NEA taking the past into the future


Spring 2024: In Pursuit of the Future

March 14-16, 2024
Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel | Providence, RI
#NEASpring24

Fresh from an incredible fiftieth-anniversary celebration, join NEA as we look ahead and boldly ask: What’s next for our organization, our field, our world, and ourselves? Mark your calendars: For three inspiring days of discussion and community-building, we’ll be imagining the archives of tomorrow by examining the archives of today. You don’t want to miss this!

Meeting registration is now open! Please follow this link to complete your registration.

Schedule at a glance (Subject to Change)


Thursday, March 14, 2024

 
 9:30am - 11:00am

Workshop (Virtual): Engaging Students in Deeper Learning
Location: Zoom


 11:00am - 1:00pm

Registration
Location: Side Lobby (through Ballroom Entrance door)


 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Lunch on your own


 1:00 - 2:00pm

Tour: Providence Public Library Special Collections
Location: Providence Public Library


 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Workshop (Onsite): How Learners Learn
Location: Beethoven


 1:00 - 5:00pm

NEA Board Meeting
Location: Mozart


 2:00 - 2:30pm

Afternoon break

 3:00 - 5:00pm

Tour II: John Hay Library at Brown University (light refreshments available)
Location: John Hay Library at Brown University



Friday, March 15, 2024

 
 8:00am - 12:00pm Registration

Location: Side Lobby (through Ballroom Entrance door)


 8:00am - 4:00pm

Vendor Showcase Open
Location: Symphony Ballroom Foyer


 8:30am - 9:00am New Member & NEA Board Meet and Greet

Location: Symphony Ballroom Foyer

 9:00am - 10:00am Plenary Speaker: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai


Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream

 10:00am - 10:30am All attendee break

 10:30am - 11:45am

Concurrent Sessions 1:
1.1 Activating the Archives: The Yale and Slavery Project and its Afterlives
Location: Mozart
1.2 Collecting LGBTQ+ History: Three Rhode Island Community-Based Projects
Location: Beethoven
1.3 Right Now: Case Studies in Hybrid and Born-Digital Processing*
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream


 11:45am -1:30pm Lunch on your own

 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Concurrent Sessions 2:
2.1 “Problematic Content Exists in Our Collections”: Harmful Content Statements
Location: Mozart
2.2 Critical Historiography in the Classroom: Teaching Primary Sources with a Social Justice Lens*
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream
2.3 Expanding Access to Diverse Local History Collections through Collaborative Digitization
Location: Beethoven


 2:30pm - 3:00pm All attendee break

 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Concurrent Sessions 3:
3.1 The Mumia Rules: Lessons for Future Carceral Collecting
Location: Mozart
3.2 Dude, Where's My Hollinger box?*
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream
3.3 Challenging Content, Challenging Project: Divided America
Location: Beethoven 3.4 Balancing Acts: Case Studies of Reparative Description and Harmful Content Warnings
Location: Handel


 6:00pm - 8:00pm All attendee reception
Location: Symphony Ballroom



Saturday, March 16, 2024


8:00am - 12:00pm
Registration

Location: Side Lobby (through Ballroom Entrance door)


 8:00am - 4:00pm Vendor Showcase Open
Location: Symphony Ballroom Foyer

 8:00am - 9:00am Breakfast
Location: Symphony Ballroom Foyer

 8:15am - 9:00am Annual Business Meeting & Awards Ceremony
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream

 9:15am - 10:30am Plenary Arts & Archives panel: Lois Harada, Eli Nixon, and Paul Soulellis
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream

 10:30am - 11:00am

Morning coffee break

 11:00am - 12:00pm

Concurrent Sessions IV:
4.1 Revisions Required: Demystifying Professional Writing with the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies
Location: Mozart
4.2 The Records Continuum: Strengthening Archival Programs with Records Management*
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream
4.3 Student lightning talks
Location: Beethoven

 12:00pm - 1:30pm  Lunch on your own

 1:30pm - 2:30pm IDC Reading Circle
Location: Mozart/Zoom

Resume Review
Location: Beethoven


 2:30pm - 3:30pm Concurrent Sessions V:
5.1 Individual presentations
Location: Mozart
  • 5.1a A Peoples’ Archive: Promoting Awareness of a Public Resource
  • 5.1b Linking it Together: Integrating Multiple Systems for a Common Goal

5.2 It’s About Community: Collectively Creating Our Story*
Location: Symphony Ballroom/Livestream

5.3 Women religious archival donations to universities: Matches made in heaven
Location: Beethoven


Workshops

Workshops will be held virtually and onsite on Thursday, March 14th. Please note that workshop registration is separate from meeting registration and that onsite registration will NOT be available for workshops; attendees must register in advance. Registration for both workshops closes on March 10, 2024. Please contact the Education Committee at education@newenglandarchivists.com with any questions about workshops.

