2024 Annual Meeting Presentations

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FULL 2024 ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Pre-Conference Workshop, “Using Your Archives: Designing The History Alive!” Free workshop at the Boca Raton Historical Society (SOLD OUT)

This session will be a discussion of the process of planning, creating, and constructing the History Alive! permanent exhibits for the Boca Raton Historical Society which premiered in November of 2021. We will discuss how the staff was able to work with professional exhibit designers to establish the focus and themes of a comprehensive overview of local history while maintaining the Society’s commitment to scholarship in all of its programming.

Presenters: Susan Gillis, Boca Raton Historical Society Curator; Mary Csar, Boca Raton Historical Society Executive Director

At Host Hotel - Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort

12:00 PM: Registration Table opens, lunch on your own.

1:00 - 1:15 PM: Welcome and Introductions, Rhia Rae, SFA President, and Michael Zaidman, Chair, Conference Planning Committee

1:15 – 2:00 PM: Session 1 - "Of Snowflakes and Snowstorms: Museum and Archival Perspectives on Processing Photographs" by John Nemmers and Betsy Bemis (University of Florida) (Presentation Slides)

The panel session looks at approaches to accessioning and processing decisions made for the photographs in this hybrid archives-museum collection: what worked well and what were the pain points. The session also shares advantages and disadvantages of working closely with a highly-involved community of donors more familiar with the photos to facilitate the work of the curators.

2:00 – 2:15 PM: Break

2:15 – 3:00 PM: Session 2 - "Finding Historical Voice: Breathing Life into Stories and Characters Using Florida’s Archives" by Janet Naughton (Palm Beach State College) and Dr. Ginger Pedersen (Author and Historian) (Presentation Slides)

The authors share how they created a fictional character to narrate a true story, and used primary sources (including recently-digitized records) to pen an intriguing, historically-accurate novel, and breathe life into the characters.

3:00 – 3:15 PM: Break and refreshments

3:15 – 3:35 PM: Session 3 - "Let’s Have a Sorting Party! Using the Library Community for a Processing Project" by Sarah Coates (University of Florida) (Presentation Slides)

The novel idea of a ‘’sorting party’ paved the way for harnessing the effort in a low-stress manner at UF’s University Archives which accepted a very large collection of records from student organizations, totaling over 50 linear feet. This presentation covers the logistics of creating guidelines for non-archivist volunteers to help process the collection.

3:35 - 3:50 PM: Break

3:50 – 4:35 PM: Session 4 - "Creating Community for Digital Readiness and The Future of Digital Cultural Heritage in Florida by Keila Zayas Ruiz (Florida State University) and Jamie Rogers (Florida International University) (Presentation Slides)

Since 2017, the Sunshine State Digital Network has worked to build community among cultural heritage institutions to bring their collections to a world-wide audience. The SSDN is eager to expand to include and support a more diverse range of cultural heritage organizations.

5:30 – 8:00 PM: Reception at Deerfield Beach Historical Society Museum & Cultural Center and tour of The Butler House

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

8:00 AM: Registration, Breakfast, Exhibitors, Poster, and Silent Auction Open

8:00 – 8:45 AM: Board of Directors Meeting

8:45 am – 9:00 AM: Poster and Exhibitors Introductions

Poster: "Going Behind the Scenes: How Rollins College Archaeologists and Students Preserved their History" by Arifa Alli and Savannah Nurse (Rollins College)

9:00 - 9:15 AM: Announcements and Updates

9:15 - 10:00 AM: Session 5 - "The Regional Heritage Stewardship Program: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Opportunity" by Katie Lowe (Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts) (Presentation Slides)

This session introduces The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifact's NEH-funded Deep South Regional Heritage Stewardship Program, with an emphasis on past and upcoming partnerships in Southeastern Florida. Launched in 2017, this program centers on creating sustainable community practices of the country’s historically-underserved areas in preservation and conservation services.

10:00 - 10:15 AM: Break

10:15 - 11:00 AM: SFA Business Meeting, Judith Beale Scholarship awardees, SFA Excellence Award

11:00 – 11:15 AM: Break

11:15 AM - 12:45 PM: Luncheon and Keynote, "Authenticity in the Archives," by Tomaro Taylor, Vice President / President-Elect, Society of American Archivists, Director, USF Libraries Special Collections

Tomaro I. Taylor is Director of Special Collections at the University of South Florida (USF) Libraries. With a 20+ year career that began as a visiting resident librarian at USF, Tomaro's early work as a processing archivist evolved into leading one of the most successful and productive special collections programs in the university's history. Tomaro's work has been recognized by the USF School of Information, the Society of Florida Archivists, and the Academy of Certified Archivists, the latter of which Tomaro served as President. Tomaro is currently Vice President / President-Elect of the Society of American Archivists and will assume office as the first President representing the state of Florida beginning August 2024.

12:45 - 1:00 PM: Break

1:00 – 1:45 PM: Session 6 - "Some Things Never Change: New Technology, Same Principles of Engagement" by Patricia Fiorillo (Florida Atlantic University) and Susan Gillis (Boca Raton Historical Society) (Presentation Slides)

This interactive session discusses the challenges and triumphs of utilizing YouTube and other social media platforms as tools of engagement and outreach for the Boca Raton Historical Society’s collection. The intended easy-to-use guide on using short-form content and video content is aimed at information professionals who oversee their own promotion and marketing using social media platforms.

1:45 - 2:00 PM: Break

2:00 - 2:20 PM: Session 7 - "New Directions for an Established Collection: Adding to the University of Florida’s Political Papers" by Boyd Murphee (University of Florida) (Presentation Slides)

Given the increasing impact of women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ Floridians on the state and nation since the 1950s, the presentation explores ideas and opportunities for diversifying the political papers collections of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, presenting a vision for building diverse political collections more relevant to Florida-based libraries and archives.

