Portland, OR - March Unconference

Save the date l Save the date l Save the date l Save the date

Identity Crisis in the Archives:

We know who your grandpa is, but not who we are
March 27th, 2015

The Northwest Archivists, Portland Area Archivists, and Portland Emerging Archivists bring you an unconference dedicated to having a conversation about professional identity. 

Some of the questions we will explore:

-Who are we as archivists, curators, special collections librarians, and what do those labels mean? 

- How do we fit into this new landscape of citizen archivists and where anyone can “curate” something? 

-What sets us apart and how are we similar?

We are meeting in Portland the evening of Friday, March 27^th and extend an invitation to archivists, curators, librarians, and students to join us.  There is an attendance cap, so we require an RSVP by March 20^th. 

More information about the event will come to you during the upcoming months, but please save the date and consider sending your RSVP soon. 

For those outside of the Portland area, we are meeting on a evening which means you’ll have the opportunity to play in Portland for the weekend.  Several of your colleagues have offered “crash space;” let us know if you’re interested in a free place to stay. 

Cost:  NWA members are free;

non-NWA members $20 (waived if you join NWA for $25!)

RSVP to Diana Banning – diana.banning@portlandoregon.gov or 503-865-4110

For questions and additional information you can contact the organizing committee:

Bryce Henry: bhenry@pdx.edu

Max Johnson: johnsmax@ohsu.edu

Diana Banning: Diana.banning@portlandoregon.gov

August Happy Hour

PEA is having a happy hour in August.  Another opportunity to get together and chat, find out what each other is up to and meet new students and professionals.

Details:
Wednesday, August 13th
5:00p - 7:00p or later
White Owl in Inner SE

Questions?
Contact Max at johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com

July Happy Hour

PEA members are planning on meeting for a social gathering to discuss the future of PEA, talk about future gatherings and generally hang out, details below:

July 17th
5:00 - 7:00 (or whenever people need to go)
Location:  White Owl (bar, must be 21+)

Look for a table of Archivists  ;)

PEA Recruitment Drive

I just noticed that the last post was from over 1 year ago!  And that is why I am posting today: PEA seeks new members.  Over the past 2 years PEA has provided a platform for students and new professionals in archives to meet, chat and engage one another in discussion relevant to the profession.  We have had a lot of fun too, but in the midst of the fun and the inevitable getting-of-jobs it has become apparent that PEA needs more members and more students!

Here's the strategy moving forward:

-Regular monthly or quarterly meetings that provide a social anchor to archives in Portland
-Annual or twice yearly events coordinated by members
-Leveraging GoogleGroups, Facebook and other webtech to keep each other informed of opportunities and to make connections.

Sound fun?  Interesting?  Here's a little about PEA as we have been:

-Member-driven.  Even though PEA was started out of research conducted by Pete Asch (Oregon Jewish Museum) and Max Johnson (Multnomah County) it would not have gotten off of the ground without support from the steering members Jenn Keyser (Oregon Historical Society), Chris Fuller and Jenny Mundy (Multnomah County).  Furthermore without the assistance of Crystal Rodgers (City of Portland, Oregon Health & Science University, UW-Milwaukee), Katrina O'Brien (Museum of Speed) and Bryce Henry (Portland State University - Capital Projects and Construction) we would not have had such a successful second year.  This is all to say that individual members and their ideas are what drive PEA.  We are interested in getting back into a mode that fosters different members providing programming at different times based on interest and opportunity.  Not only does this grow the experience of the individual member, but provides valuable learning opportunities for the rest of the membership.

-Socially-oriented.  We frequently meet to just catch-up, see what others are up to and get suggestions for new projects and occasionally hear about new positions in the area.

-Innovative.  Our events have included a tour of a local Norwegian historical society, a group viewing of a presentation on Activism in Archives, a micro-conference designed to bring NWA sessions to Portland residents who were unable to attend the conference and lastly we did some practical volunteering as archivists for some local groups.

