SAA 2008: What does it mean to be an Archivist?

Professional Considerations:

• The Reluctant Administrator, or How I Learned to Love Management - Nancy Freeman (Chair), Alison Stankrauff, Courtney Yevich, Colleen McFarland
• Family and Community Archives Project: Introducing High School Students to the Archives Profession - Christine Weideman (Chair), Diane Kaplan, Thomas Hyry, Molly Wheeler
• Past Rites: Marketing for the Future - John Treanor (Chair), Jean Elliott, Edward Rider, Jane Nokes
  

Collaboration and Professional Identity:

• I Walk the Line: Revolutionary Archivists Leading Special Collections Departments - Aaron D Purcell (Chair and Commentator), Susan McElrath, Clark E Center, Jr
• Convergence: R(e)volutions in Archives and IT Collaboration - Philip Bantin (Chair), Rachel Vagts, Daniel Noonan, Paul Hedges, Jennifer Gunter King
• Modern Perspectives on the Relationship Between Archives and Records Management - Alison Langmead (Chair and Commentator), Matthew Eidson, Julia Hendry, Tony Jahn
  

Ethical Considerations:

• Ethnic Archives: Collecting Within Cultural Contexts: The process of soliciting archival collections from individuals and organizations often brings with it a set of challenges that are familiar to many archivists. When collecting in specific ethnic communities, a number of other issues may emerge and the archivist must bring an added cross-cultural sensitivity to this task. Drawing upon personal experiences, three archivists identify some of these issues and raise questions about the nature of archival collecting in general.
• Returning Displaced Archives: Legal and Ethical Perspectives: When the letter arrives demanding the "return" of a collection, what do you do? Restitution claims range from relatives requesting return of family papers to the government claiming its property, disputes between repositories, or foreign countries recovering lost cultural heritage. Recent restitution disputes have generated a revolution in the archives. What are the best legal strategies, the ethical dimensions? Are archivists personally liable? Panelists clarify the questions to ask before you either send those papers back or say "no way."
• Archival Ethics with Changing Practices: The Impact of Technology: Technology is changing the way archivists perform their jobs, but are archivists' ethics changing under the strain of technology? As technology changes, archivists must reexamine their ethics. Ethics standards rooted in a paper and limited-access world are no match for the ethics required in an on-demand, multi-format world. What are the ethical standards that archivists should be employing in this technological world? How do archivists view their ethical role as technology pushes practices?
• Understanding the Balance: Repositories, Researchers, Public Domain, and the Law: Heather Briston (Commentator) University Libraries, University of Oregon: Do our own policies act as a barrier to use? We seek to understand the challenges posed by copyright law, but do we understand the effect of contract law? How do we balance the needs of our repository, the legal issues, and the ethical issues involved in an agreement to duplicate and use between our repository and a researcher? Two lawyers experienced in issues of contract and copyright look at both sides of the issues.
  

Reference and Instruction:

• Want to Thrive? Listen to Your Users (Patrons, Researchers, Customers) - Richard L Pifer (Chair), Judit Olah, Alexis Braun Ma
• Old Movies, New Audiences: Archival Films as Public Outreach Tools - Jeff Lambert (Chair), Bill Moore, Cristine Paschild, Snowden Becker
• Moving Targets: Identifying Evolving Needs in Electronic Records Education - Lee Stout (Chair and Commentator), Ciaran B Trace, Cheryl L Stadel-Bevans, Jim Cundy
• Archivists as Educators: Why Should We Teach? - Rick Ewig (Leader), Carol Bowers, Carol Bryant
  

Technological (Re)Evolution:

• Evolving Finding Aids for Basic Processing - Dan Santamaria (Chair), Mark Shelstad, Jennifer Meehan, D Claudia Thompson
• Pre-Custodial Intervention: Let Them Do the Damn Work! - Kevin Glick (Chair), Laura Tatum, Daniel Hartwig
• Capturing the E-Tiger: New Tools for Email Preservation - Mark Conrad (Chair), Kelly Eubank, Riccardo Ferrante, Glen McAninch