Professional Organizations

While learning about journals was a small step in becoming a better informed soon-to-be information professional there are still many other things I need to consider. There are listservs, blogs (of a higher caliber than this one, let's be real) and of course professional associations.

Before starting this program I had never given a second thought to the organizations that must be at work within the library profession. Deep down I know I shouldn't be shocked by their number and variety but at times looking through lists of these organizations can feel a bit overwhelming.
Since I'm doing this for myself I decided to start by looking at the groups that deal most with archives and digital information than general public libraries.

The first organization I looked at is the Society of American Archives. They were responsible for one of the journals I wrote about for my last post so I felt like I had more of a background while clicking around their website. I'd become interested with them back at orientation and have unfortunately been unable to fit their meetings into my schedule as of yet.  

Their mission statement reads

SAA promotes the values and diversity of archives and archivists. We are the preeminent source of professional resources and the principal communication hub for American archivist.

Their core values, which include fostering creativity and providing an open collaboration platform, left me excited to continue on my MLIS journey.
I was also happy to find that SAA has a mentor program that has been going strong for 20 years and sounds incredibly beneficial.

They also publish American Archivist, which I've been salivating over since my last post, as well as having a yearly conference. 

While on the SAA site I  came across another list of more archival associations. The one that stood out most to me was the Association of Moving Image Archivists. My BA is in Film and I was so glad to see an organization centered around those preserving motion pictures.

Their mission statement follows a similar patter as SAA.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) is a nonprofit
international association dedicated to the preservation and use of moving
image media. AMIA supports public and professional education and
fosters cooperation and communication among the individuals and
organizations concerned with the acquisition, preservation, description,
exhibition, and use of moving image materials.

 AMIA is responsible for publishing The Moving Image, which I actually came across a few times during my undergrad years. I was also pleased to see that their yearly conferences venture outside of their home base in California.

Their website also provides information about internships and scholarships.

So after a lot of browsing, list looking, and link clinking I feel more informed about professional organizations. They range from specific interests to overall geographic location and it really does feel like there is one for every aspiring LIS professional.