Call for proposals: MARAC Wilmington

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) is seeking session proposals for the Fall 2018 meeting to be held October 11-13, 2018 in Wilmington, Delaware. The deadline for proposals is December 22.

We are looking for proposals that align with one of the following tracks:
• Digital preservation
• Diversity / Accessibility
• New professionals / Archival education / Leadership
• “Underrepresented archives” – Public libraries, small repositories, lone arrangers

We’re also looking for members willing to provide short technology demonstrations on software products currently used by their repository (digital asset management systems, preservation systems, database systems, etc.). This is an opportunity for members to highlight their efforts in bringing technology to the archives.

Use this Google form to submit your proposal for a session or technology demonstration: https://goo.gl/forms/3D7O5IUt1pTHwIUg1

Contact MARAC.Wilmington@gmail.com with any questions.

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MARAC’s Nominations and Elections Committee is seeking nominations

Would you like to become more involved in your professional organization?

Are you interested in taking on a new role in MARAC?

The Nominations and Elections Committee is seeking nominations of members to stand for election in MARAC’s 2018 elections.

Open positions include:

OFFICERS (1 opening for each position)
• Chair-Elect
• Treasurer

CAUCUS REPRESENTATIVES (1 opening for each position)
• Delaware
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia

COMMITTEES (number of open positions listed in parentheses)
• Arline Custer Memorial Award Committee (2)
• Distinguished Service Award Committee (1)
• Finding Aids Committee (2)
• Nominations and Elections Committee (3)
• Scholarship Committee (2)

Information about committees and governance is available on MARAC’s website (http://www.marac.info/).

Contact a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee (contact information at http://www.marac.info/nominations-and-elections) by Friday, November 17 if you are interested in running or know someone who you think would be perfect for the job!

Sincerely,

The 2018 MARAC Nominations and Elections Committee

Congratulations to our Fall 2017 Scholarship Winners!

The MARAC Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of our scholarships to support attendance at the Fall 2017 meeting in Buffalo, New York.

The Marsha Trimble Award ($400 towards conference registration and travel) is being presented to Kendra Lightner. Kendra earned her Master of Arts in Public History with a concentration in Museum Studies from the University of West Georgia in 2016. She currently works at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Andrea Kutsenkow is the recipient of our $250 award for conference registration and travel. Andrea recently earned her Master of Arts in Archives and Public History with a concentration in Archives from New York University back in May. She currently works part time as an adjunct for NYU’s Archival Collections Management department and part time as an archival assistant for The Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs. She also acts as an archival consultant for two artist estates in the city: The Estate of Friedel Dzubas and The Estate of Luise Kaish.

The Karen A. Stuart Local History Collection Workshop and Attendance Award is being presented to Kate Federiconi. Kate is pursuing her Masters of Science in Information Science with a concentration in archives and records management at the University of Albany. She is a student assistant at the New York State Archives. She also works as an intern with the local history collections of both the Saratoga Springs Public Library and the Schuylerville Public Library.

Congratulations to all of our scholarship winners!

MARAC Scholarship Committee
Ben Blake
Maria Day
Christy Fic
Amanda Hawk
Elizabeth Wilkinson
Emily R. Cottle, Chair

Pop-up Session Proposals for MARAC Fall 2017

The Fall 2017 Program Committee is seeking proposals for one pop-up session at the MARAC meeting in Buffalo, New York, October 26-28. This session, which will take place on Friday, October 27 from 11:15 AM-12:15 PM, will enliven the conference program by focusing on ideas or issues that have “popped up” since December 2016, when initial session proposals were due.

Pop-up session proposals enable presenters to share what is going on in their own work, volunteer, study, or research spaces, highlight non-traditional repositories or services, or address emerging technological, recordkeeping, and other issues. Anything is on the table!

This session is only sixty minutes long and will be a “lightning round”, featuring multiple 7-10 minute presentations.

This call for proposals is open to ANY student or professional engaged in archival work or research, including individuals who are presenting in another Fall 2017 meeting session. Individual and group proposals are both welcome.

