Sigma Alpha Iota

Fall 2019 14 PAN PIPES HISTORY S ofía Becerra-Licha, an initiate of Gamma Eta Chapter at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA, is currently the Lead Archivist at the e John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Spanish from Agnes Scott College, a Master of Arts in Music (Ethnomusicology) from Harvard University, and a Master of Science in Library Science (Archives and Records Management) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sofia has also been affiliated with the Boston Alumnae Chapter. From my time as a Province Officer in Atlanta, and through varying degrees of Fraternity connections, I am acquainted with Sofia on social media. I had seen her updates and photos about her new position at the Kennedy Center, and I thought I would catch up with her to learn something about this unique and important career. She has graciously shared her thoughts for us here. What led to your interest in becoming an archivist? I came to archives aer completing a master's in ethnomusicology and realizing that a lot of what drew me to that field and my research area was the notion of helping preserve performative traditions and connecting scholarly communities. I went into library school specifically interested in music libraries and archives precisely because of the challenges sound recordings and other musical artifacts present within mainstream archival practice. I also eventually realized that I have a long-standing documentarian streak and really enjoy optimizing and organizing information in one way or another. It honestly took me a while to land on archives as a career, but all of my prior experiences have proved invaluable, especially since I've now exclusively worked positions where there's no institutional precedent. As such, I've leaned heavily on my interdisciplinary life experiences and training throughout. Where have you worked prior to the Kennedy Center and when did you start your current position? Before joining the Kennedy Center in late April of 2019, for 6.5 years I was the Archivist and then Associated Director of the Archives at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In that role, I was also the first archivist and led the effort to start their institutional archives and records management program. Prior to making the switch to archives, I taught and tutored in a variety of settings, including a stint as a high school Spanish teacher at Greensboro Day School in North Carolina. What happens in your day-to-day work at the Kennedy Center? A lot of my daily work to date has been administrative: when starting a brand-new Archives, there's a lot of ground to make up before you start delving into collections, exhibits, or other more public-facing activities. In addition to draing basic policies, workflows, and strategic planning, I've been charged with setting up a brand-new (to the Kennedy Center) workspace and hiring additional staff. While I've cursorily examined accumulated boxes and files as I go, most of my time has gone to things like ordering and assembling shelving, researching and writing staff descriptions, defining our initial mission and goals, hiring a Processing Archivist, and fielding basic internal research requests (as best I can). As the Archives advance, and the 50 th anniversary nears, I anticipate more of my time will be spent on supervision of processing, hopefully hiring an additional staff member, and planning for exhibits or other celebratory projects to share the Kennedy Center's history and legacy. In general, as an archivist, you can expect a mix of things, particularly if you're in a small shop where you wear multiple hats out of necessity. Depending on your role, a typical day might include some processing (reviewing, organizing, and describing physical and/or digital collections), some research assistance (in person or virtual), as well as special projects and requests. No two days are alike! ere are also a variety of specializations within the field, such as processing, outreach, digital, accessions archivist positions. No matter what, though, a good rule of thumb is to expect the unexpected on a daily basis. Are there special preservation techniques you must be knowledgeable in? Basic preservation knowledge is certainly one aspect of an archivists' training, but it's not the only consideration. e credential for professional archivists is a master's degree in information/ library science, with many programs now offering a specialization in archives (oen in conjunction with records management). Archival coursework Preserving History at the Kennedy Center Gamma Eta initiate Sofia Becerra-Licha

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