Not Like Other Collections: Processing Congressional Papers
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)
Webinar Description:
You may have processed the papers of local politicians and other notable figures, but what if a member of the United States Congress donates their papers to your repository? Or what if you find congressional papers among your backlog? During this webinar, the presenters will walk you through the laws and practices of processing these types of collections. Learn about the discussions you should have during the accessioning process, the House and Senate rules that you should know, and other factors that make these types of collections unique and valuable to researchers.
What You'll Learn
- Key legislation and House/Senate rules that govern the transfer, processing, and access to congressional records
- Essential accession discussions - including restrictions and donor expectations to ensure a smooth transfer
- Best-practice processing techniques for organizing, describing, and preserving these high-profile collections
- Explore the value of congressional collections for researchers, communities, and repositories
Who Should Attend
Anyone with an interest in learning about congressional papers, expanding their repository's scope, or anyone who is part of a repository that handles congressional papers.
Please forward any questions or comments to Rob Strauss and Gillian Goldberg at educationcommittee@calarchivists.org.
The cost is $10 for SCA members; $5 for student members; $20 for non-members; and $5 for unemployed or precariously employed individuals.
Presenters:
Dawn Sueoka is the Congressional Papers Archivist at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, a position she has held since 2020. She is currently chair of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Congressional Papers Section, and a member of SAA's America250 Task Force. She also currently serves on the board of the Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, and has previously served on the boards of the Association of Hawai'i Archivists.
John Caldwell is the Political and Public Policy Papers Archivist at the University of Delaware (UD). The Immediate Past Chair of the Congressional Papers Section of SAA, John has experience with congressional records both on and off Capitol Hill, having worked for Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV), as well as in the Senate Historical Office before coming to UD in 2017. He earned his MLS with a concentration in Archives, Information, and Records Management from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his MA in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.
Kate Gregory is an assistant professor and Director of the Mississippi Political Collections at Mississippi State University Libraries. She began working with congressional collections as an intermittent worker in 2014 before earning her MLIS from the University of Alabama in 2018 and advancing to Director in 2022. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress since 2024 and as Chair of the SAA Congressional Papers Section from 2023-2024. She is a Past-President of the Society of Mississippi Archivists and has published on congressional collections in the Journal of Library Metadata and The Conversation. In 2024, she was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant.
Registration is open until December 9th. Online payment is required.
- Questions about your membership? Contact Jessica Gambling
- Questions about Registration? Contact the Education Committee
- Problems with your credit card payment? Need to request a refund involving credit card or PayPal? Contact treasurer@calarchivists.org
