The 26th annual Western Archives Institute will be held at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, July 8 – 20, 2012.  The Western Archives Institute is an intensive, two-week program that provides integrated instruction in basic archival practices to individuals with a variety of backgrounds, including those whose jobs require a fundamental understanding of archival skills, but who have little or no previous archives education; those who have expanding responsibility for archival materials; those who are practicing archivists but have not received formal instruction; and those who demonstrate a commitment to an archival career.

The Institute also features site visits to historical records repositories and a diverse curriculum that includes history and development of the profession, theory and terminology, records management, appraisal, arrangement, description, manuscripts acquisition, archives and the law, photographs, preservation administration, reference and access, outreach programs, and managing archival programs and institutions.

Thomas Wilsted has graciously agreed to serve as Principle Faculty Member for the 2012 Institute. Wilsted has been an archivist for more than forty years.  During his career, he has worked at the Illinois State Historical Library, the National Library of New Zealand, The Salvation Army Archives and Research Center, and the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming before retiring from the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut in 2008.  He is currently the principal at Wilsted Consulting, and is the author of Managing Archival and Manuscript Repositories (SAA, 1991) and Planning New and Remodeled Archival Facilities (SAA, 2007), and co-editor of Archival and Special Collections Facilities: Guidelines for Archivists, Librarians, Architects, and Engineers (SAA, 2010).   He taught archives administration at the University of Wyoming and the University of Connecticut as well as numerous workshops for the Society of American Archivists.  Mr. Wilsted is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists.

Tuition for the Institute is $700 and includes a selection of archival publications. Other non-negotiable fees including program transportation, facility fees, opening dinner, and luncheon at the closing program will be available in early February.  Housing and meal plans are available at additional cost.

The application deadline for the 2012 Western Archives Institute is March 30, 2012. For additional program information, see http://www.calarchivists.org/WAI, or contact:

For additional information, contact:

Administrator

Western Archives Institute

1020 O Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Telephone: (916) 653–7715

Fax: (916) 653–7134E-mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov