligent, qualified, and achieving people who suffer this crushing self-doubt.

The Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale, a non-diagnostic self-assessment, asks a respondent to indicate degree of agreement or disagreement with statements that include: “I can give the impression that I’m more competent than I really am,” “I’m afraid people important to me may find out that I’m not as capable as they think I am,” “I rarely do a project or task as well as I’d like to do it,” and “Sometimes I’m afraid others will discover how much knowledge or ability I really lack.” (https://paulineroseclance.com/pdf/IPTestandscoring.pdf, accessed 2019 Oct 11. From The Impostor Phenomenon: When Success Makes You Feel Like A Fake (pp. 20-22), by P.R. Clance, 1985, Toronto: Bantam Books. Copyright 1985 by Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP.)

Clearly, there are many archivists who would agree with many of those statements. At the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists last August, Session 701, “My Comeback Story: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in the Archives Profession” drew hundreds of attendees that overfilled the largest room in the conference facility. The presenters shared their stories of struggling with imposter syndrome and how they have transformed that experience into positive outcomes. Some of their experiences were related to race, education, or the specific dynamics of their institution. But Drew Davis of the College of American Pathologists gave examples that are universal: We have so much to do and so much to know, and one response to that reality is shame. We compare ourself to other professionals and are certain that they are more successful. Davis ultimately found that he is naturally competitive. Instead of fighting that tendency, he turns his comparison with others into an opportunity to be inspired, motivated—and successful

His response is the map for all of us: rather than letting shame overcome us, we can put that energy toward action. When I was building a Digital Public Library of America hub at the Orbis Cascade Alliance, we confronted the challenge of half a million digital object records that had been created before the consortium had Dublin Core best practices. A few core fields needed remediation before the content could be aggregated efficiently at the regional and national level. As part of a series of workshops I developed with consultant Anneliese Dehner and Julia Simic (Assistant Head, Digital Scholarship Services, University of Oregon), we inserted humor and cultivated the concert of the “metadata shame-free zone.” We wanted to create an atmosphere that inspired action, bolstered skills, and created clear priorities for metadata cleanup. And we delivered the results we needed: 100,000 digital objects cleaned up, aggregated, and ready for DPLA.

So let’s come out of that dark corner of the stacks, openly reveal our challenges to colleagues, and support one another in developing solutions. Let’s share our comeback stories to make the profession better for all of us. No more metadata shame. And no more imposters.

This post was written by Jodi Allison-Bunnell. Jodi Allison-Bunnell has twenty-three years of experience leading and participating in collaborations to increase access to unique content in archives, libraries, and museums by using shared systems and standards. She is the owner and principal consultant at AB Consulting (http://consulting.allison-bunnell.net). She was the program manager for Unique and Local Content at the Orbis Cascade Alliance until 2018; prior positions include project manager for Northwest Digital Archives and archivist at the University of Montana. She holds an MA and an MLS from University of Maryland at College Park and a BA summa cum laude from Whitman College.

The opinions and assertions stated within this piece are the author’s alone, and do not represent the official stance of the Society of American Archivists. COPA publishes response posts with the sole aim of providing additional perspectives, context, and information on current events and subjects that directly impact archives and archivists.

Responses & Retrospectives: “maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song” Rosemary K.J. Davis on Student Loan Debt and Its Impact on the Archival Profession

November 12, 2019October 18, 20192 Comments

black-and-white head shot of Rosemary K.J. Davis.

Rosemary K.J. Davis (courtesy of Rosemary K.J. Davis).

This text has been lightly adapted from its original form, which was presented at the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting in Austin, TX on August 14, 2019.

maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song

I owe almost $160,000 in student loans. This number is terrifying to me. I hate to say it out loud or even see all those digits lined up on the page. The very fact of it, the way it feels so inevitable yet so completely avoidable. And it’s both. Truly.

There is little comfort in knowing that I am not alone in having this complex, conflicted element in my life. It’s an undercurrent for so many of us, a constant little…catch that is triggered by looking at your bank account, by searching for a new job, for paying some bills but not others, by taking on extra work, by not doing things like: having kids, buying a house, traveling, having adequate health insurance.

Low pay and the notion of a thriving wage are vital topics of conversation within the archives field, certainly, but for me, and maybe for many others, compensation cannot be discussed without an open acknowledgement of debt, of the financial and emotional weights carried as we try to make space for ourselves in this profession.

