Meredith Mitchem, Candidate for Nominating Committee

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Senior Archivist Atlanta Housing, 2014-Present

Archival Assistant Columbia Theological Seminary, 2010-2014

NEH Grant Preservation and Cataloging Assistant Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University, 2009-2010

Archives Intern Georgia Archives, 2007-2009

Assistant to the Conservator Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2005-2007

 

EDUCATION:

• Masters in Library and Information Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison: 2007
• Bachelor of Arts in English, University of South Carolina, Columbia: 2002

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

• Academy of Certified Archivists: Member, 2015-present
• Society of American Archivists: Member, 2005-present; Business Archives Section Newsletter Editor, 2018-2019; Vice Editor, 2017-2018
• Heritage Emergency Response Alliance Cooperative Disaster Network (HERA Atlanta): Member, 2008-present; Chair of Communications, 2012-2017
• Society of Georgia Archivists: Membership, 2009-present; Scholarship Chair: 2015.

 

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“What is the role of archival certification in the modern work environment?"

The role of archival certification in the modern work environment is to advance archival education, issues, and promote and add value to professional certification for its membership all while  providing a continuance of strengthening ACA’s online presence in a post corvid world.

As the pandemic created greater employment instability, certification is now more important than ever. It provides a standard by which employers select its employees and demonstrates value for those employed in the profession. I see ACA taking an increasingly active outreach role in promoting certification desirability to employers and recruiters with information supportive of the merit of hiring a certified archivist, online access to directories of certified members, ACA conducted case studies and statistics of certification benefits, and making non archivists aware of the requirements to obtain and maintain certification.