Engaging Students in Deeper Learning
Jay McTighe

In this interactive webinar, educator and author Jay McTighe will address important questions as he explores ideas from the award-winning book, Teaching For Deeper Learning: Tools to Engage Students in Meaning Making (ASCD, 2020). What is deeper learning? What kind of instruction is needed to help students learn deeply? Jay will present a set of practical and proven strategies and associated tools to actively engage students in making meaning.

This workshop will be virtual and will NOT be recorded.
Time: 9:30am - 11:30am
Participant limit: 50 registrants
To register for this workshop, please visit the registration page.

How Learners Learn
Ronit Carter

This interactive, hands-on workshop will give attendees a basic yet powerful tour through some of the fundamental research principles of effective learning, with personal reflection and practical considerations for teaching, presenting, and all forms of educating.

This workshop will be onsite (room to be announced)
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
To register for this workshop, please visit the registration page.

Plenary Speaker and Plenary Panel

Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
Plenary Speaker
Friday, March 15, 2024, 9:00 am–10:00 am

Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai is Director of Research at the Massachusetts Historical Society. He is the author of Northern Character: College-Educated New Englanders, Honor, Nationalism, and Leadership in the Civil War Era (2016). He is the co-editor of So Conceived and So Dedicated: Northern Intellectuals in the Civil War Era (2015) and Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War I (2023). He co-directed the National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored project “West Texans and the Experience of War: World War I to the Present” while an Associate Professor of History at Angelo State University. He earned his PhD from the University of Virginia and has also taught at the University of Mary Washington and East Tennessee State University.

Lois Harada, Eli Nixon, and Paul Soulellis
Plenary Arts and Archives Panel
Saturday, March 16, 2024, 9:15 am-10:30 am

The plenary panel, featuring Providence-based artists, Lois Harada, Eli Nixon, and Paul Soulellis, will be in conversation about the intersection between art, archives, and communities. The panel will be moderated by Hilary Wang (Brown University).

Lois Harada is an artist based in North Providence, RI. She has worked at DWRI Letterpress, a commercial letterpress print shop, since 2011 and joined the Rhode Island School of Design as a Critic in 2022. She is a printmaker and interdisciplinary artist encouraging viewers to revisit forgotten pieces of our past. Recently, she has examined Japanese American incarceration through her family's history.

Eli Nixon (they/them) builds portals and gives guided tours to places that don’t yet exist, or exist but call for creative intervention. They are a settler-descended transqueer clown, a cardboard constructionist, and a maker of plays, puppets, pageants, parades, suitcase theaters, and low-tech public spectaculah. Nixon collaborates with artists, activists, schools, mental health and recovery centers, libraries, and the more-than-human world to expand imaginative capacity and build muscles for collective liberation. They are an enthusiast and practitioner of naturedrag, amateur flag dancing, and DIY festoonery. Nixon is proposing a new holiday in homage to horseshoe crabs. Their illustrated manual for celebrating the holiday, Bloodtide, is available through The 3rd Thing Press. Nixon is part of the New Georges’ Jam and brotherdykes unlimited, an organizer with Showing Up for Racial Justice–R.I., a member of DARE’s Behind The Walls Committee, and a parent of a teenager, among other contained multitudes. elinixon.com

Paul Soulellis is an artist and educator based in Providence, RI. His practice includes teaching, writing, and experimental publishing, with a focus on queer methodologies, network culture, and archival justice. He is the founder of Queer.Archive.Work, a non-profit organization that supports artists, writers, and activists with access to space, tools, and other resources for queer publishing. He is also Department Head and Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Rhode Island School of Design.


Special Events

Tour of the Providence Public Library Special Collections
Thursday, March 14, 2024, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm | 150 Empire St, Providence, RI 02903

Join us for a tour of the Special Collections at Providence Public Library (PPL) located in downtown Providence. The collection is home to tens of thousands of historic books, manuscripts, photographs, ephemera, maps, and other artifacts representing more than 4,000 years of human history and culture from around the world. The tour will be led by Jordan Goffin, Head Curator of Collections.

Follow this link to register! This tour is capped at 20 participants.

The Providence Public Library is a 5-minute drive and a 20-minute walk from the hotel. This tour is ADA accessible. Meet in the hotel lobby at 12:30 pm if you want to walk over together. Look for a person holding a PPL tour sign.

Please contact the Program Committee with any questions about the tour.

Tour of the John Hay Library at Brown University
Thursday, March 14, 2024, 3:00 pm-4:00 pm | 20 Prospect St, Providence RI 02912

Come take a tour of the John Hay Library, home to Brown University’s remarkable collection of rare books, manuscripts, and University Archives. We’ll showcase highlights from the collection and walk through the building, which was constructed in 1910. Light refreshments will be served after the tour from 4-5 pm. Follow this link to register!

The John Hay Library is located on Brown University’s campus—a 5 minute drive and a 20 minute walk from the hotel. See the Library’s accessibility details here. Meet in the hotel lobby at 2:30 pm if you want to walk over together. Look for a person holding a Hay tour sign.

