[SOA] FW: Regional archival organization spotlight: SOA

Tue Jul 12 14:27:14 EDT 2022

Excited for SOA to be the first regional archival org to be featured in this RAAC series! Thanks President Amy Rohmiller for representing us so well.

From: Cathy Miller via Society of American Archivists <Mail at ConnectedCommunity.org>
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2022 5:34 PM
To: Carleton, Janet <carleton at ohio.edu>
Subject: [SAA announcements] : Regional archival organization spotlight!: Society of Ohio Archivists

Dear SAA community,  In an effort to further engage with our fellow regional archival organizations, the Regional Archival Associations... -posted to the "Announcements" community
[Cathy Miller]<https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.archivists.org%2Fnetwork%2Fmembers%2Fprofile%3FUserKey%3D7f5af8ed-e761-45b0-98a6-b89f33763157&data=05%7C01%7Ccarleton%40ohio.edu%7C5fb65560e407443ec98e08da63851e23%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637931720642038998%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OaXVq1LLvF6Qjugk1j%2BACgnrk2Nuc1FhpJOey%2FUSYUk%3D&reserved=0>
Jul 11, 2022 4:34 PM
Cathy Miller<https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.archivists.org%2Fnetwork%2Fmembers%2Fprofile%3FUserKey%3D7f5af8ed-e761-45b0-98a6-b89f33763157&data=05%7C01%7Ccarleton%40ohio.edu%7C5fb65560e407443ec98e08da63851e23%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637931720642038998%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OaXVq1LLvF6Qjugk1j%2BACgnrk2Nuc1FhpJOey%2FUSYUk%3D&reserved=0>
Dear SAA community,

In an effort to further engage with our fellow regional archival organizations, the Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC) Steering Committee is featuring spotlights on various regional archival organizations. If you are interested in sharing the work that your regional archival organization<https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.archivists.org%2Fassoc-orgs%2Fdirectory&data=05%7C01%7Ccarleton%40ohio.edu%7C5fb65560e407443ec98e08da63851e23%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637931720642038998%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7eBtfD8cw4%2BasPT54K6MN4ZHdcpDFFQ4zTbp%2FXptXrA%3D&reserved=0> has been doing over the past few years, feel free to fill out this form<https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fforms%2Fd%2F1H8y7BxTJ66gaaBZB12vNjtDzPqelllVoINvI2zjKCsc%2Fedit&data=05%7C01%7Ccarleton%40ohio.edu%7C5fb65560e407443ec98e08da63851e23%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637931720642038998%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FhKZR3MzhFG2yr4uwUq6Wgrw4JHZG9QxZAnOOZlLX0g%3D&reserved=0>.

In our first highlight, the RAAC Steering Committee is happy to share/shine a spotlight on the Society of Ohio Archivists!

  1.  Who are you? (name of your regional archival organization)
     *   Society of Ohio Archivists
  2.  What is your regional organization's history? (When were you founded? Do you have a journal? number of members, etc.)
     *   Founded in 1968, the Society of Ohio Archivists' mission is to improve the state of archives in Ohio by promoting the archival profession and providing professional development and networking opportunities for Ohio's professional and aspiring archivists. We are the oldest continuously operating state organization devoted to the archival profession in the US. We take pride in providing resources and opportunities for professional growth and collaboration to our 153 members. The Ohio Archivist, SOA's official publication since 1970, is available online and can be found on our website (issues prior to 2001 can be accessed at The Ohio State University Libraries' Knowledge Bank).
  3.  What are some recent initiatives your organization has undertaken? (Note: If you have nothing to share because your organization's members have been busy surviving a pandemic, we get it.)
     *   SOA is among many organizations in this country that is taking stock and reflecting on the racist and biased systems that our profession and institutions were founded and continue to operate on. In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter movement that spurred the global community to rise up, SOA issued a statement pledging to take action to rectify and begin the reparative work necessary to be more equitable in our approach to collections and access. Over the past two years, and through the leadership of our various committees, SOA has recently facilitated programming to encourage our members to move beyond statements - to take action and hold ourselves accountable to our communities and one another. In January, we held our first "Crucial Conversations" webinar, a series designed to connect activists and organizers in our community to our members, providing a space to have tough but necessary discussions about racial and social justice and connecting those issues to our work place. This conversation led to various moderated group discussions at our annual meeting in May, about our efforts to provide greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the archives. Members had a chance to share what their institutions are doing and to share resources with one another. Plans to have a larger forum with all members in the coming months is in the works.
  4.  Is there a particular initiative and/or accomplishment your organization is proud of? Tell us about it!
     *   Cumulatively, all of the recent initiatives SOA has done, including our most recent statement to the state legislature condemning Ohio's divisive concepts bill, HB327, are a larger reflection of what our organization and members across the state are capable of. For decades, our society has perpetuated a myth about archives, museums, and libraries - that these institutions are neutral spaces and that we as "good citizens" should be agreeable and neutral, required to see and understand "both sides." However, in the wake of so many efforts to silence and ultimately erase some perspectives and histories, which is what HB327 in Ohio is trying to do in the classroom and all spaces for education, our members have demanded that we do more. SOA with the support of our members are saying that we do not stand by silently and take the neutral position, but rather that we are in the perfect position to take action. That we, maybe more so than other professions, are able to provide access to the lessons from the past that will guide us to a more perfect and equitable future.
  5.  Tell us all about your aspirations - what would you like to see your organization doing for its members?
     *   We'd like to keep building on the momentum of our recent initiatives and keep diversity, equity, and inclusion issues at the forefront of our work going forward. We would like to continue to speak out on issues that affect Ohio's archivists, work for the inclusion of Ohio's diverse communities in the historical record, and support and recognize archivists who are doing the work.
Thank you,
Cathy

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Cathy Miller
RAAC Steering Committee member
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