If you are interested in participating in the pop-up session, submit your proposal via the following Google form: https://goo.gl/forms/iT4Xasuw7LbrzjXg2. Proposals will be accepted until midnight Eastern Time on Friday, September 22. Proposals received after this date will not be considered, and e-mailed submissions or submissions in any other format will not be accepted.

The Fall 2017 Program Committee will review proposals and notify selected panelists by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, October 6.

If you have any questions or encounter issues when using the submission form, please contact the Program Committee co-chairs at cbendroth@pa.gov or bonita.weddle@nysed.gov

 

Call for Posters: MARAC Fall 2017, Buffalo

The Program Committee of the Fall 2017 Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, which will be held in Buffalo, New York on October 26-28, is accepting proposals for posters that showcase the work of the MARAC membership. Posters may describe applied or theoretical research projects that are completed or in progress; highlight interesting collections with which individuals or groups have worked; or focus on archives and records projects in which MARAC members have participated (e.g., collecting initiatives, preservation activities, new methods of providing reference and other services, etc.). Submissions should focus on research or activity conducted within the previous year (2016-2017).

Posters must be 32 inches by 40 inches in size and may read vertically or horizontally.

Notifications regarding accepted submissions will be sent in late September 2017. At the MARAC Buffalo meeting, one session time slot and location will be devoted to presentation and discussion of the posters.

To submit a poster proposal, please complete the proposal form (https://goo.gl/forms/HCAaFGZVgeSdEbKJ3) no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 15, 2017. Proposals received after this date will not be considered, and e-mailed submissions or submissions in any other format will not be accepted.

This call for proposals is open to ANY student or professional engaged in archival work or research, and group proposals are welcome.

If you have any questions or encounter issues when using the submission  form, please contact the Program Committee co-chairs at cbendroth@pa.gov or bonita.weddle@nysed.gov.

 

MARAC’s New Jersey Caucus announces 2017 Innovative Archives Award

The New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) is proud to announce the recipient of this year’s Innovative Archives Award is the Morristown National Historical Park, Library and Archives located in Morristown, New Jersey.

MARAC is the regional professional society for archivists and special collections professionals.  It spans from New York to Virginia and includes Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  The New Jersey Caucus comprises those members of MARAC living or working in the state of New Jersey.

The Morristown National Historical Park, Library and Archives, with a staff of three, has made great strides in promoting the history of the site that George Washington chose as his winter encampment for two winters during the Revolutionary War, and making the Library’s collections an active site for research and discovery. In addition to offering a series of lectures, partnerships, and online articles, the curatorial staff collaborates with universities and secondary schools to make historical manuscripts accessible and relevant to young learners.

The Library and Archives has pioneered several programs to reach out to secondary schools in the region and engage those students and teachers in the complex concepts of historic documentation and scholarship that are involved in writing our nation’s history.  Having designed programs which include example lesson plans to help schools to integrate the resources of the Library and Archives into their curriculum needs, they also offer on-site programs to further engage the young students in the joy of historical discovery.

Their partnership with local schools and universities have had a very high impact; most recently displaying information related to the Shakespeare Folio that visited Drew University in the Fall of 2016.   One popular topic was the art of transcription using their own records to discuss and demonstrate the challenges of reading cursive writing.

The staff have developed, with the help of high school and college-age interns, a variety of ways to engage young adults in the research process. This creative thinking along with the shear excitement communicated by the staff for their topics is felt by those who participate in these projects.

For these reasons, MARAC- NJ Caucus is pleased to recognize the Library and Archives of the Morristown National Park as this year’s recipient of the 2017 Innovative Archives Award.

MARAC – New Jersey Caucus Innovative Archives Award Committee

Message from the MARAC Chair regarding Charlottesville

The violent events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11 and 12 were appalling, horrific​,and defy core American values. The entire Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference stands with our colleagues in Charlottesville and all of the archivists within the Commonwealth of Virginia​.
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Over this next year MARAC will strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion. As we foster the discovery and preservation of the historic record in the communities we serve, and, more importantly, the underrepresented communities we need to reach we will work to counter hate with knowledge and openness. We can and will make a meaningful difference.

 

V i n c e n t  J.  N o v a r a

Chair, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC)