News & announcements

Registration is now open for the pre-conference workshop Copyright Issues for Digital Archives. Register soon to get the early bird rate!

Co-sponsored by Society of American Archivists

Instructor: Dr. Jean E. Dryden

Registration for this workshop is separate from conference registration. The registration fee is $199 for SAA members registering by March 25. Enrollment is limited to 35 participants.

This course covers copyright legal issues specific to archives of digital material. You'll examine the impact of electronic technologies on the long-held law and tenets of copyright, including digital rights management and acquiring and advising on the use of rights in records. You'll look at the basic text of relevant federal statutes and significant case law as well as examine case studies. A very brief review of copyright essentials will be provided to ground the discussion. The focus of the day will be on how to think through and identify options for resolving the most commonly encountered copyright issues.

Register Now!  https://saa.archivists.org/events/copyright-issues-for-digital-archives-18a7/878/

A message from the NWA Nominating Committee:

NWA needs YOU! 

The Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for Vice-President/President-Elect, Secretary, and the State Representatives for Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Please consider running for a position on the NWA Board!

• Are you interested in helping to set the direction of NWA?  Gain leadership experience?  Serve your professional organization? 

• Do you know someone who would be a great addition to the NWA Board? 

Now’s the time to nominate yourself or a colleague! Don’t be shy – the nomination form is anonymous and easy. Nominate through the online form at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8DJH6PD. Nominations are due on Friday, March 2.

Here are the descriptions and requirements for the open positions:

Requirement:  All candidates must be NWA members in good standing and may not be current Nominating Committee members. State representatives must reside in the state they represent.

The Vice-President/President-Elect serves a two-year term; the first year as the Vice-President and then assumes the role of President upon the adjournment of the annual meeting the year following their election.  The President is responsible for supervision over the NWA corporation, presiding at all meetings, and reporting on the activities of the corporation. The President also appoints committee chairs, the Membership Coordinator, and delegates not otherwise provided for in the by-laws.  Candidates should be members who have served in leadership positions within NWA or a similar organization, with familiarity with the history and issues before NWA.

The Secretary serves a two-year term, serves as a part of the Executive Board, and attends all Board meetings. The Secretary records, takes, and maintains minutes of Executive Board and general membership meetings via conference call and in-person at the annual meeting. They provide an annual report at the business meeting at the annual conference. They also maintain records for the IRS and non-profit incorporation.

The State Representatives serve a two-year term, serve as a part of the Executive Board, and attends Board meetings.  State Reps are responsible for reporting relevant news to their constituent state, serving as a liaison between the NWA Board and their state’s membership, and actively supports regional efforts pertaining to archives.

NWA Nominating Committee

Erin Passehl-Stoddart, Chair and Past NWA President (Idaho),  

Emily Dominick (Washington)

Deadline to apply is February 16!

The 32^nd annual Western Archives Institute (WAI) will be held at San Diego State University from June 10-22, 2018. WAI 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.

Needing to brush up on your MARC skills? Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington is hosting day-long Society of American Archivists Workshop: MARC for Archival Description on Friday March 30th from 9am-5pm. 15 registrants by the early bird registration deadline on February 28th is needed to hold the workshop.

Note the deadline extension!

A message from the Sustainable Heritage Network:

Apply NOW to the Digital POWRR Digital Preservation Professional Development Institute!
The Digital POWRR team invites applications for the second of five 2-day institutes. Sponsored by the The Sustainable Heritage Network, the institute will be held on April 28-29, 2018 in Warm Springs, OR at the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Spa, in conjunction with the Northwest Archivists 2018 Annual Meeting. The institute is free to attend (no registration fee) and scholarships are available to help defray travel expenses, courtesy of IMLS grant funding.
For more details on the POWRR Institutes, please visit the following page: http://digitalpowrr.niu.edu/institutes/

Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/Hhoux95wEfq2m0p22
(Note: we are collecting responses via Google Forms. Because we have the upload feature enabled, it will ask you to sign in to Google. If you do not have a Google account, please contact Stacey Erdman at stacey.erdman@gmail.com for a copy of the application)

Application deadline: February 2, 2018
Applicants will be notified of application status by the end of February 2018.

