June 11, 2013—Fifteen Harvard archivists presented at or helped to organize the 40th Annual Meeting of the New England Archivists (NEA)—a number University Archivist Megan Sniffin-Marinoff said may have represented the largest Harvard presence she had seen since she became involved with the organization more than 20 years ago.
 
“This was an important showing for Harvard,” said Sniffin-Marinoff, who, along with Colin Lukens, holdings management associate for the Harvard University Archives, organized and moderated an Oxford-style debate during the meeting.
 
In addition to archivists and special collections librarians, NEA membership includes city clerks, historical society members, archival graduate students and historians from throughout New England. NEA has approximately 600 members, and meetings typically draw 300 members and non-members, said Lukens, who also served on the 40th Anniversary Committee. “Because this was NEA's 40th-anniversary year, another programming committee—which included three Harvard archivists—handled special events and workshops.”
 
All presenters, including those from Harvard, submitted session proposals to the programming committee. Sessions that most directly addressed the meeting’s theme of “Creative Collaboration” were chosen; Harvard staff presented and led sessions on mentoring, NEA diversity issues and EAC-CPF (Encoded Archival Context for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families), and led a debate on the value of archivists attempting to collect everything.
 
“Currently three members of the nine-person executive board are Harvard archivists, and other Harvard archivists volunteer as committee chairs/members and task force chairs/members,” Lukens said. “I would like to think that the special nature of the meeting is part of the reason for the increase in overall and Harvard attendance, as well as Harvard word-of-mouth, since many Harvard folks were a part of planning.”
 
Presentations by Harvard Library staff members included:

• Experimental Relations: Using Samuel Johnson to Learn EAC-CPF
  Susan Pyzynski, Associate Librarian for Technical Services, Houghton Library
  Melanie Wisner, Accessioning Archivist, Houghton Library
   
• NEA at 40: Reminiscence on a Profession
  Eva Moseley, Schlesinger Library (retired)
  Amanda Strauss, Schlesinger Library
   
• Mentoring Leaders in Libraries and Archives
  Darla White, Archivist and Records Manager, Countway Library
   
• Oxford-Style Debate, Resolution: This House Believes Archivists Should Attempt to Collect Everything
  Moderated by Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, University Archivist, Harvard University Archives
  Organized by Colin Lukens, Holdings Management Associate, Harvard University Archives
   
• NEA, Diversity and 21st-Century Collaboration in Action
  Michelle Gachette, Reference Assistant, Harvard University Archives; Co-Chair, NEA Diversity Task Force
   
• Performing Artists, Meet Your Archivists: Collaborations Across Dance, Music and Theatre for Documentation and Preservation
  Nicole Topich, Project Archivist, Center for American Political Studies at Harvard

 
NEA Board and Committee Members:

• Executive Board Members Newly Elected:
  Juliana Kuipers, Special Materials Cataloger/Processing Archivist, Harvard University Archives—Treasurer, two-year term
  Tessa Beers, Processing Archivist, Knowledge and Library Services/Baker Library, Harvard Business School—Representative-at-Large, three-year term

• Program Committee:
  Alison Harris, Houghton Library
  Ashley Nary, Houghton Library
  Amanda Strauss, Schlesinger Library

• 40th Anniversary Committee:
  Colin Lukens, Holdings Management Associate, Harvard University Archives
  Jessica Tanny, Schlesinger Library
  Susan von Salis, Harvard University Art Museums (Susan von Salis passed away in late 2012)