News & EVENTS

There is only one week left until the New England Archivist's Fall 2016 Meeting at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts and there is still time to register. This year's meeting, "Bridging the Gaps" will explore ways the archival profession can reach across divisions and work with stakeholders to expand access to collections and document underrepresented communities and issues. We are excited to welcome plenary speaker, Aaron Lansky who will talk on Treasure for the Finding: The Ongoing Adventures of the Yiddish Book Center.

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RIDE SHARES
How are you getting to Amherst for the NEA Fall 2016 Meeting? If you need a ride or have extra room in your car in exchange for fine company (and/or gas money) -- We've created an online, self-service carpooling sign-up sheet where you can connect with other members looking to share a ride. Just enter your name and contact info, when and from where you're traveling, and whether you're a driver (with a car) or a rider. Then, wait to be contacted by other carpoolers, or go ahead and contact others who list pick-up locations and dates in line with your travel plans. **Please note that members are entirely responsible for making their own arrangements, including meeting times, sharing the cost of gas, etc., and for following through with their plans.**

PARKING

The parking lot nearest to the Yiddish Book Center is limited by construction on the Hampshire College campus. NEA Fall 2016 Meeting attendees are being asked to park in the lot across from the Eric Carle Museum.

NEA Fall 2016 Meeting
Bridging the Gaps
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Yiddish Book Center | Amherst, MA

See you in Amherst!

Register now for the New England Archivists' Fall 2016 Meeting on Friday, October 14th at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. This year's meeting, "Bridging the Gaps" will explore ways the archival profession can reach across divisions and work with stakeholders to expand access to collections and document underrepresented communities and issues. Join us in welcoming plenary speaker, Aaron Lansky.

In 1980 Aaron Lansky founded the Yiddish Book Center at the age of 24 while in graduate school studying Yiddish literature. Through his studies Lansky realized that Yiddish culture and history were being lost in the United States because second and third generation immigrants could no longer reads the language. He then devoted himself to stemming the tide – collecting these discarded texts and working to reacquaint descendants of Yiddish speakers and others with them. Since that time Aaron Lansky has earned a wealth of experience. He was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1986, and in 2005 authored the book Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventured of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books. Today he is still the president of the Yiddish Book Center and a passionate advocate for knowledge dissemination. During the NEA Fall 2016 Meeting, Lanksy will present, “Treasure for the Finding : The Ongoing Adventures of the Yiddish Book Center.” His talk will chronicle the Center’s latest adventures and delve into the role that archivists and librarians have in broadening the public’s understanding of our history and how that will influence our future.

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How are you getting to Amherst for the NEA Fall 2016 Meeting? If you need a ride or have extra room in your car in exchange for fine company (and/or gas money) -- We've created an online, self-service carpooling sign-up sheet  where you can connect with other members looking to share a ride. Just enter your name and contact info, when and from where you're traveling, and whether you're a driver (with a car) or a rider. Then, wait to be contacted by other carpoolers, or go ahead and contact others who list pick-up locations and dates in line with your travel plans. **Please note that members are entirely responsible for making their own arrangements, including meeting times, sharing the cost of gas, etc., and for following through with their plans.**

NEA Fall 2016 Meeting
Bridging the Gaps
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Yiddish Book Center | Amherst, MA

See you in Amherst!

The New England Archivists is in the process of scheduling three SAA webinars to be held at three different institutions this fall. These events will be the equivalent of a half-day workshop and provide you with an opportunity to network and learn with your fellow archivists and like-minded professionals. Attendees will attend a webinar in person at a host institution and then afterwards participate in a discussion about the topic.

If you are interested in attending or hosting one of these webinars, fill out our survey by September 28th to indicate your top three choices for webinars. This is the perfect way to work towards your Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate or Arrangement and Description certificate or advance your digital archives skills. If you plan to take the DAS or A&D exam afterwards, there is an additional fee payable to the Society of American Archivists (details to follow).

Interested in volunteering your institution as a host? Make sure to include your contact information  and the number of people you can host when you fill out the webinar survey. Please respond to the survey no later than Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Webinars will be scheduled for the fall of 2016. Questions or comments? Email the education committee at education@newenglandarchivists.org or submit them on the survey.

How are you getting to the Yiddish Book Center for the New England Archivists' Fall 2016 Meeting? For the first time, NEA is making a chartered bus available to any registered attendee who is interested. We want to make sure ALL members are able to get to Amherst, MA. This year’s fall meeting, "Bridging the Gaps," will explore ways the archival profession can reach across divisions and work with stakeholders to expand access to collections and document underrepresented communities and issues.

Details about the program are now on the NEA website.

The bus will depart from and return to Simmons College in Boston, at LeFavour Hall near the corner of Avenue Louis Pasteur and The Fenway, and stop and leave from the Yiddish Book Center Parking lot in Amherst. Space is limited and the last day to register for the bus is Friday, September 23rd. In case of underenrollment, the bus will be cancelled after that deadline. Full refunds will be available.