A message from the Sustainable Heritage Network:

Apply NOW to the Digital POWRR Digital Preservation Professional Development Institute!
The Digital POWRR team invites applications for the second of five 2-day institutes. Sponsored by the The Sustainable Heritage Network, the institute will be held on April 28-29, 2018 in Warm Springs, OR at the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Spa, in conjunction with the Northwest Archivists 2018 Annual Meeting. The institute is free to attend (no registration fee) and scholarships are available to help defray travel expenses, courtesy of IMLS grant funding.
For more details on the POWRR Institutes, please visit the following page: http://digitalpowrr.niu.edu/institutes/

Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/Hhoux95wEfq2m0p22
(Note: we are collecting responses via Google Forms. Because we have the upload feature enabled, it will ask you to sign in to Google. If you do not have a Google account, please contact Stacey Erdman at stacey.erdman@gmail.com for a copy of the application)

Application deadline: February 2, 2018
Applicants will be notified of application status by the end of February 2018.

The 2018 Northwest Archivists Annual Meeting will take place April 25-27, 2018 in Warm Springs, Oregon. This will be the first conference in recent years held in a federally-recognized Tribal nation. This year’s conference theme, Stewarding Collections, Engaging Communities, speaks to the role of archives within the larger ecosystem of cultural resource management. On a broader level, the theme asks us to consider how we, as archivists, care for collections to the benefit of present and future generations.

You can view the official Call for Proposals here: http://northwestarchivistsinc.wildapricot.org/Call-for-Proposals-2018

The rest of the 2018 webpage will be populated as information becomes available.

We are in the process of examining and re-envisioning NWA’s communications strategy. Crystal Rodgers, in collaboration with departing Easy Access Editor Jennifer Greenwood and the NWA Board, have crafted a survey to better inform the process and ensure we are meeting the needs of our membership. We want to hear from you and hope you will take a few minutes to let us know what information you would like to receive from NWA and how you would like it delivered by completing the survey! The survey will be open through Monday, November 6. Thank you for your participation! 

Take SURVEY 

A revised version of the DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard) principles are now available, and the Technical Subcommittee is currently looking for feedback! Deadline to submit comments is July 1. 

To make comments on the revised principles, they are suggesting the following methods: 

"There are two ways to send feedback -- as a group (this is the method we encourage), or as an individual.

As a group:

1. Find your community. This may be the people you work with, or it may be archivists in your town or city whom you enjoy sharing ideas with. Perhaps you could do this as a Skype call with your former classmates, or twitter archivists could find a time to come together. You may choose to lead a group at a local, regional, or national conference. We want to hear from as many people as possible!
2. Find a discussion group leader, and make sure that this leader takes time to think about how to facilitate a productive and inclusive conversation. Use our facilitators’ guide to help prepare.
3. Have an awesome discussion, keep notes, and use our discussion guide to keep on track.
4. Tell us what you think! Use our feedback form to report back about what your group discussed.

As an individual:

1. Do the reading. It may be helpful to read not only the proposed DACS principles, but also the current ones. We’ve also included a list of articles that we consulted during the revision process.
2. Do some thinking. In particular, think about this from the point of view of the people who use your archives. How would principled description, in accordance with this text, improve their experience? Are there any ways that they would produce a diminished experience?
3. Tell us what you think! Use our feedback form to let us know what you think works about the revised DACS principles and what could use more thought.

We look forward to receiving your feedback by July 1, 2017." 

Hello conference attendees,

Thanks for making last week's joint conference such a success! We hope you will spend a few moments taking this survey as it will provide us with valuable feedback about the meeting. We look forward to knowing what we did right and what we could improve on in future meetings. 

CIMA/NWA 2017 Joint Meeting Survey

Please respond by June 9. 

Thank you,

CIMA/NWA Program Committee

CIMA/NWA Local Arrangements Committee