News

On Friday, 16 January 2015, Chicago Area Archivists hosted 18 people for the presentation Managing Digital Content Over Time, led by Andy Steadham, Archives Specialist at Rotary International. Based on curriculum developed by the Library of Congress Digital Preservation Outreach and Education arm, the presentation offered one CAA member’s disclosure of how he is tackling digital preservation in his shop.

Thanks are due to Keith Helt, Archivist at Crown Family Philanthropies, for serving as site host.

As several people asked to be placed on a waiting list for this event, CAA is considering offering the presentation again later this year. Watch for updates via the CAA listserv or on our website at http://chicagoarchivists.org/events.

Questions about CAA? Visit our website or email info@chicagoarchivists.org.

Each year, Chicago Metro History Fair students in grades 6-12 select a topic related to Chicago history, then dive deep into research to develop their own interpretation or argument which they then present for evaluation by community-minded judges. Through this research and evaluation process, students gain important historical and critical thinking skills that will carry them through high school and prepare them for college.

Please consider volunteering as a History Fair judge this year. Many CAA members (and non-members) have volunteered in the past and found it to be a very rewarding experience. This is an excellent opportunity to support Chicago students and see the connections they make between Chicago history and the 2014-2015 National History Day theme, Leadership & Legacy in History.

There are several evening and weekend judging opportunities in February, March, and April. No prior experience is necessary. The Chicago Metro History Education Center provides orientation on the day of the event and pairs new judges with veteran judges.

Visit History Fair’s registration page to learn more and sign up as a volunteer.

President John F. Kennedy meets Rotary members at the White House in 1961. Photo: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. JFKWHP-AR6919-B.

The December newsletter from the Robert M. Myers Archives and SVD Resource Center is now available. Check out their latest archives news!

● Archives Salon - May


Have an idea for a CAA event? Contact the CAA Events Subcommitee at heatherlanctot@gmail.com or info@chicagoarchivists.org with your suggestions.

If you didn’t RSVP to the CAA Holiday Party in time to get a free t-shirt, fret not! The Outreach Committee is pleased to present a CafePress site for CAA swag! Enjoy your coffee in a travel mug emblazoned with the fabulous new CAA logo, or tell the world you’re an archivist with one of the many tote bag options.

If you’d like an item that isn’t available at the store, contact msmegankeller@gmail.com or gretchenneidhardt@gmail.com with your suggestions. And feel free to pass along a photo of yourself with your new purchase for possible inclusion on the CAA website!

On Thursday, November 20^th, the Chicago Area Archivists Professional Development Committee sponsored a panel discussion entitled “Archive Professionals in Non-Traditional Archival Settings” with panelists Laura Fu, who is the Digital Content Manager at Sears Holdings Corporation; Lauren Breyer, who is the Archivist at State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company; Allan Berry, who is the Web Application Developer at the UIC Library with the Chicago Collections Consortium; Andrew Altepeter, who is the Information Governance Analyst at Motorola Solutions, Inc.; and was moderated very well by Drew Davis, who is the Historical Resources Specialist at Motorola Solutions Heritage Services & Archives as well as a CAA steering committee and professional development subcommittee member.

Each panelist provided a description of their career paths, discussed what they do in their current positions, and tips for individuals who are looking to either change careers or entering the job market. Some of the important tips from the panel included

For Job Seekers

• Job applicants need to able to translate their skills
• Be brave and take risks. Andrew talked about this in relation to moving from an public history background to information governance position. 
• Don’t be afraid to create your own position. An institution may not even know they need an archivist or a records manager until you point it out to them. Therefore, you have to package your skill set and tell a story about how your skills will fit in with their business.
• Call and/or contact people who have positions that you want. This means that if you are traveling to a new city, reach out the library, museum, or archives there to schedule a visit.

For All Employees

• Advocate for your users to the administrative stakeholders in doing so you create advocates for your unit, which is useful when there are issues or budgetary cuts.
• The parent institution/company drives the nature of your own business therefore, see how your unit can benefit the overall mission of the institution and look for ways you can add value to another unit (two examples provided by the panelists were: The old Sears catalog photos or the old State Farm photos)
• “Always be kind, be gracious.  Never burn your bridges.” This will refers to the fact that the profession is small and you never know when you may need to call upon someone for assistance. These can be people who are your personal advocates or may be the housekeeping staff of your institution who know where the clean-up supplies are when you have a disaster.
• Don’t doubt the role of soft skills in the hiring process, one can teach technical skills, but soft skills are to teach. These soft skills include: writing, communication, research, learning agility, accountability, critical thinking skills, building relationships, openness, friendliness, etc. (see here for a longer list https://bemycareercoach.com/soft-skills/list-soft-skills.html)
• Understand the lens that you view through and then look at your work critically through your lens.  Look at it like a camp site: you leave it better than you found it. 
• Challenge your own perspective and understand the difference between the ideal and the reality. 
• Be sure to keep current by reading professional journals, attend conferences, take courses/workshops either online or in person. A couple of good online possibilities include Lynda.com and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Places to look for positions

• Check professional organizations such as Chicago Area Archivists (CAA), Special Library Association (SLA), American Library Association (ALA), Society of American Archivists (SAA), ARMA International (records management), I Need a Library Job (INALJ) list serv, Archives Gig blog, Digital Asset Management (DAM) Guru
• Use social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to make connections or to look up job titles. This is important because not all job titles will have the word "archivist” or “librarian."

I am pleased to announce that Anita Mechler has joined the Chicago Area Archivists Steering Committee. Anita responded to our call for volunteers to fill the open seat for the 2014-16 term created when our colleague Lisa Calahan resigned to take a new job as Head of Archival Processing at the University of Minnesota.

Anita is the Director of the Library and Archives at the Union League of Chicago and has expressed a drive to help support the local archives community. Thanks to Anita for joining our team.

CAA members interested in the Steering Committee should watch for a forthcoming call for volunteers to fill open seats for the 2015-17 term. Voting for the 2015-17 term will be open to CAA members only and will take place online in the month prior to the Annual Meeting in March (exact date, time, and location to be determined).

Questions or comments can be sent to info@chicagoarchivists.org.

Andy Steadham, Steering Committee Chair (2013-15)

The minutes from the October 7, 2014 CAA Steering Committee Meeting have been approved and are available to view online here.

The minutes from the August 26, 2014 CAA Meeting have been approved and are available to view online here.

Roosevelt University is proud to announce the release of Roosevelt University, The Campus History Series published by Arcadia Publishing. The book includes over 200 still images from the Roosevelt University Archives’ collection and tells the story of Roosevelt’s groundbreaking founding and historical influence on racial and religious inclusivity, support of teaching and learning on equal-terms, equal-opportunity, and its pioneering mission of social justice across the curriculum.