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A Personal
Vision for SAA
by
LUCIANA DURANTI, University of British Columbia
54th president of the
Society of American Archivists
This
address was delivered September 5th, 1998, during the closing plenary session
at SAA's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
At the end of
the Council meeting concluding his presidential year, Bill Maher gave our Executive
Director, Susan Fox, a book on "How to speak Italian with Your Hands"
and handed me a volume entitled "Book of Popular Americana." In that
moment, for the first time since I accepted my nomination for President, the
notion that I am a foreign President hit home, with all its implications. SAA
has had four non-American Presidents before me, but they were not really foreign,
as they were all English speaking Canadians, close cousins, so to speak.
Thus, for a short
while, I was panic stricken. Then, it occurred to me that the rest of Council,
other officers included, could help me through specific American issues, while
I could put the fact of being a foreigner to the service of the society by offering
it my unique perspective on more general issues affecting both the profession
and the society, a perspective very much determined by the integration of my
cultural background with my North American experience.
When I first
came to a SAA meeting as a visitor from Europe, I looked at SAA members through
the lenses of someone who carries with her the baggage of a fully recognized
and respected profession, made slow in its development and conservative in
its
attitude by the load of centuries of traditions and accumulated knowledge.
What I saw was a young, dynamic, diverse community seeking a more defined
role, recognition
and power, and struggling with a world that was changing too fast. I thought: "I
can help. I wish to serve this profession on the rise. And I became a member."
I returned to
the SAA annual meeting the following year, ready for it. I had read all the
American archival literature I could put my hands on, from Norton and Jones
to Berner, and I had visited a significant number of American archives. Thus,
I had a better understanding of what was going on, I could entertain meaningful
archival conversations with colleagues, and I could contribute to the educators
and description units.
The third time
I came to SAA, I was a newly appointed professor at the University of British
Columbia; I joined to the Canadian archival community and I was focusing all
my efforts on understanding my new environment. At that point, I realized that
I was playing in an entirely different ballpark. I began to look at SAA through
Canadian lenses, and it was as a Canadian that I was invited to serve in my
first SAA committee, the Committee on Education and Professional Development
(CEPD).
Ten years have
passed since that time and I have grown intimate with SAA to the point that
some of my American colleagues at times forget that I am not American. However,
I do have a clear memory of the way SAA appeared to me first as a European,
and then as a new Canadian, and, while I have acquired the ability to see archival
issues through American eyes, I keep changing my point of view and comparing
what I see, in an attempt to look at SAA in a world-wide context and as an outsider.
Thus, I have decided to take this opportunity to outline for you my personal
vision of and for SAA.
My understanding
of the history of this association is that, in the beginning, the raison d'¨tre
of SAA was to provide people engaged in the same activities and entrusted with
similar responsibilities with the opportunity to share their experiences, knowledge,
and ideas and to validate them. In the following decades, its primary purpose
became to form and nurture a professional identity by providing a forum for
discussion, developing an archival literature, and delivering archival training.
That this purpose can be considered largely fulfilled is evidenced by the fact
that, today, most American archivists define themselves and are recognized
as
such not by their actual jobs, but by their body of knowledge and skills and
by their educational credentials. From the position of strength derived to
it
from the growing sense of identity among American archivists, SAA has recently
been able to take up a leadership function. In the past few years, SAA has
spoken
authoritatively on archival and records related issues, and has developed,
or participated actively in the development of standards.
Thus, from the
time of its foundation, the primary mission of SAA has slowly but surely shifted,
and, while many of the activities it carries out today have the same name, their
purpose, and consequently their content, have dramatically changed. Undoubtedly,
the old ways are still lingering about, but not for very long, because the membership
of SAA needs services that can enable it to respond to social changes. In order
to provide these services effectively and economically, SAA needs to focus its
efforts, approach differently some of its activities, and become itself an instrument
of change by contributing to the determination of new directions for the archival
profession.
The factors that
most affect our profession are the consequence of worldwide trends, such as
globalization, the formation of multiple centers of power, the information revolution,
value changes, and social differentiation. These trends require that SAA cultivate
participation in the international sphere while at the same time establishing
close working links with organizations at local levels. This requirement is
due to several facts:
- The transfer
of government powers to supra- and sub-state entities;
- The rise in
power of non-state actors (such as multinational enterprises, which have increasing
powers to decide where jobs and wealth will be created, and not-for-profit
organizations of all kinds, which lobby legislative bodies on all sorts of
issues);
- The changes
in the world centers of power;
- The power
of information technology to expand horizons and shift communal orientation
among publics, with the consequent decline of "parochialism" and
the rise of continental and international outlooks; and
- The rising
dissatisfaction among the citizens with the way democracy works.
While these trends
also require that SAA become directly involved in research partnerships, focus
its educational and publication activities, and speak for the profession in
labor related issues, the most pressing general need for SAA, in order to be
able to proceed forward, is to project itself outward.
SAA is already
part of a network of archival associations that stretches around the world,
but it needs to strengthen its international efforts. The concept of SAA
as
a truly internationally active and influential organization could be fostered
in the design and promotion of educational, publication and research programs
with a clear international character, but also by a concerted effort to increase
the number of international members (both individual and institutional).
This
could be done by encouraging SAA members to participate in international activities,
by financially supporting representatives in key international committees,
by
organizing international events, and—as already mentioned -- by participating
in international research initiatives, and increasing the international relevance
of SAA education offerings and publications.
While forging
a strong international role for itself, SAA should seek opportunities to work
with various community groups on issues of common concern. Recently, SAA has
been successful in developing a national reputation, but it also needs to recapture
its regional reputation and to take a greater role in community initiatives.
SAA should commit itself to cooperate with educational institutions, as well
as industries, local governments and agencies and not-for-profit organizations
to advance learning and research, and to foster the transfer of knowledge between
the archival profession and these various communities. Also, SAA can establish
a strong local and regional presence by focusing on its ability to provide advice
and support in relation to policy analysis and development, and advocacy and
outreach. All these linkages, supported by initiatives like, for example, the
issuing of job descriptions with qualification requirements, will enhance SAA
effectiveness in influencing hiring standards, salary levels, and other work
related issues.
Certainly, to
develop and maintain multiple connections with different communities is not
possible for the Executive Director alone, who is already responsible for the
relationships between SAA and national allied organizations, neither can it
be left to the SAA units, because such effort, to be fruitful, must be systematic
and ongoing. This competence for international and community relations should
therefore reside in the SAA office, whose work can be rethought and steered
towards new directions. To support this specific competence, I envision SAA
establishing an Advisory Council comprised of non-members representing many
areas of society, including business, industry, government, education and culture,
organized labor, charitable organizations, etc. to be consulted on such matters
as outreach programs, publication initiatives, research needs and opportunities,
and fundraising.
You have certainly
noticed that I have mentioned research already several times. European professional
archival associations have repeatedly demonstrated that it is possible to
increase
an association's impact on the various communities and to have a strong influence
at the global level if one is willing to look beyond the issuing of statements—no
matters how enlightened and useful—and of guidelines—no matter how
practical, and even go beyond the discussion and approval of standards developed
elsewhere. SAA has the potential to steer the future of the archival profession
and contribute to the creation of new knowledge if it is prepared to focus
on
innovative ways to participate in research initiatives as a partner of research
groups constituted at universities and elsewhere, on the basis of a program
approved by Council. The specific objectives of a SAA program of research could
aim at: a) identifying new avenues of research in the policy areas; b) involving
its non-academic members in policy-relevant research, and c) promoting multi-
or interdisciplinary capacities in the fields of policy research, thereby creating
alliances between disciplines, policy makers, and governments.
SAA should regularly
apply for research grants and seek matching funds from various sources, including
granting agencies, industrial organizations, and individual donors. Research
proposals and grant applications could be developed by SAA members expert in
the specific area of investigation in conjunction with the SAA office. However,
SAA could be a player in research initiatives by providing a forum for the regular
presentation of partial findings both at its meetings and in its publications,
which would thus become the most effective instrument of international and community
penetration for SAA.
