News

Lilly Carrel, 50th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee

This is the second installment of a series of articles that commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Society of Southwest Archivists.

What once began as a business meeting raffle during breakfast has transformed into the annual tradition known as SLOTTO. SLOTTO made its first mark in SSA’s history on May 20, 1993 with David Murrah hosting the raffle and raising $515 for the Herbert Scholarship.

Caption: Charles Schultz, SSA President 1978-1980, with his “Bluebirds of Happiness” at SLOTTO in Fayetteville, AR, 2000. Photo: Shelly Kelly.

The following year at SSA’s annual meeting in El Paso, Kim Allen Scott filled in as host, a role he would continue to undertake throughout the next decade. His weeks-long preparation served him well as he entertained attendees and helped drive up raffle ticket sales. Kim’s years in this role for the event would pay off in 2001 when he was presented the Distinguished Service Award. Since the beginning of SLOTTO in 1993 until 2001, up to $1,570 had been raised through the raffle.

Caption: Long-time host, Kim Allen Scott, and Gerri Schaad at SLOTTO in Austin, TX, 1999. Photo: Shelly Kelly.

SLOTTO’s tradition evolved as SSA leaders and members added prize runners, such as Mark Lambert who dressed up as Elvis Presley in 2002 to distribute winnings during the event. In the mid 2000s, John Slate, Robert Schaadt, and others took a turn at being hosts to introduce their own comedic talents to SLOTTO.

Caption: LBJ bust, recurring SLOTTO prize, “The Louisiana Years.” January 2021. Photo: Mark E Martin.

Caption: Buy SLOTTO Tickets! Bob Sloan, Tara Zachery Laver, and Cindy Smolovik. San Antonio, TX, 2004 SSA Annual Meeting. Photo: Shelly Kelly.

In the following decade, Melissa Gonzales took on the emcee role, wearing costume concepts such as “Jock Jams” in 2015 and “I Dream of ‘Wonder Woman Genie’” in 2019. During this year, $2,700 was raised at SLOTTO.

Caption: SLOTTO emcee, Melissa Gonzales, in “I Dream of ‘Wonder Woman’ Jeannie” costume, Tucson, AZ, 2019. Image courtesy of Melissa Gonzales.

The year 2020 with COVID-19 brought some abrupt changes in the cancellation of SSA’s annual meeting and SLOTTO raffle. Both returned in 2021 as members adapted to the virtual world of remote meetings. Melissa committed to her hosting responsibilities for the fundraiser while wearing a crafted Moulin Rouge tiger costume, successfully bringing a comedic sense of normalcy and hope to attendees through the computer screen.

SLOTTO returns to its roots in 2022 at SSA’s 50th anniversary annual meeting in Houston.

Let Us Hear From You – Celebrate SSA’s 50th Anniversary

What can you do to help? Send in your most memorable moments of SSA! Whether it took place this year, fifteen years ago, or fifty years ago, we want to know what memorable moments stand out when you think back over your SSA membership. Was there a particular session or workshop that changed the way you practiced Archives?

Did something memorable happen at the annual meeting? How did you meet your best SSA friend? Whether it’s funny or sad, poignant or boring; we want to know your most memorable moments in SSA. Send memorable moments to John Slate john.slate@dallascityhall.com.

If you would like to serve, or know an ideal candidate, please submit your nominations for the following positions:

Vice-President/President Elect (three year term-one as VP, one as President, and one as Immediate Past President)

Executive Board (3 positions, two-year term)

Nominating Committee (1 position, two-year term)

Scholarship Committee (1 position, three-year term)

Secretary (two-year term)

The responsibilities of each position are outlined in the SSA Officer & Committee Procedures Manual.

To submit a nomination or nominate yourself, please fill out this form: 2022 Nominations Form

The deadline for submitted nominations is January 1, 2022.

Remember, if you are a Certified Archivist, or are planning to become certified, participating in the leadership of a professional organization such as SSA will earn you recertification credit.

John Slate, Chair, 50th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee

This is the first installment of a series of articles that commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Society of Southwest Archivists.

Let’s begin at the beginning! On May 5, 1972 thirty-five archivists, librarians, and historians met at the University of Texas at Arlington to form the Society. The group drafted a constitution and bylaws. According to Charles Schultz’ institutional history of SSA, attendees sought most of all to foster and promote cooperation within the archival profession as well as among the several professions interested in archives and manuscripts as creators, collectors, preservers, and users. Next they sought to provide opportunities for educational development, not only for archivists, but also for users of archives. They also wanted to advance what today would be called “best practices.”

Caption: Clipping from the Arlington Daily News, Monday, May 8, 1972, courtesy of the SSA archives, Baylor University. “Historical Meeting – The first meeting of the Southwestern Archives Society was held recently at the University of Texas at Arlington. Among those in attendance were, left to right, Dr. Edwin A. Davis, Managing Editor of the “Louisiana Historian” at Louisiana State University; John M .Kinney, Director of the Texas State Archives; Samuel A. Sizer, Curator of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas; Robert L. Clark, Jr., Archivist for the State of Oklahoma, and Ivan D. Eyler, Regional Director of the National Archives and Records Service in Fort Worth.”