So, if any this sounds interesting and you would like to be notified of upcoming events, please send an email to Max Johnson (johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com) and I will add you to the GoogleGroup.  You can also find us on Facebook.

Cheers,
Max

Student Mixer - April 13th

The Portland Emerging Archivists is proud to announce our next event in 2013, a student mixer!  This informal gathering will serve to connect distance students in the Portland-area with other students and recently minted archivists.  Our goal is fostering communication, growth and interaction in Portland, in Oregon and in the Pacific Northwest in general, and we occasionally do tours, hold mini-conferences and host discussions on various topics in the archives world.

So if you have an hour or two and want to chat about archives and network with professionals in the area, then please stop on by!  Details below:

When:  April 13th, 2013 - 5pm
Where: MoMo's (725 SW 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97205)
***NOTE: We are going to be gathering at the back patio***
RSVP: Requested to johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com

We are also going to be sending out event invites through Facebook, so please go check us out on FB!

2013 Steering Meeting rundown

We had an excellent meeting on Sunday discussing some of the events for 2013, the timelines and some rough outlines.

We went through 2012's events and talked about what worked, what didn't and what we enjoyed.  There was a general consensus that the mini-conference in June was hugely successful and something in that vein would be interesting in 2013.  In addition, we had a lot of positive feedback about GSU Archives panel viewing and discussion.  Everyone liked the tour of the Grieg Library.

For 2013 we are looking at these events:

April  - Student mixer - Weekend (most likely a non-class weekend for ESU students).  We hadn't done one of these in 2012 and thought it would be a good idea to get folks together for a midday drink and conversation.

June - Mini-conference - We have some volunteers and speakers willing to discuss e-records, digital repositories and the structure of the Internet.

August - Tour - Location/details undecided.  We have some ideas we are floating around, but nothing concrete.

October - Archives Month - We are looking at several ideas for Archives Month, including a brochure and perhaps an events calendar highlighting the activities taking place in Portland.

Other business - We are going to host a student/new professional resource on job searching, resume writing, graduate education funding and more.  The resource was created by Josh Zimmerman of Seattle Area Archivists and an excellent one-stop for links to many relevant articles and resources for students and recent graduates.

We are looking at a Facebook Page in order to provide an easily-accessible hub for sending out blog posts and other news.  In relation to that we are also exploring creating a website.

We plan on having details for each event available on this blog at least 2 weeks beforehand, if not more.

If you are interested in supporting one of these events, or have ideas for making them happen, please let me know.

Best regards,
Max

Steering meeting - Feb 24th, Noon to 2pm+

The steering event for 2013 will be at the Fuel Bistro & Coffee Bar on NE 14th and Alberta.

Details:
When:  February 24th, Noon to 2pm +
Where:  1452 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211

Due to the flexible nature of PEA we are hoping to outline a basic idea for the year and determine a schedule for events.  We are hoping to have people interested in putting on events bring their ideas and discuss how we can bring them to fruition.

RSVP requested to: johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com

Best,
Max

Activism and Archives recap

Great event tonight and excellent way to kick off the New Year for PEA!

We were able to watch the GSU Archives video on Activism and Archives despite earlier "technical issues."

The panel was stimulating and touched on themes ranging from donor relations, trust, collaboration, advocacy and community outreach.  Following the video we had a good discussion on aspects of archivists' relationships to activism, communities and advocacy.  The discussion brought in viewpoints from all levels of archives, records management and library work for a dynamic and multifaceted exchange.

Special thanks to Crystal Rodgers for suggesting and organizing the material for tonight and introducing the Georgia State University Archives and providing background on their collections.

Special thanks to Anne Prahl and Pete Asch of the Oregon Jewish Museum for hosting the event.

And of course, special thanks to the members of PEA.

After the discussion we briefly talked about steering and programming for 2013, I'll send out an email in the next week or so and we'll set a time for a group meeting to talk about interests and projects moving forward.

Ideas, suggestions and proposals are always welcome.

