News

  • 27 Jan 2020 12:00 PM | Brittan Nannenga

    #JoinCAA2020

    Chicago Area Archivists is kicking off 2020 with a membership drive! We have PRIZES! and INCENTIVES! for both new members that join and existing members.

    From February 1 until the annual Members Meeting on March 18, we will be highlighting the benefits of CAA membership, sharing stories from current members about why membership matters, and offering prizes and incentives to those that join and help spread the word.

    JOIN AND WIN!

    The first 10 new members to sign up during the drive will receive a FREE CAA JOURNAL. It’s customized with the CAA logo, spiral-bound, and lined—perfect for managing your archives to-do list.


    Join online—annual dues are only $15.00.

    REFER AND WIN!

    Refer a friend or colleague to join CAA, you will be entered into a drawing with a chance to win a $15 gift card to Starbucks.

    Any member who refers a friend or colleague to join CAA during the drive will be added to the pool, and we will pick 3 winners at random at the members meeting in March.

    When new members sign up, they can simply add your name to the Referring Member field.

    Refer your friends early so they have a chance at winning the CAA swag! They might win, you might win...It’s a potential WIN-WIN.

    Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay tuned throughout the drive for more on why you should #JoinCAA2020



  • 17 Jan 2020 10:31 AM | Jill Waycie

    It’s been quite a while since our last Member News post, and our latest showcases CAA in the podcast world!

    Frank Villella, director of the Rosenthal Archives at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, guest hosted a CSO-themed episode of the Chicago-based trivia podcast Quiz Quiz Bang Bang. Fans of trivia/music/archives, check out the episode (and an incredibly cute Lego orchestra image) here!

    Frank is also featured along with 17 (and counting) other archivists on CAA’s own podcast series, Chicago Open Archives, currently on its second season and rolling out new episodes monthly! All episodes can be accessed on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.


    If you have news to share about yourself or your colleagues, let us know! Contact info@chicagoarchivists.org or email the co-chairs of the Outreach and Member Engagement Subcommittee: Brittan Nannenga (brittan.nannenga@depaul.edu) and Jill Waycie (j-waycie@northwestern.edu). 

  • 06 Jan 2020 11:07 AM | Doris Cardenas (Administrator)


    On Wednesday December 11th, forty-nine people gathered to join their fellow archivists for the annual Holiday Party. This time around we tried a new venue, The Den. 

    Everyone enjoyed catching up with friends while savoring Mexican food from Antique Taco. There were more raffle prizes than ever before and a merry evening was had by all.

    Thank you to all that attended and a special thanks to those who donated prizes for the raffle and the individuals that helped put the event together!

    Hope to see many of you at other events planned for 2020!

    If you attended this event and took photos, please consider sharing and uploading them here.

  • 09 Dec 2019 4:36 PM | Doris Cardenas (Administrator)

    Thank you to all that attended the Off Color Brewery tour on Tuesday November 19th. Fourteen people joined us for a fun and educational tour where we learned about brewing techniques and had some fabulous samples. A special thanks to our host Brent!

    If you attended this event and took photos, please consider sharing and uploading them here.

  • 26 Nov 2019 1:07 PM | Allison Schein (Administrator)

    On November 5th, 14 CAA members gathered at Northwestern for a triple threat event: an archives tour, an overview of EAD/XML and a peek at their ArchiveSpace instance. Lead by Karen Miller and Benn Joseph.

    Overview of the afternoon's agenda.


    Karen Miller, Monographic Cataloger/Metadata Specialist at NUL. Karen reviewed the basics of EAD and XML, offered tips, challenges and answered questions.




    Benn Joseph, Head of Archival Processing at Northwestern University discussed NUL's ArchivesSpace instance, demonstrated both the public and and employee views while answering questions about the customization and workflows.




    If you were present at this event and took photos, please consider sharing and uploading them here.

  • 21 Nov 2019 2:24 PM | Doris Cardenas (Administrator)

    On Saturday, November 2nd, more than 15 people gathered at the home of Estrella Alamar, Founder of the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago (FAHSC) to inventory and conduct a preliminary inspection for a collection of 16 mm films and large-format banquet photos.  Nine volunteers with Chicago Area Archivists and Chicago Film Society joined more than 6 volunteers from FAHSC. We were a small but motivated group!

    Rebecca Hall (DoS co-organizer) and Julian Antos from the Chicago Film Society gave an introduction to amateur film production history and showed the group how to identify evidence of damage or deterioration when inspecting films. 

    Becca Hall demonstrating film inspection to volunteers. 

    Then we organized into groups: 2 tables were set up for film inspection with 3-4 people at each table and a photograph inspection table with 6-8 people participating in photograph inventory. 

    Fifteen 16mm films were thoroughly inspected and 78 photographs were inventoried and their condition noted.

