Strategic Plan for 2018-2023

Download the Strategic Plan as a PDF

Mission

To provide affordable archival education, encourage diversity and inclusion in the profession, foster collegiality among archivists, and support archival advocacy throughout the MARAC region.

Vision Statement

MARAC engages all archivists in our region via an affordable and innovative educational program of conferences, workshops, mentoring, and publications.

Core Values

MARAC operates under these values:

High quality, affordable, and accessible archival education is key to ensuring the viability of archives and supporting the work of archivists.
The value of professional education requires us to support graduate students and new professionals via financial scholarships.
Diversity and inclusion are essential to ensure a professional community responsive to the needs of all people.
Professional standards, practices, and ethics are key to ensuring archivists support access to collections for all users.
Collegiality among archivists, as well as with our researchers and other interested professionals, allows us to achieve more than we can achieve alone.
Promoting the preservation, use, and professional management of archival collections and repositories in our region enhances the value of archives for all people.
The leadership maintains transparency of governance by communicating with the membership.

Objectives

Between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2023, MARAC will pursue the following strategic objectives:

1. Members will benefit from MARAC's dedication to diversity, affordability, collegiality, and professionalism.

Identify new ways to increase membership and ensure MARAC is diverse professional community.

By July 1, 2019: Membership Committee

Identify ways for caucuses to increase more diverse engagement.

By July 1, 2019: Steering Committee and Caucuses

Implement new ways to increase membership and ensure MARAC is diverse professional community.

By July 1, 2020: Membership Committee

Implement ways for Caucuses to increase more diverse engagement.

By July 1, 2020: Steering Committee and Caucuses

Identify and implement ways to procure more corporate sponsorships to maintain MARAC’s affordability.

By July 1, 2020: Development Coordinator, Vendor Coordinator, and Advertising Editor

Continually explore, identify, and implement cost-saving measures to further maintain MARAC’s affordability.

Ongoing: Finance Committee and Steering Committee

Increase and encourage active engagement of the membership in the organization.

Ongoing: Communications Committee and Caucuses

Enhance and demonstrate the professionalism of members by increasing contributions of practical and scholarly content to the MAA and technical leaflets.

Ongoing: Communications Committee

2. Archivists and other archival professionals who live or work in the MARAC region will have educational opportunities available to advance their skills and their knowledge of current archival best practices.

Launch and implement a mentoring program, and assign a member of the Membership Committee to coordinate this initiative.

By October 11, 2018: Membership Committee

Highlight access to as well as support increased submissions of MARAC content within the Digital Repository of the University of Maryland (DRUM) by members and other interested parties.

By January 1, 2019: Communications Committee and Web Team

Survey and assess the last five years of workshops to provide data on optimal number, timing, and topics of workshops.

By January 1, 2019: Education Committee

Determine the technological and financial feasibility of recording or streaming conference sessions, with an emphasis on the plenary and business meeting.

By April 11, 2019: Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Meetings Coordinating Committee and Web Team

Identify and contact allied professional organizations for reciprocal educational collaborations and implement with interested parties.

By July 1, 2019: Caucuses, Communications Committee, and Education Committee

Explore and report on the feasibility of creating and managing a Mid-Atlantic Archives Institute.

By the fall 2019 meeting: Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Education Committee, and Meetings Coordinating Committee

Explore the technological feasibility of supporting remote attendance to workshops.

By July 1, 2020: Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Education Committee, and Web Team

3. MARAC will increase our commitment to and investment in diversity and inclusion.

Report quarterly to membership on diversity and inclusion activities.

Beginning with the fall 2018 meeting: Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Create an action plan based on the feedback from the November 2017 Town Hall on Diversity & Inclusion, as well as the recommendations from the 2017 Report of the Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion.

By July 1, 2019: Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Devise and implement a code of conduct.

By July 1, 2019: Meetings Coordinating, Education, and Diversity & Inclusion Committees

Ensure ADA compliance at MARAC meetings, workshops, and related events.

By July 1, 2020: Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Increase awareness of MARAC at historically black colleges and universities throughout the region.

By July 1, 2020: Diversity & Inclusion Committee in collaboration with Membership Committee and Caucuses

Increase awareness of MARAC with religious community and other local community archives throughout the region.

By July 1, 2020: Diversity & Inclusion Committee in collaboration with Membership Committee and Caucuses

Create, document, and implement new ways to foster diversity and inclusion in MARAC through public programming, new workshops, membership recruitment, and community outreach.

By July 1, 2022: Diversity & Inclusion Committee in collaboration with relevant standing committees and Caucuses

4. MARAC will raise awareness of archives, archival work, and the archival profession.

Develop a system of support for caucuses in local advocacy efforts.

By October 11, 2018: Steering Committee

Increase outreach to archives, library, and information science graduate programs in the region.

By April 11, 2019: Membership Committee and Caucuses

Expand our scholarship offerings.

By July 1, 2019: Awards Committee and Development Coordinator

Identify and implement new ways to participate in National History Day, Archives Week and Month, and other relevant outreach initiatives.

By July 1, 2019: Communications Committee and Caucuses

Increase fundraising in support of these initiatives.

By the fall 2020 meeting: Development Coordinator

Maintain archival education as a fiscal priority.

Ongoing: Finance Committee

Support disaster assistance efforts relating to archives within the MARAC region.

As needed: Ad Hoc Committee on Disaster Relief

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