Please contact the Program Committee with any questions about the tour.

New Member Meetup & NEA Board Meet and Greet
Saturday, March 16 | 8:00 am-9:00 am

Are you a new member? Come join the NEA Board and leadership and meet other new members of NEA.

Resume/Cover Letter Review
Saturday, March 16 | 1:30 pm-2:30pm
Asynchronous | ongoing

It’s never not a good time to improve your resume! Sign up for a one-on-one asynchronous/remote or in-person resume review and get paired with an archivist who can offer a fresh perspective and constructive advice on how to shape your resume / cover letter.

If you are looking for advice on your cover letter it is recommended you supply your reviewer with a copy of the job posting the cover letter is matched to.

BE A REVIEWER!
Now is your chance to give back and help out a fellow archivist looking to grow and develop their career. Anyone who has gone through the hiring process is qualified to advise, no matter how new you are to the profession. We are seeking knowledgeable, generous volunteers to review resumes and/or cover letters.

SEEKING REVIEW?
Are you ready to take the next step in your career but need a little feedback? Are you dusting off the old resume after a few years in the same position? Are you crafting a cover letter and want advice on how to stand out? If you are interested in having your resume reviewed by an experienced colleague, sign up to participate!

Deadline: Please sign up by March 7 to reserve a spot!
We will then make a match and contact both parties to facilitate initial introductions and the exchange of documents. The review can take place at any time that is mutually agreeable to both parties. This event is meant to be an inclusive experience for archivists at all career stages.

If you have questions about volunteering or being reviewed, please reach out to Ashley Miller, Resume Review Coordinator with your questions.

IDC Reading Circle
Saturday, March 16 | 1:30 pm-2:30 pm

A Weapon and a Tool: Decolonizing Description and Embracing Redescription as Liberatory Archival Praxis
By Tonia Sutherland, Alyssa Purcell
Facilitated by Matt Amedeo and Caro Langenbucher (in-person) and Susanna Coit (on Zoom)

Join the Inclusion and Diversity Committee for discussion of the article A Weapon and a Tool: Decolonizing Description and Embracing Redescription as Liberatory Archival Praxis from The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion. This piece discusses decolonization methods and Critical Race Theory as frameworks for addressing colonial concerns about archival description. The authors use current archival trends to argue that redescriptive practices should be rooted in justice and liberation rather than basic notions of diversity and inclusion.

Join the reading circle as we discuss this article and pose a number of discussion questions that can get us all thinking about reframing how we work with archival description.

All Attendee Reception
Friday, March 15 | 6:00 pm

Come join your colleagues, friends, and peers for a lively reception! We will have appetizers for everyone.

Awards Ceremony
Saturday, March 16 | 8:00 am-9:00am

Annual Business Meeting
Saturday, March 16 | 8:00 am-9:00am

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Session Descriptions

Revisions Required: Demystifying Professional Writing with the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies
Stephanie Bredbenner (she/her), Yale University
Kara Flynn (she/her), University of Connecticut
Monika Lehman (she/her), Yale University
Sally Blanchard-O’Brien (she/her), University of Vermont

The Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies is an open-access, online academic journal funded by Yale University and New England Archivists. The journal publishes research articles, case studies, book reviews, and other scholarship which furthers awareness of issues and developments in the work of professional archivists, curators, librarians, and historians. Professional and scholarly writing can be intimidating, but JCAS actively seeks broad participation and diverse perspectives from all corners of the field, including graduate students, new professionals, and paraprofessionals. This session will provide an overview of JCAS’s history and editorial process, share the experiences of recent JCAS authors in their own words, and explain various ways to get involved with the journal. There will be ample time for members of the editorial board to answer questions.

A Peoples’ Archive: Promoting Awareness of a Public Resource
Lauren Gray, Reference Librarian for Researcher Services at Massachusetts Historical Society

As former SAA president Rachel Vagts said in her 2021 Presidential Address, archivists must extend a “radical welcome” to the archives and “are the ones who can make our welcome explicit, who can open the gates and create space for all who wish to join us.” Awareness, approachability, and access are three critical cornerstones of the archival profession. Archivists grapple with shared challenges, like: How do we present the archives in the public sphere? How do we get the public interested in and knowledgeable about our resources? How do we best serve our communities? Archival institutions should work in tandem with their communities to provide support and education for all. This presentation will address strategies in place at the Library Reader Services Department at the Massachusetts Historical Society to promote the MHS’ presence in the community and to support inclusive and diverse public history.

