From Elsie Reynolds of the University of Michigan and a member of the Hamer Award Subcommittee:

On behalf of the Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award Committee, I invite you to submit nominations for the 2021 award. Please see the following announcement for more information.

Society of American Archivists

Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award

The Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) seeks nominations for the 2021 award.

This Philip M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award recognizes an archivist, editor, group of individuals, or institution that has increased public awareness of a specific body of documents (which can be a specific archival collection or thematic aggregation) through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation of archives or manuscript materials for educational, instructional, or other public purpose. Work that has had an impact on a local, regional, national, and/or international level is welcomed.

Recent winners include:

• 2020: Laura Wagner, Rubenstein Library, Duke University (Radio Haiti)
• 2019:  Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections for Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center
• 2018: Find & Connect, eScholarship Research Centre
• 2017: Center for Home Movies
• 2016: South Asian American Digital Archive

Eligibility:

Individual archivists and editors, groups of individuals, organizations. This award is open to nominees within and outside of the United States, and is not limited to SAA members.

Prize:

A certificate and a cash prize of $500.

Application Deadline:

All nominations shall be submitted to SAA by February 28 each year.

For more information on this award, including the nomination form, please go to http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-hamer.

For more information on SAA awards and the nominations process, please go to https://www2.archivists.org/aboutsaa/awardsandscholarships.

As part of the REALM project’s research, Battelle has begun a natural attenuation study to examine how colder and warmer temperatures may impact survivability of the infectious COVID-19 virus on surfaces. Tests 7 and 8 study materials that were previously tested at temperatures between 68 to 72°F (22 ±2°C). Those materials include the following items: hardback book (buckram cloth, stacked, previously tested in Test 4), softcover book cover (stacked, previously tested in Test 4), plastic protective cover (stacked, previously tested in Test 4), and expanded polyethylene foam (unstacked, previously tested in Test 4).

The results of the tests are expected to be published in mid-February 2021. for more information got to

https://www.oclc.org/realm/happening-now/20210114-test-7-8.html.

Dear Colleague,

College and university archives vary widely throughout the United States. The College & University Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) hopes to identify similarities and differences, explore the types of administrative structures, and determine what areas of responsibilities college and university archives’ staff have. We aim to share our research results with the archival community through the C&U Section website, publication, and presentations.

In order to do so, the Section is conducting a 32-question survey using the survey tool Qualtrics through Bowling Green State University. We would be especially appreciative if you would share this opportunity with archival professionals in your organization, who may be good candidates for participation but are active outside of SAA. We ask those who are willing to participate to identify one responder for each college or university archives. 

The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Those taking the survey can stop participating at any time. The survey is anonymous and all records will be kept confidential. Before taking the survey, respondents will be asked to give their consent to collect the data. The survey will remain open until February 5, 2021. 

For questions about participants’ rights in this study or to discuss other study-related concerns or complaints with someone who is not part of the research team, you may contact the Chair, Institutional Review Board (orc@bgsu.edu; 419.372.7716).

We appreciate your collegiality and assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this study. 

Sincerely,

Michelle Sweetser, PI, Chair of C&U Archives Section

msweets@bgsu.edu 

C&U Archives Section Survey Working Group

Tamar Chute

Elizabeth James

Ann Kenne

Jane Metters LaBarbara

Krista Oldham

Emily Reiher

Karen Trivette

Happy New Year! 

We don’t know about you, but this pandemic has us feeling like we have all the time in the world AND not a minute to spare. 

Our hope is that you can find about 20 minutes to help in our effort to document the impact of caregiving on our profession. 

We are broadly defining caregiving to mean “any person who takes care of another person, young, old or sick.” This could be as intimate as caring for an elder relative in their home; financially supporting adult care for an aging parent; or raising children.

We want to be sure that you and yours are reflected in the data, which means getting a large enough sample size (so apologies if you are seeing this cross listed from someplace else). 

Thank you in advance for your time; do not hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions. You can take the survey here: Cost of Care Survey Link

Be well in 2021,

Alexis Braun Marks, Rachael Dreyer, Jennifer Johnson, and Michelle Sweetser

REALM has released the results of Test 6, which concentrated on materials commonly used in furnishings and exhibits in archives, libraries and museums: glass, marble, laminate, brass, and powder-coated steel. After two days, the virus was not detectable on the brass or marble. After six days, the virus was not detected on the glass, laminate, and powder-coated steel. Full results can be found at https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/realm/documents/test6-report.pdf. 

Raw datasets for the first five tests are now available at https://www.oclc.org/realm/research.html. (Raw data for Test 6 is available at the link above.) The toolkit has also been updated with the Test 6 results, new graphics, and a visual interpretation of the Phase II literature review. the new materials can be found at https://www.oclc.org/realm/resources.html.