The first roster of elected officers of the Society reads like a who’s who of the archives and history community of the Southwest. A. Otis Hebert, Jr., director of the Louisiana Department of Archives and Records was named president. Dr. Sandra Swickard Myres, associate professor of history at the University of Texas at Arlington, was elected vice president. C. George Younkin, chief of the branch archives at the National Archives and Records Center at Fort Worth, was elected secretary – treasurer.

The first board was composed of a number of legendary heavy hitters in the archives community. Sister M. Claude Lane, archivist of the Catholic Archives of Texas, and Chester V. Kielman, university archivist of the University of Texas at Austin were elected to two-year terms on the executive board. Leon Metz, local historian, author, and archivist at the University of Texas at El Paso, and Bob Clark, state archivist of Oklahoma were elected to one-year terms. SSA sponsors and funds the Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award, presented annually since1974 by the Society of American Archivists. It is the only SAA award sponsored by a regional organization. SSA has also sponsored and awarded the A. Otis Hebert, Jr. Continuing Education Scholarship since 1977. This led up to our first annual meeting, which was held at the University of Oklahoma in Norman on June 7th and 8th, 1973. At that first meeting, presentations and discussion revolved around copyright law, preservation and conservation, arrangement and description, reference topics, microfilming, and photographic collections preservation and access.

Let Us Hear From You – Celebrate SSA’s 50th Anniversary

What can you do to help? Send in your most memorable moments of SSA! Whether it took place this year, fifteen years ago, or fifty years ago, we want to know what memorable moments stand out when you think back over your SSA membership. Was there a particular session or workshop that changed the way you practiced Archives?

Did something memorable happen at the annual meeting? How did you meet your best SSA friend? Whether it’s funny or sad, poignant or boring; we want to know your most memorable moments in SSA. Send memorable moments to John Slate john.slate@dallascityhall.com.

On September 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order (13950) on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping. The Executive Order (EO) seeks to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating” and to end so-called “divisive concepts” such as “critical race theory,” “white privilege,” “intersectionality,” “systemic racism,” and “unconscious bias” covered in workplace trainings used by institutions receiving federal funding. The EO further establishes requirements aimed at “promoting unity in the Federal workforce,” by prohibiting messages in workplace trainings that imply “an individual, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”

The Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) views this EO as a brazen effort to silence diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives in the workplaces of our membership. Libraries and archives should not deny the lived experience of Black/Brown, Indigenous, and other people of color, nor cast aside scholarship and research into the history of race relations in the United States in order to receive critical federal funding. The archival records held by repositories across the American Southwest are frequently accessed to provide evidence of the formation and spread of institutionalized racism. This EO requires SSA archivists to ignore this reality and silence the past, thereby calling into question the relevance of maintaining historical records.

SSA is committed to the long-term work of dismantling structural racism through the continued processes of education, listening, and action. We cannot remain neutral regarding EO13950 and its toxic and ahistorical approach to our country’s past and the complexities of its culture. We are dedicated to an inclusive archival profession that respects our BIPOC colleagues and supports the care of diverse archival holdings. We oppose EO 13950 and its efforts to divide archival workplaces.

Have you been following the Society of Southwest Archivists on Facebook and Twitter and wonder how you can suggest links or announcements of your own? Well, look no further, because the SSA Social Media Request Form is here for you!

Suggestions can include articles about archivists, archives, or cultural heritage issues in the region; announcements; calls for proposals; professional development opportunities; job postings; and more! Note that job post requests must include salary information, posts may be edited for length, and submitted posts will be posted at the discretion of the Internet Outreach Committee.

A permanent link to the form can be found on the Internet Outreach Committee page. Bookmark it now, and spread the word!

Questions, post ideas, and job post requests may also be sent directly to SSAInternetOutreach@gmail.com

It’s time to submit nominations for SSA’s 2021 election! If you would like to serve, or know an ideal candidate, please submit your nomination via our web form on SSA’s home page. The deadline for submitted nominations is January 1, 2021.

The SSA Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for the following positions in 2021:

Vice-President/President Elect (three-year term-on as VP, one as President, and on as Immediate Past President)

Executive Board (3 positions, two-year term)

Nominating Committee (1 position, two-year term)

Scholarship Committee (1 position, three-year term)

Treasurer (two-year term)

The responsibilities of each position are outlined in the SSA Officer & Committee Procedures Manual.

To submit a nomination or nominate yourself, please fill out this form: 2021 Nomination Form

Remember, if you are a Certified Archivist, or are planning to become certified, participating in the leadership of a professional organization such as SSA will earn you recertification credit. Thank you for your interest in supporting SSA!

