Society of American Archivists - UT Student Chapter

Society of American Archivists
University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter

1995-1996 Annual Report

Summary of Activities

The 1995-96 year was active and successful for the chapter. Our membership increased even though some charter members were graduated at the beginning of the year, and the chapter was visible in some of the more high profile professional conferences of th e year. Notably, several students proudly presented a demonstration of the SAA National web page, which our chapter administers, at the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in August/September 1995; the chapter assisted Dr. David B. Gracy II in hosting th e International Council on Archives (ICA) Section on Archival Education and Training 7th International Symposium October 26-27, 1995; on March27, 1995, the first UT-SAA sponsored student conference on archives, "Archives for the 21st Century," was held; and May 16-18, 1996, several members presented papers at the Society of Southwest Archivists' Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The chapter also hosted a number of local programs and events, and encouraged GSLIS students to become involved with archival issues. At the end of the academic year, the chapter submitted a draft of recommendations to the search committee for a GSLIS Dean. The draft proposed an increased emphasis on the archives track in the UT-Austin GSLIS program, and recommended th at the next Dean be sensitive to and knowledgable about the role of the archival track in the school.

Chapter reports

1995-1996 Programs and Events of the UT Student Chapter of the SAA (John Hyslop, Chair)

The programs and events of the UT Student Chapter of the SAA for the school year 1995-1996 consisted of a variety of useful and interesting topics on current events affecting archives. The events were organized by John Hyslop with the help of Dr. Gracy and the officers of the student chapter.

On September 21 Leon Miller, Manuscripts Librarian at Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, gave a presentation on how to obtain a job in the archival field. He explained the importance and advantages of a curriculum vitae, joining professional organizations, communicating with other professionals and self promotion through publishing and lecturing.
On November 2 Mark E. Martin, Director of the TLL Temple Memorial Archives, explained the intricacies of managing the TLL Temple Memorial Archives a small archives in East Texas. He described the community's reluctance to accept the archives as part of their community and his efforts to change the community's attitude. He prov ided insight into how he transformed a disorganized pile of records into an archives. He discussed the trials and tribulations of life in East Texas.
On November 14 the student chapter presented a forum on collecting policies. The panelists were Mike Widener, Archivist for the Tarlton Law Library UT; Chris LaPlant, Director of Texas State Archives; and Don Carleton, Director of the Center for American History. The panelists described their institutions' collecting policies, the importance of a collecting policy, collection policy development processes, how the institutions implemented those policies, and the role of inter-institutional communication as regards collection development.
The first event of 1996 was a trip to San Antonio on February 23. The student chapter was given tours of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Archives (DRT) and the Hertzberg Circus Museum and Archives. Warren Stricker, Archivist for the DRT, showed us the processing area, the storage area, and the reading room of the archives. He explained his duties, the DRT's collecting policy, the scope of the collection and how the archives is funded. John Slate, Archivist for the Hertzberg Circus Museum and Archives , showed us the processing area, storage area, the exhibits area and the reading room of the archives. He explained his duties, the collecting policy, the scope of the collection and how the archives is funded. He also described the challenges he has dealt with in terms of provid ing adequate housing, preservation, and access to the vast collection in the absence of an HVAC system and time to process all the materials.
On March 5 Sarah Clark, Archivist at the Center for American History, gave a presentation on the realities of being part of a small archives staff in a large archives. She described the many tasks she performs as an archivist. They consist of, but are not limited to, administrative paper work, managing workflow, managing employ ees and volunteers, communicating with potential donors, communicating with current donors, giving presentations and surviving on a limited budget.
On April 2 Tad Howington, Records Manager at the Lower Colorado River Authority, discussed the importance of a strong relationship between records managers and archivists. He described the current relationship between the two professions and how this r elationship is insufficient in preserving and making available records. He stated that the professions need to develop strategies that will best preserve the records and make them available to people. If the two professions do not communicate than many of the records will be inaccessible or lost. He explained that there is common ground for the professions. Both professions are concerned with the same records and with providing adequate access to those records.
The final events program of the 1995-96 year was held on April 18. Elizabeth Love gave a presentation on the access and preservation issues related to electronic mail. Ms. Love works for the Texas State Libraries and Archives Commission and is an expert in the field of electronic records. She discussed the relationship between privacy is sues, the Texas Open Records Act, and patron access to government (electronic) records in Texas.

Treasurer's Report (Jacquelyn Reid, Treasurer)

The UT-SAA began the year in July 1995 with a balance of $205.32. We spent $257.50 on chapter t-shirts and $20.00 on miscellaneous items including postage and refreshments. From membership dues and t-shirts sales, our end of the year balance was $353.82. Books show a profit of $148.50.

Membership Report (Gloria Meraz, Vice-president)

To be added.

Electronic Publishing Chair Report (Carla Ellard, Chair)

The UT-SAA web page activities included updating meetings information and speaker announcements throughout the year. Information about the 7th International Symposium on Archival Education (International Council on Archives) was also posted last year. Another important posting was the first UT-SAA sponsored student conference on arc hives, "Archives for the 21st Century," which took place March 27, 1996.

Many members attended UT-SAA president Stan Gunn's class on learning Hyper Text Mark-Up Language (HTML). Members were eager to participate in the HTML coding of the US-SAA National Conference files but none were received during the 1995-1996 year.

The US-SAA web page received numerous positive comments in the 1995-1996 year. One of the main concerns was getting information about San Diego and the SAA national conference. Rick Crawford of SAA-San Diego contributed to the page with a list of links about San Diego. We were in constant communication with Mike Widener, Archivist and Rare Books Librarian at Tarlton Law Library, UT Austin, about guidelines for the SAA web page. Finally, the leadership list was updated and the 'American Archivist' readership survey was posted.

Respectfully submitted,
Sarah R. Demb
Secretary 1995-96

Go to top

Back | Next

Annual Reports Menu

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