Governance / Archives Committee Meeting: September 2, 2026  

Archives Committee Meeting: September 2, 2026  

Zoom / Conference Call  

Members attending: Brandi Fialek (Harper College), Rebecca Fitzsimmons, co-chair (Illinois State University), Matt Gorzalski, (Southern Illinois University Carbondale), Melody Hauf-Belden (Principia College), Ashley Howdeshell (Northeastern Illinois University), Elaine Fetyko Page (Elmhurst University), Zachary Palitzsch (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Meghan Ryan, co-chair (National Louis University), Erin Zimmerman (Heartland Community College)  

Non-members attending: Bill Maneck

Members absent: None  

CARLI Staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage, Martin Kong  

Decisions  

  • June 8, 2026 meeting minutes were approved from the 2025-2026 Archives Committee Session.  
  • August 18, 2026 meeting minutes were approved from the Kickoff meeting for the 2026-2027 Archives Committee Session.  

Tasks Assigned  

  • Minutes taken by Brandi Fialek.  
  • Brandi, Matt, and Melody volunteered to continue periodic review and checks of the CARLI webpage during this term. The status of the webpage will be a standing agenda item for monthly meetings to discuss any updates or changes. 
  • Elizabeth and Martin will review the Archives and Special Collections Resources-Forms and Local Documentation section of the webpage and report back on the need for additional calls to update web accessibility versions of all submitted forms.  
  • Elaine volunteered to create a word-based template and add to the Archives and Special Collections Resources-Forms and Local Documentation section of website for use as a finding aid example.  
  • Elaine, Ashley, and Zach volunteered to start developing more introductory programming aids to archival discovery with low resources, staffing, and budget.  
  • Rebecca, Meghan, and Zach volunteered to revise previous programming based on “Developing an Archives: Embracing the Messiness of the Real World.” 
  • Rebecca and Matt are possible attendees at the CARLI Annual Meeting and will draft a proposal for table talk submission.  

Announcements  

  • Member Announcements:  
    • Ashley Howdeshell (Northeastern Illinois University): NEIU will be hiring a Business Librarian, position posting forthcoming.  
    • Rebecca Fitzsimmons (Illinois State University): The 50th Anniversary of the current Milner Library building will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2026.  
  • CARLI Announcements: 
    • CARLI’s annual meeting table talks do require proposals. Proposals will be due at the end of September 2026 with proposal acceptance by October 15, 2026.  
    • Preservation Committee has scheduled an "Ask a Preservation Expert," in November 2026.  

Discussion  

  • Committee reviewed attendance and relevance of the “Emotional Labor in Archives” webinar from Summer 2026. Members reported a positive response to the topic, noted its uniqueness. Recording is available through the CARLI website under Archives and Special Collections Resources- Presentations.  
  • Currently submitted and posted sample forms may require additional revision calls to provide alternate versions (Word) and removal of PDFs for web accessibility compliance.  
  • Discussion on the use of and creation of finding aids. Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) should be used as a formatting reference. The use of format support from a collection management system is available. The use of alternatives finding aid creation and discovery tools is necessary and training should be developed to support membership with this need.   
  • Committee open to offering “working sessions” as an alternative to previous "Ask an Archivist" sessions that were only minimally attended. Discussion will continue for specific dates for programming. Current targets audiences are introductory for Fall semester; intermediate and advanced audiences for Spring semester. 
  • Committee discussed program scheduling to address the upcoming WCAG April 2027 deadline for web accessibility compliance. Initial views are to remind membership of compliance requirements and an overview of new standards in Fall semester, with more advanced, tool specific programming offered in Spring. Dr. Lydia Tang, Lyrasis was suggested as a possible speaker.
  • Members are interested in reoffering programming like previous training on standing up an archive during the Fall semester.  
  • Proposal submission draft for a table talk topic at the CARLI annual meeting is needed ahead of end of September 2026 deadline.  
  • Questions on if Committee Member collection highlights should continue in the CARLI newsletter. Alternate option of distributing highlights to help build our email list. Submissions are due for the newsletter the Wednesday prior to the end of month of each month. The email list option is more flexible and the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) also has standing calls for collection highlights. The conversation will continue.

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines  

The Archives Committee will meet next on October, 7, 2026 at 10:00AM CST.  

Committee Meetings:  

August 18, 2026: Minutes taker – Melody Hauf-Belden  
September 02, 2026: Minutes taker – Brandi Fialek  
October 07, 2026: Minutes taker – Elaine Page  
November 04, 2026: Minutes taker – Matt Gorzalski  
December 02, 2026: Minutes taker – Ashley Howdeshell  
January 06, 2027: Minutes taker – Rebecca Fitzsimmons  
February 03, 2027: Minutes taker – Zachary Palitzsch  
March 03, 2027: Minutes taker – Meghan Ryan  
April 07, 2027: Minutes taker – Erin Zimmerman  
May 05, 2027: Minutes taker – TBD  
June 02, 2027: Minutes taker – TBD  

Deadlines: 

None