Portraits of a Pandemic Project needs your support

 

The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission needs your help! In May, the Commission began Portraits of a Pandemic, a documentary collection and oral history initiative to capture the experiences of African Americans in South Carolina during our ongoing public health crisis.  We recognize that this has been an especially difficult period for all residents but, as reported in state and national media, African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and economic distress it has caused.  As of this week, 41% of those who have died from the virus in our state were Black.  The pandemic has also exacerbated preexisting inequalities and disparities in education, health care, and employment.  Future generations will likely seek to understand how this global pandemic redefined what it meant to be Black in South Carolina and how the crisis altered the rhythms and traditions of African American life in the Palmetto State. 

 

    Our goal is to gather first person testimonies, letters, music, images, artwork and other materials that reveal how African Americans in South Carolina lived, connected, loved, found hope, and survived this experience.  We humbly request that you share the link to our web portal with others in your network and community: http://www.greenbookofsc.com/speak.​  Additional promotional posts can also be found on our social media accounts at @SCAAHC1993 and @greenbookofsc to share on Twitter and Facebook. The Commission is also willing to collaborate with libraries and archival institutions interested in helping to collect stories and testimonies from African Americans residents in their communities.  Any assistance that you can provide is greatly appreciated.  

 

    Questions and concerns can be addressed to Dr. Ramon M. Jackson, African American Heritage Coordinator, South Carolina Department of Archives and History.  Feel free to email him anytime at rjackson@scdah.sc.gov.

Second Town Hall on reopening July 16th!

The South Carolina Archival Association (SCAA) will host the second virtual Town Hall Meeting on reopening archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions to the public on June 16 from 2:15pm-3:45pm. The Town Hall will be a space for further discussion of reopening plans and what the “new normal” will look like as the date for reopening comes closer. It will allow us to share thoughts and ideas and learn from colleagues across South Carolina. Discussions will be unstructured and moderated by Brenda Burk, Head of Special Collections at Clemson University.

The Town Hall is open to everyone but you must register.

When: June 16, 2020, 2:15pm-3:45pm Eastern

Where: Zoom

To register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdc4zj1DNw4Ti4cs8e9i_rpA87gLF5mXittv_w3qVhKadfZNg/viewform 

 

SCAA Call for Awards Nominations 

Important COVID-19 Information on Materials Quarantine Length

The REALM Project has released the results of the first round of Battelle's laboratory testing for COVID-19 on commonly circulated library materials. The five materials tested in this round included a hardback book cover (buckram cloth), paperback book cover, plain paper pages inside a book, plastic protective book covering, and a DVD case.  The results can be found at https://www.oclc.org/en/news/releases/2020/20200622-coronavirus-undetectable-after-3-days.html. 

The Project has also released "Systematic Literature Review of SARS-CoV-2: Spread, Environmental Attenuation, Prevention, and Decontamination," prepared by Battelle. It can be found at https://www.webjunction.org/content/dam/WebJunction/Documents/webJunction/realm/systematic-lit-review.pdf

Call for Proposals for SCAA Annual Conference!

This year's conference has been moved online due to ongoing concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no overarching theme for the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. The SCAA Board of Directors, serving as this year’s Program Committee, welcomes proposals for presentations or sessions combining two or three presentations that will translate well to a virtual format.

Presentations or sessions can focus on a wide range of topics of interest to archivists at all levels and in all institutions, including (but not limited to):

• Advocacy, diversity, and inclusion in archival education and training

• Advocacy, diversity, and inclusion in collections

• Case studies highlighting collections or resources within collections

• Cataloguing 

• Challenges in funding, physical resources, and staffing

• Collection development during COVID-19

• Conservation

• Creating finding aids and similar resources for patrons

• Innovative strategies for outreach and community partnerships

• Making our collections accessible to a wider range of patrons and constituencies

• Methodology(ies) for creating and sustaining records management policies that work

• Opportunities and obstacles in digitizing traditional resources

• Opportunities and obstacles in managing born-digital resources

• Raising awareness of and promoting collections through events, exhibits, and publications

Presentations may also take several formats, including:

• Individual presentation (45 minute session)

• Lightning rounds (45 or 60 minute session; shorter, individual presentations grouped together) 

• Group presentation (45 minute session; one presentation with multiple speakers)

• Discussion (45 or 60 minute session; one or more panelists lead a discussion)

• Poster presentation

The Board of Directors will review proposals and select those best suited to a virtual meeting that will be of interest and value to our wide range of members. 

NOTE: Please limit your proposal to 250 words maximum.

The number and format of sessions will be determined in part by the proposals but also by the platform(s) and technological requirements available to the SCAA for hosting a virtual meeting.

The Board invites SCAA members and others interested in archives who wish to submit proposals to do so by August 15, 2020. Please use the form that can be found here: https://forms.gle/k6w4v9pzUXKHRAh7A.