Six participants from the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN) were among the 65 who gathered on September 20-23 for the first online gathering of the International Society of Lasallian Archivists (SILA). The event was hosted by the Lasallian Research and Resources service at the Generalate in Rome, which is led by Brother George Van Grieken, FSC (District of San Francisco New Orleans).
“For me, this online gathering left a strong impression of three things: 1) the treasure house that well-run archives are for an organization, 2) the professional approach taken by established archives according to a group’s growing appreciation of their importance, and 3) the radically uneven capacity for running or starting an archives in underfunded sectors of a worldwide organization,” shared Brother George.
Attendees for the virtual event included Lasallian archivists, librarians and museum directors from all over the world, including Brother Joseph Grabenstein, FSC (District of Eastern North America), Nancy Lavoie (District of Francophone Canada), Alex Palma (District of Eastern North America), Amy Surak (RELAN, District of Eastern North America, Midwest District) and Jennifer Sturm (District of San Francisco New Orleans.)
“Our first meeting in 2019 was primarily to get to know one another and learn about everyone’s different situations,” explained Sturm. “This year’s meeting felt more focused, with training and resources tailored for the individual language groups. I left the conference feeling like we launched a great path to moving forward with our collaboration and a plan for further training and resources for everyone.”