Seeing the Past as a Guidepost to Our Future

The author reflects on the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Society of American Archivists by looking at its evolution, noting things which have changed for the better within SAA, and some things which have not. Forging a national identity and membership was not a steady, nor always consensual, process, but as an organization, the SAA reached a degree of maturity in the 1970s, only to be challenged by new developments in the 1980s and 1990s such as electronic records, certification and graduate education guidelines, and growing membership diversity which lead to the development of new sections and roundtables to serve new and varied interests. Challenges continue to lie ahead for the Society. However, if its fundamental components are sound, SAA should have the flexibility and determination to meet these challenges.