MAA Summer 2021 Issue Available Now!

The summer 2021 issue of the Mid-Atlantic Archivist is now available. Meet new MARAC Chair Tara Wink, break down conference budgets with Treasurer Amanda May, see what’s planned for the Gettysburg meeting next fall, congratulate Distinguished Service Award Recipient Jim Gerencser, and more.

Check it out now, at https://marac.memberclicks.net/assets/maa/maracsummer21.pdf!

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  The 2021 Distinguished Award recipient Jim Gerencser. 
  Image courtesy of Gerencser.

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  75th Anniversary, Battle of Gettysburg – Army Band Rounding Gettysburg Square. 1938 July. Photograph. Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library, Gettysburg College.

Arline Custer Memorial Award Call for Submissions

Arline Custer Memorial Award

DEADLINE:  July 31, 2021

The Arline Custer Memorial Award is presented by the MARAC Arline Custer Memorial Award Committee.  This award honors the memory of Arline Custer (1909-1975), MARAC member and editor of the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.

Eligibility
The Arline Custer Memorial Award recognizes the best books and articles written or compiled by individuals and institutions in the MARAC region – the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Works under consideration include, but are not limited to: monographs, popular narratives, reference works and exhibition catalogs using archival sources.

Individuals or institutions may submit up to two works published between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

Evaluation
Works must be relevant to the general public as well as the archival community. They also should be original and well researched using available sources. In addition, they should be clearly presented, well written and organized. Visual materials, if used, should be appropriate to the text.

Preference will be given to works by archivists.

Award
Up to three awards may be given, with a maximum value of $200.00 for books and $100.00 for articles. The 2021 award(s) may be announced at a fall 2021 MARAC business meeting or shared with MARAC members via another means.

Electronic Submission Instructions
Please send a PDF of the entirety of the work along with a PDF of a letter of nomination to the Senior Co-Chair of the Arline Custer Memorial Award Committee:

Brigette Kamsler
University Archivist
George Washington University
Email: bckamsler@gwu.edu 

Physical Submission Instructions
Please send two physical copies of each submission with a letter of nomination to the Senior Co-Chair of the Arline Custer Memorial Award Committee. Please email the Sr. Co-Chair to request the mailing address.

Email: bckamsler@gwu.edu

Entries must be received by July 31, 2021

For additional information about this award and a list of previous award winners, see the Arline Custer Memorial Award site: http://www.marac.info/arline-custer-memorial-award

C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award Call for Submissions

The MARAC Finding Aid Awards Committee welcomes submissions for the 2021 C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award. This award recognizes online publications, including virtual exhibitions, web sites, web pages and other digital tools that promote the use of archival materials. To be eligible for the award, an online publication must have a stable internet address and must have been published between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. The award is only open to repositories in the MARAC region and all submissions must be received by July 31, 2021.

Submission guidelines and additional information may be found at https://www.marac.info/c-herbert-finch-award

Please send your submission packet and direct any questions to Committee Co-Chair Tiffany Cole at coletw@jmu.edu.

MARAC Member Minute: Meet Dave Williams!

Dave Williams
Digital Initiatives & Special Collections Librarian at William Paterson University

As a kid, I wanted to be: a Historian

My little known hobby or talent is: Music

I joined and stay with MARAC because: I wanted to learn about archival activities at other institutions.

Any position(s) held in MARAC: none (I’m a new member)

Welcome to MARAC, Dave!

MARAC Mentoring Program Seeking Participants

The MARAC Mentoring Program is seeking participants for the 2021 cycle! The year long program will begin in July 2021. All interested mentors and mentees should sign up by Friday, June 18th. We also encourage folks interested in being mentors to consider self-selecting a co-mentor to work with. Is there a colleague you’d like to partner with? Encourage them to sign up with you!

More information on this exciting program is available on MARAC’s Mentoring Program webpage.

WHY PARTICIPATE?
The MARAC Mentoring Program offers members an opportunity to participate in Mentoring Circles, small groups that typically consist of four to five mentees and two mentors. Diverging from the traditional one-on-one mentoring model, the circle fosters mentoring relationships between mentors and mentees, but also peer mentoring relationships and can help you network with new colleagues and gain new useful skills for your archives career. 

Mentoring Circles are designed to:

• Encourage the exchange of experiences, challenges, and opportunities to facilitate goal-setting for career and personal development.
• Build competence and character to reach those goals.
• Foster self-confidence, communication skills, and collective growth.

Mentors and Mentees are matched to a circle depending on their interests, goals, availability, and geographic location. Circles typically meet in a combination of virtual and in-person meetings. The application process includes an initial survey to determine everyone’s interests and support the initial grouping. All participants should be current MARAC members, able to commit to a full cycle of the program, and be ready to actively participate in every meeting.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Submit the application available at  https://forms.gle/XL3FBvcghN4E7RNJ8  by Friday, June 18, 2021. Applicants will receive placement information by July 1, 2021. Remember that this is group mentoring, so if you wish to bring together a cohort, you can indicate that in the form

If you have any questions about the program, please contact the MARAC Mentoring Subcommittee: mentoring@marac.info. 

