Submission GuidelinesThe Committee accepts submissions or nominations for finding aids for the Frederic M. Miller Finding Aid Award. 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 and/or second 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. 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. EligibilityThe Frederic M. Miller 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 be first made available to the public during the year in which they are nominated. Reprocessed collections with significant revisions related to reparative description or complete reprocessing of legacy collections are also eligible. To be eligible for the award, the finding aid must have been published within the last year (between January 1 and December 31). EvaluationSuccessful 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. Visit Characteristics of Successful Finding Aids to learn more about evaluation criteria. AwardsUp to three awards may be given, totaling $500. Awards are to be announced annually at the Spring Conference. Submission of entriesThe Finding Aids Award Committee invites nominations for the Frederic M. Miller Finding Aid Award for finding aids published within the calendar year by December 31, 2025. Submissions should be sent via e-mail to both co-chairs of the Finding Aids Award Committee. Each submission should include the URL and a one-to-two page nomination letter (not to exceed 500 words) that addresses the finding aid's exceptional qualities and/or discusses elements not readily apparent from examination of the finding aid itself. For submissions of finding aids for completely reprocessed collections, the nomination letter should also include description about reprocessing rationale and a description of changes made if a previous iteration of the finding aid cannot be linked to or attached. Submissions to the Finding Aids Committee for the Frederic M. Miller Finding Aid Award should be sent to: For further information on the award see the Finding Aids Award Committee. Award WinnersThe MARAC Finding Aid Awards were first given in 1984 for the best finding aids of 1983. Arthur Breton of the Archives of American Art was chair of the first Finding Aid Awards Committee and has been credited as the creator of the awards. Until the 1993 awards, awards were given for the best finding aid in various categories. Beginning in 1993, first, second, and third place awards were given, irrespective of category. Awards initially were in the form of certificates only, but monetary awards are now also given).
2024 2023 2nd Place: Em Longan for the Benjamin McLaurin papers at The New York Public Library 3rd Place: Dustin Frohlich for the Shipley-Bringhurst-Hargraves family papers at Special Collections and Museums of the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press 2022 2nd Place: Georgetown University for the Archives of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus 2021 2020 For the complete list of Fredric M. Miller Finding Aid Award recipients, visit MARAC Master List of Achievement and Service Award Winners. Use tabs at the bottom of the workbook to navigate between awards. Last updated November 2025 |
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