MARAC Finding Aids Award Committee

The Finding Aids Award Committee is a special committee. It was established by a vote of the membership at the Spring 1982 meeting.

Mission and Goals
The purpose of the Committee is to recognize outstanding achievement in the preparation of finding aids by institutions within the MARAC region or by MARAC members and to promote improvements in this area of archival work by drawing attention to characteristics of successful finding aids. It is the responsibility of the Committee to publicize the awards and to solicit entries from the membership. Awards are presented by the Committee Chair at the MARAC Spring Meeting.

Operations
The Committee consists of five members appointed by the MARAC Chair. Committee members shall serve two-year staggered terms and may be reappointed. The Conference Chair shall appoint the chair of the Finding Aids Award Committee who serves for one year. Meetings to discuss awards selections may be closed upon unanimous vote of the Committee. A committee member may not vote on a finding aid submitted by his or her institution.

The Committee reviews submissions once a year and makes the awards Decisions are by majority vote. If the Committee receives no more than three nominees in any given year, the Committee has the discretion to cancel the second and/or third place awards for that year and award only first place. If the Committee finds that none of the nominations for that year are worthy of an award, it has the right not to make any awards for that year.

If necessary, the Committee may request a budget for expenses from the Treasurer of the Steering Committee. This should be submitted by June 1 of each year.

Nominations must be made by a MARAC member and the finding aid must be issued by an institution in the MARAC region. Nominated finding aids must be available to the public in the calendar year preceding the Spring MARAC conference at which the awards are announced.

At the Spring 1998 meeting in Saratoga Springs, New York, the Steering Committee approved the Finding Aids Award Committee's recommendation to name the first place prize the Fredric M. Miller Finding Aid Award to honor the memory of Fred Miller, archivist and author, who died in 1998.

See a list of previous Finding Aid Award winners

Last revised August 2010

Members