I took out my first student loan when I was eighteen because my divorced mom made just enough money that Northwestern University’s financial aid office assumed she magically had thousands and thousands of dollars in reserve to pay for my tuition and housing. The university assumed that those imaginary funds, along with non-existent child support from my dad, would certainly be enough to keep me afloat and pay the bills–I can assure you this was not the case.

I took out student loans every semester because the choice between staying in Chicago and going back to East Texas didn’t feel like a choice at that point in my life.

I had to make my first student loan payment six months after I dropped out of Northwestern halfway through my third year. There have been deferments and tearful calls to loan servicers begging for adjustments, but always, eventually, payments. Relentless. I know I am not alone in feeling the fear of this weird emotional and financial low-hanging cloud that dulls joy and takes away possibilities.

When I decided to go to library school, the fatalism of already being six figures deep in unrepayable debt was almost liberating. Because, you know, at that point: fuck it.

I worked full-time and took classes at Pratt during the evening. At one point, I did a practicum at the Fales Library at NYU and while the experience I gained there was invaluable both practically and in the form of a resume line, it was also unpaid. Well, I wasn’t paid. But I did use student loan money to pay for tuition in order to get credit for my unpaid internship.

That’s certainly a song that many of us know how to sing. Hello, to the choir of my colleagues. I can hear you.

I don’t really have a concrete number for how much debt I took on in order to get through my MSLIS degree, but it was most likely about $36,000, which is essentially the entire bill for grad school. Salary from my full-time office job paid for my rent, for my food. I’m aware of the immense amount of privilege it takes in order to just…decide I’m taking on this additional debt. The way that I just got to assume “I’ll figure it out somehow”–it’s particular brand of carelessness that so many people cannot emotionally, professionally, or financially afford to exercise. But when you are sunken so deep into the unreality of a number this big, a few more thousand can feel like pocket change. It can feel like both a salvation and like a curse you cast upon yourself.

And obviously, the cost of dealing with this debt isn’t just financial. It’s depression. Guilt. Fear. Disenfranchisement. These are not uncommon states of being for many people in our profession. A recent contingent employment survey done by the New England Archivists shows that a majority of us are taking on significant amounts of debt in order to finance a career in a profession that is chronically underfunded across the board and is, in many cases, still under the impression that unpaid internships that provide “good experience” are good enough, that job postings without salary information are just “an institutional prerogative” instead of an antiquated, bullshit form of gatekeeping that keeps applicant pools remarkably undiverse.

The Issues and Advocacy Section of SAA recently completed a temporary labor survey that reveals some pretty unsurprising information: precarious, underpaid, unsupported labor not only actively drives people away from this profession, but it also creates a cross-section of archivists who are constantly searching for work, endlessly balancing multiple jobs in order to stay afloat, and who feel like they’ve taken on a mountain of debt for a shot at doing work they care about in conditions that deny them stability, progress, and joy.

After five years of jobs with expiration dates and less than stellar salaries, I am now paid well and in a permanent position. I’m thankful for that, certainly, but also: about 14% of the money I make every year goes directly to student loan payments. I am now almost two decades into making payments on my student loans and the principal amount has absolutely never decreased once. I doubt it ever will. Every year, my monthly payment amount goes up, instead of down–it’s pegged to my income (and to the income of my partner, who has zero debt but has become responsible for mine because we are in love and legally bound). I got word a couple of days ago that my promotion portfolio was accepted. Salary increases, like the one I will get with this promotion, are lovely, but usually feel a bit more grayscale than technicolor. I know that the increased amount siphoned away toward loan payments will absorb most of the small gains I make.

I am so lucky right now. I can pay my bills. I have financial and emotional support from a wonderful partner. I don’t have dependents who require assistance. I did, finally, buy a house. I have debt beyond my student loans, but I can usually handle it.

Still.

Uncertainty and anxiety don’t slip away so easily. They become hardwired in a way that can feel impossible to dismantle. And when you’re surrounded by waves of professionals doing awesome work but who are struggling with a heaviness I can so well recognize, who are coming up against the same walls over and over again, who are facing limitations I can’t begin to imagine shouldering, you have to realize that reaching back to give a hand up is good but it’s certainly not enough.

There has to be a systemic examination of how our profession values the labor being done. This examination must necessarily be linked to an acknowledgement of the full spectrum of experiences carried by the individuals who perform it. That includes debt, family obligations, health, and a raft of other needs that shape who we are and how we work.

None of this is news, but it is maybe my own little personal call to action. My nudge to examine your working conditions and those of the people supported by the work you do. My request that we make our labor more valued through visibility. My hope that together we can lift the tide a bit for all.

