New Orleans 2005 Annual Meeting
SAA’s 69th Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
August 14–21, 2005
Hilton
New Orleans Riverside
About the New Orleans 2005 Program
We all have our pet anxieties that keep us awake at night, whether work related
or family related or general and free floating. What are the particular worries
that keep Program Committee chairs tossing and turning during the first few
months of conference planning? It’s an age-old dilemma, and it goes like
this: When the conference is in an especially exciting location, more members
are likely to attend. But if the location is too exciting (we fret), will anyone
come to the sessions?
In the clear light of day, we remember that while the
Committee and its chairs give shape to the program, ultimately it is SAA’s
members who provide the substance. And if the members provide the substance,
then the members must
be interested in attending. Right?
Such were the concerns this year. Let’s
face it: Is there an American city more compelling than New Orleans? Among
the proposal submitters, the Program
Committee, and the chairs, could we make an equally compelling program—one
that would provide something to stimulate all sectors of our diverse membership?
We think the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The setting will be
dazzling, right on the Crescent City waterfront and within easy walking distance
of the French Quarter. Our goal has been to present you with sessions that
will astound you during the day in a city that you’ll want to explore
at night with old friends and new colleagues. Be sure to note the sessions
on New Orleans architecture and jazz preservation, which will prepare you to
enjoy your surroundings even more.
We’re especially pleased this year
to debut the “Archives Seminar” track.
This new series is modeled on the popular “Archives Unplugged” series,
now in its fourth year, which provides attendees the opportunity to create
their own track by attending consecutive sessions that provide overviews of
core aspects of archival practice. The Archives Seminar track applies the same
model to focused, intensive discussion of a range of new or especially complex
topics—organizational, intellectual, cultural, or technological—that
archivists face today. Advance readings (with citations to be posted on SAA’s
Web site) promise fast-paced and challenging discussions.
Did you respond to
the A*CENSUS survey in 2004? Two sessions will cover the results of this first-ever,
comprehensive survey of the archives profession,
including an “incubator session” designed to focus future planning
based on the survey’s findings. Increasing diversity of the archival
profession is sure to be one area of focus, and several sessions will help
to inform these discussions—from managing diversity programs in the workplace,
to documenting the rise of a Latino community, to ethnic and minority cultures
making use of modern archives theory.
If you’re interested in archives
in an international context, consider learning about the records of Truth Commissions,
archives in wartime Iraq or
the Balkans, outreach to third-world archives, European corporate records-keeping
or, closer to home, the work of Canadian archivists and archival systems.
The
Annual Meeting traditionally presents the chance to hear reports on current
research, to learn about advances made by colleagues, and to share common dilemmas
and solutions. Join your fellow archivists in discussing third-party rights
and privacy, lone arranger solutions, the nature of the reference process,
and new approaches to deaccessioning and minimal processing. You’ll hear
about “SHRABs,” Encoded Archival Context, and the Archivists’ Toolkit.
Are you subject to the “Curatorial Curse”? Attend New Orleans 2005
to find out!
Digital assets can be both blessing and curse. Learn more at the “Archives
Unplugged” session on their management, or hear about working models
of digital archives, e-mail management, and several collaborative electronic
records projects springing up in smaller repositories. And don’t miss
the opportunity to hear about the cutting-edge research done by students in
our graduate programs, the best of which will be presented in the Student Paper
Session.
The learning certainly doesn’t stop when the sessions end each
day. At New Orleans 2005, you’ll meet and mingle in the Exhibit Hall,
at section and roundtable meetings, and at the many social events that SAA
has planned.
There’s lots to learn at these occasions, too!
Pet anxieties aside, serving
on the SAA Program Committee is a peak experience—one
that we will always remember and highly recommend to others. Chief among the
benefits has been the opportunity to serve with a group of dedicated volunteers
and staff whose common goal is simply stated but not simply accomplished: To
make New Orleans 2005 the best professional conference you’ve ever attended.
Let the good times roll!
—2005 Program Committee
For additional information about the New Orleans 2005 Annual Meeting Program,
see the Schedule at a Glance.
SAA Thanks the 2005 Program Committee!
Elisabeth Kaplan, Co-Chair
University of Minnesota Libraries
Kathy Marquis, Co-Chair
Albany County (Wyoming) Public Library
Todd Daniels-Howell
Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis
John Fleckner
National Museum of American History
Jane Nokes
Scotiabank Group
Rachel Onuf
New Salem, Massachusetts
Rose Roberto
University of Glamorgan
Nancy Shader
NARA-Northeast Region
Matthew Veatch
Kansas State Historical Society
Robert Horton
Minnesota Historical Society
(Ex officio—2006 Program Committee Co-Chair)
Tom Hyry
Yale University
(Ex officio—2006 Program Committee Co-Chair)
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