About the Annual General Meeting 2012
Ride the Wave to SCA!
We're riding the wave to SCA in Ventura for this year's AGM. Known today for surfing and strawberries, which will be at their prime during the AGM, Ventura has a perhaps classic southern California history incorporating a Chumash village, Franciscan mission, Southern Pacific Railroad, agriculture and oil. We'll have a chance to learn more about local history and culture at our Opening Reception at the Museum of Ventura County, which will include behind-the-scenes tours.
Our pair of luncheon speakers highlight the road and beach cultures that characterize California. Janet Fireman uses her frequent road trips through the Central Valley to launch an exploration of that area's history, while Jerome Hall’s youthful years on the Pacific Coast shaped his ocean-focused career and interest in surfing's heritage. Plenary speaker Bill Deverell offers an overarching perspective on the West in the wake of the Civil War. Getting back to roads, we've created the 2012 AGM Road Trip Map to guide you to Ventura, along with a ride-sharing site to facilitate a green and collegial driving experience.
As usual, the sessions and workshops run the gamut of archival work. There's a separate digital track for anyone inclined, and a couple sessions involving audiovisual materials. Several popular sessions from last year's AGM return with sequels--"Archivists That Are Doin’ It for Themselves" and the new technologies exchange forum--while digital archivists at Stanford University and the Computer History Museum again team up, this time addressing digital curation. Other sessions and a workshop explore appraisal, preservation, reference, historical methodologies, and the archivist as volunteer. We also welcome students from Simmons College, who will use two case studies to consider social justice and archives.
This AGM looks simultaneously backward and forward. We will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Western Archives Institute, a remarkable program and achievement of our society in partnership with the California State Archives. We'll also have a special strategic planning session that seeks your input on SCA’s present course and future directions. Another institution near and dear to the hearts of many California archivists, the Online Archive of California, will host a contributors meeting, its first since the 2008 AGM in Monterey.
The AGM isn't just for archivists, it's by archivists, all of whom volunteer their time and talent while meeting new friends and developing leadership and other career skills. If you'd like to learn more about what we're doing, a great first step is to attend the Leadership Meeting or Members Meeting (or both!).
We think this AGM offers something for everyone, so join your colleagues to splash in the surf, savor the strawberries, and strengthen your skills in Ventura.
Lisa Miller, AGM Program Committee Chair
Cyndi Shein, AGM Local Arrangements Committee Chair