David Ferriero, 10th U.S. Archivist, will be opening speaker at symposium on archives and democracy
David S. Ferriero, 10th Archivist of the United States, will be the featured speaker at the opening of a two-day Yale Library symposium on “Democracy, Civic Education, and the American Archive.”
On Wed., April 8, from 4 to 6 p.m., Ferriero will be in conversation with Michelle Light, associate university librarian for Special Collections and director of the Beinecke Library. They will discuss the role of archives in upholding democratic principles and promoting civic literacy. The event will be held on the Beinecke Library Mezzanine and is free and open to the public.
The April 8–9 symposium is organized and sponsored by Beinecke Library in collaboration with the Society of American Archivists.
April 8: Opening conversation
Ferriero served as the head of the U.S. National Archives from Nov. 13, 2009, to April 30, 2022. During his tenure, he committed the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to the principles of open government, defined as transparency, participation, and collaboration.
At NARA, Ferriero initiated an organization transformation in 2010 to further the agency’s mission, meet the needs of its customers, and find new, creative ways to approach the agency’s work. Ferriero also created “citizen archivists,” a crowd-sourcing initiative to involve the public in identifying, describing, and sharing federal records. In 2013 he opened the agency’s Innovation Hub. Read more about Ferriero’s work at the National Archives.
April 9: Panel discussion
On Thurs., April 9, the second day of the symposium, Ferriero will join other experts and leaders in the field for round-table discussions of current issues facing archives. These events will take place in the Sterling Memorial Lecture Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
9:30 a.m.: Welcoming remarks by Associate University Librarian Michelle Light, director of Beinecke Library
10 to 11:30 a.m.: “The Precarious Position of Archives within Representative Democracies,” moderated by Dr. Joshua Cochran, curator of American History and Diplomacy at Beinecke Library
2 to 3:30 p.m.: “American Archives and a Blueprint for Civic Literacy,” moderated by Dr. Sarah Keyes, co-curator of Western Americana and Americana at Beinecke Library.
In addition to Ferriero, the panelists will be
- Brenda Gunn, President-Elect, Society of American Archivists, and Associate University Librarian for Archives and Special Collections at the University of Virginia
- Robert Horton, Former Assistant Director for Collections and Archives, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
- Kathleen Roe, Former Director of Archives and Records Management, New York State Archives
The April 9 discussions are free and open to the public, with pre-registration. Read more and register to attend. The panel discussions will be recorded and available for viewing online.
—Deborah Cannarella
