News

Wrap-up: Curating & Exhibitions Interest Group Virtual Meetup on “How to Create Digital Exhibits with Library Collections and Archives”

On February 20, 2020, the Curating & Exhibitions Interest Group hosted its first virtual meet-up with a topic on “How to Create Digital Exhibitions with Library Collections and Archives.” Three panelists were featured in the event including:

• Rachel Shaevel, Metadata Librarian and Cataloger at the Chicago Public Library and Co-chair of Digital Exhibits Committee, Chicago Collections Consortium

• Gretchen Neidhardt, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, Chicago History Museum, and Co-chair of Digital Exhibits Committee, Chicago Collections Consortium

• Andrew Bullen, Information Technology Coordinator, Illinois State Library

Moderated by Carol Ng-He, Exhibits Coordinator, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, and Founder & Organizer of the Interest Group, the meet-up covered presentations on examples of digital exhibits that are developed by the Chicago Collections Consortium and the Illinois State Library. The panelists walked us through the process from selecting the online platforms, their main features, pros, and cons, as well as the challenges and their solutions. Issues about digitization, image optimization and web editing for the exhibit were addressed. Joshua Lynch from the Illinois Digital Heritage Hub (IDHH) who was in the audience was invited to make a brief introduction of IDHH and the possibility of hosting digital exhibits on their portal.

A total of 54 attendees participated in the event. 

We are extending the nomination period for Steering Committee candidates until Monday, February 24, 2020. If you have ever had the notion to run for CAA Steering Committee, now is the time to act! We are in danger of being out of compliance with our by-laws because we currently do not have enough candidates to fill the four open Steering Committee positions. 

We need members like you to serve on Steering to keep CAA the active and vibrant organization that it is. Being on Steering is a great opportunity to get to know your colleagues, to gain leadership skills, and to learn about the inner workings of a not-for-profit organization. Please consider running!

Here are the details:

Service on the Steering Committee is open to all CAA members in good standing. Steering Committee members are elected to two-year terms. Those elected must be able to commit to monthly in-person meetings with some work conducted virtually between meetings.

Candidates for the 2020-22 term will be elected by a vote of CAA members cast electronically soon after the Annual Members Meeting on Wednesday, March 18. Candidates will have an opportunity to introduce themselves at the annual meeting.

To volunteer, submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) Statement of Interest outlining your background and motivation for serving on the Steering Committee to info@chicagoarchivists.org. Please include your full name, title, place of work (if applicable), and preferred contact phone and email address.

If you have any questions, please contact info@chicagoarchivists.org.

CAA's #JoinCAA2020 Membership Drive continues into its second week!

Today we’re debuting some quotes from your colleagues' recordings at the Holiday Party Sound Booth! Find out what your fellow CAA members value most about the organization, and don’t forget to join, refer, or renew!

"The Chicago Area Archivists is a really great opportunity for you to test out your own leadership skills." – Andy Steadham

"What I love about being part of CAA and what has really shaped me as a professional, I've been able to test out and confirm and affirm through this organization." – Morgen MacIntosh-Hodgetts

"I’ve worked with a number of different organizations. I found out about several of them just from my acquaintances here at CAA, so I really value CAA and I love coming to the holiday party every year just to see friends." – Jane Kenamore

Remember: the first 10 new members to sign up before March 18 will receive a CAA-branded journal! If someone referred you to CAA, add their name in the Referring Member field and they could win too! We’ll hold a drawing during the members meeting for 3 referring members to win a $15 Starbucks gift card. 

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

DEADLINE EXTENDED! We are now accepting candidate statements of interest through February 14.

Are you interested in becoming more involved in the Chicago archives community? Consider volunteering to serve on the Chicago Area Archivists Steering Committee. Not only will you get to work closely with some of your colleagues in the profession, but CAA service is a great way to gain valuable experience in preparation for service in regional and national archival organizations.

What does the Steering Committee do? The Steering Committee is tasked with:

·        Supporting programmatic goals for the organization

·        Responding to the needs of CAA members

·        Representing CAA within the larger profession and to the general public

·        Setting standards to ensure the sustainability of CAA

Think you aren’t experienced enough to serve on the Steering Committee? Think again: any organization needs fresh viewpoints to remain vibrant. And CAA is meant to serve the needs of all of its members, including those who are new to the profession.

What are the requirements? Service on the Steering Committee is open to all CAA members in good standing. Steering Committee members are elected to two-year terms that begin and end at the Annual Members Meeting. Those elected must be able to commit to monthly in-person meetings with some work conducted virtually between meetings.

Candidates for the 2020-22 term will be elected by a vote of CAA members cast electronically after the Annual Members Meeting on Wednesday, March 18.

To volunteer, submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) Statement of Interest outlining your background and motivation for serving on the Steering Committee to info@chicagoarchivists.org. Please include your full name, title, place of work (if applicable), and preferred contact phone and email address.

Statements of interest will be distributed to CAA members 30 days prior to the Annual Members Meeting. Candidates will also have an opportunity to introduce themselves at the meeting on March 18.

The deadline to submit your statement is Friday, February 14 at 11:59 pm.

Please send general questions or comments to info@chicagoarchivists.org.

#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

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). 

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.

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.

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.

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