Dr. David B. Gracy Faculty Profile photo

The Society of Southwest Archivists has lost a powerful advocate for archives. Dr. David B. Gracy II died peacefully in his home in the early morning of Saturday, September 26.

Dr. Gracy was many things to many people: an archives evangelist, a mentor, a teacher, a colleague, even a train conductor at times.

Last year, at the Society of American Archivists annual meeting, Dr. Gracy gave a presentation and recorded an interview.

The presentation he gave at SAA 2019, “Archival Perspectives – From Texas And Beyond” is, unfortunately only available to current SAA members.

If you aren’t a current SAA member, he was also interviewed that same week on the podcast “An Archivist’s Tale.”

Both recordings are filled with Dr. Gracy’s energy and signature quips. Hot Dog!

If you have access to JSTOR, there is an entire journal volume of Information & Culture devoted to Dr. Gracy’s career.

We encourage you to leave a remembrance wherever you feel comfortable, be it through his obituary website, SAA’s website, through social media, through an e-mail to a colleague, or just privately with a short moment of silence.

And should you feel inclined, you can pay tribute to Dr. Gracy by contributing to the student scholarship named for him.

Into the breach!

The Society of Southwest Archivists opposes budget cuts that threaten the access to the research collections of the Birmingham Public Library.

The Officers and Executive Board endorse the following letter of support. SSA will send our endorsement to the Mayor and City Council of Birmingham.

If you would like to send your own email to the Birmingham City Council:

• Mayor Randall Woodfin https://www.birminghamal.gov/about/mayors-office/; Randall.Woodfin@birminghamal.gov
• City Council https://www.birminghamalcitycouncil.org/
• • District 1: Clinton Woods clinton.woods@birminghamal.gov
  • District 2: Hunter Williams hunter.williams@birminghamal.gov
  • District 3: Valerie Abbot valerie.abbott@birminghamal.gov
  • District 4 and President William Parker william.parker@birminghamal.gov
  • District 5 Darrell O’Quinn darrell.oquinn@birminghamal.gov
  • District 6 Crystal Smitherman crystal.smitherman@birminghamal.gov
  • District 7 Wardine Alexander wardine.alexander@birminghamal.gov
  • District 8 Steven Hoyt steven.hoyt@birminghamal.gov
  • District 9 John Hilliard john.hilliard@birminghamal.gov
• Library Board http://www.bplonline.org/about/admin/Board.aspx
• • Board President Eunice Rogers eejrogers@att.net
  • James Sullivan, Immediate Past President Sullivanajames@gmail.com

The Society of Southwest Archivists leadership is pleased to announce its endorsement of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials. The Protocols for Native American Archival Materials were developed by archives professionals and Native American community stakeholders to promote best practices for preserving and providing access to Native American materials held by non-tribal institutions. The Protocols underscore the importance of consultation with Native Nations in policy decisions regarding Native American cultural materials, understanding Native American values and perspectives, rethinking public accessibility and use of some materials, and providing culturally responsive context for archival collections.

Learn more:

Society of Southwest Archivists Workshop: Protocols 101: How to Start the Conversion at Your Institution presented by Nicholas Wojcik with guest speaker Veronica Reyes-Escudero at the 2019 SSA Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona. The content for this workshop was adapted from the Society of American Archivists Native American Archives Section and sponsored by the Society of Southwest Archivists, distributed under CC BY-NC-ND.

Society of American Archivists Native American Archives Section

Society of American Archivists Native American Archives Section Resources including webinars, implementation case studies, a Cultural Audit for Native American Collections, Inter-institutional Memorandum of Understanding Example, and Institutional Profiles and Scenarios.

The Society of Southwest Archivists board voted to donate $5,000 towards the Archival Workers Emergency Fund (the AWE Fund) to financially support archival workers impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. We urge SSA members and archival workers in the region (including students) to apply for assistance if needed, spread the word to archival workers in their networks, and to donate to the fund or get involved with the AWE Fund Organizing Committee if interested. You do not need to be a member of SSA or SAA in order to apply for funding.

More information about the fund from the Organizing Committee:

The COVID-19 global pandemic has left many archival workers financially vulnerable as institutions shut their doors and contract work disappears. In response, an ad hoc group of concerned archivists, in partnership with the SAA Foundation, established the AWE Fund to provide immediate support to archival workers in the United States, particularly those in contingent positions, who are disproportionately affected by this crisis and its financial impact. By spreading the word through your network, on social media and through direct messaging, SSA can help us reach more archivists in need, and potential donors.

We have already raised over $80,000 thanks to a generous seed grant from the SAA Foundation and momentum from over 450 individual donors. This has allowed us to provide financial support to 77 archival workers with a concrete message that the archival community has one another’s backs. We want to ensure news about this fund reaches all corners of the profession. To learn more about the fund, please visit SAA, as well as on our informational brochure.