Congressional Papers Roundtable NEWSLETTER From the Chair Congressional Papers Roundtable Elections by Brian Keough July 6-20, 2010 Before you know it, we will The Nominat- statements are brief by be enjoying Washington DC and the ing Committee is design. SAA 2010 conference. I have just pleased to announce At its August returned from the 2010 annual con- your 2010 CPR candi- 2009 meeting, the ference of the Association of Centers dates for Chair-Elect SAA Council ap- for the Study of Congress (ACSC) and Steering Commit- proved revised poli- that was held on May 19-21. tee. We are especially cies concerning group The ACSC was founded in proud of the fact that elections. The perti- 2003 as an independent alliance of these candidates repre- nent language from the organizations and institutions which sent the full spectrum of Council Handbook promote the study of the U.S. Con- archival experience (2 may be reviewed gress and each year presents a won- years to 25+ online at archi- derful schedule of sessions of interest Memorabilia from the collection years). They work in of the Dole Institute vists.org/governance/ to us all. This year was no exception geographically dis- handbook/section9.asp as the ACSC program committee persed locations (literally spanning and archivists.org/governance/ organized a number of exciting ses- the continental U.S. and beyond) and handbook/section10.asp. sions. In particular, I really enjoyed have diverse educational back- The voting timeline the session with three former Mem- grounds and responsibilities. The tie comes later than last year for CPR bers of Congress, Martin Frost (D- that binds is a commitment to and but the online ballots will be avail- TX), Louis Stokes (D-OH), and passion for congressional collec- able longer from July 6-20, Robert Walker (R-PA), who took an active interest in donating their pa- tions. 2010. We will announce the elec- pers and who shared their observa- In short, these individuals tion results as soon as they are tions on the process. It was very use- are us. Choosing one for Chair-Elect known to insure a smooth transi- ful to hear the perspectives of mem- and two for the Steering Committee tion. Please see candidate bios bers and all three had some great sto- won’t be easy so we are giving the and statements on Page 2. ries to tell the audience. CPR membership plenty of time to The other session that I did deliberate. Please feel free to contact Linda A. Whitaker, Chair not want to end was a panel of jour- the candidates if you want to know Betsy Pittman nalists from The Christian Science them better or to learn more. The Lori Schwartz Monitor, The Washington Post, and The Hill. I surely benefited from lis- In This Issue: tening to the details about their daily activities as journalists covering Con- %& ' gress, hearing how they utilize the House and Senate History offices and ( got me thinking about the usefulness of journalist’s papers. !" ) The final day of the confer- ence featured an inspiring talk by * +, - David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the ! United States. We are lucky to have # $ . /0 1 (Continued on page 4) Congressional Papers Roundtable Candidate Statements Candidates for Chair-Elect The chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair serve as officers of the roundtable. Only individual members of SAA and the Congressional Papers Roundtable may hold these positions. The chair directs and reports the activities of the roundtable, organizes and conducts the annual meeting of the roundtable, chairs the steering committee, acts as liaison for the roundtable to other bodies, appoints roundtable committees as needed, chairs the Program Committee, and handles administrative matters. The vice-chair/chair-elect serves as acting chair in the absence of the chair and participates as a member of the steering committee in all its activities. The immediate past chair serves as a member of the steering committee and as chair of the Nominating Committee. The officers make a commitment for three years to serve one year each as vice-chair/chair-elect, chair, and imme- diate past chair. Each is expected to attend the annual meeting. Name James F. Cartwright, MA, MS, MLIS Name Ben Rogers, MS, MA Title University Archivist Title Director Institution University of Hawai‘i Institution W. R. Poage Legislative Library, Baylor University Education BA, English, Brigham Young University Education MA, English Literature, Brigham Young University BA History, College of Charleston, Charleston SC MS, History, University of Utah MS, Information Science, University of North Texas, MLIS, University of California, Berkeley Denton TX MA, Church Music, Southwestern Seminary Experience with Congressional Papers MA ,Theology, Southwestern Seminary Member, CPR, 1992- present Steering Committee, 1997-1999 Experience with Congressional Papers Author, Reference Works for Congressional Papers Reposi- Collections Manager, Baylor Collections of Political Mate- tories: A Bibliographic Essay rials, 1991-2002 Chair, Committee for Planning Senator Spark Matsunaga Director, W. R. Poage