ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2019

The Women Archivists Section is pleased to present three archivists working in Texas whose commitment to access, diversity and inclusion is transforming the archives and communities in which they work.

kYmberly Keeton is the African American Community Archivist & Librarian at Austin Public Library. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, she is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a Master’s in Library Science (& awarded a Graduate Certificate in Digital Content Management) and holds a B.A. in English-Creative Writing from theUniversity of Houston with a minor in African-American Studies (& awarded a Baccalaureate Degree with Honors in English-Creative Writing & the Graduate Certificate in African American Studies). Additionally, Keeton is a Fellow of the UNT Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Program and a member of Beta Phi Mu International Library & Information Studies Honor Society and a member of the University of the Houston’s Honors College. Keeton, in 2014 began her professional career in academic librarianship at Lincoln University, a Historically Black College University in Jefferson City, Missouri. She accepted a position at the Austin Public Library in August 2018 as the African American Community Archivist & Librarian. Keeton’s work is about forming collaborative partnerships, building relationships with the community, and collecting, archiving, and sharing experiences about Austin’s African American History in the state capitol. Keeton has written numerous scholarly articles and is currently writing a scholarly book about African American art & creative librarians as social advocates for change from the south.

Keeton will discuss what it means to build community development through the arts and creating programming with a shoestring budget based on the needs of the community.

Danielle McGhee is the Director of Library and Media Services and University Archivist at Huston-Tillotson University. A native of Round Rock, TX, McGhee earned her MLS from North Carolina Central University and also holds a BA in Fashion Merchandising from Howard University. In this role, she oversees and manages the university library and archives. Her current area of interest is arranging, documenting, and creating outreach opportunities sharing Huston-Tillotson’s history.

McGhee will discuss how Huston-Tillotson University's archives are coming out of the shadows! As a newbie on staff, McGhee has been tasked with getting the archives "off the ground". So we are in early stages of processing collections, and making them public. McGhee will discuss the transformation of making previously inaccessible archives open to the public.

Rebecca Hankins is an Associate Professor and Certified Archivist/Librarian. She has been at Texas A&M University since 2003, receiving tenure in 2010. She was elected to the prestigious Society of American Archivists’ Distinguished Fellows in 2016 and holds the Wendler Endowed Professorship at Texas A&M University’s Libraries. In 2015, her book, co-authored with Miguel Juarez, Ph.D., was published by Library Juice Press titled Where are All the Librarians of Color: The Experiences of People of Color in Academia.

Hankins will discuss strategies to transform your institutions' approach to collecting that can bring awareness and diversity to your holdings. These strategies include getting out of your offices and buildings, engaging the institutional and surrounding communities, research and publishing, and volunteering time and service to organizations and groups.