ARCHE ARCHIVES COUNCIL FOUNDED

On August 4th, 2015, the Atlanta Regional Council on Higher Education (ARCHE) launched a new Council representing archivists affiliated with member institutions of higher education and partners in education. Tracey Johnson opened the meeting by welcoming the new members of the Archives Council on behalf of ARCHE and the Library Council and charging the group with fostering communication, advocacy and collaboration, and facilitating and promoting use of their respective archival collections. The formation of the Archives Council was the realization of an idea by Lamar Veatch of the Georgia Archives to create a standing sub-committee of the Library Council dedicated to the specialized work and needs of archivists within ARCHE member institutions.

The recent addition of the Georgia Archives to the University System of Georgia underscored the need and value of such an organization, and the ARCHE Archives Council was the result. After a short welcome, members elected their first officers: Dr. Tamara Livingston, Executive Director of Museums, Archives & Rare Books at Kennesaw State University was elected as Chair; Andrea Jackson, Head of the Archives Research Center at Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library was elected as Vice Chair; and Mat Darby, Head of Arrangement and Description at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia was elected as Recording Secretary.

ARCHE was founded in 1938 as the University Center in Georgia for the purposes of sharing resources, avoiding duplication and fostering collegiality among the faculty. Today ARCHE represents 20 public and private institutions, including institutions with educational missions such as the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center and the Georgia Archives. ARCHE acts as an advocate for the colleges and universities in the region and has launched a number of beneficial programs including cross registration, interlibrary sharing, and cooperative purchasing.

The Archives Council has already set to work interpreting the result of a membership survey to set goals and priorities for the following year. Among the top archival concerns expressed by members were digital archives and technology, collection management issues and outreach and advocacy. In addition, members expressed the desire to engage in professional development and training opportunities, foster communication and collaboration, and develop collaborative grant projects.

With these objectives in mind, the ARCHE Archives Council will work closely with colleagues at the Society of Georgia Archivists and Lyrasis, taking advantage of programs and resources already in place or developing new programs and resources. The Executive Team (Tamara, Andrea and Mat) are honored by the opportunity to serve on the Archives Council and excited by the new possibilities for advocacy, collaboration and communication among our peers and colleagues in the Atlanta metro region.

Tamara Livingston, Kennesaw State University