MARAC Member Minute: Meet Jane Cross!

Jane Cross
Music Archivist at the Library of Congress, where I get to work with amazing people and collections.

I joined and stayed with MARAC because It is the absolute best place for meeting professional colleagues, sharing ideas, and continuing my education in the field.

Any position(s) held in MARAC: Mentoring the Virginia cohort

Why I chose to volunteer: Professional and personal growth as I give back to an organization that supports all of us.

Make Memories in Gettysburg!

The Fall 2021 MARAC conference in Gettysburg celebrates the theme “Sites of Memory.” Come make memories with your colleagues in MARAC! The program provides many opportunities: “Remember what we learned in that mini-workshop?” “Remember what we learned in that panel about born digital records?” “Remember that interesting poster?”

Gettysburg is a site of national memory, and this conference’s tours and events dig deep into local history. The Friday reception at the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center and Museum will provide the opportunity to learn more about Civil War history. Optional tours go to Gettysburg College’s Special Collections, Evergreen Cemetery, horseback riding, and more.

Making memories together will have a distinctly Gettysburg flavor. The Wyndham Gettysburg, our conference host, focuses on incorporating local flavor into their hospitality. The hotel sources local fall apples and snacks from classic Pennsylvania brand Utz.

MARAC Gettysburg takes place Oct. 7 – 9. For registration, room reservation, and travel information, check the MARAC Gettysburg web page: https://www.marac.info/fall-2021-conference.

Library Company of Philadelphia symposium CFP

A symposium in conjunction with Imperfect History: Collecting the Graphic Arts Collection at Benjamin Franklin’s Public Library in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Graphic Arts Department at the Library Company of Philadelphia

Library Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., March 25, 2022

Collecting, Curating, and Consuming American Popular Arts Yesterday and Today continues the conversation started through Imperfect History: Curating the Graphic Arts Collection at Benjamin Franklin’s Public Library. The exhibition explores the development of the Library Company’s graphics art collection as it relates to historical and cultural biases within American history through a candid exploration of the evolution of American graphic arts curatorship and collections in one of the oldest cultural institutions in the country. The symposium seeks to examine changing and innovative directions in how historical popular graphic art (i.e., art not traditionally classified as fine art, that is representative of popular culture, and/or is mass produced and consumed) is curated, interpreted, and used and understood by those who produced, viewed, and consumed it. Collecting, Curating, and Consuming asks how does historical American popular graphic art act as a mirror, bridge, and barrier in facilitating our visual conceptions of our past and present?

Submissions Guidelines:

Proposals for twenty-minute papers should include a no more than 300-word abstract and two-page CV or resume. Joint proposals and illustrated proposals are welcome.

Please email your proposals with the subject line “IH 2022” as word or pdf documents to epiola@librarycompany.org. Submissions should be received by Monday, August 2. Selected participants will be notified via email by early October 2022.

Any questions may be directed to Erika Piola epiola@librarycompany.org.

For the complete call for papers, follow this link.

Register for PA Digital Rights Team panel discussion

Please join the PA Digital Rights Team for a panel discussion, Music in Digital Collections: Copyright and Other Challenges. Panelists Robin Pike (University of Maryland), Emily Waters and Pete Williams (Curtis Institute of Music), and David McKnight (University of Pennsylvania) will describe recent digital collections work involving music.

When: May 19, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Music in Digital Collections: Copyright and Other Challenges

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://temple.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3ZimKob_QaahayxShn0XwQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Midwest Archives Conference Virtual Meeting

Midwest Archives Conference 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting

The Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) is pleased to announce its first Virtual Annual Meeting, May 13-14. Registration is now open! 

This year’s theme, “Archivists Respond,” recognizes the challenges and opportunities that 2020 brought. Presenters from across the Midwest and beyond will discuss projects they have undertaken and how they have adapted and responded to change. A variety of posters will also be available for browsing.  Visit the full program for more details.

MAC is also excited to host virtual archives tours during the conference! Hop onto the bus (or your couch) and prepare to tour our colleagues’ archives.

The plenary session will feature Andrew W. Smith, research fellow and graduate assistant with the University of Maryland’s African-American Digital Humanities Center. An introduction will be provided from Project STAND co-founders, Lae’l Hughes-Watkins and Tamar Chute. 

MAC welcomes all to the conference and encourages attendees outside of the Midwest region to attend. Register by April 27 for rates of $25 for members and $40 for non-members. Late registration is $40 for members and $55 for non-members from April 28 to May 11. Student registration is free this year and open until May 11.