The Finding Aid Award is given yearly to recognize outstanding achievement in the preparation of finding aids by institutions within the MARAC region. Nominated finding aids must have been made available to the public for the first time during 2016.
The top award will receive the designation of the Fredric M. Miller Finding Aids Award, in honor of Dr. Miller’s contributions to the field as archivist and author. Monetary awards will be presented at the Spring 2017 meeting in Newark, New Jersey
Call for Submissions
In the last decade, there have been significant changes in the processes by which archivists arrange, describe and make their collections available to the public: most notably, the widespread adoption of streamlined processing practices and a push to make our work available online. At the same time, the fundamentals of good finding aids have remained the same: they provide content that enables researchers to understand the materials in our collections and are designed to help them find what they need easily and quickly.
The Finding Aids Committee invites MARAC members to nominate exceptional finding aids for the 2016 MARAC Finding Aid Awards. Successful finding aids will have outstanding content, take full advantage of the design capabilities inherent in their medium of publication, and incorporate successful innovations that enable researchers to more effectively access and use archival materials. Please see Characteristics of Successful Finding Aids for more details.
Submissions are due by December 31, 2016 and must include:
– A link to the finding aid’s URL (or 6 hard copies of the finding aid if only available in print)
– A nomination letter that addresses the finding aids’ exceptional qualities and/or discusses elements not readily apparent from examination of the finding aid itself.
Please see our Finding Aid Awards Submission Checklist for further information concerning the nomination letter and optional submission materials.
Submissions should be sent to the Chair of the Finding Aid Award Committee:
Scott Ziegler
sziegler@amphilsoc.org
105 South 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106