2:20 - 2:40 PM: Session 8 - "Overcoming the Fear of the Recycle Bin: Using MPLP and Aggressive Weeding to Tame that Huge Backlog" by Jeffrey Zines (Florida International University) (Presentation Slides)

This presentation aims to provide some clarity of what MPLP is—and isn't. The purpose of this lightning talk is twofold: to provide an overview of a massive weeding and organization project in FIU's University Archives, and to provide professional encouragement to tackle backlogs.

2:40 - 2:55 PM: Break

2:55 - 3:15 PM: Session 9 - "The Eartha M.M. White Collection at UNF: Student Involvement in Preservation and Outreach" by Susan Swiatosz, Maya Blackin, and Madalyn Starratt (University of North Florida) (Presentation Slides)

The UNF Eartha M. M. White Collection contains documents, photographs, and other materials related to the life and work of businesswoman, philanthropist, and civil rights activist Eartha M. M. White (1876-1974), a key figure in the African American history of Northeast Florida. Presenters reflect on the role that on-campus archives like the White Collection can play in facilitating future archives professionals.

3:15 - 3:25 PM: Break

3:25 - 3:55 PM: Speed Networking/Musical Chairs

3:55 – 4:10 PM: Break, Silent Auction Closes (pickup and pay for items)

4:10 - 4:55 PM: Session 10 - “Nurturing Tomorrow's Archivists: The Adam Hunt Memorial Internship Program and the Pursuit of Labor Equity in GLAM Professions” by Cara D. Simone (Southeast Archeology Center); Hannah Davis (Florida State University); Elizabeth Maycumber (Stetson University); Joseph Gentili (Archbold Biological Station) (Presentation Slides)

In a crowded GLAM job market of limited opportunities for permanent positions, and high expectations for the amount of experience accumulated before accepting entry-level employment, how can new archives graduates clinch their first real job? This session presents an overview of providing students and new graduates with paid opportunities to work on meaningful archival projects to gain experience.

5:30 - 8:00 PM: Reception at the Boca Raton Historical Society with The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

Thursday, May 16, 2024

8:00 - 8:45 AM: Registration and Breakfast

8:50 - 9:00 AM: Announcements

9:00 - 10:00 AM: Session 11 – “From Segregation to Integration: Archival Records and the History of Diversity & Inclusion among Florida Academic Institutions” by Robert Rubero (Florida State University); Rachel Walton (Rollins College); Elizabeth Maycumber (Stetson University); Sarah Coates (University of Florida) (Presentation Slides)

The history of race relations among academic institutions in Florida is a close reflection of broad societal shifts in the United States. Through examining primary documents held in institutional archives, the presenters hope to provide an overview on the evolving landscape of higher learning in Florida—from segregation to integration.

10:00 - 10:10 AM: Break

10:10 - 10:20 AM: Session 12 - Dead People's Mail: Selecting, Organizing, and Editing Correspondence for Publication by Florence M. Turcotte (University of Florida) (Presentation Slides)

Using her publication Marge & Julia: The Correspondence between Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Julia Scribner Bigham as an example, Turcotte describes the process of selecting, organizing and editing personal correspondence in an archival collection in preparation for publication.

10:25 - 10:35 AM: Session 13 - "Creating your Personal Archive on Archive.org" by Ginger Pedersen, local historian and archives volunteer (Presentation Slides)

The presenter describes the process of creating a publicly-accessible archive of family artifacts and historical paper items that she has collected using Archive.org. The session will also share best practices in metadata and classification, along with the implications of tagging in commercial projects.

10:35 - 10:45 AM: Break

10:45 - 11:30 AM: Session 14 - “Voices Preserved: Reflections on the Community Data Curation Grant” by Dr. Julio Capó, Jr. (Florida International University); Kendall Millang (Stonewall National Museum & Archives); Rebecca Bakker (Florida International University) (Presentation Slides)

As a three-year grant nears its conclusion, this session reflects on the journey, valuable lessons learned, and the enduring mark it hopes to impart. In collaboration with eight local institutions, the project goals of bolstering partnerships, creating oral histories, developing community-specific storytelling programming, and intern training in digitization and oral history methodologies will be discussed.

11:30 - 11:40 AM: Break

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM: Session 15 – “From Collection to Collaboration: The Women's Fund Miami-Dade Project” by Annia Gonzalez and Amanda Sentmanat-Perez (Florida International University) (Presentation Slides)

The presentation explores the challenges and successes of the collaboration, emphasizing the mutual relationship formed between the community partners and FIU. This project opened doors for future collaborations, strengthened community ties, and enhanced the educational experience for the student involved.

12:00 - 12:10 PM: Break

12:10 - 12:30 PM: Session 16 - “The Homecoming of the USF Archives” by Andy Huse (University of South Florida) (Presentation Slides)

This case study explores the findings revealed by challenges of fulfilling an administration directive of returning a collection, after decades of neglect, from an expensive remote storage site to the library. Acting on the promise of available space for about 1,000 linear feet of material, the small team discovered quite the opposite and, inevitably, became saddled with the task of processing the collection in its stacked form on pallets.

12:30 PM: Closing remarks and then lunch on own.

2:00 – 5:00 PM: Tours available at JM Family Enterprises, the Jim Moran Foundation, Delray Beach Historical Society, Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, Stonewall National Museum & Archives, Pompano Beach Historical Society.

Tours will be organized closer to the meeting based on the number of attendees.