Activating the Archives: The Yale and Slavery Project and its Afterlives
Jennifer Coggins (she/they), Yale University
Jeanne Lowrey (she/her), Yale University
Michael Morand (he/him), Director of Community Engagement, Beinecke Library, Yale University
Charles Warner, Jr. (he/him), Yale and Slavery Working Group

Institutional archives are valuable resources for organizations grappling with the legacy of slavery and anti-Black racism. However, these records are not always easy to use and only tell part of the larger story, particularly when community memory lives outside of administrative records. Dedicated research projects provide a valuable opportunity to bring different perspectives in conversation with each other. Drawing on work done for and inspired by the Yale and Slavery project, this panel will explore how special projects can identify previously underutilized or under-described collections, suggest areas of further systematic research, and provide opportunities for continuing collaboration between the archive and the community. A common thread of these efforts is the recognition of institutional archives as living, dynamic bodies of documentation shaped by a long lineage of records creators, stewards, archivists, and users. This session highlights opportunities for archivists to engage our communities in the work of reinterpretation and repair.

It’s About Community: Collectively Creating Our Story (virtual and in-person)
Greg Colati, Connecticut Digital Archive, UConn Library
Michael Howser, Connecticut Digital Archive, UConn Library
Kenia Rodriguez, Connecticut Digital Archive, UConn Library

Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) members have preserved hundreds of thousands of items about Connecticut history, but far too few objects represent daily life in the recent past, content often captured on smart phones and shared in social media. These digital memories are inherently fragile, and without an effort to gather and preserve, much of the story will be lost. To address this challenge, we are launching My Town My Story (MTMS), a two-year project to help public libraries and other place-based organizations to build local digital history collections by encouraging individuals and community groups to contribute to the collective memory of their town.

My Town My Story enables people to choose their own digital photos, videos, and other documents to preserve and share with their friends, neighbors, and the rest of the world, creating a community-driven collection of material to illustrate the story of the places and people of Connecticut.

Balancing Acts: Case Studies of Reparative Description and Harmful Content Warnings
Caro Langenbucher (they/them), Processing Specialist, Dartmouth College
Dan Everton (they/he), Researcher and Archivist Support Assistant, Brown University
Janaya Kizzie (they/she), Processing Archivist, Brown University

In recent years, the idea of providing content warnings for potentially harmful content has gained ground both inside and outside the field of archives. In the archives world, harmful content warnings are often connected to reparative archival description, as both practices aim to mitigate harm against historically marginalized groups as well as researchers. But what does this actually entail? And what are the potential risks involved? In this panel, we will present three case studies illuminating some of the challenges and complexities involved in understanding and implementing harmful content warnings and reparative description for archival collections.

Right Now: Case Studies in Hybrid and Born-Digital Processing (virtual and in-person)
Irene Gates (she/her), Northeastern University
Zachary Maiorana (he/him), Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Gillian McCuistion (she/her), Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Emily Ping O’Brien (she/her), Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Eric Sonnenberg (he/him), Yale University
Hilary Wang (she/her), Brown University
Melanie Wisner (she/her), Houghton Library, Harvard University

Born-digital and hybrid collections are increasingly common, and yet many repositories’ born-digital programs are still only nascent. In this session, archivists will present on born-digital or hybrid collections they’ve processed, highlighting decision points, challenges, platforms used, finding aids created, and more, providing attendees with concrete examples to consider as they process, or begin thinking about processing, born-digital material in their own repositories. Presentations will consist of the following case studies: accessioning (as processing) an author’s hybrid papers at Houghton Library; how the Schlesinger Library processes born-digital materials using digital forensics software and scripting; onboarding of Preservica and the initiative to preserve images from the university’s DAM at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; reprocessing the born-digital component of an already processed hybrid collection at Brown University; processing a hybrid collection with a large and varied born-digital component at Yale University; and processing both a hybrid and born-digital collection at The New School.

Dude, Where's My Hollinger box? (virtual and in-person)
Chris Tanguay (she/they), MIT
Rachel Van Unen (she/her), MIT
Thera Webb (she/her), MIT
Sarah Bowman (she/her)

Have you ever spent hours looking for a missing box? Do you have too many collections and not enough space? We can help! In this session, staff at the MIT Libraries will discuss their experience using Airtable and other tools to regain physical control over large, unruly collections. The panelists will cover managing a multi-person shelf read, a project to uncover hidden collections, and making optimal use of limited onsite storage and processing space.

Challenging Content, Challenging Project: Divided America
Andrew Majcher, Brown University (he/him)
Ariel Flowers, Brown University (she/her)

Brown University Library was awarded two grants for the Divided America Project from NHPRC and the Arcadia Foundation to digitize and provide access to over 1 million items from the Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda. This collection is currently challenging to use because it is only described at the organization level and the content can be difficult for patrons to engage with because of controversial topics. In this session we will talk about why the collection warrants extensive digitization, an overview of the work, and provide lessons and challenges learned from taking on a large digitization project.

The Records Continuum: Strengthening Archival Programs with Records Management (virtual and in-person)
Jennifer Williams, Emerson College (Moderator)
Taylor McNeilly, Wheaton College
Betsy Pittman, University of Connecticut
Elizabeth Carron, Boston College

Implementing a records management program can be a daunting task for archivists who do not have extensive training or work experience in this area. However, an organization-wide strategy for managing active and semi-active records can enhance archival efforts by bringing the importance of proper maintenance and disposition of records to the fore. In this panel discussion, we will review how archivists can use records management best practices, principles, and tools within their departments to strengthen their archival initiatives.

