Ann Abney, Candidate for the Nominating Committee
What is your experience with the ACA , and how would you find members to run for office?
My experience as a member with ACA has been a positive one; not only has the credentials helped me obtain positions, but the community I’ve gained has been instrumental in my archival career. Because of this, I feel a responsibility to give back to the ACA in the form of helping to recruit members to run for office. After going through our membership rolls and generating a list, I would want to speak to my mentors in the field and within ACA – who is new and has fresh ideas to contribute? Who needs some national service for a tenure or promotion file? What identities of ACA members are not represented on the board? My “sales pitch” would focus on the good that ACA has done for me, for them, and for the archival profession, and that it only can continue to help and serve if people commit to running for office and moving the organization forward. I would also be realistic – there is never enough time for the majority of us. I would make sure to tell the recruits the time commitment involved in their service and if it involves any special responsibilities like attendance at conferences. I want people to be as well-informed about the position as possible when they say yes.
Professional Experience:
- Digital Initiatives Metadata Librarian; University of South Florida: 2023-Present.
- Special Projects Archivist; University of South Carolina: 2019-2023.
- Archivist; National Archives at College Park, MD: 2016-2019.
- Archives Technician; National Archives at College Park, MD: 2015-2016
Education:
- MLS, University of Maryland, College Park: 2016
- MA, History, University of Maryland, College Park: 2016
- Honors BA, History, Carroll University: 2013
Professional Activities:
- Academy of Certified Archivists: Member, 2017-Present.
- South Carolina Archival Association: President: 2021-2022.
- South Carolina Archival Association: Vice-President & President-Elect: 2020-2021.
- Palmetto Archives, Libraries, and Museums Council on Preservation (PALMCOP): Treasurer: 2020-2022.