2019 Libraries Visiting Scholar lecture: “Academic Freedom: The Key Role of Archival Records”

April 18, 2019, 11 am – Noon, Nebraska Union Auditorium

Tanya Zanish-Belcher, the Director of Special Collections & Archives at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is the 2019 Visiting Scholar for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Her public presentation on “Academic Freedom: The Key Role of Archival Records,’ is scheduled for April 18, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. in the Nebraska Union Auditorium (1400 R St., Lincoln).  The event is free and open to the public.

Zanish-Belcher’s presentation will address research, and the broadest sense of the historical record, which is based on, or depends upon, the quality and amount of historical records available for the types of stories we can tell. The expansion of the documentary record, particularly (1) the creation of materials giving a much-needed view of marginalized groups long silenced, (2) the explosion of community-based archives, and (3) the digitization of materials from the past all provide rich new sources for exploration. What impact does this growing plethora of information and data have on our efforts to describe, contextualize, and share the various elements of our complicated histories? At the same time, a growing lack of access to the public record, whether by cost, censorship, a decrease in public funding, or a narrowing view of American citizenship, challenges us. How can archivists, researchers, and scholars reverse this trend and ensure the continued preservation and access to the historical record which defines who we are?

Zanish-Belcher received her M.A. in Historical and Archival Administration from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and her B.A. in History from Ohio Wesleyan University. Prior to her appointment as director at Wake Forest in 2013, she was the Head of Special Collections & Archives at Iowa State University Library between 1998-2013, and was also a Special Collections Archivist at the Alabama Dept. of Archives and History between 1989-1994.

Her publications include Perspectives on Women’s Archives (edited, with Anke Voss) for the Society of American Archivists (2013) and author of one of its chapters, “’A Culture of Concealment’: Revealing the Records of Human Reproduction.” Tanya has taught workshops on archival reference for the Midwest Archives Conference and has given many presentations at the state, local, and national levels. She has published articles on women’s archives and women in science, and has served on and chaired various SAA committees, including the nominating committee, Committee on the Status of Women, and the Membership Committee. She was named a Society of American Archivists (SAA) Fellow in 2011, the highest accolade given by the Society. She is a Past President of Midwest Archives Conference, member of the SAA Council (2012-2015), and was elected Vice-President/President Elect for SAA in 2016. Zanish-Belcher served as the 73rd President of the Society of American Archivists in 2017-2018.

Kiyomi Deards Named ARL Visiting Program Officer for Diversity and Leadership

(Reprinted from ARL News)

By Mark A. Puente

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has appointed Kiyomi Deards of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as a visiting program officer for diversity and leadership, effective February 1, 2019. Deards will support the Association’s diversity, equity, and inclusion portfolio in advancing access to economic and social prosperity, encouraging full participation in society, and countering the historical lack of access to and underrepresentation of human and material resources that research libraries cultivate and steward.

As a visiting program officer, Deards will conduct research and produce several resources for ARL member libraries and archives to use in strengthening their efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her areas of research will include (1) frameworks for diversity, equity, and inclusion competencies in libraries, archives, other cultural heritage and information organizations, and higher education; (2) training, community building, and development programs that address diversity, equity, and inclusion competencies; and (3) funding sources for developing a cohort of expert facilitators to help ARL institutions create and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion plans.
Beth McNeil, chair of the ARL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and dean of the University Library at Iowa State University, said, “We are pleased to have Kiyomi working with the Association to advance some of the key priorities in our diversity, equity, and inclusion portfolio. Her work will help inform what strategies and programs we need to implement and sustain in order to make more substantive and enduring change in this area. It is particularly gratifying to have someone who has benefited from participating in ARL’s diversity recruitment programs giving back to the Association and to the profession.”
Deards is an associate professor, and librarian for chemistry, biochemistry, forensic science, physics & astronomy, and water, at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) University Libraries. She has worked with, and led, programs focused on mentoring and career support for historically underrepresented groups in libraries since 2009. Most recently, she chaired the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Dr. E. J. Josey Spectrum Scholar Mentor Committee. At UNL Deards leads the SciPop science and pop-culture outreach program. She writes and presents about issues of management equity and mentoring in libraries, science literacy, and informal science education. In 2009–2011, she was an ARL Diversity Scholar in the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce.
The ARL Visiting Program Officer program provides opportunities for outstanding staff members at ARL member libraries and archives to contribute to special projects and programs, either in whole or in part, in order to advance the agenda of the Association. Visit the ARL website for more information about the Visiting Program Officer program.