Expanding Access to Diverse Local History Collections through Collaborative Digitization
Dee Bowers (they/them), Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library
Dylan Gaffney (he/him), Forbes Library
Jacquelyn Oshman (she/her), New Brunswick Public Library

Since 2017, The Internet Archive’s Community Webs programs has partnered with public libraries and heritage organizations to diversify the historic record. More than 150 public libraries and cultural heritage organizations have joined and collectively archived over 100 terabytes of web-based community heritage materials. Recently, Community Webs received support from the NHPRC Archives Collaboratives program for the digitization project Collaborative Access to Diverse Public Library Local History Collections. The collaborative effort will digitize and provide access to a diverse range of content from across the country that represents the experience of immigrant, indigenous, and African American communities throughout the United States. In this session, two [or three] of the project’s participants will discuss the collections they’ve digitized and the impact they expect this project to have within their communities.

Critical Historiography in the Classroom: Teaching Primary Sources with a Social Justice Lens (virtual and in-person)
Erica Donnis (she/her), Congressional Papers Archivist, University of Vermont
Amy Rae Howe, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Champlain College, and Academic Director for the Women, Gender & Representation Pre-College Program, Smith College
Annabel Kusnitz and Brigham Boice, Champlain College
Jordan Conlon, Smith College

How does the critical examination of primary sources offer important methods for teaching content with a social justice lens? Join an archivist and two faculty members as they discuss how they have introduced undergraduates to critical historiography addressing both historic and contemporary social issues. They will present sample lessons featuring analog and digital collections that explore local history, community memory-making, curation ethics, and the role institutions of higher education have played in both perpetuating and disrupting dominant cultural narratives. These lessons utilize best practices of social justice to create inclusive spaces for students of different identities and life experiences to view, analyze, and discuss primary sources together.

Collecting LGBTQ+ History: Three Rhode Island Community-Based Projects (IDC Scholarship Recipient)
Kate Wells (she/her/hers), Providence Public Library
Mev Miller (she/her/hers), Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library
Virginia Thomas (she/her/hers), Providence College
Angela DiVeglia, moderator (she/her/hers), Rhode Island School of Design

This presentation features representatives from three Rhode Island community-based LGBTQ+ collecting projects: the Rhode Island LGBTQ+ Community Archives, Queer StoRIes Oral History Project, and the Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library. They will discuss what it means to be community-based LGBTQ+ archives, the centrality of their values statements, commonalities and differences between their collections and approaches, considerations for access and collecting, challenges and opportunities, and how the projects support each other and collaborate. Guided by a moderator, panelists will consider: How do LGBTQ+ archives challenge and influence traditional archives? What futures do these archives hope to foster? How can community archives act nimbly in ways that allow them to respond to timely needs and events, including rapid response collecting? How can archivists in traditional repositories work with and support community-based collections? How do we define “community” for LGBTQ+ people whose stories remain underrepresented?

The Mumia Rules: Lessons for Future Carceral Collecting
Mary Murphy (she/her), Nancy L. Buc '65 LLD '94 hon Pembroke Center Archivist, Brown University
Amanda Knox (she/her), Pembroke Center Assistant Archivist, Brown University

In the summer of 2022, Brown University acquired the papers of Mumia Abu-Jamal, once known as the most recognized man on death row. The effort required two years of curatorial work prior to the collection arriving on Brown’s campus, and an additional year of processing work to make the collection available for research. The curator and processing archivist responsible for the efforts will discuss the successes, roadblocks, and failures of acquiring and processing the Abu-Jamal papers. They will also share lessons others in the profession might apply to future carceral collecting as this collecting direction becomes mainstream. They will close by opening the conversation up to Q&A with the audience.

Linking it Together: Integrating Multiple Systems for a Common Goal
Lenora Robinson (she/her), Project Archivist for the Deaf Catholic Archives, College of the Holy Cross
Lisa M. Villa, Digital Scholarship Librarian, College of the Holy Cross

This presentation will describe how we made the goal of the DCA creator and curator, interconnecting his lists in Word with digitized content, be realized and offer suggestions for building out a large collection with several structures that require different technical treatments. We will demonstrate how three systems were harnessed to form efficient workflows, arranging effective setups within multiple applications and uploading thousands of items into an efficient online collection that allows linking these applications to create multiple access points for a large and growing collection.