Let’s find some new songs to sing together.

This post was written by Rosemary K. J. Davis. Davis is the Accessioning Archivist for the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. She received her MSLIS + Archives certificate from Pratt Institute. Currently, she serves as Vice-chair for SAA’s Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct, as a member of the Steering Committee for SAA’s Women Archivists Section, as Co-chair for the New England Archivists’ Inclusion and Diversity Committee, and as Managing Editor for the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies.

There’s An Archivist For That! Interview with Jacqueline Seargeant, Global Archive Manager, John Dewar & Sons Ltd

November 5, 2019November 4, 2019Leave a comment

This is the latest post in our There’s an Archivist for That! series, which features examples of archivists working in places you might not expect. In this entry, Committee on Public Awareness (COPA) member Rachel Seale brings you an interview with Jacqueline Seargeant, Global Archive Manager, John Dewar & Sons Ltd.

Jacqui Seargeant in the Scotch whisky archive. Photograph courtesy of Bacardi.

Jacqui graduated from Glasgow University with a Master of Arts in History in 1994, followed by a postgraduate Master’s degree in Archive Administration from the University of Liverpool. Her earliest archive work included cataloguing and managing collections at Herriot-Watt University, the Scottish Brewing Archive, and Allied Distillers.

Jacqui started working for John Dewar & Sons in 1999 as the Company Archivist. Her role has developed substantially since then and today Jacqui is the Global Heritage Manager for all historical collections owned by the Bacardi company, including unique business archives, family archives, museum and art collections.

Over the years she’s been instrumental in creating and developing many of the heritage elements for the Scotch Whisky brands, including the heritage exhibitions at the Home of DEWAR’S based at Aberfeldy Distillery. Other projects have included the development of the heritage elements of various brand visual identities, marketing initiatives, product packaging and new product development as well as historical brand education. It’s Jacqui’s meticulous curation of our extensive archives that allow Dewar’s to lay claim to being the World’s Most Awarded Blended Scotch.

How did you get your gig?

I came to the company on a one-year contract in 1999, to help them create a heritage exhibition at the newly created DEWAR’S brand home visitor center at Aberfeldy in Scotland. 20 years later I’m still with the company and the role has developed gradually from Dewar’s Archivist to the Global Archive Manager for all brands with archives. I joined the year after the Bacardi company acquired DEWAR’S Blended Scotch Whisky and with it an amazing business archive collection. I had already worked at the Scottish Brewing Archive and for Allied Distillers, so I understood the business and record types and was able to demonstrate the power of the collection for their business. I had, however, never managed my own archive collection, I had always been part of an archive team, so that was exciting for me and my career development. Within a very short time I was providing images to revamp office spaces, getting involved in the brand education program, helping to defend legal claims and providing heritage inspired ideas for new product developments. It was a steep learning curve for me and a bold move, but my previous work in the drinks industry gave me a foundation that allowed me to jump right in.

Bacardi prohibition era postcard email. Courtesy of the Bacardi Archive.

Tell us about your organization

Bacardi is the largest privately held spirits company in the world. What is most remarkable to me is that it remains a family-owned company after seven generations. The company was founded more than 157 years ago in Santiago de Cuba and has incredible stories made for the movies! Our company founder, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, revolutionized rum making with the creation of the first light-bodied rum which transformed the rum industry. Since those early days the company has grown massively to cover more than 20 production sites across the globe. Today the Company owns more than 200 brands and labels, including the core heritage brands of BACARDÍ rum, DEWAR’S blended Scotch whisky, MARTINI vermouths and sparkling wines, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, BARON OTARD cognac and NOILLY PRAT vermouth. Some of our brands, like BÉNÉDICTINE, have a 500+ year old history – we have a lot of heritage to preserve!

