The Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) held its annual conference at the State Archives of North Carolina in Raleigh April 17-19th. We had a good group of SCA folks there, so we thought we’d summarize our experience for your reading enjoyment.

Ashelee

I began my SNCA experience by attending an informative workshop on the application of Copyright laws on archival materials. It was very timely and relevant as it prompted questions regarding quite a few records in collections that I am currently working on. Sessions of note that I attended include a presentation from a history department student from UNCG. He shared his work on creating a digital website that documents the history of the Loray Mill Strike of 1929 in Gastonia, North Carolina. Dr. Darin Waters, the North Carolina Deputy Secretary of Archives and History delivered a fascinating plenary speech that highlighted his research on the history of black families in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. I ended the first day of sessions and panels by co-presenting with an archivist from Shenandoah University. I delivered a lightning talk that questioned the future of collections development with specific regard to records that document student life. While this current generation of students is less likely to create physical records there is also a decline in stable digital records, so what documentation of their collegiate experience will exist in the future? On the last day, I attended two sessions that focused on archives and education. UNCG archivist Kathelene McCarty Smith shared innovative ways to teach with primary sources through interactive storytelling and engaging activities. This was the 40th Anniversary of the SNCA organization and this conference was a pleasant return to in-person activities with archivists from across the region.

Emily

I am in agreement with Kate that this was a great year to participate in the SNCA conference for the first time. Attending this 40th anniversary gathering in Raleigh at the State Archives provided an ideal context to learn about the profession. ZSR was well represented by my colleagues who led informative panels, lightning talks, business meetings, poster presentations – all the things. They engaged at every level, and I enjoyed learning from them. Other highlights for me included the plenary speech by Dr. Darin Waters, my shiny new State Library card, and the sessions I attended on archival instruction and community outreach. In particular, I enjoyed a session by archivists at Central Piedmont Community College. This small staff engages students in creative ways – think time capsules and archives-inspired art. They also document parallel histories of colleges that developed along racial divides in the Charlotte metro region. They offered a good reminder that no institution exists in a vacuum, and community history is shared history.

Kate

I had a great first SNCA conference experience! I was there to present my poster “Practical Advice for the Project Archivist” which was informed by my time working at ZSR on the Richard Burr papers. The poster was also greatly informed by SAA’s document titled “Best Practices for Archival Term Positions,” which is worth checking out if you’re interested in this topic. I’ll list out a few of my other highlights from the conference. As Ashelee mentioned, Dr. Waters’ plenary talk was a great way to focus the conference by highlighting the impact and importance of archival work. “More than Just the Numbers: Uncovering Hidden Narratives in a Legacy Financial Papers Reprocessing Project” was about efforts at the State Archives to introduce conscious description to a collection of financial ledgers from the 19th century. This might sound like an impossible task, especially since financial papers are seen as dry and boring. However, the archivists found that these papers told the stories of some enslaved people in the state, including people who worked to build the state capitol building and other state buildings. These stories, previously buried in seemingly unrelated papers, can now be told as a result of this work. “Right Back Where We Started From: Collection Management and Processing of Wilson Library’s Backlog” was about a graduate student project at UNC-Chapel Hill to prepare their backlog for transfer to another building. This presentation highlighted the importance of collaboration and communication for completing large projects. It was also interesting to hear about the students’ expectations for the project and how their perceptions changed over time. And of course, Ashelee gave a wonderful presentation about documenting student culture. The presentation sparked a great discussion about issues such as privacy, social media documentation, and the place of material culture in today’s college campus. All in all, it was a great and informative conference!

Stephanie

I had a great if exceptionally busy SNCA meeting, as the outgoing president after two years in that role. The Vice President/Program Committee Chair did a lot of the heavy lifting but I spent my time supporting him and the other folks, welcoming everyone to the conference and hosting the business meeting, shaking hands while handing out certificates (that requires some practice!), and meeting new-to-the-field and new-to-me archivists after four years of virtual conferencing. Everyone else has already highlighted the amazing programming! I will add that on Wednesday, I I joined Ashelee for the workshop discussing copyright – I feel like I can never learn too much about navigating the intricacies of putting collections online. On Thursday, I moderated a session where two graduate students presented, alongside a third veteran archivist; all were focused on digital humanities and did a great job. I also attended a session that covered managing a collection move and managing a professional development program for staff with subject-matter expertise but little archives experience. It was a great conference, and I’m happy to be handing off the care and feeding of SNCA to my successor in May!

Rebecca

I started off my conference by representing past presidents on the 40th anniversary of SNCA panel. Along with other past SNCA presidents, we answered questions about SNCA’s impact over 40 years, our experiences and the changes we ushered in during our tenure, and thought about what is coming down the pike for archives and archivists in the future. After that, I turned my attention to moderating a few panels “Emphasizing Community in Community College Archives” and “Documenting Student Populations.” The first session was presented by Johnamarie Macias and Erin Allsop of Central Piedmont Community College. I was blown away by the wonderful collaborations they are doing with local community groups in their archives, it was an impressive presentation! Another impressive presentation was the lightning talk on documenting student populations presented by our own Ashelee Gerald Hill and Kathy Evans from Shenandoah University. This panel opened up to the audience for ideas on how to connect with current student populations and how to plan for future preservation of the student experience. I found this to be a great conversation.

Beyond attending sessions, I enjoyed being back in person with my SNCA colleagues after a long absence. The conference was wonderfully planned with lots of opportunities to connect and share. It was also great to get to spend time with my ZSR colleagues at a professional conference, something many of us have not been able to do together before. As always, thank you to the Dean’s office for funding this experience.