UPDATE: Tonight, PEA Event - change in video

A quick update to advises everyone that currently GSU is experiencing an issue that does not allow the video to play. We will instead show an alternate video that is available through another source, here is a short blurb on this panel: "This panel discussion featuring Jenna Freedman, Alana Kumbier, Kate Eichorn, and moderator Emily Drabinski was recorded on September 23, 2011 during Activism & the Academy: Celebrating 40 Years of Feminist Scholarship & Action, a conference in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Barnard Center for Research on Women." All apologies for the last minute change in video, however we hope that this video will be equally as interesting and generate discussions on Portland-related archives themes. We still plan on showing the GSU panel as soon as the situation resolves.

Event: Activism in Archives Symposium

Happy holidays everyone!  PEA is excited to ring in 2013 - if we survive the impending apocalypse that is - with a film screening of the Activism in Archives Symposium held at the Georgia State University Special Collections and Archives Department.  Hosted by Assistant Archivist, Hilary Moorish and Women’s Collection Archivist, Morna Girrard, the panel presentation seeks to illuminate the current uses, future potential, and limitations of archives in aiding activist organizing.  The panel includes organizers from the American Friends Service Committee, Occupy Atlanta, and a local university professor.

The Women’s Collection and the Southern Labor Archive at Georgia State University contain material from a variety of grassroots organizations, non-profits, and labor unions.  These collections document the vibrant history of social justice movements in the South.  By providing access to these materials, archives become a valuable space for research and social justice organizing to come together.  But does the institutional constraints of an archive limit the possibilities for activists seeking to work outside of the system?  How might an archivist’s socio-political beliefs influence her/his methods of processing materials?  These are valuable questions the Activism in Archives Symposium seeks to explore.

With the Pacific Northwest being a past and present hub of progressive activity, PEA hopes that the film screening will spark much discussion and debate.  See below for event details.  Hope to see you there!

- Crystal Rodgers  

Event details:

Oregon Jewish Museum

1953 NW Kearney Street

Portland, Oregon 97209

When:  January 10th, at 6:00pm

RSVP:  REQUESTED - Please email johnsonxm@gmail.com

Tour - Grieg Library at the Norse Hall - Dec 6th

December Event!!!!

In an effort to get out and see some information institutions that sit off of the beaten track, we have organized a tour of the Norse Hall Grieg Library.




http://www.norsehall.org/library.htm


When: Thursday, December 6th at 6pm
Address:  111 NE 11th, Portland, Ore 97232 

RSVP: Requested (we need an advance headcount) -
to Max Johnson by NOVEMBER 30th at johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com

Plan:  Short tour of the library by the librarian, followed by hanging out and chatting in the lounge.


Looking forward to seeing you all there!!

If you have any questions, please contact johnsonxm [at] gmail [dot] com

Trivia Night in November

We've been thinking about having a fun meet up to chat, discuss archives and enjoy trivia so . . . 

5th Quadrant hosts a regular Trivia Night and we are going to check it out.  Join some students, new archivist professionals and archivists for a fun night out.

Details:

Location: 5th Quadrant, 3901 N. Williams
Date: Nov 7
Time: 7 pm
Website:  http://www.lompocbrewing.com/fifthquadrant_home.html

Very informal meet-up event, hope to see you there!!