Describe your collections

We have amazing historical resources within our Company, including business archives, brand advertising materials and objects, bottles full of spirits and actual museum collections. More than fifteen of our brands have a long history, and we have four main collections in five different countries – Bermuda, the USA, the UK, France and Italy. In total, we care for more than 3000 linear meters (3km) of archives which, if stacked up, is thirty two times the height of the Statue of Liberty. The archive collections are fundamental to our brand identities and brand developments. We are not just about preserving the past, we are about building the future by inspiring brand teams, mixologists and others who help craft new legacy cocktails and new campaigns.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Bacardi Archive is at our north American Regional Headquarters in Coral Gables, FL. Bacardi was founded in Cuba in 1862, but on Oct 14^th 1960 the Company’s Cuban assets were illegally confiscated by revolutionary government forces. As you would imagine that has affected what is in the collection, although the business did have a geographical reach beyond Cuba by that date including plants or offices in Spain, Mexico, the USA and Puerto Rico. The Bacardi Archive was created just over 20 years ago in Miami by a family member, passionate about preserving the story. Over the years, the collection has grown from a tiny shoebox of slides, to a room of more than 400 meters of shelving. It includes over 30,000 catalogued assets dating back to the 1850s, such as the early documents of the founding of the company, medals awarded since the 1870s, the company’s earliest advertising campaign from the 1890s, photographs of distilleries and family members, trademarks and promotional items as well as many rum bottles, including one from the pre-Prohibition Era.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The DEWAR’S collection is housed in Scotland where our whiskies are made. Here you will find one of the best advertising archives of any brand, including a copy of the first cinematic advert for a drinks products. The ad was made in 1897 and was the brainchild of one of the Company’s founders, Thomas Dewar, who was an early pioneer of new advertising techniques. You can see his influence in our many old adverts and promotional objects including numerous old ceramic flagons made by Royal Doulton which would have originally held the company’s whisky. We even have an 1897 patent in the archive for branding the tires of bicycles and cart wheels so they left your brand name in the dirt and mud of the street. Essentially if something could be branded, Thomas Dewar probably branded it.

View of the Martini Museum of Wine courtesy of the Martini Archive.

In addition to our many business archives, we also own two incredible museum collections. The Martini & Rossi collection, which is located near Turin in Italy, includes the Martini Museum of Wine, which has 16 rooms of artefacts dating from the 7^th Century BC onwards, relating to the production and enjoyment of wine. Our French brands archives in the north of France include the brands of NOILLY PRAT vermouth, BARON OTARD cognac and BÉNÉDICTINE liqueur. The Bénédictine collection incorporates a museum collection of religious antiquities, relating to the origins of the liqueur’s recipe and the Bénédictine order.

I love the fact that every item and object tells a story which relates to not just our own company and business, but also to local, national and international history and culture. For example, during the time of 1920s prohibition in the USA, Bacardi produced postcards in Cuba which featured a dry America and ‘wet’ Cuba, with a caricature of Uncle Sam having a cocktail in Cuba. Alcohol advertising was banned in the USA at this time, but American visitors to Cuba would be given these postcards for free, and send them back to friends in the USA and so they found their way in anyway and encouraged people to come and try BACARDÍ rum in Cuba!

What are some challenges unique to your collections?

As a spirits company we of course want to preserve and showcase old bottles and storing them has some fairly unique challenges. There can be a lot of evaporation from old corked bottles, so the atmosphere in the bottle archive can be quite humid, and caps may get moldy. For that reason (and due to the flammable nature of the liquid) we do attempt to keep the bottle collection separate from the paper collections, and we keep a close eye on evaporation and mold development. Some people would argue that the liquid could be thrown away, but that would significantly decrease the value of the collection, and a great deal of it should still be drinkable. Keeping the full bottles also allows us to potentially analyze the contents of blends of the past in our laboratories, in cases where the recipes no longer survive.

Products like BACARDÍ & cola kept in a can will eventually leak as the cola is quite acidic and will work its way through the metal, so we need to remember to empty those before archiving (we learned this the hard way!). As if the bottles weren’t tricky enough, we also have some real bats in the archive, obviously long dead and preserved, but none-the-less challenging to keep in good condition! The bat has been the brand icon for BACARDÍ since the early days of the Company, when the founder’s wife discovered fruit bats nesting in the roof of the original distillery. According to Cuban and Spanish culture, they are a symbol of health, good fortune and family unity and the fruit bat has been a part of the Company logo ever since. The rum became known as ‘El Ron del Murcielago’ or The Rum of the Bat. More than 150 years later, the bat remains an icon and such a recognized brand symbol.

What is the favorite part of your job?

Hands on archive work, without a doubt – cataloguing, organizing, making order out of chaos and along the way discovering something new about our history. The best moments are when you uncover something new that you know is going to help your business – those moments are great. While researching one of the DEWAR’S founders, Thomas Dewar, I accidentally found a newspaper article from 1905 in which he claimed to be the first person to create the Highball cocktail during his first trip to New York in the 1890s. My further research revealed that the company had trademarked the words ‘high ball’ a few years later. We are now using this story as a major sales and marketing approach which is helping drive the popularity of the DEWAR’S Highball cocktail in Japan and other markets. It doesn’t get any better than that, feeling like you are keeping the history alive, at the same time as contributing to the current and future business.

The new Martini Archive with Anna Scudellari, our Archivist courtesy of the Martini Archive.

I think that example also reflects how we are a live part of the business, contributing to our brands’ successes and identities, as well as driving company culture. A series of oral history interviews with retired family members inspired our company’s effort to reignite our culture with the 3 Fs – Fearless, Family, Founders. These words simply came out of what the people were saying to our interviewer when talking about their time working for the company, it was a very clear and natural direction and links heavily into our heritage. Our contributions can therefore be unexpected and pivotal and we are lucky enough to work in a company where people listen to our ideas and discoveries because they understand the power of our heritage and how it contributes to who we are today.

Finally, I have to say that my role is especially privileged because as the Global Archive Manager I periodically have to visit our archives all over the world, including our brand homes and visitor centers which have heritage exhibitions, to oversee physical projects and develop exhibitions. The brand homes are where we enable the public to experience our brands, products and rich histories, usually in the historical place or ‘home’ where they are made. For example I was recently at Casa MARTINI, our brand home for the MARTINI brand to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the archive and the inauguration of our new archive storage there, with the Mayor of Turin attending our special reception. This is one of my favorite places, where you can enjoy a MARTINI Bianco and soda with a twist of lime (well that’s my favorite!!) in the Terrazza MARTINI, explore the origins and development of the beautiful MARTINI brand and even experience the Museum of wine with ancient Roman amphora and beautifully carved centuries old wine presses. For someone who loves history, this job ticks every box!

#AskAnArchivist Day 2019: the Twitter Takeover

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019Leave a comment

This year, the Committee on Public Awareness (COPA) took over Society of American Archivist’s (SAA) Twitter for #AskAnArchivist Day on Wednesday, October 2nd. Today’s post summarizes COPA members’ experiences taking over SAA’s Twitter (@archivists.org) for the day.

Rachael Woody, Consultant & Owner of Rachael Cristine Consulting LLC

I really enjoyed the Twitter takeover. I saw it as an opportunity to help boost lower-visibility archives and projects, and to raise awareness of SAA resources that may be of use to membership. I was the last shift for the takeover and being on the west coast many of the larger institutions had already ended their participation. Using the SAA Twitter account to engage during the day until 5pm Pacific allowed us to help boost or answer posts from our Pacific coast colleagues. By utilizing COPA members across the country we were able to provide 12-hours of coverage for the day and I’m really proud we were able to participate and contribute for that length of time!

TRUTH. As archivists we have to frequently talk about our work, our value, our collections' value. We cannot take it for granted that *we* know it's important. A good portion of our time should be focused on articulating that value proposition. https://t.co/43UUQEug0W

— Soc Amer Archivists (@archivists_org) October 2, 2019

Lynn Cowles, Assistant Archivist and Assistant Professor, Nicholls State University

I participated in SAA’s #AskAnArchivist Day for the first time this year. It was a great experience, although I only asked one question and didn’t really get asked any. My question:

Since I am a new archivist, I would like to ask experienced archivists what you tips you would offer to new archivists at all types of institutions (academic, museum, genealogy library, special library) #AskAnArchivist

— Soc Amer Archivists (@archivists_org) October 2, 2019

I got some excellent answers and I really appreciate the extended community that events like this highlight. Twitter is a fantastic tool for outreach!

Nick Pavlik, Curator of Manuscripts/Coordinator of Strategic Partnerships, Bowling Green State University

From the vantage of SAA’s Twitter account, I really enjoyed seeing the rather staggering extent of the profession’s participation in #AskAnArchivist Day. It was impossible to keep up with all the notifications on the SAA account, but since that was an indicator of all the activity going on around the #AskAnArchivist hashtag, that was a good thing! There were some wonderfully creative and engaging tweets from archivists and repositories that sparked substantial threads filled with insightful or simply hilarious responses, and I was really pleased to see the dedication to public outreach that was on display in our profession. In that regard, I would say this year’s #AskAnArchivist Day was another resounding success.

At the same time, it’s no secret that generating actual engagement and participation in #AskAnArchivist Day from the general public has always been a challenge, and that seemed to be the case again this year – most tweets that I saw during my time slot seemed to come from within the field. I certainly did see some public engagement, which was very gratifying – and I really appreciated seeing Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf getting involved! – but generating more participation from those outside the archival profession remains a significant hurdle that I hope we can continually break down over time.