“Problematic Content Exists in Our Collections”: Harmful Content Statements
Katherine M. Wisser (she/her/hers), Associate Professor, MS Program Director and Director of the Archives Concentration, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University
Jacob Savory (he/him/his), Simmons University Alumni

Direct access to archival resources online has motivated repositories to address the materials in our collections that represent outdated and harmful content. One solution repositories have adopted to mitigate harm through exposure is to include a “Harmful content statement” on their access systems interface and additional warnings attached to these digital materials. Presenters have identified 98 harmful content statements published by repositories to understand their structure, language and themes. Their analysis reveals that these statements share some commonalities but also vary widely in interesting ways. The presentation provides an overview of the corpus of statements and some suggestions for constructing statements that effectively manage the tension between opposing goals: the ethical responsibility to maintain the integrity of the historical record and the provision of protective measures against potential harm. Topics addressed include the defining characteristics of statements, the vocabulary of harm, common resources referenced, and actions taken and their justifications.

Women religious archival donations to universities: Matches made in heaven
Kate E. Bradley, MLSIS, MA (she/her), Librarian/Archivist, French Institute at Assumption University
Denise P. Gallo, Ph.D. (she/her), Archivist, US Province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary

Fifty years of declining vocations for women religious in the US have resulted in an aging population. Often facing imminent closure, congregations are struggling with unfamiliar issues, not the least of which is selecting a repository for their archival legacies. Historically, such discussions led to “safe” solutions like historical societies or diocesan archives. Conversely, based on rumors of neglect and disinterest, university archives (Catholic or lay) were frequently rejected. Fortunately, such distrust is waning. This session considers how the donation of the archives of the U.S. Province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary to the collections of the French Institute at Assumption University has resulted in a different model. We will discuss inherent issues, compromises, and methods used throughout the collaboration. The agreement not only strengthens the partners’ commitments to the history of Franco-Americans but also preserves the Sisters’ legacy while reinforcing the academic mission of the French Institute.

Retracing Manuscripts: Managing Change by Investigating the True Roots in our Archives
Kai Miyabayashi McGinn, Simmons University

Digitizing the Cape Ann Museum Library & Archives’ Collection of Logbooks
Angela Sun (she/her/hers), MLIS Student at Simmons University

Digitizing LGBTQ+ Visual History at The History Project
Marco Lanier (he/him), Simmons University

Towards Inclusive Description in Music Collections
Regina Dziergas (she/her/hers), Simmons University ‘24, Harvard University

Community in Photographs: The Religious of Jesus and Mary
Sarah Slocum (she/her/hers), Simmons University


Virtual PROGRAMMING

(Workshop registration is separate from conference registration)

Although New England Archivists continues to work to ensure access for all attendees, there remain some logistical limitations as we learn to incorporate streaming into our conference programming and budget. This year, all sessions and programming taking place in the ballroom will be streamed. We hope that these sessions, along with the additional virtual special events, will help build and sustain community and connections.

Virtual/live-streamed special events will be:

  • Engaging Students in Deeper Learning, virtual workshop led by Jay McTighe
  • Plenary Speaker: Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai
  • Plenary Arts & Archives panel: Lois Harada, Eli Nixon, and Paul Soulellis
  • NEA Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony
  • Inclusion and Diversity Committee’s Reading Circle

Virtual sessions will be:

  • Right Now: Case Studies in Hybrid and Born-Digital Processing
  • Critical Historiography in the Classroom: Teaching Primary Sources with a Social Justice Lens
  • Dude, Where's My Hollinger Box?
  • The Records Continuum: Strengthening Archival Programs with Records Management
  • It’s About Community: Collectively Creating Our Story

If the panel you are interested in is not available virtually, community notetaking will occur during the panels provided by volunteers and run by the Inclusion and Diversity Committee.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact IDC member, Gladys Garcia, at gladys.garcia@yale.edu.


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REGISTRATION RATES

Meeting registration is now open! Please follow this link to complete your registration.

Early Bird Registration (January 16 - February 18)
One-Day
Two-Day
Member

$146.25

$225.00
Student Member

$73.13

$112.50
Non-Member

$176.25

$255.00
Unemployed/Contingently Employed Archives Workers Rates*

$109.69

$168.75
Advance Registration (February 19 - March 10)
One-Day
Two-Day
Member

$166.25

$245.00
Student Member

$93.13

$132.50
Non-Member

$196.25

$275.00
Unemployed/Contingently Employed Archives Workers Rates*

$129.69

$188.75
Onsite Registration (March 14 - March 16)
One-Day
Two-Day
Member

$176.25

$255.00
Student Member

$103.13

$142.50
Non-Member

$206.25

$285.00
Unemployed/Contingently Employed Archives Workers Rates*

$139.69

$198.75
Other

Reception Guest (Friday evening)

$20.00

Virtual Meeting Attendance (limited session availability)

$55.00


Meeting and travel scholarships are available through NEA. If interested, explore the following resources for more specific details on:

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION RATES

Registration (January 16 - March 10)
Half-Day Workshop
Member

$45.00

Student Member

$22.00

Non-Member

$60.00

Unemployed/Contingently Employed Archives Worker

$33.75


Register here for the in-person workshop “How Learners Learn,” led by Ronit Carter
Register here for the virtual workshop “Engaging Students in Deeper Learning,” led by Jay McTighe

ACCOMMODATIONS

Our group rate for the Spring 2024 Meeting at the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel is $199 per night and is available from Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – Sunday, March 17, 2024. Please note that the last day to make reservations at the group rate is February 21, 2024.

