The 2001 Program Committee hopes to see you in Washington, D.C., for what promises to be a very interesting and exciting meeting. Our theme is 2001: A Global Archival Odyssey. The theme is intended to reflect that 2001 symbolizes both the threshold of a new millennium and the changes in society imposed by technology. Already the archival profession has been dramatically affected by increasing use of computer technology and access to the Internet by both institutions and users. We struggle to meet the challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities of constantly evolving technology on a daily basis. Globalization is the new buzzword in the U.S., but it has real meaning for archivists. The Web and email draws the worldwide community of archivists together in virtual ways that were never before possible. Washington, D.C., is the perfect venue for bringing many of us together.

The program committee is delighted that in addition to participation by our Canadian colleagues, this year we will be joined by distinguished archivists from a number of countries, including Germany, Iceland, Australia, Panama, and the Netherlands. We have the chance to learn about other perspectives on the issues that affect us all as professionals.

We have worked hard to craft a program that reflects our diversity and represents the interests of all of SAA's many constituencies. It is always a difficult task to select among the many excellent proposals received. We made our choices by looking closely at the sessions endorsed by SAA sections, roundtables, and committees and by balancing the topics of sessions to avoid duplication or too great an emphasis on any single subject.

In Washington, D.C., sessions will focus on core issues of access, accountability, authentication of documentary evidence, collection development, description, education, electronic records strategies, environmental controls, ethics, outreach and advocacy, reference, and Web site management. The program addresses the professional concerns of audio-visual and moving image archives, arts archives, architectural archives, business archives, college and univeristy archives. There are innovative sessions on subjects such as archives as the definer and protector of cultural memory, documenting disasters, documenting diversity in our culture, weighing privacy, confidentiality and ethical concerns when making information available on the Web, evaluating the success of SAA's mentoring program, how to best manage a move to a new facility, federal sources for grant funding, and fundraising for collection developments.

This year we will try a new approach to highlight the work done by graduate students in archival education programs. During the meeting, student participants will have ongoing poster sessions in the exhibit hall. The posters will describe student projects and interests. The students will be there to discuss their work, answer questions, and meet the attendees. We hope that everyone attending the meeting will take advantage of this splendid opportunity to meet and find out more about the research interests and work being done by the people who are the future of the profession.

We are fortunate to have two extraordinary, dynamic, and fascinating plenary speakers for the meeting. Dr. Gene Cohen, director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at the George Washington University Medical School, and author/editor Andrew Carroll.

Dr. Cohen has pioneered an innovative therapy for Alzheimer's patients. He uses the patient's personal papers and photographs to create video biographies that help anchor Alzheimer's patients in the present, enabling them to continue meaningful interaction with their families and caregivers. He is co-founder for the Creativity Discovery Corps, which identifies and preserves the creative accomplishments and rich histories of under-recognized older adults, especially those who are socially isolated and homebound. He recently completed a new book for the general public, published by AVON Books, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life. He also is working on a PBS Series on creativity and aging.

Andrew Carroll is director of the American Poetry and Literacy Project, which he co-founded with poet-laureate Joseph Brodsky. He co-edited the book In Our Own Words with Senator Robert Toricelli, as well as editing the best selling book, The Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters, published by Broadway Books in 1999. He is currently involved as founder and director of the Legacy Project launched on Veterans Day 1998 as a volunteer initiative to collect historically significant letters from all American wars. A lover of history and advocate of the power of letters to bring alive the events of the past, Carroll plans as a part of the Legacy Project to publish a selection of the letters he has collected from people throughout the country.

The work of these men has been featured on national programs such as Nightline, the MacNeil/Lehrer Show, and CBS Nightly News. SAA is fortunate to have them as our guests to share their creative uses of documentary material to teach, to learn, and to help society.

The 2001 Program Committee looks forward to welcoming you to Washington, D.C. We hope you will find the program interesting, rewarding, and even inspiring.