Nick’s Favorite Tweets of the Day

https://twitter.com/ref_archivist/status/1179441795048071168

What is an archivist rite of passage? #AskAnArchivist

— Jessica Eichlin (@jaeichlin) October 2, 2019

Here's my one #askanarchivist tweet for the day: a lot of archives work is work done on the computer, I'm not in a box wearing white gloves (ever?) all day

— Helen Kim (@hlnkim) October 2, 2019

Vince Lee, Archivist, University of Houston

As a member and volunteer of COPA’s annual #AskAnArchivist Day event, I always look forward to creating and seeing others memes created leading up to the big day. Having binge watched Netflix’s “Stranger Things” series, I couldn’t wait to find the perfect meme to use. Turns out this year’s #AskAnArchivist Day would have bit of a different twist. In conjunction with participating and using our own Twitter handles, COPA members would do a scheduled “takeover” of SAA’s twitter handle answering, retweeting, liking, and in some cases asking questions throughout the day.

EFvWdVBWoAETmGW

During the 11 hour takeover, from 8am-7pm EST, my fellow colleagues were on hand to take care and facilitate your #AskAnArchivist needs. To be honest, I really didn’t know how it would turn out or what to expect when I signed up (gulp). Turns out I really had nothing to worry about. It was one of the fastest and most pleasurable work hours I ever spent. There is a certain cadence and rhythm when working and tweeting with Twitter. Obviously, there is the word limits when posting or responding, then there is monitoring of the streams of incoming tweets, from fellow archivists and institutions that were contributing, and then there were the likes and retweets of posts.

What was eye opening to me is the power and reach of using SAA’s twitter handle. I wanted to share the love and exposure to other respositories, in this case the University of Manitoba Archive. By merely liking and retweeting their post I was able to spotlight their institution and question to a wider audience. Talk about the power of social media!

Question posed from our neighbors to the North! https://t.co/h4haLHrUv0

— Soc Amer Archivists (@archivists_org) October 2, 2019

Finally to round things off, I posed some questions myself, asking fellow members:

How they get students and their community members excited about archives and their collections?
What does a “hybrid collection” mean to them?

The first question was a popular one. I received back 10 replies, 2 retweets, and 5 likes to this.

I’m biased, but rather than have it be one day out of the year, everyday should be #AskAnArchivist Day and #ArchivesAware if it’s this much fun and activity to showcase what we all do collectively.

Chris Burns, Curator of Manuscripts and University Archivist, University of Vermont

Chris’ Favorite Tweets of the Day

Sometimes working hands-on with history means fighting cobwebs! 🕸 Hear what Manuscripts Archivist Laura B. Romans has to say on #AskAnArchivistDay.#askanarchivist pic.twitter.com/pRwSc1YHT0

— UT Libraries (@UTKLibraries) October 2, 2019

#AskAnArchivist What does it take to pull and return boxes from two story high caverns located 82 feet underground? Check out our video! pic.twitter.com/gAlIjDJsNs

— UMN Libraries (@umnlib) October 2, 2019

happy #AskAnArchivist day! i'm the babiest of baby archivists but they're very special to me! here's me in the NPR collections doing very serious archival work 😉 pic.twitter.com/flAZjmWHWy

— “look at the size of her pupils!” (@imanimosley) October 2, 2019

For more information on #AskAnArchivist Day check out previous posts about this super awesome day:

Responses & Retrospectives: Rachael Woody’s Annual Conference Coverage on the Value of Archival Labor Sessions

September 6, 2019September 6, 20194 Comments

Rachael Woody (photograph courtesy of Rachael Woody).

For me, attending the annual Society of American Archivists conference is time to reconnect with beloved colleagues and reengage with topics I care deeply about. I can’t afford to attend the conference every year, so I always view the conference program before I make the final decision. Are there sessions I want or need to attend? Are there topics that are new or finally being covered? Or, does it look like the conference is repeating topics without contributing anything new? As someone who has to pay my own way, I have to make sure there’s a return on my investment of both time and money. This year, SAA’s annual meeting theme had my attention from the start: TRANSFORMATIVE!. As in transforming archives. The program sessions followed suit with panelists willing to tackle tough topics and start new conversations.

My Work on Fighting the Devaluation of the Archivist

Before I dive into my response to a block of the SAA 2019 Annual Conference sessions, let me preface by saying that the value of archival labor is a topic that I am deeply involved with. In the last two-years I’ve:

Written the current NWA job posting policy requiring salary ranges;
Performed a literary review of American Archivist articles on everything from A*Census to the multiple articles on how recent graduates are struggling to find healthy employment in the field;
Conducted a regional survey on the value of archival labor (with findings forthcoming); and
Am currently spearheading the creation of a paid internship program at Northwest Archivists.

