News & announcements

Hi everyone, 

Just a reminder that your submissions for the Winter issue of Easy Access are due by January 9th! Please send your content to nwa.publications@gmail.com. Tell the membership about all the cool stuff your repository has been up to! 

The deadline for submission of CIMA/NWA 2017 presentation proposals is rapidly approaching! Make it your New Year's resolution to submit by Friday January 6th! Submit your proposals here. Consult the NWA conference webpage for additional information. 

The CIMA/NWA 2017 Annual Meeting webpage is now live! Follow the link for more information about proposal submissions, registration, the conference hotel, and more. More information will be added as it becomes available. 

Can't wait to see you all in Boise! 

A message from the Joint Program Committee: 

We are starting to budget and plan for special events to celebrate our 40th Anniversary. This includes receptions at both the Boise annual meeting in May 2017 and at the Portland SAA meeting in July 2017. In order to better anticipate costs and participation, we are asking our members to answer this short survey regarding attendance at these two events. Please respond by December 31, 2016.

See below for a message from NWA President, Erin Passehl Stoddart

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Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories. -- Steven Wright

40 years’ worth of memories in the case of the Northwest Archivists! NWA's upcoming anniversary in 2017 offers the perfect opportunity to collect, present and celebrate forty years of professional advocacy, advancement, and camaraderie! To this end, the NWA40 committee has been formed and is busily working on behalf of the membership-at-large preparing for the celebrations scheduled during 2017. (More details at end of message.) 

The NWA40 Committee is asking members to get meta and turn our collective professional skills inward to mark this auspicious event.  Whether you’ve been an NWA member for 40 years or joined last month, you have NWA-related stories and photographs and we want you to share them!

• Do you have a funny or poignant story?
• How has NWA influenced your professional life?
• Do you have observations about how the membership and organization has changed over the years?
• What are your hopes for the future of NWA?
• Do you have photos to share?

Please send your stories, comments, and remembrances to Diana Banning, diana.banning@portlandoregon.gov.  Please include in the subject line: NWA40.  The NWA40 Committee will compile and publish the collection on NWA’s website.  

The committee is also looking for volunteers who are interested in compiling a written history – let Mary McRobinson know if you feel the call.  And if you are in contact with any of our retired members who could offer additional perspectives and stories, please contact Diana Banning. 

Sneak preview of coming celebratory attractions: 

• Reception at NWA/CIMA meeting, May 2017
• Specially designed NWA40 swag for purchase
• Reception at SAA annual meeting, July 2017
• Brief history of NWA compiled for website (including founding date, list of past Board members, meeting locations, programs, photos, etc.)

Please direct general questions/suggestions to Mary McRobinson, NWA40 Chair, mmcrobin@willamette.edu. 

The Program Committee recently sent out the call for session proposals for our joint annual meeting next May 17-19, 2017, in Boise, ID. To make it easier for like minds to connect, we're offering up this Google spreadsheet where you can share your session proposal ideas, and see who might be interested in joining your panel. 

Please note that this is a planning document only, and it does NOT take the place of actually submitting your session proposal to the Program Committee - to SUBMIT your program proposal go to: http://bit.ly/2gYPWFq. Deadline for session proposals is January 6, 2017.

Thanks,

See below for the official CFP from the Program Committee. 

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The 2017 Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists/Northwest Archivists Joint Annual Meeting will take place from May 17-19, 2017 in Boise, Idaho.

At this year’s meeting we will be exploring our mutual experiences as archivists in the West and celebrating the richness and diversity of our collections with the theme: Preserving the Voices of the West.

The Program Committee welcomes proposals on all aspects of archival practice and research, including proposals that feature:

●        Reference, instruction, and outreach. Creative use of social media and emerging technology. Innovative instruction methods using special collections and archives. Unique methods of community outreach.

●     Exhibits that challenge and inspire. Creating exhibits that showcase our collections but also inspire thoughtful reflection and questions from visitors.

●       Collecting  in the West. Common collecting areas across Western repositories.

●        Advocacy and partnership building. Grant writing, marketing, fundraising, and sponsorship.

●        Collaboration. Engaging donors, students, colleagues in allied professions, and the community. Collaboration with subject and liaison librarians.

●        Innovation. Finding efficiencies, process improvements, workflow management, and innovative tools and technologies including linked data.

●        Activism and social justice. Archivists as advocates for or supporting social change, facilitating objective and judgement-free spaces, and absences and silences in the archives.

●       Capturing voices of the West. Unique oral history projects and collaborations that capture the  voices of a variety of individuals and groups in the Inter-Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions.  Successes, challenges, and pitfalls.

●        Born digital records and digital preservation. Workflows for acquiring, preserving, processing, and making digital materials accessible.

●        Disaster mitigation and response. How are archives and conservators responding to climate change and natural disasters?

●        Archives management. Strategic planning, project management, and program management.

●        Archival education, mentoring, and professional development. Creating opportunities that support the next generation of archival professionals. Developing programs to cultivate and mentor volunteers.

●        New Frontiers in arrangement and description. EAD3, connecting finding aids with digital content, methods for addressing your repository’s backlog, experiences with MPLP.

●       Social media in the archives. How are you using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social media outlets to highlight your collections or build community?

●      Copyright. Issues and challenges with copyright in archives and special collections in both print and digital environments.

●     Community archives. Archives by the community, for the community. How do underrepresented communities create their own archives space?

Any and all other ideas welcome! Including failure stories or experiences that can help others learn from mistakes and use challenges to innovate and inspire.

We welcome proposals for sessions in traditional and nontraditional formats, including:

Traditional. An open session with 2-3 papers of  about 15 minutes each and a comment and discussion period after the papers.

Panel Discussion. An open session with a panel of 3-4 individuals informally discussing a variety of theories or perspectives on the given topic.

Poster Session. Focused visual and textual presentation on applied archival research topic or professional project as case study. Specific dimensions and guidelines will be provided.

Round Table. An open discussion anchored by brief, 5-7 minute presentations. Active participation encouraged.

Lightning Talks. A fast-paced open session with many concise presentations delivered under a tight time limit.

Workshop. A limited enrollment full or half-day session that allows interaction and focused instruction with participants. Workshops usually teach or refine archival skills. Workshops will be held Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

The committee welcomes proposals from anyone involved with archives, including archival staff and volunteers, community organizers, researchers, creators and donors, allied professionals, and academics. We especially encourage students and new professionals to share your fresh perspectives with us.

DEADLINE for submission is January 6, 2017. Please use the online submission form to submit your proposal at http://goo.gl/forms/kARWFi95W5

The submission deadline for the fall issue of Easy Access is quickly approaching! Please send your content to Editor Jennifer Greenwood at nwa.publications@gmail.com no later than 10/14. With the summer season coming to a close, the recent SAA conference in Atlanta, and October Archives Month coming up, there's sure to be something interesting and exciting you and your institution have been up to! 

It's official! NWA is joining forces with CIMA (Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists) for our annual meeting next spring in Boise, ID! In order to make this upcoming year's conference a success, NWA needs your help on one of three committees: Local Arrangements, Programming, and the NWA 40th Anniversary Committees. For more information about the activities of each committee and to let the board know who is interested in participating, please complete the following volunteer form by July 29, 2016! 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T9D6MWY