Hello all and welcome to 2022-2023!
The pandemic (I know, we are all tired of hearing it, but I won’t mention it again after this, I promise!) took its toll on all of us as individuals, and by extension, this section. I greatly admire and appreciate how those who had the capacity stepped up during that time by offering wonderful opportunities via Zoom for meeting, networking, and collaborating. As my role at the Reuther Library involves the wearing of many hats, I benefited greatly from events hosted by other sections, including the records management and women archivists sections and others during that time.
Inspired by their work, VMS is planning to hold similar, albeit visual materials focused, events this year. We had, in my opinion, a couple great annual section meetings in a row, and now we will build on those to dip our toes into this new adventure. First, we will give you a chance to get to know your steering committee members. If you can join us on October 4, expect to hear a little about each of us, what excites us about our work, and the projects the section is working on. We will also have time for your questions and comments so you can let us know your thoughts and ideas.
We are planning additional networking-based gatherings for early next year. If there is a specific topic you would like those meetups to focus on, please reach out. We also will be taking ideas from the member survey conducted last year, which provided a good look into what has been on your minds.
I hope those of you who were able to attend the SAA Annual Meeting came away from the experience refreshed with new ideas, ready to tackle your everyday work and try new things. That is always my favorite thing about conferences – feeling reinvigorated and reminded of many of the things I love about archives. While VMS did not have a physical presence this year, we hope you were able to attend our virtual meeting. Expect more from the section at next year’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. including the return of in-person meetups!
I want to invite anyone to reach out to me at SCaloia@wayne.edu if you have questions or ideas, and especially if you want to get more involved with the section. There are many opportunities, as I outlined in the annual meeting recap.
My mission as chair this year is to increase our activity to keep the section active and thriving so we can continue to learn from each other, lean on each other, and better steward our many amazing visual materials collections. Each member of this section is vital to the success of that goal. I appreciate that you’ve stuck with us, and I am excited for what is ahead.
Stefanie Caloia, VMS Chair (2022 - 2023), Archivist for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.