Is it time for spring cleaning? Join us to hear leading archivists of Swedish-American collections share insights into preserving historical records and dispel some myths about what their work entails and how you can preserve your personal and family collections. You will not be surprised to hear that there has been a surge in inquiries from families and organizations who have been at home exploring boxes and computer drives full of documents, photos, recordings, scrapbooks, and other historical treasures. Find out what archivists really think about throwing things away, family bibles, photographs, audio-visual, digitizing everything, preservation, and more!
Our four panelists are members of the Board of Directors of the Swedish-American Historical Society and bring years of experience and expertise in the archival collections of Swedish America:
- Andy Meyer is the Director of the F.M. Johnson Archives and Special Collections at North Park University where he manages the Evangelical Covenant Church Archives and Historical Library, the North Park University Archives, and the Swedish-American Archives of Greater Chicago. He holds an MLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a MA in Theological Studies from North Park Theological Seminary.
- Lisa Huntsha is Archivist/Librarian and Assistant Professor for the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. She is responsible for managing the collecting, preservation, and access to library and archival materials at the Center, as well as teaching archival instruction sessions. She holds a BA in Scandinavian Studies from Augustana College, an MA in Museum Studies from Syracuse University, and additional training from the Society of American Archivists.
- Anna-Kajsa Echague is the former Director of the F.M. Johnson Archives and Special Collections at North Park University from 2012-2017. Her undergraduate degree is in Scandinavian Studies and English Literature from North Park, and she received her MLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Kajsa lives in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.
- Anne Jenner is curator of the Pacific Northwest Collection at the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections in Seattle where she is responsible for the flagship Pacific Northwest Collection, comprised of archival collections, print materials, maps, and ephemera. Anne is co-creator and chair of We Are History Keepers! a series of free workshops on preserving the historical and cultural record of ethnic communities. She holds an MA in Scandinavian Languages and Literature from the University of Washington and an MLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She served as researcher and cataloger, then as Head of Library at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center in Rock Island, Illinois 2002-2007 and as Director of Archives and Special Collections at North Park University in Chicago 2007-2012. Anne is the president of Northwest Archivists and serves on the board of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest.
The Spring Program for members and friends of the Swedish-American Historical Society will take place on April 25 at 2:00 p.m. Central and will last 75-90 minutes. It is free and open to the public. You can register here: http://bit.ly/SAHS2021. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants. In addition to presentations and conversation, attendees will have opportunity to ask questions of our archival experts, either in advance or during the program. Welcome!