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Memory Rising: December 2024
In this month’s edition:
- Memory Rising Top 5 for 2024
- CLIR Climate Resiliency Action Series
- What’s your favorite newsletter platform?
- SAA Member? Consider volunteering for an appointed role
- Upcoming Grant Deadlines
- This Month’s Recommendations
Here in the Ohio Valley, we are doing our normal late fall yo-yo between some light snow dusting to weather so mild you can enjoy a walk outside without a coat. I have a theory that people born in chilly places during chilly times of year have a deep soft spot for winter (I was born in northern Ohio in late December). In some ways, winter is my favorite time of year to go for walks. You can get a much better sense of the lay of the land when the trees have lost their leaves.
Climate change is disrupting winter [snow patterns](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-a-warming-climate-can-bring-bigger-snowstorms/) in some unexpected ways, and so I cherish each snow fall that still feels relatively normal (including waking up this morning to find about one inch of snow covering our backyard). The chill is coming, but so too, in a few weeks, is increasing daylight once we find ourselves on the other side of winter solstice. Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful holiday season.
-Eira
(North End Park ice skating, Steubenville, Ohio, 1937. Photo created by the Federal Writer’s Project and preserved by the [Ohio History Connection](https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll34/id/10238). Newsletter content assistance provided by [Jess Farrell](https://facilitator-jess.github.io/RedstartWorks/about/).)
# Memory Rising Top 5 for 2024
It’s time for the obligatory end-of-year wrap! According to my subscriber reports, Memory Rising newsletter readers loved these resources the most in 2024:
☠️ [Is it Eligible for Destruction?](https://www.in.gov/iara/services-for-government/workshops-and-training/eligiblefordestruction/)
State archives do critical work to sustain historical records. Thanks to the Indiana Archives and Records Administration for sharing a fun game about Indiana records retention with the world for us to enjoy!
💾 [Environmental Impact and Digital Preservation](https://www.dpconline.org/docs/dpc-technology-watch-publications/technology-watch-guidance-notes/3130-environmental-impact-and-digital-preservation/file)
I wrote this brief and accessible starting point for thinking about the environmental impact of digital preservation for the Digital Preservation Coalition’s [Technology Watch](https://www.dpconline.org/digipres/discover-good-practice/tech-watch-reports) Guidance Note series. I’m looking forward to more conversations about the environmental impact of digital archives as this research area grows across the field.
🧑🏼🎓 [Archives and Climate Change](https://www.calrbs.org/program/courses/archives-and-climate-change/)
I’ve taught this California Rare Book School twice now. Stay tuned to this newsletter or [subscribe to the CalRBS newsletter](https://stats.sender.net/forms/bYQqOb/view) to get notice if/when registration opens again.
💚 [A Green New Deal for Archives](https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/a-green-new-deal-for-archives/)
This 2023 publication got a well-deserved bump when I [won the Society of American Archivists’ Waldo Gifford Leland Award](https://www2.archivists.org/recipients/2024/waldo-gifford-leland-award-eira-tansey)! I am so thankful, validated, and proud to receive this meaningful award. The publication continues to gain interest and inspire action, so I am excited to see what else it brings in the coming years.
📚 [Research Project on Climate Change and Archives: Final Report for Mellon Foundation, Public Knowledge program](https://memoryrising.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/MellonFoundation-MemoryRising_ArchivesClimateChange_PublicFinalReport_2024-10-12.pdf)
This report is the culmination of an eighteen-month research project (May 2023-October 2024) with the Public Knowledge program of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to examine the impacts of climate change on archives. It contains Memory Rising’s short-term and long-term recommendations informed by the research, along with summaries of the major findings from each research phase.
# CLIR Climate Resiliency Action Series
On March 23, 2025, I’m speaking at the “Place-Based Planning” session of the CLIR Climate Resiliency Action series, a new community of practice around issues of climate change in libraries and cultural heritage institutions. The free series includes six sessions with opportunities to discuss in community with other attendees after each session. [Visit the website](https://climate-resiliency.clir.org/) to learn more or sign up.
# What’s your favorite newsletter platform?
I’m exploring other newsletter services for the Memory Rising newsletter. If you have feedback on non-MailChimp platforms you use, and have a moment to help me out, [please reach out](mailto:[email protected]?subject=Newsletter%20platform%20recs&body=) and send me your insights!
# SAA Member? Consider volunteering for an appointed role!
Are you a member of the Society of American Archivists? I’d like to strongly encourage you to nominate yourself for one of the dozens of appointed roles that help with the vital work of North America’s largest professional association of archivists. I am the SAA Council liaison for the forthcoming [Archival Worker Labor Task Force](https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section8/groups/archival-worker-labor-task-force), which has several seats that will be appointed in this process by SAA’s Vice President and the [Appointments Committee](https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section7/groups/Appointments). Applications are [due by December 15.](https://www2.archivists.org/news/2024/be-the-change-call-for-saa-leader-self-nominations)
# Upcoming Grant Deadlines
Thinking about applying for a climate-change related grant? I am here to support your planning, assessment, strategy, and research needs. Check out these upcoming opportunities and reach out if you’d like to work with me!
[The Society of American Archivists (SAA) Foundation Catalyst Grant program](https://www2.archivists.org/groups/saa-foundation-board-of-directors/saa-foundation-catalyst-grant-program-application-process-and-guidelines) provides funding to support complex archives projects. **Due January 31.**
[The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections](https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/sustaining-cultural-heritage-collections) grants fund reducing energy usage, improving infrastructure resilience for collections, and developing preservation studies or plans. **Due January 10.**
# This Month’s Recommendations
✍🏽 [Plain Language.gov](https://www.plainlanguage.gov/) (web resource) - Did you know there is a plain language movement with the goal of making information more easily understandable for general audiences by avoiding jargon, technical language, or needlessly long language? I’m a fan! Learn more about plain language guidelines from this government website.
⚒️ [Memory Work](https://thomaspadilla.substack.com/) (newsletter) - My colleague Thomas Padilla recently started a new substack called Memory Work that has some great posts about cultural memory.
⚓ [Point Nemo, the Most Remote Place on Earth](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/point-nemo-most-remote-place/679947/?gift=bqr2dzOpYshwQzrSqIWr5QloPb8J2avxndDzmBDSOj4) (article) - We often forget just how vast, weird, and unknowable the ocean is. I loved this article on the most remote point in the ocean, and how very difficult it is to go there.
🤑 [Enough Wealth to Warp the Universe](https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/enough-wealth-to-warp-the-universe) (article) - I’m a long-time fan of labor journalist Hamilton Nolan. There aren’t many writers who I deeply envy for their energy and voice, but Hamilton is among the few where I read his work and think “I wish I could write like that.” His post-election take on the obscene levels of Elon Musk’s wealth is worth a read, and puts into perspective just how much money $348 billion represents (“The City of New York’s total budget for fiscal year 2025 is $112 billion. Elon Musk could pay the entire New York City budget for three years, and still have an eleven-figure net worth.”).
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