ICA-SUV conference: session 1: Awareness Development and Education

These are my notes from the ICA-SUV conference happening at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. They're not meant to be comprehensive but represent what I've taken away from each session.

Keynote speaker (replacement for Ernie Ingles, didn’t catch name:
Archivists don’t need to re-invent themselves, they need to promote themselves. Important to focus on your users – current users and future users. Not what we think is good for them but what they want us to collect, preserve and make available. Sell the part of the collection that is unused as the part with untapped research potential.

Archives allow donors immortality. They use a quote from Asimov in their forward plan ‘the library was out-moded and archaic…the older and more outmoded it was the more likely it was to have what I needed’.

In-reach – solve their problems and be their hero. Press love good news archive stories and archives are full of good news stories.

Need to have an elevator speech – explain in 3 mins what you do.

UK study showed information professionals have strong leadership skills but didn’t use them because they don’t have the confidence. Need to promote our collections and ourselves.

Caroline Brown, Uni of Dundee:

Why do we do what we do and why is it that we do it rather than other professionals?

Archivaria spring 1994 debate about importance of archival theory: ‘a considerable proportion of archival theory is abysmal claptrap’. ‘archival work in intrinsically and inescapably ad hoc’.

Archivists are the only people who think about why we keep archives. We need to do this in a complex way but then communicate it successfully. No good just relying on saying ‘it’s historical’.

Need to align aims with the aims of the university.

CAIS stipulated for the Alliance Trust papers that the organisation would fund a PhD post, increase research profile.

Advocacy is about making it difficult for employers to make cuts.

Shannon Bower Maier, American Heritage Center:

Primer 2009 – understand that we are a luxury while persuading those who we serve that we are a necessity.

Importance of in-reach to supervisors, including explaining the importance of outreach.

Most inreach is aimed across the organisation rather than up the hierarchy to budget allocators.

Leslie Latta-Guthrie, Provincial Archives of Alberta:

Community support is essential.

They produce a calendar – very popular gift. Also virtual exhibit at archivesalberta.org

Alberta historical festival- behind the scenes tours are always very popular. Have a fringe play based on the archives= holdings, written by reference archivist. Have refined genealogy offerings over the years, try to refresh each year and target specific communities.

Questions for this session:

St Andrews – rare book blog, 17^th century playing cards picked up by local newspaper, hoping to produce as merchandise.

Centre for History of Medicine – most important thing to do with blog is link to other blogs and invite guest bloggers.

University of Manitoba – youtube channel of séance photos. Reaches different audience. Importance of staff interaction in comments – yes this is real!