SAA 2013

Apologies for the long silence.  During the past four weeks, I've driven over 2500 miles, written and delivered two presentations, reviewed 137 conference session proposals, tended a seriously ill (and now recovering) cat, and flown to Chicago in order to help turn those 137 proposals into a 70-session conference -- and that's just the stuff I did when I wasn't at work. 

As a member of the Program Committee for the 2013 joint annual meeting of the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA), it gives me great pleasure to state that the meeting program is going to be really exciting.  Unfortunately, I can't share any details at this time.  However, I can tell you that some of the Saturday sessions are going to be fantastic; if you have to book your airfare before the preliminary program comes out next year, keep this fact in mind!

I'm particularly glad that I got the opportunity to serve on the 2013 Program Committee:  next year's meeting will be held in New Orleans, and those of you who follow this blog know that the Crescent City holds a special place in my heart.  SAA last met in New Orleans in 2005, and the meeting ended less than two weeks before Hurricane Katrina exposed catastrophic weaknesses in the city's levee system.  I'm elated that SAA is finally returning to New Orleans this year.   If you've never visited the city, you're in for a treat -- it's like no other place in the United States.  If you attended the 2005 annual meeting, you know that New Orleans archivists are incredibly proud, gracious, and vivacious hosts, that the city itself is fascinating, and that the Hilton New Orleans Riverside is a great venue.

I'm heading home to Albany tomorrow morning.  Once I get settled in, you'll see a little more activity around here.  In the meantime, I hope you're well and that I'll see you in New Orleans next August.

Image:  decorative metalwork entryway to the Sullivan Center (originally the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Co. building) at 1 South Street, Chicago, Illinois.  Sullivan Center was designed by Louis Sullivan, and the distinctive metalwork is commonly attributed to George Grant Elmslie, who served as Sullivan's chief draftsman following the departure of Frank Lloyd Wright.  This entryway is literally a stone's throw away from SAA's headquarters at 17 North State Street.