The SAA publication
program should also aim at occupying spaces that no other publishing organization
has identified as its own. The translation into English of foreign archival
texts is one of those areas. We are very good at emphasizing the need of fostering
diversity and nurturing graduate archival education, but it is time we begin
putting our money where our mouth is. As it regards the first issue, there is
no way SAA can cultivate ethnic and cultural diversity if the profession does
not acquire an understanding of ethnic and cultural groups through the reading
of their archival literature. And I can add, from direct experience, that there
is no way one can cultivate in himself as well as in the new generations of
American archivists an understanding of one's professional identity and history
if one does not constantly compare his assumptions, concepts, experiences and
actions with those of archivists from the rest of the world. I truly understood
for the first time the motivations behind Italian archival policies and laws
after I began to understand the American and Canadian ones.
And this brings
me to the second issue, archival education. We need to support graduate archival
programs in ways that are more than symbolic, and to the point that such programs
will direct all their graduates towards SAA as a vital part of their student
and professional life, because nurturing the education of its members is any
professional association's primary responsibility. SAA should demonstrate its
commitment to the highest standards of education by aiming its publication program
to supporting it, for example, with translations; by upholding its MAS guidelines
for pre-appointment education on every occasion; by insisting that large employers
of archivists review their hiring practices and rules according to the education
standards recognized by SAA; and by collaborating with all concerned universities
in the organization of an annual archival educators conference, so that it becomes
a regular feature of the SAA annual meeting.
As to continuing
education, SAA should get involved in co-sponsoring leading edge seminars and
workshops with other organizations, be they archives or other relevant communities,
thereby providing individual members with a unique opportunity to experience
the specific problems/solutions of working environments different from their
own, and the participating communities with the opportunity to hear the points
of view of professionals with a variety of backgrounds and knowledge base.
SAA
should also get involved in co-sponsoring intensive short-term education programs
with universities and colleges, particularly on the subject of basic—as
opposed to applied—archival research.
The directions
that I have outlined above should all contribute to membership retention, recruitment,
and renewal. SAA recognizes its membership as its key resource and places the
highest value on its contributions of ideas, time and expertise. Moreover, SAA
is already committed to providing access to its services regardless of financial
ability, to involve in its activities all its members, including representatives
of other professions, to provide an equitable environment that celebrates diversity,
respects difference, and ensures that all may serve the profession at their
highest potential.
However, SAA
must develop a coherent and comprehensive approach to membership acquisition,
with a more interdisciplinary and international focus. SAA's ability to retain
and attract members depends upon its competitiveness in the national and international
scene, on its capacity of providing unique opportunities for education, research,
involvement with relevant communities (at all levels of government and in the
spheres of business, industry and not-for-profit organizations), participation
in policy development and in the definition of international standards. SAA's
ability to maintain a healthy membership also depends on the existence of appropriate
mechanisms to recognize members' contributions and achievements in relation
to the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan. SAA needs therefore
to focus unequivocally on a few clear directions, to foster a strong sense of
involvement among its members, existent and potential, to acknowledge the value
of community-based work undertaken by its members in support of the profession
and the society, and to encourage a closer co-operation between members, SAA
staff and its elected officers, especially when it comes to applications for
grants, representation in other associations, and the development of collaborative
ventures with other organizations. But, in order to do so, SAA must become a
more pro-active and risk taking organization, that is, its general approach
must undergo a radical change.
Among the possible
changes, there are some that I see as unavoidable if SAA is to proceed forward.
One of them has to do with the identification of new sources of revenue. As
the situation stands now, the annual meeting and the publication program constitute
SAA's sources of income primarily by membership dues, and secondarily. Increasing
membership dues can no longer be the sole way of keeping our finances healthy.
We need to focus our services and get involved in new profitable initiatives.
We need systematic and ongoing fundraising, not from our membership, but from
external communities, and a full-time development officer can only do this.
We need regular and planned grant applications, and we need to attach our name
to initiatives funded by other organizations.