Bus Schedule for Friday, 10/14/16:
Departure: Boston, 10:00am
Arrival: Amherst, around 12-12:30pm

Departure: Amherst, 5:15pm
Arrival: Boston, around 7:30pm

Don't miss what promises to be a very interesting meeting because of transportation. Reserve a seat for the bus when you register for the meeting.

NEA Fall 2016 Meeting
Bridging the Gaps
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Yiddish Book Center | Amherst, MA

Already registered for the meeting, but you now want to add the bus? Anyone interested in changing their registration status can contact the NEA Registrar at registrar@newenglandarchivists.org.

See you in Amherst! 

Dear NEA Community,

The New England Archivists' Membership Committee is seeking volunteers to help run our developing Mentoring Program. Respond by September 15 if you are interested in becoming either:

Mentoring Administrator: We are looking for an individual to coordinate and manage the mentoring liaisons, mentors, and mentees. They will study the Mentoring Task Force report and, based on its recommendations, relaunch a formalized mentoring program; recruit, organize, and support the liaisons; and work with the Communications Committee to promote the activities of the program. The Mentoring Administrator serves for two years under the umbrella of the Membership Committee and will report all activity to the Membership Committee Cochairs and, when requested, to the NEA Executive Board.

Mentoring Liaison: We are looking for 2 or 3 Mentoring Liaisons to take on support roles in mentoring circles. Liaisons will provide program information to participants and assist mentors with logistical tasks, including scheduling meetings and acting as mediators when issues or concerns arise within a circle. Liaisons will help mentors brainstorm discussions and activities as requested. The Mentoring Liaisons serve for two years as members of the Membership Committee. They report directly to the Mentoring Administrator and keep the Membership Committee Cochairs and the NEA Board informed about circle activities.

Please consider nominating yourself for one of these rewarding opportunities. NEA's Mentoring Program has been in the works since 2013 when, with the support of several experienced NEA members, the Roundtable for Early Professionals and Students (REPS) leadership piloted a mentoring circle program for its members. In the pilot year, three mentoring circles were each led by a team of two mentors—members of the NEA community with differing levels of experience—with 4 or 5 mentees from the REPS membership participating. The circles were supported by liaisons from the REPS leadership, who were responsible for scheduling of meetings and communicating with participants.

This is an excellent opportunity to become involved in NEA, network, and build your professional resume. If you are interested in either the Mentoring Administrator or one of the Mentoring Liaison positions, please prepare a short statement of purpose and email it to the Cochairs of the Membership Committee by September 15, 2016.

After the deadline, we will review all statements and determine the most effective individual from the nominees. If you have further questions about the positions or the program, please contact the Membership Cochairs.

Thank you.
Membership Committee Cochairs
Pamela Hopkins (psmhopkins@gmail.com)
Heather Mumford (Heather_Mumford@hms.harvard.edu)

New England Archivists invites submissions of session proposals for the Spring 2017 Meeting to be held March 22 - 25, 2017, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. This year’s conference theme is Changing Tides, with a focus on collaboration in a changed environment. Deadline for proposals is November 1, 2016.

Want to discuss the results of a pilot study or program? Have you road-tested an assessment or practice that breaks with tradition in some way? Has your institution collaborated with “non-scholarly” users for a novel or even a disruptive (i.e., innovative) project? We’d love to hear from you. We're also interested in session proposals from first-time presenters and those new to the archives profession.

The NEA Spring 2017 Program Committee invites proposals on all topics but is especially interested in the following:
     -- collaboration with new or unique user groups
     -- trained archivists working in "non-archivist" roles – Archivists who have seen the profession grow and change – in what ways?
     -- Cape Cod history and culture
     -- cross-disciplinary projects
     -- projects or initiatives with direct, collaborative involvement from archives users
     -- digital humanities
     -- digital curation and digital forensics

NEW RESOURCE: In order to facilitate collaboration, the NEA Spring 2017 Program Committee has created an online space for interested speakers to develop session proposals together. Use this space to connect with your colleagues about potential session topics and formats. (Please note: this collaborative space will be accessible until the deadline for proposals on November 1, 2016).

For more information about potential session types and how to submit a proposal -- see the Spring 2017 Meeting Session Proposal Form.

Questions? Contact program chair, Krista Ferrante at kferrante@mitre.org or co-chair Erica Boudreau at ericacathryn@gmail.com.

Going to the New England Archivist's Fall 2016 Meeting? Working towards earning your DAS certificate? Make it a long weekend and register for SAA’s workshop on “Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Digital Archives” on Thursday, October 13th at Hampshire College. Take advantage of this workshop taught by instructor Peter Hirtle who is known for his expert knowledge on addressing intellectual property issues.

