President's Message SAA Officers and Council     Dear Friends and Colleagues, It gives me great pleasure to invite you to join us in Washington, D.C., this August for the 2001 annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists. We've attached a theme to this meeting, 2001: A Global Archival Odyssey. That's right, we couldn't resist the temptation, as this brings into focus the duality of a new millennium and constant change, the breadth and variety of the archival enterprise SAA represents at its meetings, and the international scope that coming together in our nation's capital invites. We believe that this meeting will provide all those elements for you, in addition to providing an excellent venue for tours, museum visits, and a general good time. As always, SAA will provide you with workshops that are timely in their content and effectively led by outstanding practitioners and teachers. Our hardworking program committee, chaired by Karen Benedict, has developed a full range of sessions covering the breadth of topics that we expect at an SAA meeting, from the latest in new technologies for creating, managing, and preserving records, to the subject-oriented analyses of use and users that defines what we do. You will find outstanding opening and closing plenary speakers. Dr. Gene D. Cohen of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at The George Washington University Medical Center, will discuss his fascinating research on memory and Alzheimer's disease. His uses of family papers, letters, diaries, photographs and memorabilia to create videos that are regularly shown to his patients keeps them in touch with the fundamental reality of who they are, their families, and their past life. Our other plenary speaker is Andrew Carroll, who has become well known for his Legacy Project, which collects and publishes American letters. His books so far include Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters and War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars. These will both be extraordinary opportunities to reflect on what we are about as archivists. Certainly Washington, D.C., is one of the most diverse cities in our nation and, fittingly, the program will address diversity issues as well, building on the momentum begun last year in Denver, and which will continue next year in Birmingham. A variety of sessions will address diversity in both the workplace and in the collections we build. In addition, we plan on hosting other events that will enable us to both honor past efforts to increase the variety of the profession and work on ways to enhance it now and in the future. Of course, Washington, D.C., is also an old and familiar friend to many of us. Yes, it will probably be hot and humid in town, but the Washington Hilton and Towers is a great host, as we have seen in the past, and the city is a vast treasure trove for the visitor, whether it's your first time here or your twenty-fifth. In addition to the old standards, our outstanding host committee, chaired by Marisa Keller, is working hard to arrange a variety of tours to catch your interest. These will include walking tours of historic D.C. neighborhoods and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol by a congressional staffer. And let's talk about eating, shall we? Washington has a restaurant to fit every taste and wallet, and you'll find the Washington Hilton and Towers convenient to both the dynamic Dupont Circle neighborhood and within easy Metro connections to elsewhere in the city. For the receptions and social events; important unit and society meetings; program sessions, workshops, and plenaries; the exchange of new information and examination of useful products in the exhibit hall; tours of repositories and both well- and lesser-known destinations; dining at great restaurants; networking and just pure enjoyment, the SAA annual meeting is your once-a-year, must-do event! See you in Washington, D.C. LEON J. STOUT President Society of American Archivists Society of American Archivists 527 S. Wells St., 5th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607-3922 312/922-0140 • fax 312/347-1452 • info@archivists.org Contact 2001 SAA Host Committee Chair, Marisa Keller back to 2001 Annual Meeting Program Table of Contents | Sponsors/Exhibitors | back to SAA Home Page