Legislative Library since 2002 Papers at University of Hawai‘i Oversee all aspects of the library, two other full-time em- ployees and up to 12 student workers What do you bring to the CPR chairmanship? See Collection Overview: http://www.baylor.edu/lib/poage/ Through experience in SAA roundtables and Association of index.php?id=58750 Hawaii Archivists, I have learned leadership skills of listen- ing to various options and facilitating discussion leading to What do you bring to the CPR Chairmanship? consensus and decision making. I hope my twenty years experience with congressional pa- pers will offer some insight for others faced with the task of What would you like CPR to do in next four years? processing large amounts of materials. I have also worked Not having been directly involved with any of our congres- to make the legislative library visible through lecture, ex- sional papers for several years, I do not know of all the re- hibits and events as well as developing an extensive web cent developments and issues facing congressional papers presence for all collections. Perhaps I can provide some collections. I will spend much of my time as vice chair/ input into working with other departments on campus to chair elect learning what issues and programs need attention promote the collections. and discovering how I can most effectively channel our efforts. I will always be open to suggestions from members What would you like CPR to do in the next four years? of the roundtable. I envision CPR reaching out to libraries and archives which hold congressional papers but do not have the resources to make them available through EAD or web pages. These collections are basically lost to researchers. Members of CPR could mentor these collections so that there is some online searchable record of them. 2 Candidate Statements, continued Candidates for Steering Committee The Steering Committee is composed of 10 members: the officers (chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair); four member representatives (two elected per year for two-year terms); and one representative each from the Office of History and Preservation of the House of Representatives, the Senate Historical Office, and the Center for Legislative Archives of the National Archives. The newsletter editor and the web editor serve as ex officio members (unless they also hold elected positions). The Steering Committee directs and coordinates activities of the roundtable and approves appointments made by the chair if vacancies occur. Committee members help set agenda for the year, appoint a newsletter editor as necessary and contribute to the newsletter and to other activities, plan the annual program and SAA program sessions sponsored by the roundtable. Steering Committee members are expected to attend the annual meeting. Name Burt Altman, MA, MLS, CA Name Chrystal Carpenter, MA, CA Title Archivist/University Librarian Title Manuscript and Congressional Archivist Institution Florida State University Libraries Institution University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections Education BA, Political Science, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York Education MLS, Library Science, C.W. Post Center, Greenvale, BA, Anthropology, University of Arizona New York MA, Information Resources and Library Science, University MA, History, Adelphi University, Garden City, New of Arizona York Certified Archivist Experience with Congressional Papers I joined Special Collections in the fall of 2008 to oversee the Experience with Congressional Papers acquisition, processing, and research inquiries for congres- Since 1981, I have served as the Congressional Archivist sional and political collections. The University of Arizona’s for the Claude Pepper Library, at the Florida State Uni- holdings include Stewart L. Udall, Morris K. Udall, Dennis versity Libraries. I arranged, described, preserved, and DeConcini, and Jim Kolbe among others. Member, CPR created a finding aid for the Claude Pepper Papers. In Electronic Records Task Force. addition, I developed and implemented a digitization What do you bring to the CPR steering committee? project for this collection to enhance access to the late I would like to bring to the CPR steering committee my en- Senator’s U.S. Senate Papers. thusiasm and passion for archives, my desire to promote and provide access to congressional collections, and my interest What do you bring to the CPR Steering Committee? in electronic records. As a Steering Committee member, I feel that I would provide experience and fresh ideas in developing pro- What would you like CPR to do in the next four years? posals for the roundtable program and SAA sessions I would like to see the continuation of progress by CPR in sponsored by the roundtable. I would also be happy to providing resources and standards for electronic records as make periodic contributions to the newsletter. well as an emphasis on outreach and public programming to promote the diverse resources found in congressional re- What would you like CPR to do in next four years? cords.