UW AHC Hires Project Archivist to Assist Wyoming Libraries, Museums

The University of Wyoming American Heritage Center (AHC) recently hired a project archivist focused on a collaborative effort among the AHC, the Wyoming State Archives and the Wyoming State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB).

The position is funded through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The one-year grant award funds a part-time archivist to build an information network for records stewards from Wyoming’s libraries, museums and archives to foster discussions on preserving and providing access to cultural heritage resources in the state. The project’s first phase includes identifying and conducting a needs survey of Wyoming’s smaller repositories that house archival materials and creating an online directory from these survey contacts.

Jordan Meyerl has been hired to conduct the first phase of the project. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Arcadia University and a master’s degree in history -- in the archives track -- from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She is currently an archives cataloger with Historic New England. Meyerl previously worked as a business systems analyst at Harvard Business School’s Baker Library and as a clinical documentation specialist with Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

“I am passionate about collaborating with smaller institutions to ensure they have the appropriate resources to preserve and make accessible the cultural heritage resources in Wyoming,” Meyerl says. “I am incredibly lucky to be part of the early stages of this project and look forward to seeing its evolution and growth over the course of this year.”

Based on Meyerl’s work, a follow-up grant proposal to the NHPRC will be written to establish a traveling archivist program in Wyoming. The overall objective is to create a program that provides much-needed support to Wyoming’s smaller historical societies and museums, as well as to public libraries with local history manuscript collections.

For more information, call AHC Simpson Archivist Leslie Waggener at (307) 766-2557 or email lwaggen2@uwyo.edu; or call Sara Davis, SHRAB coordinator and Wyoming State Archivist, at (307) 777-8691 or email sara.davis@wyo.gov.

About UW’s American Heritage Center

The AHC is UW’s manuscripts repository, rare books library and university archives. Officially established in 1945, the center now holds more than 90,000 cubic feet of historic documents and artifacts in more than 3,500 collections -- placing the AHC among the largest nongovernmental archives in the nation. Students and scholars from around the world use these collections for research.

About the Wyoming State Historical Records Advisory Board

The Wyoming SHRAB promotes the identification, preservation and dissemination of the state’s historical records by encouraging and supporting ongoing training programs for state, tribal and local governments; local repositories; organizations; and others involved in records care in Wyoming. Grants are made available through the Wyoming SHRAB by the NHPRC. The program is administered by the Wyoming State Archives, which is part of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.