In my research I’ve found that the literal value of archival labor has been stagnate for the last ten-years. Additionally, the student loan debt to entering archivist salary ratio has caused instability in the profession; particularly in geographic areas that aren’t flush with archival repositories with government-backed budgets. I believe that we have reached a critical point in time in which we must acknowledge this devaluation of the archivist, and address it before our entire profession atrophies. It’s through this lens that I respond to three SAA sessions focused on the value of archival labor.

SAA Sessions: My Response

On Sunday, August 4, 2019, there were three sessions dedicated to archival labor: an open forum, session 210, and session 410. Below are links to the sessions and the session summary italicized for easy reference:

Open Forum: SAA Council Forum on Archival Salaries

This special forum, hosted by SAA Council members Melissa Gonzales and Steven D. Booth, will explore the notion of requiring salary information in position descriptions for jobs boards, the benefits and challenges of doing so, and the potential impact this ideal may have on the archival profession. Invited panelists and the audience will explore why professional associations should and should not take a position, and if so, how can archivists at all levels frame it to truly advocate for the profession and not harm it.

The open forum was well attended with several hundred seated in the ballroom. There was no formal content to present and the panelists began the discussion with SAA Council’s recent angst over whether or not to require salary ranges for job posts. What gets sticky here is that SAA makes money from the job board. So, trusting SAA to make the ethical decision to require job post quality indicators can be challenging when the system currently in place benefits SAA. As noted in several tweets, the forum discussion revealed that SAA makes $60,000-$90,000 in annual revenue from the job board. (SAA’s FY20 Budget states it revenued $85,000). Sadly, that amount is much more than the average mid-career archivist’s annual salary.

Screenshot of Tweet by @akaGladys: Learning at salary forum that SAA's job board generates $60-90k of revenue for the org a year #saa19" 10:03 AM Aug 4, 2019 Twitter by IPhone 2 Retweets 23 Likes

When reviewing the “cons” of SAA requiring a salary range on job postings there were no cogent arguments from the panelists. Instead, strawman arguments that showed more privilege than sense were provided. The following points were offered as a justification for SAA to forego responsibility of providing space to predatory job listings:

People keep taking these low-paying jobs so organization will keep offering these low salaries.
If SAA requires salary ranges “Will it really provide change that leads to better salaries?”.
The assertion that people who seek higher paying jobs have “bad intentions”.

Screenshot of Tweet by @rachaelcristine Aug 4: Several #archivist salaries forum persons see "cons" to requiring salary range in job post. One remarks they would question motives for those who apply for jobs with more money. Me: Since when is being paid your worth a bad thing?! #saa2019 #saa19 #devaluationofthearchivist Symbols at bottom show one comment, 6 retweets, and 33 likes

The panelists who denied SAA’s responsibility placed it instead on those who are struggling against these damaging job practices currently allowed in the profession.

Patronizing statements were made by some of the panelists to those struggling, saying essentially:

People should do their own research to determine what an adequate salary is. How?; when the Census data is extremely outdated and government salaries hardly translate to other organizations? SAA is in the best position to provide this information to archivists and organizations – with parameters given for organization type, geographic area, various job levels, and requisite salary.
People should negotiate better. Negotiation is rarely available to those in the profession. Also, then shouldn’t SAA be providing negotiation education and support?
People should be willing to move for a better job. Some of us can move. Others cannot due to family or other life obligations. This is a tone-deaf statement rejecting the real-life realities many archivists face.

Why Salary Range is so Important

Requiring salary ranges on job posts aids in salary transparency. Salary transparency reveals wage inequity and helps put a stop to gender, race, and gender identity or sexuality discrimination. Increased salary transparency across the profession will lead to healthier financial realities for archivists, and addressing wage inequity will support actual diversity within the profession. It’s important to note that both Northwest Archivists and Southwest Archivists have already made this a policy.

210 Low Pay in Archives: Review of Recent Events, and Where Do We Go From Here? [Pop-Up]

This Pop-Up Session will discuss the current state of generally low pay for archivists in the U.S., discuss SAA and regional archival organizations recent attempts at doing something about it, including archival certification, salary job listing requirements, recommended salary minimums, and the current literature in the field; look at salaries across the country and useful statistical data like the salary required to own a home in a specific city; and strategize additional ways the profession can help push salaries upwards, including possibly unionization.

