Posted ob behalf of Shaun Kirkpatrick
As of December 31, 2017, DVAG had 247 paid members, a record-high end-of-year attendance (surpassing the old record of 238 in 2013) and an increase of 12 over 2016.
We welcomed 43 new members in 2017. Of these, 29 signed up for one-year memberships while 14 opted to commit to DVAG for three years. Of the new members, 12 identified with some kind of educational institution and 11 with some kind of library (private or public), historical society, or research collection. A few came from a museum or other cultural site, a religious archives, or a vendor; the rest were unidentified.
DVAG hosted eight official member events in 2017 (not including spin-off initiatives such as Archives Month Philly, Digital Archivists of Philadelphia, or the ArchivesSpace Skill Share). A pop-up exhibit at Eastern State Penitentiary in April attracted an amazing 125 people, though this included ESP members and neighbors. The best-attended DVAG-led event was September’s 50th Anniversary of the Urban Archives program at Temple University, which drew an estimated 40-50 attendees.
In other membership news, the 2017 DVAG Membership Directory was the first to use the optional membership networking data collected since November 2016, with a series of indices. Also, in November 2017 the Planning Committee approved a modest membership dues increase (the first in over a decade) to $15 for a year and $40 for three years, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Looking ahead, at year’s end we already had 164 paid members for 2018. If yours is among those memberships coming due, remember to get your renewal in by March 15!
Delaware Valley Archivists Group 