This course covers privacy and confidentiality legal issues specific to archives of digital material. You'll examine the intersection of (and the tension between) privacy/confidentiality, free speech and freedom to research/write, and focus on how electronic records and the digital realm have altered the scene. You'll look at privacy and confidentiality issues in the context of third party rights, donors, special situations such as medical and education records, national security legislation, and the overriding impact of the digital world. Through case studies, you will examine specific situations pertinent to the work of archivists. While participants should be familiar with basic concepts of privacy and confidentiality, a brief review of the development of these concepts 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 privacy and confidentiality legal issues around electronic records.

Early-bird registration ends TOMORROW, Tuesday, September 13th. For more information and to register, visit the SAA website. If you are a member of NEA, but not SAA, you are eligible for $25 off of the SAA non-member workshop rate. Log into the NEA website to get the special promotional code to receive the discount when you register on the SAA website. The discount will be activated manually by SAA staff.

Workshop: Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Digital Archives #1753 [A&D, DAS]
Instructor: Peter Hirtle, Affiliate Fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University
Thursday, October 13, 2016 | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Hampshire College | Amherst, MA

New for the Fall 2016 Meeting - In an effort to make sure all of our members will be able to get to the Fall 2016 Meeting, New England Archivists is excited to offer a chartered bus to provide a greener, more affordable, and easier travel option to get from Boston to Amherst. The bus is fully equipped with WiFi, a bathroom, and other amenities, so we hope you will join us and travel sustainably and in style!

The bus will depart from and return to Simmons College in Boston, at LeFavour Hall near the corner of Avenue Louis Pasteur and The Fenway, and stop and leave from the Yiddish Book Center Parking lot in Amherst.

 Bus Schedule Friday 10/14/16: 
Departure: Boston, 10:00am 
Arrival: Amherst, around 12-12:30pm 

Departure: Amherst, 5:15pm 
Arrival: Boston, around 7:30pm

Sign up for the bus when you register for the meeting

NEA Fall 2016 Meeting
Bridging the Gaps
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Yiddish Book Center | Amherst, MA
Registration opens August 22nd

In case of underenrollment, the bus may be cancelled. Full refunds will be available. 

See you in Amherst! 

Registration is now open for the New England Archivists' Fall 2016 Meeting on Friday, October 14th, at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. This year’s fall meeting, "Bridging the Gaps," will explore ways the archival profession can reach across divisions and work with stakeholders to expand access to collections and document underrepresented communities and issues.

If you come to Amherst earlier in the day, be sure to reserve a spot on one of the tours of the Yiddish Book Center. In the late 1970s, then-graduate student Aaron Lansky (the NEA Fall 2016 Meeting's plenary speaker) discovered that untold numbers of irreplaceable Yiddish books were being discarded by American-born Jews unable to read the language of their Yiddish-speaking parents and grandparents. Organizing a nationwide network of zamlers (volunteer book collectors), in 1980 Lansky launched a campaign to save the world's remaining Yiddish books and materials, founding the Yiddish Book Center. In less than four decades, Yiddish works have gone from being endangered to being one of the most thriving, open, and shared in-print literatures in the world.

The Yiddish Book Center will be offering tours on Friday, October 14th, at 10:45 AM and 11:30 AM, prior to the afternoon meeting. Please reserve a spot by filling out our Tour Sign Up form – space is limited.

Take advantage of our early-bird rates and register online today.*

And this year, for the first time, NEA will offer a chartered bus to provide a greener and more affordable travel option from Boston to Amherst. Sign up for the bus when you register for the meeting.

NEA Fall 2016 Meeting
Bridging the Gaps
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Yiddish Book Center | Amherst, MA

* Anyone interested in changing their registration status can contact the registrar at registrar@newenglandarchivists.org


See you in Amherst!

This week we sent out a notice about the October 13th SAA workshop on “Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Digital Archives.” And now we've recently learned there is a special discount for NEA members who are not already SAA members. If you are a member of NEA, but not SAA, you are eligible for $25 off of the SAA non-member workshop rate. Log into the NEA website to get the special promotional code to receive the discount when you register on the SAA website. The discount will be activated manually by SAA staff.

Early-bird registration ends September 13th, so take advantage of this workshop taught by instructor Peter Hirtle who is known for his expert knowledge on addressing intellectual property issues. This course covers privacy and confidentiality legal issues specific to archives of digital material. You'll examine the intersection of (and the tension between) privacy/confidentiality, free speech and freedom to research/write, and focus on how electronic records and the digital realm have altered the scene. You'll look at privacy and confidentiality issues in the context of third party rights, donors, special situations such as medical and education records, national security legislation, and the overriding impact of the digital world. Through case studies, you will examine specific situations pertinent to the work of archivists. While participants should be familiar with basic concepts of privacy and confidentiality, a brief review of the development of these concepts 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 privacy and confidentiality legal issues around electronic records.

Workshop: Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Digital Archives #1753 [A&D, DAS]
Instructor: Peter Hirtle, Affiliate Fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University
Thursday, October 13, 2016 | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Hampshire College | Amherst, MA