This session was a little less frustrating for me as the panelists appeared to agree that something needs to be done about the financial health of our profession. Rosemary Davis was brave and bared all – including her student loan debt number. This panel delivered real talk on what many in the profession are experiencing: you have a master’s degree with the student loan debt to show for it and you can’t make ends meet because entry-level archivist positions are sub-$45,000. This session introduced the concept of the “spousal subsidy”. As in, you can only afford the luxury of being an archivist on low pay because your spouse has the pay and benefits to cover you both. This has obvious repercussions on who can afford to be an archivist and directly damages diversity within the field.

Screenshot of a Tweet by @vgillispie Aug 4: The "spousal subsidy" concept is too real. I was recently offered a job with a salary offer $20K below my current salary. The hiring manager said he was hoping I had a "family situation" that would allow me to accept the offer. I do not. #s210 #saa19. Symbols show 1 comments, 5 retweets, 27 likes.

410 Short-Term Jobs for Long-Term Careers: Designing Ethical Project/Contract Positions

With SAA defining standards for interns and volunteers, archivists on short-term projects or contracts are the next frontier in the ethics question. These archivists have barriers to completing their work–including time, funding, and skills–making their supervisor’s role crucial in designing and supporting a successful contract employment experience. Aimed at project managers, supervisors, and contract archivists, this session is intended to foster dialog among participants about ways to create more sustainable models of project positions.

This panel is an adjacent topic to archivist salaries as temporary or project positions are becoming more and more common and less of a stop-gap measure for organizations that are struggling. It also highlighted that allowing regular archival work to become temporary or project-based only helps to devalue the work. And further, we must be more precise in identifying archival labor as work, a long-term endeavor that requires skill. Versus calling our work a project, a word that indicates it’s temporary, can be stopped at any time, and potentially requires less-skills. This thinking extends to how project positions are professional positions, not pre-professional positions, and should be treated (i.e. paid) accordingly.

Screenshot of Tweet by @alexiadpuravida Aug 4: Advocate that project positions ARE professional positions, not a pre-professional position [emojis show 4 hand claps] #saa 19 #s410 (symbols show 2 retweets, 24 likes)

SAA’s Mission and How We Are Actively Working Against It.

SAA’s mission is to promote the value and diversity of archives and archivists. The anti-salary range panelists (and the majority of SAA Council) appear to contradict SAA’s stated mission. How can we say we champion diversity and value archivists when we allow rapacious practices such as low-wage jobs, no salary transparency, temporary or term jobs, and unpaid internships? (Yes, SAA Council did vote to disallow unpaid internship job postings, but more can be done to discourage the practice pervasive in organizations nation-wide). It is known that by allowing these practices we perpetuate a system built on discrimination against race, gender, and gender identity and sexuality. If you’re in a management position, in academia, or work for the government – congratulations! You’ve avoided the worst of it with your elite position. But you’re leaving the rest of the profession behind and such short-sightedness will devalue the entire profession (including you).

Conclusion

We’re just beginning these tough conversations and there’s obviously a lot to be done before we can begin to see progress. Here’s what I’d like to see next:

Recommendations for SAA Council and Organization:

Officially support the grass-roots archivist salary spreadsheet. Now at nearly 500 entries, this is the most recent and robust national archivist salary data we have available.
Financially commit to conducting the census more regularly. Yes, I realize it costs money. However, letting the census lapse 15-years is absolutely preventable. Decisions about how to best support the profession can’t be made if we don’t have current and accurate numbers.
Call for a membership vote on whether or not to require salary ranges for job postings.
Take a more active role in protecting and advocating for archivists and not just archival organizations. Explore ways in which SAA can do this; such as: conducting an exploration of how SAA can support unionization, offer collective benefits, provide guidance on appropriate job salary scales, etc.

Recommendations for Archivists Against Devaluation:

This was an excellent conference, but the conversation needs to continue. For those who did panels, tweeted, and discussed the topic in-person; we need you to do more of that. For those who want to join in, please join in!
When SAA calls for guideline reviews, feedback, and votes; you have to show up and give your feedback. Better yet, run for Council. Council needs your voice.
Contribute blog posts and professional writings to the field that help educate and advocate around this topic.
Speak up and repeatedly at your work, at your regional group, and at SAA and related national conferences.

This post was written by Rachael Cristine Woody, a member of The Society of American Archivists’ Committee on Public Awareness (COPA). The opinions and assertions stated within this piece are the author’s alone, and do not represent the official stance of the Society of American Archivists. COPA publishes response posts with the sole aim of providing additional perspectives, context, and information on current events and subjects that directly impact archives and archivists.