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!!