As part of Utah’s Public Service Recognition Week, we want to honor the men and women of the Utah State Archives and Records Service who work to ensure the management and preservation of and access to our governmental records.
The Archives and Patron Services section of the State Archives is tasked with ensuring that the permanent records of state government are preserved and accessible to the public. To meet this critical mandate, the section has developed several different programs that are administered by a group of extremely talented and committed archivists.
Rae Gifford has been with the State Archives since 2015, and currently serves as the administrator of the State Archives Outreach and Advocacy Program. In this role, Rae oversees the coordination of outreach efforts for our entire institution, including the planning of events such as Utah Archives Month (held annually in October). In addition to this important work, Rae also processes and preserves the records of government, and assists patrons in the Research Center.
Curt Kelley has been with the State Archives since 2016. In his time at the State Archives Curt has spent time processing records and working on a variety of projects in the State Archives permanent repository. This includes conducting a complete inventory of
the repository space (containing over 47,000 individual items!), as well as overseeing a project that has resulted in over 1000 non-permanent boxes being identified and removed from the permanent collection (and returned to the State Records Center in Clearfield).
Susan Mumford has been with the State Archives since 2006, and currently serves as the administrator of the State Archives Volunteer and Intern Program. In this role, Susan manages a program that actively recruits volunteers and interns who, in turn, provide invaluable assistance to our institution through their work on a wide variety of processing and indexing projects. Volunteers work with members of the Archives staff who mentor them on the professional duties and expectations that come with being an archivist. Many members of our staff are former volunteers or interns who “graduated” from the program!
Gina Strack has been with the State Archives since 2002 and currently serves as the administrator of the State Archives Digital Archives Program. In this role, Gina is responsible for the ongoing coordination and management of digitization projects that result in collections being put online. Thanks to her efforts, the State Archives now has over 1 million digital images available for 24/7 access. In addition to this important work, Gina serves on our Web Committee, which is tasked with maintaining the State Archives website. Gina also serves on committees tasked with continually improving the description and access to the wide variety of records held in the State Archives permanent collection.
Rod Swaner has been with the State Archives since 2005 and currently performs a wide variety of tasks associated with the preservation of permanent government records held in the State Archives permanent collection. This includes processing paper records as well as assisting with digitization projects and initiatives. In addition to this important archival work, Rod also helps oversee the preservation of digital assets created and managed by the State Archives.
Thanks to the talents and commitment of these archivists, the State Archives is able to successfully meet its important role as steward of the permanent records repository for Utah government. Please join us throughout the week as we post additional blogs (both here and on our Records Keeper blog) celebrating the hard work and dedication of State Archives staff as part of Public Service Recognition Week.
