We are nearing 1,500 signatures for the sign-on letter in support of NYC's
Dept. of Records and Information Services. Thank you to all who have helped with this advocacy effort! The sign-on letter deadline is soon, so please sign-on today- http://bit.ly/yeO7q8.

The ART Board invites you to check out the March 2012 edition of For The Record: News From The Archivists Round Table.
 
You can access For The Record within your browser here.
 
For The Record provides members with the latest news between meetings and will keep members informed in-between issues of Metropolitan Archivist, our semi-annual publication.
 
For future editions, we encourage you to subscribe if you have not done so already.
 
Here is a direct link to sign up: http://bit.ly/wnO7T1
 
You will have the option of receiving For The Record as HTML, text, or in mobile format.
 
Emma Curtis serves as Editor, and all content is compiled by the ART Communications and Outreach Committee.
 
Please contact Ryan Donaldson, Coordinator, Communications and Outreach Committee at outreach@nycarchivists.org with any comments, questions, or suggestions.

At the behest of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York City Council has proposed legislation (Int. 486-2011) that would eliminate the autonomy of New York City’s Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), the agency that is responsible for the records and archival documents produced by past and present City governments.

Please add your name to the sign-on letter to oppose the proposed legislation, and advocate for the preservation of DORIS as an autonomous records agency, with the financial support and professional respect it deserves. The sign-on letter is located at http://www.nycarchivists.org/doris_petition. Every signature matters. Help New York City, as an international cultural and financial leader, and the place with the greatest variety and highest density of archives in the world, set the standard for how a democratic government preserves and makes accessible its documentary heritage.

Our full position statement on the proposed Legislation (Int. 486-2011) is available through this link.

At this time, The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York would like to bring to membership's attention our upcoming annual election for open Board positions. Elections will open at the end of May and the winners will be announced at our business meeting in June, however, we invite members to inquire about open positions now.
 
Board positions are a two-year commitment.  Being on the ART Board is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the profession, volunteer within the local community and to network with fellow archivists. If you are interested in running for open positions, or know of anyone who would make a good candidate, please email the Membership and Nominating Committee at membership@nycarchivists.org to begin a conversation, and learn more about the opportunities on the ART Board.
 
Thank you, and we look forward to your participation!

Best,
 
Heather F. Ball
Membership and Nominating Committee Coordinator, ART

Call for Donations! Help Occupy Wall Street Archives   Your fellow archivists need your help! Since the early days of Occupy Wall Street, members of the OWS Archives Working Group have been engaged in collecting materials significant to documenting the movement.  Without financial support, however, the collections languish in a general office space, uncataloged and exposed to the surrounding environment. As part of its mission, the Archivists Round Table Advocacy Committee is working to support the efforts of the OWS archivists. To that end, the ART Advocacy Committee is holding a donation drive to collect materials desperately needed by the OWS Archives to process the collections.  Please consider donating any unneeded materials or materials ready to be discarded by your institutions. Your donations will help the OWS archivists fulfill their mission to develop a grass roots collection documenting the actions and legacy of the movement, in the overall spirit of openness and transparency advocated by the OWS movement.  In addition, support from the professional archival community will lend a legitimacy to the OWS Archives and boost their visibility within the OWS movement. We are collecting donations of: •    Acid-free boxes (any size) •    Acid-free folders (any size) •    Pencils •    Archival-quality pens •    Acid-free tissue paper •    Archival-quality labels •    Digital storage media (i.e. flash drives, hard drives) •    Any office supplies (notepads, paper, pens, etc.) If you are able to donate, please contact the ART Advocacy Committee at advocacy@nycarchivists.org with a list of materials. We will determine on a case-by-case basis how best to collect materials. For more information on the OWS archives, see the following websites: OWS Archives Working Group: http://www.nycga.net/groups/the-occupy-wallstreet-archives/ OWS Archives Mission Statement: http://www.nycga.net/groups/the-occupy-wallstreet-archives/docs/occupy-wall-street-mission-statement    NYC General Assembly: http://www.nycga.net/ Submitted by ART Advocacy Committee

We are pleased to announce that ART member Rachel L. Conrad has joined the staff of Metropolitan Archivist, as a managing editor. Rachel brings a unique set of skills and experiences to her role:  she currently serves as publications editor at the New York Philharmonic, where she was originally employed as an editorial assistant from 2003 to 2006 while she pursued a master's degree in library science at Pratt's School of Library and Information Science, which she obtained in 2006. 

