Christina Zamon to Be Inducted as Fellow of the Society of American Archivists
CHICAGO—Christina Zamon, head of Special Collections and Archives at Georgia State University, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) on August 15 during an awards ceremony at the Annual Meeting of SAA in Chicago, IL. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.
An experienced archival practitioner who has held many roles—including solo archivist, department head, educator, fundraiser, author, and mentor—Zamon earned her MA and MLIS from the University of Maryland. She became a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists in 2005. In 2013, she became one of the first Digital Archives Specialists through SAA.
Alongside these qualifications, Zamon has spent more than twenty years as a professional archivist, serving in increasingly challenging positions. She began as a solo archivist at the National Press Club (NPC) in Washington, DC. In this role, she helped establish the archives as an institution adhering to best practices as defined by SAA and other professional organizations. She was instrumental in finding and acquiring a suitable space to house the NPC’s archival records. Following her tenure at NPC, Zamon took on the role of head of Archives and Special Collections at Emerson College in Boston, where she supervised the work of two full-time staff members as well as student workers and interns. Her work on the American Comedy Archives was pivotal in the establishment of Emerson’s new Comedic Arts Major and Comedy Center. Since 2016, Zamon has led the Special Collections and Archives (SCA) team at Georgia State University. Most recently, Zamon successfully sought and acquired nearly $350,000 in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a new 9,800 sq. ft. media preservation facility, which will significantly improve the library’s ability to preserve fragile formats. In the past five years, Zamon has helped to secure over $1 million in grant funds for the department, increasing accessibility and preservation of important cultural heritage records.
Zamon is also a published author. In 2012, she wrote The Lone Arranger: Succeeding in a Small Repository, published by SAA. Created to help archivists working in small, underfunded repositories succeed, the book has been used to build and sustain varied archival programs across the country, thus making it one of SAA’s most impactful publications. Zamon followed up the success and popularity of “The Lone Arranger” with a completely revised, expanded, and retitled version. Alone in the Stacks: Succeeding as a Solo Archivist was released in May 2024.
Since joining SAA in 2001, Zamon helped formalize the Lone Arrangers Section, now the Solo Archivists Section. Additionally, she has served as the College and University Archives Section’s vice-chair, as well as chair and co-chair/chair of the Awards Committee. In these roles, she ensured the section handled the “Campus Case Studies” peer review process. More recently, Zamon has served on the steering committee and is currently the co-chair/chair of the Archives Management Section. In the past, she founded the Boston Area Archives and Records Consortium, bringing together archivists to support and share resources. She is also an active member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and has served in a variety of capacities with the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA). Zamon served as the president of SGA in 2023. During her term, she helped move their strategic plan forward and restructured the organization to improve efficiency.
Her initiative, resourcefulness, commitment, and service to the field and SAA is best described by one supporter who wrote, “Christina is an absolute powerhouse who gives her all for this amazing profession.” Another added: “It would be easy to list Christina’s many professional accomplishments, but it would not do justice to the outstanding and long-lasting impacts that Christina continues to make on the archives profession.”
Zamon is one of seven new Fellows named in 2024. There are currently 198 Fellows of the Society of American Archivists.
Find the press release here: https://www2.archivists.org/recipients/2024/fellow-christina-zamon