The 25th annual Western Archives Institute will be held at U.C. Berkeley in Berkeley, California, July 10 – 22, 2011.  The Western Archives Institute is an intensive, two-week program that provides integrated instruction in basic archival practices to individuals with a variety of backgrounds, including those whose jobs require a fundamental understanding of archival skills, but who have little or no previous archives education; those who have expanding responsibility for archival materials; those who are practicing archivists but have not received formal instruction; and those who demonstrate a commitment to an archival career.

The Institute also features site visits to historical records repositories and a diverse curriculum that includes history and development of the profession, theory and terminology, records management, appraisal, arrangement, description, manuscripts acquisition, archives and the law, photographs, preservation administration, reference and access, outreach programs, and managing archival programs and institutions.

Dr. David Gracy has graciously agreed to serve as Principal Faculty Member for the 2011 Institute.  Gracy is the Governor Bill Daniel Professor in Archival Enterprise, University of Texas at Austin School of Information.  Dr. Gracy worked in the Texas State Archives and University of Texas Archives before becoming Archivist, Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, and then Director, Texas State Archives. He is a former President of both the Society of American Archivists and the Academy of Certified Archivists, and a Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association. Dr. Gracy’s research interests include the history of archival enterprise, of archives and libraries in Texas, and of the information domain. He is the author of Archives and Manuscripts: Arrangement and Description; of The State Library and Archives of Texas: A History, 1835-1962, and of Moses Austin: His Life. This will be the fifth time Gracy has served as Principal Faculty Member of the Western Archives Institute.

Tuition for the Institute is $700 and includes a selection of archival publications. Other non-negotiable fees  including program transportation, facility fees, opening dinner, and luncheon at the closing program will be available in early February.  Housing and meal plans are available at additional cost.

The application deadline for the 2011 Western Archives Institute is April 1, 2011. For additional program information, see http://www.calarchivists.org/Default.aspx?pageId=704191, or contact:

Administrator
Western Archives Institute
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Telephone: 916/653-7715
Fax: 916/653-7134
E-mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

The Western Archives Institute is co-sponsored by the Society of California Archivists and the California State Archives.

The application package is available on the California State Archives web site at http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/wai/, and on the Society of California Archivists web site at http://www.calarchivists.org/Default.aspx?pageId=704191.