Book your group rate room for New England Archivists 2024


PARKING

The hotel offers valet parking with unlimited in & out privileges at $32.00 per car, per day for this group only. Rate is $17.00 per car per day-of-event parking.

The hotel is a valet only parking venue. The valet team will assist all guests when they arrive, including lifting their luggage out of their car, rolling the bell cart to their guest rooms, and any other assistance the guest may need. The front desk is also able to assist with these same tasks. The front drive is on the same level as the lobby door, so there are no steps up/down to the lobby door.

Additional parking suggestions: Parkopedia

Providence Place Parking Garage, North side (5-minute walk to the hotel):
0-2 Hours: Free
2-5 Hours: $2.00
5-8 Hours: $15.00
8-20 Hours: $20.00
20-25 Hours: $25.00

Rhode Island State House (10-minute walk to the hotel):
When the General Assembly is not in session, parking is available in the lower legislative lot off of Smith Street on a first-come-first-served basis. More parking information

Street Parking
Some metered street parking may be available on Smith, Francis, Gaspee, and Canal Streets. Overnight street parking is not allowed in Providence.

Travel by Train:
Providence Train Station
Gaspee Street Providence RI 02903
7-minute walk to the Hotel

Travel by Plane:
Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport
16-minute car ride to the hotel
30-minute bus ride to the hotel, $2 cash (See Bus Route 66 on Google Maps)
20-minute train ride to Providence Train Station Inbound (Schedule), then a 7-minute walk to the hotel

Boston Logan International Airport
Silver line from the airport to South St station (free), catch the Providence/Stoughton Line Outbound (Schedule) to Providence Train Station (1 hour-1 hour 15 min train ride), then a 7-minute walk to the hotel


Ramadan

We recognize that this year's conference falls during the holy month of Ramadan. If you are observing during the conference, the prayer room is located in the 33rd Degree Room. The restaurants listed in the Explore Providence section state whether or not there are halal options. The nearest mosque is Masjid Ali, located about an 8-minute drive from the Renaissance Providence Downtown hotel or a thirty-six minute walk. If you are interested in any other accommodations or have any questions or concerns, please contact. Ramadan mubarak!


ACCESSIBILITY

NEA is committed to making the Spring 2024 Meeting welcoming and accessible to all presenters and attendees.

The Renaissance Providence Downtown hotel is accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). There are automatic doors to the Main Lobby and one automatic door to the right for the Side Lobby (enter through the Ballroom Entrance). Wheelchairs are available at the front desk of the Main Lobby.

Space has been left for two wheelchairs in each meeting room. Please keep designated wheelchair areas and aisles clear for people who may be using wheelchairs, canes, crutches, or motorized scooters. Space should be left around the doors and aisles to allow access.

The lactation room is located in the Boardroom on the Temple Level. There is an in-use sign on the door that can be flipped to indicate occupancy. The room has a mini fridge and ten outlets. The prayer room is located in the 33rd Degree Room on the Temple Level. The Respite Room is located in Haydn on the Temple Level.

There are four gender neutral bathrooms located on the Mezzanine and Ballroom Levels. The bathrooms on the Temple Level are owned by the hotel restaurant and are not gender neutral.

Digital access will be provided for slides, handouts, and other materials several days prior to the event.

Community notetaking will take place during the panel session, led by the Inclusion and Diversity Committee, to provide further access to all panels. If you would like to volunteer, please contact IDC member Gladys Garcia.

If you will need specific accommodations, such as interpretive services, to support your participation in this event, please contact the program committee.


Explore Providence

Explore the beautiful city of Providence and its rich culture and history! Generously provided by our local Providence archivists and archival professionals are these highlights:

Where To Eat

Harry’s Bar & Burger
121 N Main Street | .5 miles from the hotel
A sliders joint with some vegetarian options, Harry’s was recently named by CNN as having the #1 burger in America. Can’t get much better than that. Oh wait, they also have an extensive craft beer list and alcoholic shakes.

Kin Southern Table + Bar
71 Washington Street | .5 miles from the hotel
A Black Woman-owned business, Kin Southern Table + Bar, is a full service restaurant offering classic Southern + Soul dishes that can be enjoyed on indoor or on outdoor seating.

Tori Tomo Restaurant
69 Washington Street | .5 miles from the hotel
Tori Tomo Restaurant boasts of a menu based on centuries of family cooking, offering traditional Japanese and innovative dishes, skillfully cooked to perfection. This Japanese restaurant, famous for their ramen, has indoor and outdoor seating.

