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Letter from Religious Archivists to Members of the Archival Community Regarding the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Cultural Heritage of Local CommunitiesSeptember 23, 2005 Members of the Archivists of Religious Collections Section join their Society of American Archivists colleagues in offering their deepest expression of concern to those whose lives have been altered and forever changed by Hurricane Katrina. As our thoughts turn to reconstructing our communities, we join our colleagues in the professional archival community in offering our assistance and support. We wish to express our special concern that efforts be undertaken to assist those civic groups, faith communities, and other non-profit organizations that do not have ready access to the resources and infrastructure of cultural preservation.We anxiously await the assessment of the situation by the archival team that has visited Mississippi. We understand that this assessment is limited by current conditions and appreciate the team's efforts under undoubtedly difficult circumstances. In spite of the overwhelming enormity of the devastation, we hope that the team will come back with a sense of what is needed most and provide us all with a starting point for future action. As ordinary citizens we feel for all our neighbors in the Gulf Coast region who have suffered the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. As archivists we are especially concerned with the recovery and care of irreplaceable archival collections. As religious archivists, we are particularly aware of the plight of archival materials found in churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions. These records of community life are particularly vulnerable as are the archives of other small, non-profit and voluntary organizations. Most of these religious and non-profit organizations do not have curatorial staff or a flow of resources to tap in times of distress. We are aware that in Mississippi alone over a dozen parish churches have been destroyed, and information on others is still unavailable. We are confronting the loss of numerous archives of local faith communities and civic organizations that are extremely important to the history and cultural fabric of the region. As members of the Archivists of Religious Collections Section, we write to express our gratitude for the leadership of local archivists in the Gulf region and ask that our governmental archivists, state historical associations, and SAA leadership give special attention, insofar as possible, to investigating the impact of the hurricane on the condition of smaller non-profit, voluntary, and religious organizations. We are prepared to offer our assistance and resources to these efforts as we continue to identify separately the needs of our constituencies. We also give thanks for the many ways that our profession has exercised leadership in responding quickly and thoughtfully to bring talent to bear on this tragedy and its aftermath. Signed by: Sr. Patricia Annas, SSJ, Archivist Cynthia A. Barnes, Archivist Merke Baroni, Archivist Veronica Barrientos-Carrillo, Archives Assistant Jane Behlmann, CSJ, Province Archivist Deacon William J. Bissenden Sr. Kathryn Callahan, CSC, Archivist Bridgid Clifford, SCN, Director Vickie L. Cravens OSU, Director of Archives and Museum Mary Joella Cunnane RSM, Archivist Mark J. Duffy, Director and Canonical Archivist Sr. Francisca Eiken, C.C.V.I., Archivist Susan Eason, Director Brian P. Fahey, Archivist Margaret Gardiner Margaret Gonsalves, Associate Archivist Brother Joseph Grabenstein, FSC, Archivist Loretta Zwolak Greene, CA Mary Rita Grady, CSJ, Ph.D. Archivist Shawna Gandy, Reference Archivist Sr. Therese Gregoire, O.Carm., Archivist Marjorie Hamilton, RGS Mary E. Herbert, C.A., Archives Assistant Deacon Gary Horton Judy Huenneke, Senior Researcher Lisa Jacobson, Archivist Jeffery O. Johnson, Senior Archivist Bridgette A. Kelly, Archivist & Records Manager David Kingma, Archivist Phyllis Kinnison, General Librarian Monte G. Kniffen, CA, Archivist Margaret Knoeber, ASC, Archivist Christine L. Krosel, Director of Archival Research Robert Johnson-Lally, Archivist/Records Manager Sharon P. Larade, Chief Archivist Alan J. Lefever, Director Mary Lauranne Lifka, Archivist Bro. Edward Loch, S.M., Archivist Sr. Mary Denis Maher, CSA, PhD, Archivist Sr. Catherine Markey, OSB, Archivist Lisa May, Archivist Malachy R. McCarthy, Ph.D. Maureen McGarrigle, RSM Patty McGarvey, Associate Archivist Rosemary Meiman, O.S.U., Archivist Audrey P. Newcomer, Director of Archives Sr. Michael Marie O'Brien L. Dale Patterson, Archivist and Records Administrator Margaret Phelan, RSCJ, General Archivist Ellen Pierce, Director Lucy Putnam, Archivist Julia E. Randle, Archivist Tracey A. Rasmer, M.A., Archivist Michelle Riggs, Assistant Archivist Sr. Josepha Schaeffer, OSF, Community Archivist Elizabeth B. Scott, Archivist Sr. Mary Serbacki, OSF, Archivist Therezon Sheerin, CSJ, Archivist Robert D. Shuster, Archivist Margery N. Sly, Deputy Executive Director Margaret B. Smith, Archival Assistant Marcia Stein, Archivist Sr. Marylu Stueber, Archivist Bill Sumners, Director and Archivist Naomi Taplin, Librarian Nancy J. Taylor, Records Archivist Stan Upchurch, Archivist Sister Hildegard Varga, OSB, Archivist Lori Vodden, Archivist Eric Waggoner, Archivist Jean Wassong Walsh, Diocesan Archivist Diane Wells, Archivist/Records Manager Wesley W. Wilson, Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections Elisabeth Wittman, Director for Archives/Chief Archivist Lynne F. Wohleber, Archivist Diana Yount, Associate Director Joan Zurhellen, Archivist
Loretta Zwolak Greene, CA SOCIETY
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