The SAA Council held a hybrid meeting in Chicago, IL, on February 17 and 19. Highlights and key actions from the meeting are as follows:
- The Council approved the Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards' full suite of Encoded Archival Standards, which will enter an ongoing review cycle. (0226-IV-B-TS-EAS)
- The Council discussed the Committee on Public Policy's proposal for the SAA legislative plan.
- The Council approved updates to the Awards Committee on standing rules, consolidating award categories and reducing committee appointments from 60 to 12 while retaining ex-officio representatives. (0226-IV-C-Awards-Doc 1) and (0226-IV-C-Awards-Doc 2)
- A revision to the Governance Manual was approved, requiring Section leadership candidates to be members in good standing at the time of ballot formation.
- The Council reviewed and recommended edits on a draft charge for a new component group on AI and archives; the revised draft will be circulated for approval. A special call for task force appointments will occur in March for the 2026–2027 term. (0226-IV-E-AI)
- The Council received an update on the America250 Task Force, including the planned early‑March launch of a profession‑wide documentation platform and an April 8–9 symposium at Yale University titled "Democracy, Civic Education, and the American Archive."
- The Council discussed the first draft of the SAA's 2026–2028 Strategic Plan. A revised draft will be submitted for approval to Council in March and shared with membership in a town hall date to be determined.
- The auditing firm presented the Council with the FY2024 management report and audited financial statements.
- The Council ratified the August 2025 Council Meeting minutes (0825-II-Minutes), with the correction to the list of guests.
- Council ratified the following interim actions taken by the Executive Committee between November 20, 2025, and January 31, 2026. (0226-II-B-ExecCmteInterim)
- The Council approved the component funding for the User Experience Section; Crisis, Disaster, and Tragedy Response Working Group; Labor Archives Section; and the International Archival Affairs Section.
Upcoming Council Meeting
The next Council meeting will be held May 11 and 13, 2026, from 1:00 PM–5:00 p.m. CT on both days. Click here to register for the meeting.
Document Submission Deadlines
To support adequate review time, materials for the May Council meeting are due April 6, 2026. Documents submitted after the deadline may be postponed to a future meeting or considered for an interim action. Submit documents to saagovernance@archivists.org.
For questions or concerns, reach out to the SAA Governance Team: saagovernance@archivists.org.
Additional inquiries may be directed to:
------------------------------
SAA Headquarters
Society of American Archivists
Chicago IL
saahq@archivists.org------------------------------