She added that degree to an already impressive academic portfolio, which includes a bachelor's degree in flute performance and music history from Temple University and an M.A. in musicology from NYU. After earning her library degree, Rachel spent three years in Washington D.C. as an online publishing specialist at the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. 

She returned to New York in 2010, when the Philharmonic offered her her current position as publications editor. As a managing editor at the Metropolitan Archivist, Rachel joins a team that already includes Mary Ann Quinn and Madeline Rogers, both of whom are delighted to welcome her.  

Rachel's extracurricular passion, apart from her cat Mimi, is hiking and long-distance walking. Between hiking trips abroad (most recently to Tenerife) she stays in shape by walking at least one way to work each day, weather permitting, from her home in Brooklyn (about eight miles).

Submitted by Madeline Rogers

 

 

STEVEN W. SIEGEL died early Saturday morning, 21 January 2012, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He would have been 66 on Feb. 23.

                                            

Funeral, Monday, Jan. 23rd at 10AM at the Plaza Memorial Chapel,

630 Amsterdam Avenue, (91st Street) in Manhattan (www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/).

Please direct condolences in care of Steve’s mother, Mrs. Eleanor Siegel,
9511 Weldon Circle – Apt 302, Tamarac, Florida 33321.

 

Steve was a dear friend and mentor to countless Jewish genealogists. A founding member of the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. (NY) and an original member of the JGS Executive Council, he served as JGS president from 1985 to 1989 and again in 2011. He was the only founding member of the JGS who served on the JGS Executive Board from its inception in 1977 to now. He served on the Center for Jewish History's Genealogy Task Force which helped establish the Center's Genealogy Institute.

Steve was also active in the wider genealogical and archival communities. A professional archivist and librarian, he worked for many years as library director at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA in Manhattan. He was past president of the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York and initiated New York's annual Family History Fair, an event that he chaired for 16 years. Steve was the 2004 recipient of the Archival Achievement award in recognition of his management of the Fair for so many years.

A proficient writer and editor, Steve was co-founder and co-editor of "Toledot: The Journal of Jewish Genealogy," from 1977 to 1983, and served as managing editor and acting editor of JGS's newsletter, Dorot. He also compiled Archival Resources, Volume I of Jewish Immigrants of the Nazi Period in the USA (Saur, 1978) and, with Zachary Baker, "A Bibliography of Eastern European Memorial (Yizkor) Books" (1992).

Steve was president of the Jewish Historical Society of New York, a director of the Jewish Book Council, and a member of Association of Professional Genealogists. A proud Cornell alumnus, he served on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University Hillel and on the Cornell University Council. He recently received the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award for 2011.

Steve was a native of New Jersey -- he was born in Union City and grew up in Teaneck -- but he lived on Manhattan's upper East Side for many years. Beloved son of Eleanor Simon Siegel and the late Morris Siegel, he is also survived by his brother, Jerry Siegel; sister, Connie Siegel Dennis and nieces Jessica and Katelyn Dennis. Steve's life partner for 29 years, Rob Selden, died in 2008.

May his memory be as a blessing.

 

Roni Seibel Liebowitz

President, JGS, Inc. (NY)

President@JGSNY.org

To make a gift anyone can use any of the following options – and for each one – please make sure to note that it is in memory of Steven Siegel.

Mail a check (made out to Cornell University with Cornell Hillel.
IMO Steven Siegel in the memo line or attached note) to:
Cornell University
Box 223623
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-2623

To make a gift by phone, call our Annual Fund office at: 1-800-279-3099 and mention that the gift is directed to Cornell Hillel in memory of Steven Siegel.

Or, to make a gift online, click on the link below:

https://www.giving.cornell.edu/give/ and in “Other” Section, “Cornell Hillel” can be noted along with indication of it being in memory of Steven Siegel.

 

"Conservators Converse," the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network blog of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, has published a nice review of ART's Artists' Records in the Archives symposium. The symposium was held in October as part of the 2011 New York Archives Week.

The blog post was written by Amy Brost, and she describes how the symposium was relevant for conservators working today. She concluded by saying "I gained a new appreciation for the field of archives and preservation, and I am excited by the new directions for collaboration between archivists and conservators."

The post can be accessed at:

http://www.conservators-converse.org/2012/01/artists-records-in-the-archives-a-two-day-symposium/

ART wants to thank Amy and the American Institute for Conservation. We also look forward to future collaborations between archivists and conservators!