Recap of the Portland Emerging Archivists kick-off event

This past Sunday was the kick-off event for the Portland Emerging Archivists (PEA), a student and new professionals network in Portland, OR focused on tackling the needs of students and new archivists in the area.  Our first meeting/event saw 12 students and new professionals gathered to discuss the state of students in the area and to participate in a remix of the Northwest Archivists annual conference.  We heard from Pete Asch, Oregon Jewish Museum/Portland State University on the student needs as they relate to professional organizations and what how these organizations help students and new professionals gain greater depth in their field.  Max Johnson, current San Jose State Student University spoke on the gap between student expectations for entry level work and the expectations held by employers and a break down of the skills hiring archivists are looking for.  Next we had Brian Brown, Business Systems Analyst for the City of Portland give an expanded version of his lightning talk from NWA 2012 in which he outlines the strategies employed by the CoP to enhance user access to collections.  He detailed how the TRIM EDRMS functions in this capacity and how it meshes with other tools used to collect usage data and conduct aspects of digital preservation.  Our final speaker, Jenny Mundy, Electronic Records Management Analyst for Multnomah County, gave us an in-depth look at the innovative systems she uses at the County to track ingest of electronic records, the storage structure used, the access tools deployed and the collaborative skills necessary to bring it all together in a successful program.
     The first two speakers highlighted the challenges students and new professionals face in the Pacific Northwest and Portland in particular. From Brian and Jenny, we heard first hand of how records management and the continuum approach to records leads directly into archival management and digital preservation - something archivists had indicated students were not bringing together as part of their career searching.
      After the presentations we had an open discussion about what could be done in the future to help students and new professionals tackle internships and networking in the area.  We discussed becoming involved in the Oregon Archives Crawl and in the Northwest Archivists as "access points" towards greater involvement in the profession.
     Finally we discussed in brief how best to take PEA forward and are looking at a few more events this year which include tours and other student/emerging professional mixers and gatherings.

As always the most important aspect was to get together, talk and see how we can move the profession forward.

Portland Emerging Archivist Event

PEA's First Event: A Local Remix of the NWA Conference

2:00 pm (program starts at 3:00) on June 24th at


The Green Dragon 
928 Southeast 9th Avenue
  ‎ 
 
Cost = FREE


The Portland Emerging Archivists would like to invite all archives students and new professionals to attend our first event at the Green Dragon Brewpub.  The event will feature a number of lightening talks by students and archivists who presented at the recent Northwest Archivists Conference in Salem.  This is a great chance for anyone who was unable to attend the conference to catch up on what our region is doing.  If you did attend the conference come anyway to meet everyone while enjoying a beer or coffee. 

Speakers include:
Brian Brown, Business Systems Analyst at the City of Portland Archives and Records
Jenny Mundy, Electronic Records Management Analyst at Multnomah County Archives
Max Johnson, MLIS Student at San Jose State University 
Pete Asch, Archivist at Oregon Jewish Museum

Please RSVP or for more information contact : Pete Asch (pete.asch [at] gmail [dot] com) 

PEA - Portland Emerging Archivists

Picking a name is hard, but last night at the Lucky Lab in Southeast Portland, 5 of us got together (2 students, 3 archivists) and founded Portland Emerging Archivists (PEA). We drew up a couple guiding ideas for the group:

• PEA will host 3-4 events each year aimed at bringing together students and "new" archivists.  
• Each event will be free or very cheap and include both educational and social components.  
• The locations will be picked that encourage social interactions, including community spaces, bars, coffee shops, etc..
• We will collaborate with area groups including library/information science organizations, but our mission is to serve the archives community. 
• Instead of trying to create a new listserv/board/etc...we decided to work through the established channels of the SAA's Student and New Archives Professional Roundtable (SNAP), Portland Area Archivists (PAA), the Northwest Archivists(NWA), and the archive programs listservs in the area.  

Our first event will be June 24th and by the middle of this week, we will be announcing the exact time and location. 

The Plan

Following our session at NWA's 2012 Conference in Salem, Max and I have taken a few weeks to figure what our next steps should be and have laid out a plan:

The Plan - v0.1

May 20, 2012 - Conduct initial meet-up with interested students and new professionals.  Use opportunity to develop core group for initial/kick-off event.  Needs agenda.

Early June 2012 - Kick-off event mini-conference and mixer - several 5 minute mini-sessions to help bring the messages to students who could not attend.

July/August 2012 - Have group develop feedback/talking points for engaging SNAP.  Develop strategies.

SAA 2012 - Pete and Max go down to San Diego, have informal/formal meetings with SNAP,look at how groups can help each other.

August/September 2012 - Pete and Max author articles for Easy Access and Journal of Western Archives.  If local group is successful at this point, start developing general strategies for routine student/new professional engagement.

