8:00 - 8:45 am

Registration and breakfast (Halton Room)

8:45 - 10:00 am

President's remarks and Keynote Speaker, Kelly Policelli (Halton Room)

10:00 - 10:15 am

Break - Vendors and Posters available (Atkins Walkway)

10:15 - 11:15 am

Education Session #1

To Be an Archivist in the Carolinas in These Times: An Informal, Moderated, Discussion 

(Location: VizLab)

DISCUSSION FORUM

• Randi Beem, UNC-Charlotte, Instruction Archivist
• Adreonna Bennett, UNC-Charlotte, Community Engagement Archivist
• Dawn Schmitz, UNC Charlotte, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts

This informal, facilitated discussion creates a supportive space to connect, reflect, and share strategies for sustaining our missions and professional values. Using small-group conversations and tools that allow anonymous participation, this in-person, un-conference–style session prioritizes care, community, and collective resilience.

Organizing the Eno River Association Archives 

(Location: T3)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from UNC-Chapel Hill:

• Elliott Kuecker, Assistant Professor, MLS program
• Nate Allen, MLS student and Carolina BLU Delivery & Weekend Supervisor
• Kelley Slebos, MLS student
• Haley Wilkerson, MLS student, and NC State University, Special Collections Public Services Assistant 

This session describes a practicum project undertaken by UNC-CH students in their final year of the Archives and Record Management Track. With their professor, they partnered with Durham NC's Eno River Association, a non-profit organization that, since 1966, has conserved and protected the ecological wellbeing and cultural history of the Eno River Basin. Over the decades, they informally collected a huge archive of legal records, A/V materials, brochures, flyers, posters, literary journals, and much more. We will talk about the way our practicum aided this important advocacy group in organizing and preserving the records of their work, across complicated format types and resource limitations.

From the ground up: Future-proofing digital access 

(Location: Atkins 125)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from the State Archives of North Carolina:

• Anna Peitzman, Head of Digital Access Branch
• Michelle Witt, Information Management Archivist

In 2024, the State Archives of NC’s Digital Access Branch experienced 100% staff turnover, bringing digitization to a grinding halt. Rebuilding this function involved a blend of strategic planning and advocacy, to resume digitization but more importantly increase capacity and convey the essential value of digitization to a widening audience. It's a work in progress. Come hear us talk about wins, challenges, and lessons learned.

Community Roots, Archival Futures: Asian American Storytelling in Georgia 

(Location: Atkins 271)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from Emory University:

• Erica Bruchko, Librarian for US History and African American Studies
• Chella Vaidyanathan, Librarian for European/World History, Philosophy, and Classics
• Gautham Reddy, Librarian for South Asian Studies and Religion

The presentation highlights the Georgia Asian American Community Archives Initiative’s efforts to collect, preserve, and promote Asian American newspapers and periodicals in Georgia. It emphasizes building strong partnerships with community stakeholders to support these collections and demonstrates the cultural and historical significance of these often-overlooked materials. The presenters also describe innovative outreach and programming that elevate Asian American publications, enrich regional historical narratives, and ensure immigrant communities are represented within broader understandings of Southern history. 

11:20 am -12:10 pm

Education Session #2

Outreach from Various Angles

(Location: Atkins 125)

LIGHTNING TALKS 

To Engage, Encourage, and Edify: Community Outreach to Preserve Local Baptist Church History

• Jonathan Lawler, Southeast Baptist Theological Seminary, Archivist and Digital Collections Manager

Shared Stewardship on Display: Community Loans and Archival Advocacy

• Patrick Cash, East Carolina University, Manuscripts Curator
• Daniel Ferkin, East Carolina University, Assistant University Archivist

Wolf Tales: Collecting Stories of the NC State University Community

• Todd Kosmerick, NC State University, University Archivist

Connecting With the College Community Through Academic Clubs to Promote Institutional History

• Johnamarie Macias de la Torre, Central Piedmont Community College, College Archivist

Remembering the Fallen: Appalachian State University's In Memoriam to Their Military Mountaineers

• Emma Sobczak Schell, Appalachian State University, Instruction and Outreach Librarian

