The SAA Publications Board has selected
Archival Values: Essays in Honor of Mark A. Greene, edited by Christine Weideman and Mary A. Caldera, for its 2019-20 One Book, One Profession reading initiative. In this volume, twenty-three archivists examine the values that comprise SAA’s
Core Values Statement and demonstrate how they empower archivists’ interactions with resource providers, legislators, donors, patrons, and the public. The book pays tribute to Mark A. Greene (1959–2017), an influential practitioner, administrator, teacher, theorist, and leader who helped shape the modern American archivist identity through the establishment of the core set of values for the profession. Since the adoption of core values in 2011, no study has examined how they are being practiced or how they influence the day-to-day work of archivists. This book fills that void! For each of the eleven values, archivists comment on what the value means to them and how it reflects and impacts archival work. The nearly two-dozen contributors hail from a variety of repositories and their professional experience ranges from two years to more than thirty. Their commentaries demonstrate extraordinary breadth on what the values actually mean, their influence, and their embodiment in practice.
Join your colleagues in thinking about what archivists do and why. The kickoff discussion, facilitated by Jennifer Meehan, will focus on the essay, “From Responsible Custody to Responsible Stewardship” by Michelle Light, and will be held Sunday, August 4, from 12:00 to 1:15 pm. RSVP by emailing Abigail Christian at
achristian@archivists.org (subject line: “Archival Values Brown Bag Lunch”).
Download the essay here. The book will be available onsite in the bookstore.
