News

Do you follow CAA on Twitter? How about Facebook? CAA is on both as @ChicagoArchvsts (Twitter) and @chicagoarchivists (Facebook), and we have a new team tweeting and posting our content!

Lisa Geiger works with the Exhibits Registration department at the Field Museum and has a background in cultural resource collection management and archival processing. She is currently enrolled in the UIUC iSchool MLIS LEEP program with an expected spring 2018 graduation date.

Derek Potts is an Archives Assistant at DePaul Special Collections and Archives. His work includes processing community collections and managing zine reproductions for incarcerated people. 

If you have news that you want CAA to post on our social media channels, you can contact Lisa (lisa.geiger@outlook.com) and Derek (rebeldepot@gmail.com) directly, or email info@chicagoarchivists.org with the subject line "Social Media." When submitting content, its helpful to include any or all of the following: 

• Suggested caption

• Links to any associated online content

• Any associated hashtags or images

• Recommended date of posting initial post as well as future reminders.

• Any additional information or “talking points” that might be useful for the social media team to know in responding to any comments or questions that may arise, if applicable.

We also ask that you encourage your institutions and employers to follow us! We want to build our networks so that we can know when there is relevant news to share with our community. 

Last but not least, welcome and thanks to Derek and Lisa!

Thanks to everyone that came out for CAA's first installment of CAA Reacts! Six people joined us at Red Lion Pub where we talked with Derek Potts about his work providing copies of zines from the DePaul University archives to people who are incarcerated. Derek passed around copies of the zines, which are part of the Anthony Rayson Zine Collection. It was a small group but everyone came with lots of enthusiasm and there was much to discuss over drinks and pub cheese. Everyone is excited about the next installment, so stay tuned!

CAA Reacts is a discussion group geared toward discussing with a local lens the social, political, and cultural factors that affect our profession. Read the full description of the event here. 

If you have an idea for a topic or speaker for another CAA Reacts event please email it to info@chicagoarchivists.org, with the subject line "CAA Reacts."  

We are excited to announce a new pilot program sponsored by the Chicago Area Archivists: Interest Groups! The mission of the interests groups is to give CAA members an opportunity to gather informally around common archival subjects in the Chicago area. During the pilot program, we are hosting three Interest Groups: Archives and Archivists of Color Group, AV Materials Group, and Membership and Association Group. We welcome interested members to learn more: 

Archives and Archivists of Color Group Led by: Jennifer Ho

A forum for discussion related to issues and current events facing archivists of color, as well as archival collections concerning people of color.

Topics at discussion group may include but are not limited to:

• Ethnic diversity in the archives field
• Publications relating to archives and people of color
• Collections acquisitions, management and outreach of archives of color

Audio-Visual Materials Group Led by: Amy Belotti and Kristin MacDonough
In effort to promote communication amongst archivists that handle audio-visual materials, Audio-Visual Materials group facilitates discussions around the care, management, and use of a/v collections.

Topics at discussion group may include but are not limited to:

• Material standards
• Metadata
• Digitization
• Materials care

Membership and Association Group (working name)  Led by: Amber Dushman
A gathering for association archivists to meet and discuss their collections, and challenges presented by their unique organizations

Topics at discussion group may include but are not limited to:

• Records Management
• Oral Histories
• Public Digital Libraries
• Collection Policies
• Intern programs

Look for event registration in the coming days. Events will include discussion groups, happy hours, online discussions, and much more!

The pilot program is running between September 2017 through February 2018 for members only with the hopes of broadening the scope of groups beginning at the 2018 CAA Members Meeting. We welcome ideas for the interest groups above, as well as ideas for an interest group that you’d be interested in leading! Please send us your suggestions!

Please send questions or comments to info@chicagoarchivists.org

Thank you to everyone who attended CAA All-Ages Archives on August 22 at Oak Park Public Library. Eight people joined us to hear Chicago-area colleagues share their experiences of welcoming students of all ages into the archives.

Leigh A. Tarullo and Emily Reiher of Oak Park Public Library presented on Hacking Hemingway, a digitization and outreach project targeting middle school aged students through a partnership with the Oak Park Elementary School District. The grant-funded project not only digitized a portion of the Hemingway family collection, but it also engaged students in creative ways - introducing them to the world of archives through idea boxes, Minecraft, and 6 word stories.

Kellee Warren, Instructor and Special Collections Librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), spoke on UIC’s partnership with Chicago Metro History Fair (CMHF), an initiative to spark students’ interest in history. New to the 2016 collaboration were a change in research rules that helped ease students into working with the unfamiliar world of special collections and the introduction of a staff planning timeline to assist in better managing UIC Special Collections staff resources during the time-consuming, but fulfilling, CMHF research cycle.

Following the presentations, attendees engaged in a lively Q & A and brainstorming session.

Didn't make it to this event? Don't worry - Chicago Open Archives is just around the corner!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Chicago Open Archives (COA) Spotlight Event Workshop on Tuesday, August 8 at DePaul University. Eight joined us to hear more about COA 2017: Hidden Stories and the changes to this year's format. Working Group chair, Morgen MacIntosh-Hodgetts welcomed the group and introduced the new format:

Working Group committee members Amber Dushman and Meg Hall were on hand to demonstrate examples of Spotlight events:

 

COA Working Group member, Meg Hall and participant, Virginia Jung, OSB discuss potential COA ideas

Q: Are students allowed to events?