Also this fund
raising/public relations activity, just like the international/community relations
activity, needs to be situated in the SAA office, and reinforces the need for
re-examining and re-thinking the services it offers. In the next few months,
Council will identify means for conducting such a study. Whatever its outcome,
in order to protect the interest of individual members, we must primarily think
of the most pressing needs of the general membership.
As a Vice-president
seeking volunteers to appoint to SAA units and to nominate as SAA representatives
to international groups, I have heard once too many the statement: "I cannot
serve because I am not a member, and I will not become a member because SAA
does not help my career." One can reply till becoming blue in the face
that such statements are unprofessional and shortsighted, that it is the primary
responsibility of every professional to support his profession through work
in the national association, that an association serves its members only in
the measure in which they serve the association, that the more one invests in
it, the more one gets from it, that the association is its membership and cannot
be useful to its members if they do not make themselves useful…to no avail.
Perception can
be stronger than facts. Thus, we need to change the perception. How? By offering
to members of the profession something they cannot get anywhere else. Our mission
statement says that, through its work, the society ensures the protection of
the historical record and increases the awareness of the value of archives.
What about the value of archivists? As I said earlier, SAA should get directly
involved in job related issues, and specifically job descriptions, including
qualifications, minimum salaries, hiring practices and standards, etc. at all
levels of government and in the private sector.
However, SAA
can also enhance the awareness of the value of archivists by providing its
membership with unique opportunities for interacting with other professionals
in both allied
and distinct fields and at an international level. Advocacy has been a good
start but we have to do much more. Certainly the annual conference could
be
more geared towards such purpose. Funds could be raised by various means to
compensate professionals from different sectors who come as speakers, and
to
support the expenses of international archival speakers. On a more regular
basis, the co-sponsoring of events and educational offerings with private
and public
organizations, including other associations and universities, would provide
a basis for the establishment of stable relationships of mutual respect and
collaboration. Other strategies could consist of having in each SAA committee
a person from a different profession as "advisory member." "Corresponding
members" could be sought in other countries that would work with sections
and committees on SAA initiatives. Advisory and corresponding members could
be dispensed from membership in the SAA for a given period until they will
begin
to appreciate the advantages of being part of it.
These are just
ideas. But, what I strongly believe is that SAA cannot proceed forward if
it does not go outward. More and more, American archivists will find their
identity in their education and their special skills, will have a large number
of forums for exchange of ideas directly related to those skills, will look
for advanced training and literature that directly address their job needs,
will flock to associations that cater to their specialist requirements, will
be on a fast moving track from one position to another. How can SAA establish
its relevancy to these members of the profession, typically young, ambitious,
impatient, and focused on the most challenging issues? What is SAA's unique
role?
I can see that
role very clearly. SAA's responsibility for the future as the national archival
association is to emphasize the unity that lies at the root of the archival
profession, a unity in knowledge, competence and responsibility, regardless
of specialization, geographical location, ethnic, cultural and other diversities.
The means are equally clear. SAA needs to focus on
- Nurturing
a pre-appointment education with a well defined core body of knowledge and
offering advanced continuing education of world-wide relevance;
- Providing
international publications, thereby fostering knowledge that eliminated cultural
barriers;
- Offering an
annual meeting that points to common issues, problems, and solutions;
- Establishing
relationships with all sorts of organizations and communities centered on
shared interests and purposes;
- Presenting
to governments, administrations, politicians, and the mass media the united
point of view of the records professions;
- Representing
the profession to its employers by determining and upholding hiring standards;
- Fostering
and taking part into research; and
- Being pro-active
in the development of international policies and standards.
If SAA will begin
right now to focus its efforts on what unites us all, it will one day not too
far become the "ecclesia" of records professionals, the place where
all those who share the same call and believes get together as one professional
body. This is what SAA was for me when I searched for a bridge that could bring
me into contact with North American fellow archivists…and look where it
has taken me…to the SAA Presidency!
Well, it might
not seem like much to some, but to me it is the greatest honour and you can
be assured that I will serve you in the coming year with the same enthusiasm
and commitment that made me choose to become a SAA member twelve years ago.
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