The Society of American Archivists has honored Alejandra Hutchison for her work preserving the history of Union Adventist University. She has received the SAA Foundation Award this year, which includes grant funding to attend the society’s annual conference.
“We are honored to award travel grants to these deserving individuals who are making significant contributions to the archival community,” said Jessica Chapel, chair of the SAA Foundation Annual Meeting committee. “The SAA Foundation takes great pride in supporting their continued professional development.”
A 2012 international studies graduate, Hutchison returned to Union as a reference and instruction librarian in the summer of 2023. Due to a series of staffing changes and shortages, the work of cataloguing and conserving had taken a back seat for more than five years. When Hutchison saw the state of the archives, she took the initiative to add them as an additional item to her already dense workload. “Those archives hadn’t received the care and attention they needed,” said Julie Bocock-Bliss, the library director. “She just jumped in and took on that task.”
Working with archives has always been an interest for Hutchison. During the time spent earning her master’s degree in library and information science and another in art history, she often worked with various archival papers and materials. Although she hasn’t yet attained her certification as an archivist, she plans to do just that with a couple more classes.
The Society of American Archivists is a professional association geared towards offering networking opportunities, certificates, and classes for archivists of all kinds. As a solo archivist, Hutchison has found it especially beneficial to be a part of this community. Through its network, she has connected with other solo archivists whose input, expertise and experience she is able to learn from.
While attending the conference this month, Hutchison realized all archivists are essentially dealing with the same thing: a backlog of items that haven’t been cataloged. For many archivists, this struggle comes from both the constant and abundant flow of content and the very common occurrence of underfunding and understaffing in institutions and organizations.
Despite the overwhelming responsibility and work load that comes with being an archivist, Hutchison identified a key message from the conference that inspires her to continue the work: not only is archival work necessary for preserving history, it is an opportunity to connect with people across time. This proves true for Hutchison as she has been able to see humanity in different time periods through letters, journals and articles housed in Union’s archives. “We’ve all been dealing with very similar things, even a hundred years ago,” Hutchison said with a grounded glow.
Hutchison’s passion for and dedication to her profession shines through in her work. Being an archivist at Union Adventist University is a privilege Hutchison wants to share. She said her goal is to make the preservation of history a priority at Union, and she hopes to get involved with classes that would benefit from her experience in the archives and access to primary sources.
If you’re interested in learning more about the archives at Union and how your donations can make an impact, contact archives@uau.edu
by Shanti Slater, senior English major