    FAHSC members Amando Bocales, Estrella Alamar, and Terese Guinsatao Monberg identifying people in one of the banquet photographs with CAA Volunteer Becca Smith.

    The highlight of the day was the opportunity to project one of the silent 16mm films that had been inspected and determined to be in good condition. The content included social gatherings in Calumet Park, Montrose Park, and Elk Grove between 1938 and 1947 filmed by Estrella's uncle. Her uncle provided excellent contextual information on the storage container and with caption cards, plus Estrella and other volunteers were able to identify many of the people in the film, including Estrella herself! 

    Film projection. FAHSC founder and DoS hostess, Estrella Alamar (right).

    Volunteers enjoying the impromptu film screening (Merle Salazar, Ari Negovschi, Meredith Payne, Julian Antos, and Andi Altenbach).

    We will be providing FAHSC with a report that includes a summary of the day and inventory findings, as well as advice on next steps in caring for their films and photographs.

    Thanks to everyone who participated!

    Amando Boncales

    Andrea Altenbach

    Anthonie Tumpag

    Ari Negovschi

    Becca Smith

    Estrella Alamar

    Jessica Goodman

    Julian Antos

    Kristin MacDonough

    Meredith Payne

    Merle Salazar

    Rebecca Hall

    Rene Aranzamendez

    Ruben Salazar

    Terese Guinsatao Monberg


  • 18 Nov 2019 9:07 AM | Allison Schein (Administrator)

    In late October, 9 CAA members joined Julie Synder and Julianna Oberlin for a tour and photography demonstration and a discussion about their DAM system and image specification.

    Julie leads through the great hall exhibit.


    Julianne walking us through her photography workflow.


    Stepping into the anechoic chamber!!!

    There are plenty more pictures here http://bit.ly/2pxLEhe

    Were you there?  Add them to the above linked folder! Thank you to our hosts for taking the time to share their work!  Not a member?  Join now!

  • 11 Nov 2019 11:46 AM | Carol Ng-He

    The Curating and Exhibitions Interest Group hosted a 90-minute webinar on the “Strategies for Seeking Audience Input to Build an Effective Exhibit Lineup” on November 2, 2019, presented by experienced museum exhibit developers Charity Counts and Tricia O’Connor. The webinar introduced different data collection methods, tips and tools that help organizations or libraries in gauging their target audience’s interests in designing and scheduling exhibits. All participants received a workshop toolkit that included read-to-use worksheets, surveys, interview questions, and a calendar for audience research. A recording was shared with the registrants after the event.

  • 24 Oct 2019 3:47 PM | Doris Cardenas (Administrator)

    On Tuesday October 15th, seven members of the Chicago Area Archivists visited the archives of Paul Natkin, Chicago's premier music photographer.

    Paul discussed how he began his career in the 1970s and mentioned some of the musicians and celebrities he has worked with over the years. 

    He talked about how he began his relationship with Getty Images ten years ago and illustrated how he scans photographs and the Getty database he uses to upload images and include metadata. 

    The event concluded with Paul giving his take on the photography world today and members shared a bit about themselves and the type of work that they do. Thank you Paul for being a fantastic host and welcoming us to your home studio archive and also thank you to all who attended!

    If you were present at this event and took photos, please consider sharing and uploading them here.

    (Photos taken by Rene Aranzamendez, Jerice Barrios, and Doris Cardenas)

  • 04 Oct 2019 3:01 PM | Jerice Barrios


    On October 3, 2019, six CAA members joined Columbia College Associate Professor Melissa Potter at the Glass Curtain Gallery for a fascinating, personalized tour of the exhibit "Let's Do It: Twenty-Three Years of Book and Paper."


    A few of the beautiful pieces of book and paper art on display at Columbia College's Glass Curtain Gallery. 

    Professor Potter, herself a specialist in hand paper making and print making, explained the history of how the exhibit came together and shared anecdotes about some of the pieces in the gallery. You can learn more about the exhibit at the "Let's Do It" web page, and there is still time to see it for yourself; the exhibit is open until October 23.


    Associate Professor Melissa Potter and CAA members examine a case containing items from the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts archives.

    Professor Potter also talked about how important the archives of the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts was in shaping the exhibit, and how she envisions the collections in the archives as a research resource for future students and artists.


    An exhibit case containing materials from the archives

    The curator of the exhibit, Jessica Cochran, considered the inclusion of archival materials vital to illustrating the full breadth of the history of the Center of Book and Paper Arts.

    Thank you to all who attended this event, and special thanks to Professor Melissa Potter for a wonderful hour of art and education!

    If you missed out on this event, don't worry, there are other events planned throughout the year. If you have an event or program you'd like to suggest, please send it to info@chicagoarchivists.org. If you attend a CAA event and have photos to share, please consider uploading them to the CAA Image folder on Google Drive.

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