LIS Professional Associations

While many in the LIS program will be looking forward to working as librarians, I am most looking forward to the work that I will be doing as an archivist. Seeing as I a plan to be an archivist once I have finished this degree, it is important for me to be aware of the various professional associations available for me to join as an archivist. I am already aware of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) as Wayne State has a chapter that meets once a month (http://www2.archivists.org/). I went to the first meeting this year, and I was inspired to learn more about the association. The SAA is a national association though, and I was also interested in a more local association to join, and I found out that there is a Michigan Archival Association (MAA) as well (http://miarchivists.wordpress.com/).

Both of the groups were started by professionals working in the archival field. The SAA began in 1936 and the MAA was started in 1958. Since then both have committed themselves to advancing the archival profession through education, cooperation with other associations and institutions, and by creating awareness about the importance of archival work. Both are very active in producing literature on the archival profession. The MAA newsletter is called Open Entry and is distributed to its members twice a year. The MAA has also produced several other articles on various aspects on archival work dating back to 1969. The MAA is a small association though with only about one hundred current members, and so it cannot produce on the scale of the SAA. The SAA has two regular publications, special newsletters to report updates on important topics, as well as other special pamphlets and articles. The two regular publications are the American Archivist journal and the bi-monthly Archival Outlook newsletter. 

Both associations are also active in the social media realm. Once again the smaller MAA does not have as many social media connections or post as much, but they do have a presence. The MAA has a Facebook and has links to other archival blogs around the world. You can also sign up to have MAA updates sent to you by email. The MAA website has regular updates and links to other archival associations around the globe. The SAA website has even more links the MAA to other associations, information about the profession, information about the SAA, and many more resources for archivists. The SAA has a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and an international rss feed. The SAA site also includes regular updates about the SAA and other archival news. 

The MAA and the SAA both have dues for their membership, but the SAA has different levels of membership. The MAA membership needs to be renewed annually, but it gets you a subscription to Open Entry, a copy of the MAA directory, and reduced rates to the MAA workshops.  The SAA has three levels of individual membership, and an institutional membership. All types of membership need to be renewed every year. The individual memberships are full, student, and associate memberships. All individual members of the SAA have access to the American Archivist journal and the Archival Outlook newsletter. SAA individual members also get access to special discounts, mentoring, career networking, and access to the SAA member directory. Full members dues are based on the member's salary as a professional, and they are eligible for elected offices in the SAA and can vote on SAA matters. The student membership is fifty dollars and allows them to hold appointed offices and to vote on all SAA matters. The associate membership is one hundred dollars for those in the United States and one hundred twenty-five dollars for those outside of the United States. Associate members are only given the base membership advantages listed above. Institutional members have two levels of membership. Sustaining members pay five hundred fifty dollars year, and get to choose one representative eligible for SAA offices, two copies of their publications, a copy of all SAA books published, and discounts for their books, meetings, and workshops. Regular institutional members do not have the copies of the publications, but still enjoy the other benefits for three hundred dollars a year. 

I do not think that I would join the MAA right now as it seems like it would be more important to me as a professional in Michigan. The Open Entry has a lot of information on important events across Michigan, but it only comes out twice a year, and I can get that same information from the advisors at Wayne State. The MAA is a small group with few resources and it would not be integral to my development as an archivist, but I would think it would be good for the MAA and Michigan for me to join. If I become an archivist in Michigan I would definitely join the MAA and hope to be an important leader within the group. I have already thought about joining the SAA as a student and as a professional archivist. The benefits as a students are not that great, but extra discounts on workshops and books might be worth it. Also it is not that expensive as a student to join the SAA. I can already read the American Archivist as a student at Wayne State, and that to me is the greatest benefit of the membership. Since I already have free access to the American Archivist it makes me think twice about joining the SAA, but there are still other important benefits that would possibly be worth it. As a professional, the benefits are worth it and it is pretty cool that is based on your salary. So if you are making less you pay less, and that would make it very accessible to me as a professional. Being a member of the SAA as a professional archivist seems like a must for anyone serious about their profession. So I would definitely join the SAA as a professional archivist.