September - April 2012/2013 - Action item #1, develop quarterly programming and implement.  Action Item #2, develop model for the local group, and seek ways to implement in major cities under NWA.  Action Item #3, begin Hinterlands-engagement activities.  Develop strategies.

Employers/Intern Supervisors Respond

We received over forty responses from employers and internship supervisors, representing 14 states, Washington D.C., and Canada. Their input is greatly appreciated and we are currently working to compile some analytical data from the surveys, which we will share on this site and with SNAP after the NWA conference. These survey results allow us to build a model of expectations for employers of students/volunteers/interns. These expectations are going to be compared with the expectations of the model we develop for the current student (based on those survey results).

In the meantime, keep checking up on the blog as we are going to create a couple of posts on both surveys for your viewing pleasure. To start, we wanted to share some of the answers to a few of our questions.

-Max and Pete

Are there any particular set of skills, knowledge, etc that you look for in potential interns and employees?

“Curiosity, responsibility and friendliness. With the school here, I hire grad students already interested in or learning about archives. I'm happy to teach skills, so long as I'm teaching someone receptive.”

" ... Understanding that we need to have skills in the interpersonal side as well as the technical side of things"

"Attention to detail, strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, interest and curiosity about archival materials, strong self-motivation"

Are there any skills, knowledge, etc that you feel students and emerging archivists do not possess which would make them more prepared?

“Management, communication skills, & donor relations are rarely addressed in grad school, but they should be.”

“The connection between what we do and why we do it. Processing does not happen in a vacuum and is part of the bigger picture related to preservation and access.”

“The biggest problems are actually with their abilities to create good cover letters and resumes and their lack of preparation for interviews. In addition, however, some have no practical experience (practicum or internship), most have weak understanding of appraisal, and too many are daunted by large modern collections.”

How do you define a successful experience for an intern/volunteer/student worker?

"Unfortunately, I think there might be some divergence between what employers define as successful and what students/interns think. And it depends on the job they were brought in to do ... So with all this in mind, I define successful as coming out of the experience having learned more about the profession and how theory and practice come together. They'll have had the opportunity to put their knowledge to work and move to the next level of experience or figure out how the dots connect. Above all, I think it's a successful endeavor if they understand that it really isn't all about processing and working with cool materials, because the vast majority of archivists will only do this for a short period of time. "

Participation via Twitter

During the NWA 2012 conference in Salem we will be monitoring our twitter feeds in order to include individuals not able to make it to the conference in person. We are looking at popularizing, or broadcasting a hashtag so that interested parties can include a brief message and tweet it using that hashtag. We will monitor that tag and include the input in the general discussion portion of our session. Example:

How do students view their roles in professional organizations? #newacc

Short and sweet. Please send us comments, your experiences and questions and include #newacc in the tweet to ensure we will view it. If you have any questions, let one of us know!

Best,
Max and Pete

Surveys are in!!

We closed off the survey portion of our project two Fridays ago and are pleased to report significant responses from both Employers/Internship providers and Students/New Archivists. Much of what we are looking at are the expectations in internship work and the level at which students participate in professional organizations in order to see what factors affect a successful outcome in professional development for the student, the employer/internship provider and the profession as a whole.

Over the next couple weeks, we will post some of the data and preliminary results from the surveys. Beginning with the expectations on Student/Emerging Archivist student work (paid positions), internships, and volunteer work and how they relate professional development, specifically involvement in professional organizations.

Cheers,
Max and Pete

Surveys

Pete and I have developed two surveys to gather data for our Conference session in April. We have links to our surveys below, one for current students/new professionals and one for employers/internship supervisors.

The goal of the survey is to learn about what people starting school or just out of school think regarding their professional development, what their experiences have been and what they would like to see in a professional association. The one for employer/internship supervisors will help us gauge where the industry expectations stand and if they match with student expectations.

Please take a moment to fill out one of the surveys. There will be no personally identifiable information in the questions, however we are collecting limited geographical data to aid in our research. If you have any questions, please feel free to send one of us an email!

Student / Emerging Professional Survey

Employer / Internship Provider Survey