Jennifer Brcka, Interim Team Lead, Archival Collections and Management in the University Archives, has been appointed to the Society of American Archivists (SSA) Standards Committee.

“Jennifer Brcka is an outstanding archivist, and her appointment to the Standards Committee testifies to the level of her expertise and her growing reputation as an authority in the field,” said Margaret Meserve, Interim Edward H. Arnold Dean of Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press. “I’m thrilled that she’s been offered this important opportunity, and I know that our work here in the Hesburgh Libraries will be enriched and improved by this experience.”

In her new role, appointed by the President of SAA, Brcka will work to review and develop updated archival standards. The committee's work will inform archival practices for the field on metadata, ethics, education, administration and more. In addition to creating guidelines, she will work to help educate professionals about the importance of standards and partner with related organizations. 

“Standards guide members of our field to work from a shared set of principles,” Brcka said. “They ensure that archival practices are normalized and equitable and that data we manage contains agreed-upon, interoperable elements. They also provide a framework for repositories to implement or revise local practices using national guidelines crafted to promote the interests of user communities, archives, and archives workers.”

Brcka has spent her career communicating and interpreting standards. At the Hesburgh Libraries, she works to set local archival metadata policy and strategy as well as train other archivists.

In addition, Brcka cataloges manuscripts, contributes to the Library of Congress name authority records, and helps manage Notre Dame's archival content management system.

“I have always found the problem-solving inherent in interpreting and implementing standards to be challenging and enjoyable,” Brcka said. “I am honored for this appointment and look forward to collaborating with and learning from talented practitioners from across the field in order to explore this work in a new light.”