The Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) seeks nominations for the 2026 year award.

The Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award recognizes an archivist, editor, group of individuals, or institution that has increased public awareness of a specific body of documents (which can be a specific archival collection or thematic aggregation) through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation of archives or manuscript materials for educational, instructional, or other public purpose. Work that has had an impact on a local, regional, national, and/or international level is welcomed.

Recent winners include:

• 2025: Andrew A. Anderson, Melissa Dinverno, and Christopher Maurer

• 2024: Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library Archives Research Center; Honorable Mention to La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archive of the Americas

• 2023: Dr. William Fliss, Raynor Memorial Libraries, Marquette University

• 2022: San Diego Air and Space Museum

• 2021: California State University Japanese American Digitization Project

Eligibility:

Individual archivists and editors, groups of individuals, organizations. This award is open to nominees within and outside of the United States, and is not limited to SAA members.

Prize:

A certificate and a cash prize of $500.

Application Deadline:

All nominations shall be submitted to SAA by Friday, February 28, 2026. 

For more information on this award, including the nomination form, please go to http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-hamer

For more information on SAA awards and the nominations process, please go to https://www2.archivists.org/aboutsaa/awardsandscholarships.