Society of American Archivists - UT Student Chapter

Society of American Archivists
University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter

Annual Report 1993-1994

Introduction

Membership

Programs

Communications and Publicity

Fundraising

Chapter Records

Alumni Records

Addendum

Introduction

On the night of 2 September 1993, the Society of American Archivists awarded the University of Texas at Austin a charter for a student chapter. Sharla Richards proudly accepted the charter at the national conference in New Orleans on behalf of the Beta Ch apter members and their faculty advisor, David B. Gracy II. Five members witnessed SAA President Anne Kenney present the charter to the U.T. Student Chapter. At the initial meeting held in September following the national conference, members discussed the chapter's constitution, including the following goals:

to provide activities for members to discuss archival issues, interact with professional archivists, and engage in professional activities;
to promote communication with other student groups within the University, such as the American Library Association, as well as student chapters at other universities in order to develop mutual interest of the library and archival professions;
to promote archival interest at the university and within academic departments through seminars, convocations, and curriculum planning;
to acquaint members with the objectives, ethics, and publications of the Society of American Archivists.

Members elected five officers--John Slate, president; Sharla Richards, vice president; Michelle Frazier, secretary; Brenda Gunn, treasurer; Jim Niessen, programs chair--who recognized these goals as a blueprint for a successful first year and a good foundation for subsequent years. Understanding their roles in building the organization, the officers embarked upon an ambitious fall, committed to recruiting members and bringing programs to chapter members and interested individuals in the university and Austin communities.

Membership

Recruitment began even before receipt of the charter. John Slate and Sharla Richards worked during July to submit our application to the SAA office. At the new student orientation in August, John announced that the SAA office had accepted the application. Additionally he provided information about the first meeting and offered possibilities for future activities. Sharla made certain that interested individuals could obtain membership forms and information regarding the Society of American Archivists and the new student chapter. She used the bulletin board in the graduate student lounge, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science's (GSLIS) Faculty/Student/Staff Newsletter, and information flyers for promotion and recruitment. As a result of recruitment efforts, the seven members who attended the national conference welcomed ten additions during the semester, bringing the total membership to 17 by the end of December 1993.

Sharla maintained for the chapter a member database that allowed for efficient management of member information. All members received a membership list, derived from the database, to encourage communication within the organization. For the widest possible distribution of the membership list, Sharla ensured that the list went onto the public, GSLIS Internet gopher server at the University of Texas.

Programs

Members welcomed three speakers in October and one in November. Ron Watt, Head of Reference for the Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, delivered a talk on "Serving a Religious Archives," sharing with members and guests the difficulties of documenting the religious experience and of capturing the transcendental fervor of religious believers. Leon C. Miller, Manuscripts Librarian, Tulane University, spoke on "Creating a Career in Archives." Miller offered ways students and newer archivists can use archival organizations for professional development. Sharing her most recent research, Anne Kenney, Associate Director of Preservation, Cornell University, addressed the uses of digitization for preservation and access of archives.

At a joint meeting of the student chapter and the Austin Archivists, David Bearman completed our fall speaker series. Lecturing on the White House PROFS case, Bearman outlined the history of the case, discussed the court decisions pertaining to the issue, and interpreted the importance of the August 1994 decision as establishing legal definitions of electronic records.

To celebrate a busy first semester for the chapter, Dr. Gracy hosted a Christmas party for student SAAers and members of the Austin Archivists. The social provided an opportunity for students to interact with area professionals.

Communications and Publicity

Several U.T. SAA Student Chapter goals center around effective communication. To accomplish these goals the President, Vice President, and Programs Chair developed a plan to serve all publics (members and non-members). The officers used phone calls, fliers, newspaper press releases, an electronic newsletter, and the GSLIS's Faculty/Student/Staff Newsletter to announce upcoming events, report on past events, share news, and publicize general information such as job postings.

Officers used electronic mail, the bulletin board in the graduate student lounge, and the student mail boxes to communicate with members. For communication and publicity geared toward nonmembers, outside of the GSLIS, officers used public service announcements in campus and local newspapers and campus-wide flier distribution.

Fundraising

Members voted in October to establish a $5.00 membership fee to cover costs of refreshments and publicity for our programs. Prior to this, members brought food for programs and donated copies, supplies, and other needed items. Brenda Gunn, treasurer, gathered the appropriate paperwork and established the chapter account with the U.T. Student Bank. In addition to setting up the account, Brenda maintained records of funds collected and dispersed.

Chapter Records

Keeping in mind the essence of our profession, the chapter made a concerted effort to maintain records that should be included in the chapter's archives or scrapbook. Michelle Frazier, secretary, maintain ed the records to include meeting minutes, photographs, press releases, announcements, and other items pertaining to the chapter's activities. Members shared responsibility with Michelle for gathering documentation of activities.

At the recommendation of Leon Miller, given during his address in October, members established a "vita bank," a file of vita and resumes of working professional archivists. Members referred to this file for instruction in writing professional resumes and for ideas on activities in which we should be participating.

Alumni Relations

The chapter hosted a dinner and reception for alumni of the GSLIS at the national conference in New Orleans, thereby establishing an important resource of contacts, sponsorships, and ideas. The occasion's success encouraged members to maintain communication with alumni and to seek their advice on professional issues.

Addendum: Activities, January - July 1994

The chapter's enthusiasm carried over into the spring semester with recruitment continuing in the same way as was conducted in the fall; three students joined the chapter, bringing the total to 20. Members enjoyed the two field trips, designed to expose them to different archival environments. During the first trip, Bruce Cheeseman, archivist of the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, introduced members to a business archives. The second trip combined visits to two institutions. At the Star of the Republic Museum in Washington-On-The-Brazos, Texas, Sherry B. Humphreys, Curator of Exhibits, described the difficulties of running a museum and archives with a small staff and a small budget. Next, members met David Alsobrook, archivist at the Bush Presidential Materials Project, who provided an overview of the plans for the presidential library.

In between field trips and classes, members did manage two socials during the spring, both of which were well-attended. Fundraising activities remained the same as in the fall semester. However, John Slate proposed a fundraising idea of which members heartily approved. John designed a t-shirt for the student chapter and offered to make the shirts, with proceeds from sales going into the chapter's bank account.

In May, six members along with faculty advisor Dr. Gracy attended the Society of Southwest Archivists meeting. After this meeting, occurring after the end of the semester, chapter activities decreased but did not cease entirely. Members gathered in July to watch Vincent Price in The Baron of Arizona, a movie based on the true story of James Addison Reavis who used forged documents to assert a false claim to the Arizona territory.

Officers are currently planning another social activity with GSLIS alumni in Indianapolis at the national SAA conference. As John Slate did last year, Michelle Frazier, the incoming president, will advertise Beta Chapter's existence at new student orientation, announce the chapter's first meeting scheduled for September 2, and encourage those interested to join returning members in Indianapolis and at events and activities during the coming academic year.

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Society of American Archivists - University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter
E-mail: saa@ischool.utexas.edu