Experiments in Mutual Aid in Archives

• Brianna McGruder, UNC-Chapel Hill, Community Archives

Representing Children's Pasts in the Archives 

(Location: T3)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from UNC-Chapel Hill:

• Elliott Kuecker, Teaching Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Archives and Record Management Track, School of Information and Library Science
• Katie Grotewiel, Access Services Technician
• Katie Bushman, MLS Student, and Duke University, Rubenstein Library Intern
• Mohala Kaliebe, MLS student and Graduate Assistant at Wilson Special Collections Library

Four scholars will discuss three research projects that discuss the obstacles scholars face, and complex issues archivists must consider, related to representing children of the past through archival evidence.

Come Hell or High Water: A Digital Community Archive of Helene in WNC 

(Location: VizLab)

PANEL PRESENTATION

• Carissa Pfeiffer, Buncombe County Public Libraries Special Collections Librarian
• Emily Cadmus, Friends of Buncombe County Special Collections, Project Coordinator and Board Member

Shortly after Helene devastated Western NC, library staff and Friends in Buncombe County launched "Come Hell or High Water,” a project to document, preserve, and provide access to the stories of Helene’s impact in Western NC through the creation of a digital memory bank, an oral history project, increased access to historic resources, web archives, and public programs. Presentations from two perspectives will detail the development of this community-driven archive.

Community Webbing as a Framework for Archival Advocacy 

(Location: Atkins 271)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from UNC-Greensboro:

• Stacey Krim, Curator of Manuscripts and Cello Music
• Kate Maser, MLS student
• Kathelene McCarty Smith, Head of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Instruction and Outreach Archivist
• Beth Ann Koelsch, Curator of the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project

Although not originally from Greensboro, archivists at UNC-Greensboro have benefited from the University’s longstanding ties to the community. Through community webbing, these ties can be leveraged to strengthen trust with diverse communities, increase the visibility of marginalized groups, and advance local narratives that have historically been excluded. Recognizing the importance of these connections, this presentation will examine how community webbing can serve as a framework for sustaining existing partnerships while creating new avenues for engagement.

Schedule continues into next column.

12:20 - 1:45 pm

Lunch (Halton Room)

1:45 - 2:45 pm

Education Session #3

Student Voices

(Location: Atkins 125)

PANEL PRESENTATION

Implementing Reparative and Inclusive Description

• Ayanai Thomas, UNC-Greensboro, MLS student, and Mental Health Technician

Turning Towards the Movement: Orienting Archival Research and Practice to Serve Long-Term Social Justice Struggle

• Emma Gautier, UNC-Chapel Hill, Research Assistant for the School of Information and Library Science and Teaching Assistant for the School of Data Science and Society

The Anxious Academics Club: How Information Professionals Can Interact with People with Research Anxiety

• Claire Blandino, UNC-Chapel Hill, MLS student

AI, Archival Integrity, and the Future of Archival Work: A Facilitated Discussion (Session will not be recorded)

(Location: VizLab)

DISCUSSION FORUM

• Alston Cobourn, East Carolina University, Head of University History and Records
• Lydia Neuroth, Library of Virginia, Project Manager, Virginia Untold

This facilitated discussion explores how AI generation is reshaping archival management, description, and authentication. Building on sessions from SAA 2025, it aims to raise awareness and encourage professional self-reflection, with a potential (though not required) outcome of policy or working group development. Topics include AI’s impact on historical memory, archival authority and authenticity, access and reference practices, and collection development. Participants will share examples, concerns, and existing policies.

[TITLE REDACTED]: Restricted Public Records, Large-Scale Redaction Projects, and Opening New Levels of Access

(Location: Halton Room)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All speakers from State Archives of North Carolina:

• Josh Hager, Government Records Description Unit Supervisor
• Dominique Romero, Reference Archivist
• Caroline Waller, State Agency Records Description Archivist
• Kimmi Kresica, Records Description Archivist
• Jackie Rubashkin, Digital Government Records Description Archivist

Researcher interest in public records at the State Archives of North Carolina containing confidential information has skyrocketed in recent years. Arrangement and description staff and their colleagues in public services have as a result made redactions and reviews their routine processing work. This session will dive into how staff conceptualize the tensions between confidentiality and transparency as well as the logistical hurdles in coordinating group redaction projects for analog and digital materials.