A: Yes! COA is intended for audiences of all ages. Host sites decide the appropriate audience for their program.

 

Q: Can I have an event in the evening?

A: Based on feedback we received last year, the working group opened up COA to the whole month, including weekends and evenings. When filling out the registration form, host sites pick the day and time most convenient for them!

 

Q: Will CAA promote my event?

A: Yes, all events will be included on the CAA calendar, and Spotlight events will be featured on the Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

Q: My collections are difficult to get to, can I hold the event  somewhere else?

A: Yes, consider holding an event in an nearby meeting space.

 

Q: My institute is thinking of doing a general tour and a spotlight event, is that okay? And should I fill out two registration forms?

A: Yes! We invite host sites to hold multiple events if they are willing.

 

Q: I want to hold a spotlight event, but I won’t know the specifics by the August 22 deadline, can I still register?

A: Yes, Absolutely!

 

Leo Belleville and Laura Berfield, Working Group members, also announced other changes for COA 2017: Hidden Stories:

• An Online Trivia Game: visitors will use clues gathered from the COA sites to answer trivia and win a prize! (details to follow)

• All promotional materials will be digital and distributed to host sites via email this year. This will give participating sites the opportunity to customize the material using images from their collections. Host sites will receive customizable promotional materials as PDF files in early September.

COA Working Group Chair Morgen MacIntosh-Hodgetts discuss promotional materials with CAA Steering member Kara Jefts

 

All events must be submitted by August 22, 2017. Submit your event for Chicago Open Archives 2017. Have questions? Please email info@chicagoarchivists.org.

 

For more information and to register, visit the Workshop events page.

CAA thanks all who attended the CAA Summer Cookout on August 6 at LaBagh Woods forest preserve. 28 people (and one dog!) joined their fellow archivists and friends to enjoy some summertime food, beverages, and fun in the great outdoors. The rain held off, which made for a pleasant summer day! CAA thanks all those who brought things to share for the potluck. We look forward to having the cookout every summer!

 “This is my great aunt in the middle of the photograph. I know she lived in Chicago for a while, but I don’t know what she was doing there. Can you tell me anything about her?”

Photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Chicago Archives.

Family historians contact the Archdiocesan Archives asking “What parish did my ancestors attend?” or “I want to trace my genealogy – what records do you have that can help me?” By using clues from this photograph and from our collections, we’ve identified the woman in the center of this photograph as Sr. M. Petronilla, superior general of the Sisters of St. Joseph, LaGrange Park, IL. As mother superior in the 1960s, she oversaw nearly 300 religious women who worked at 20 grammar and high schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The lives and work of religious women are under-documented in histories of Chicago Catholics, but every nun has a story to tell, and Archives can help those stories come to life.

Join us Tuesday, August 8, at 6:00 PM at DePaul University for the Chicago Open Archives Spotlight Event Workshop as we piece together a genealogical mystery: the life of a religious woman in Chicago.

The COA Spotlight Event Workshop is designed for Chicago Area Archivists members and allies who are interested in hosting an archives month event that follows the 2017 theme. The 2017 theme, Hidden Stories, will give visitors an opportunity to uncover a story from your collections using specific “clues” (documents, artifacts, images, maps) that create a narrative. During the workshop members of the COA Working Group will demonstrate a 'building a narrative' activity, brainstorm hidden story ideas with you, and discuss our vision for encouraging visitors to attend multiple COA events.  Consider the clues your collection uses to help researchers tell their story.

For more information and to register, visit the Workshop events page.

“Will you please give me information regarding the Chicago Health Institute, 36 West Randolph Street, City?”  William Fishbein, of Chicago, wrote the American Medical Association (AMA) on December 10, 1928.

Photo courtesy of AMA Archives.

The AMA’s response called the advertisement full of “scare stuff” from “men’s specialist” type of quacks. According to the AMA, the thing belonged to the class of fake medical institutes. The Bureau of Investigation assured the inquirer that they were reaching out to the Illinois Department of Registration and Education in Springfield to learn who the physicians were behind this outfit.  The AMA doggedly went after the quacks inside the Chicago Health Institute or “the sucker mill” as the Chicago Tribune referred to it over the years, exposing the unlicensed physicians and advising the public against the untruths going on behind the walls of 36 West Randolph Street.

Photo courtesy of AMA Archives.

Join us Tuesday, August 8 at 6:00 PM at DePaul University for the Chicago Open Archives Spotlight Event Workshop as we piece together the AMA’s case against a Chicago quack, the Chicago Health Institute.

The COA Spotlight Event Workshop is designed for Chicago Area Archivists members and allies who are interested in hosting an archives month event that follows the 2017 theme. The 2017 theme, Hidden Stories, will give visitors an opportunity to uncover a story from your collections using specific “clues” (documents, artifacts, images, maps) that create a narrative. During the workshop members of the COA Working Group will demonstrate a 'building a narrative' activity, brainstorm hidden story ideas with you, and discuss our vision for encouraging visitors to attend multiple COA events. 

For more information and to register, visit the Workshop events page.

CAA thanks all who attended the CAA@SAA meetup on July 28 in Portland. 21 people - both CAA members and friends of CAA - joined colleagues after the MAC members' meeting to catch up and swap SAA stories. Everyone enjoyed discussing fun they had in Portland so far, and the Chicago Open Archives committee was in action spreading the word about the great plans they have for October!