Den Den Cafe Asiana
161 Benefit Street | .6 miles from the hotel
Take a seat at Den Den Cafe Asiana for an inviting cafe experience in the middle of Providence. Enjoy hearty Korean dishes such as hot-stone bibimbap, seafood pancakes, short rib BBQ and many more. This restaurant has some vegetarian options.

Trinity Brewhouse
186 Fountain Street | .6 miles from the hotel
One of the first brewpub restaurants in New England, Trinity Brewhouse provides the freshest beer in the city with a full lunch, dinner, and dessert menu.

AS2220
115 Empire Street | .7 miles from the hotel
AS220, an artist-run non-profit community arts organization, hosts a counter-serve eatery with locally sourced fare in an arts complex of galleries & performance spaces. They provide an inclusive forum for any and all Rhode Island artists to share their original artwork, embracing the full spectrum of the arts.

Ellie’s
225 Weybosset Street | .7 miles from the hotel
A Parisian cafe with breakfast and lunch featuring pastries, sandwiches, or something sweet, with outdoor seating.

Small Point Cafe
230 Westminster Street | .7 miles from the hotel
Small Point Cafe prides itself on being “a comfortable place to be” and boasts a menu full of pastries and sandwiches which you can enjoy inside or in the outdoor seating area.

Al-Shami
225 Thayer St | 1 mile from the hotel
Menu is fully halal. This restaurant serves Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, including shawarma, falafel, and Arab sweets.

Kabob and Curry
261 Thayer St | 1 mile from the hotel
Halal options. Rhode Island's longest serving Indian restaurant!

Plant City
334 S Water Street | 1 mile from the hotel
The world’s first plant-based vegan food hall and marketplace, Plant City features all-vegan restaurants, bars, bakery, coffee shop, and grocery store.

Tribos Peri Peri
183 Angell St | 1 mile from the hotel
Menu is fully halal. With inspirations from Portugal, Mozambique, and Southern Asia, Tribos Peri Peri is bound to send you on a flavor trip you will never forget!

Taste of India
230 Wickenden Street | 1.4 miles from the hotel
Halal options. Warm-hued Indian fixture with gluten-free & vegan dishes, curries, tandoori & busy lunch buffet.

Where To Drink

Rise n’ Shine Coffee Bar
97 Holden Street | .3 miles from the hotel
Located in a historic carriage house, Rise n’ Shine provides fresh daily pastries and sandwiches to be enjoyed on the indoor or outdoor seating.

Bolt Coffee
61 Washington Street | .5 miles from the hotel
If you are a coffee lover, you can dive in and read more about their partnerships with coffee farmers around the world. The cafe offers pastries and sandwiches and has outdoor seating.

Cafe Choklad
2 Thomas Street | .5 miles from the hotel
This cute cafe is filled with pastries and sandwiches and has outdoor seating.

Sightseeing

Symposium Books
240 Westminster Street | .6 miles from the hotel
Need a good read for your travel home? Check out Symposium Books, a lovely independent bookstore in Providence.

RISD Museum
20 N Main Street | .7 miles from the hotel
Established in 1877 as part of a vibrant creative community, the RISD Museum stewards works of art representing diverse cultures from ancient times to the present. Current exhibitions include “Textile Printing with Paper Stencils in Japan,” “Diné Textiles,” “Fantasy, Myth, Legend: Imaging the Past in Works on Paper since 1750,” and more!

Providence Public Library
150 Empire Street | .7 miles from the hotel
Come explore the historic Providence Public Library and see “Bloodtide,” currently on view throughout the Providence Public Library stairwell. This forever incomplete public sculpture project, led by artist Eli Nixon, one of our plenary panelists, transformed recyclables into a menagerie of organisms in an effort to grok (and make more visible) the vastness of the horseshoe crab's time on Earth as well as the relative recentness of human existence.

The Providence Athenaeum
251 Benefit Street | .8 miles from the hotel
The Athenaeum, founded in 1836, is an independent member-supported library. Non-members are invited to explore all three floors of the building during their visit and can learn more about the library’s history and collections with a self-guided tour. Suggestion donation of $5 for visit.


Code of Conduct

At the Spring 2024 Meeting, the New England Archivists are committed to providing an accessible and welcoming space for all participants.

In keeping with our Inclusion and Diversity Statement, New England Archivists (NEA) welcomes everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, nationality, or professional status.

All participants including presenters, instructors, vendors, or others involved in the event are required to abide by the NEA Code of Conduct.


Program Committee - Spring 2024

Co-Chair: Sarah Shepherd
Co-Chair: Sarah Galligan
Andrew Majcher
Emma Barton-Norris
Hilary Wang
Jenna Colozza
Jordan Jancosek
Michelle Peralta
Sara Rogers
IDC Liaison: Sarah Shepherd
Education Committee Liaison: Nicole Besseghir
Communications Committee: Anna Libertin
Vendor Coordinator: Sarah Arriaga


VENDORS

Vendors interested in exhibiting at the Spring 2024 Meeting should contact Sarah Arriaga.

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