Integrating Physical Processing Kits into Online Archival Pedagogy

(Location: Atkins 271)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from East Carolina University:

• Kristen Daniel, Instruction and Outreach Librarian
• James Stroud, Interlibrary Loan Lending & Document Delivery Manager
• Dr. Vanessa Reyes, Assistant Professor, Master of Library Science Program

The session presents the results of a collaborative study examining how online Master of Library Science Students develop archival literacy through experiential engagement with mailed archival kits, the creation of finding aids, and reflective writing that connects practical work to archival theory, ethics, and professional practice.

By Every Effective Means Available: Making Collections More Accessible

(Location: T3)

PANEL PRESENTATION

All presenters from the Billy Graham Archive & Research Center:

• Lindsay Elliott, Director of Material Archives
• Amber Kehoe, Preservation Manager
• Abigail Coker, Senior Reference Archivist

This session will provide an introduction to Jira™, a project management software system used by the Billy Graham Archive and Research Center (BGARC) since opening in 2022 to fulfill more than 700 requests for remote access to collection materials. Sharing examples of real requests from people around the world, the speakers will highlight how collections have been made more accessible by offering individualized remote services and utilizing a project management system.

2:45 - 3:00 pm

Break

3:00 - 4:00 pm

SNCA awards, SCAA awards, SNCA business meeting (Location: Halton Room)

4:00 - 4:10 pm

Announcements (Location: Halton Room)

 4:10 - 5:00 pm

Poster session and vendors (Location: Atkins Walkway)

Posters

Access as Advocacy: The Governor Morehead School Collection

Jillian MacKinnon, State Archives of North Carolina, Digitization and Description Archivist

In 2025, the State Archives processed and digitized the Governor Morehead School (GMS) collection, providing new access to a community historically underrepresented in our digital collections. To increase the usability of the materials, we reached out to GMS staff for assistance with description, ultimately fostering new connections between the State Archives and a local institution. The Governor Morehead School operates as North Carolina’s flagship residential institution for educating blind and vision-impaired students.

Simple Preservation Steps for Collections Care

Alyssa Magnone, Northeast Document Conservation Center, Associate Preservation Specialist

The quest for perfect preservation conditions can be daunting. You may not have the budget or support to renovate your space, improve your HVAC, or purchase archival storage boxes needed to follow “best” practices. But being able to describe the preservation activities already underway allows collections staff to demonstrate to funders and administrators their current preservation capabilities and advocate for additional support. This poster highlights that even small steps can make all the difference!

The Community Scanning Toolkit: Best Practices and Practical Approaches

Kelly Riddle, Clemson University, Director of Digitization and Digital Projects

This poster outlines the components of the community scanning toolkit, a set of resources intended to facilitate digitization and contribution of materials held by individual members of communities to online digital archives hosted by large public and academic libraries. The poster distills best practices drawn from community archiving praxis, postcustodial models of archival preservation, and lessons learned from the field.

Accessibility Success and Shortcomings: The Benefits and Reality of OCR Generation for Digitized Newspapers

Lauren Vargo, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, Special Collections Graduate Assistant

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology has made archival research of newspapers more inclusive. Using examples of OCR generated text from digitized newspapers spanning 250 years, this poster will explore how OCR technology is used to make digitized newspapers accessible to a more diverse audience through the generation of alternative text (alt-text) while also calling attention to the shortcomings of OCR generation and its room for growth.

Visual Community: Promoting Digital Accessibility with the Herbert Lee Waters Photograph Collection

Kait Berry, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, Special Collections Graduate Assistant

This poster will explore the digitization of works by prolific North Carolina photographer, Herbert Lee Waters. As both a studio and commercial artist, Waters' collection includes many of the unseen and/or otherwise undocumented aspects of local life. These works, therefore, offer invaluable resources for both education and personal development. This poster will describe the process of undertaking this project and detail the importance of digital access to these materials.

6:00 - 8:00 pm

Conference reception (Location: Wooden Robot Brewery)

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