Dan Cavanaugh

Dan Cavanaugh is the Acting Head of Historical Collections and Services at the University of Virginia’s Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. His primary responsibilities include collection development, outreach, department management, systems development, and relationship-building with collaborators and stakeholders. He is interested in the adoption of new approaches and technologies to facilitate the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of archival collections. Dan has a BA in Archaeology from the University of Evansville, an MA in History from the University of Massachusetts, and an M.S. in Library and Information Studies from Drexel University.

Laura Christiansen

Laura Christiansen is the Curator of Manuscripts and Archives at the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, VA.  She oversees collections management, processing, access and outreach for manuscripts, archive, artifact, and audio-visual collections as well as for the records of the Town of Leesburg.  Laura is interested in finding new ways to increase access to collections in small repositories with limited resources.  She holds B.A. degrees in History and Art History from Berry College, and an MA in Public History and MLIS. from the University of South Carolina.

Kira A. Dietz, Chair

Kira A. Dietz is the Acquisitions and Processing Archivist for Special Collections at Virginia Tech. Her major responsibilities include working with donors and dealers to acquire new materials, managing acquisition and accessioning workflows, overseeing processing and description of collections, corralling the backlog, and assisting with reference, instruction, and outreach. She is also the unofficial “go-to” person for the food history materials in Special Collections, which has led her to a professional and personal interest in the history of cocktails, and she enjoys tinkering with social media as an outreach tool. Kira is an active member of MARAC, SAA, VLA (the Virginia Library Association) and has a BA in English from the University of Delaware, an MA in English from the University of Tennessee, and an MLS from the University of Maryland.

Kate Morris

Kate Morris is the Special Collections Research & Technical Services Librarian at James Madison University. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing collections processing, managing projects for students and interns, promoting collections and activities through social media outreach, assisting researchers, and providing instruction. Kate is a member of SAA and MARAC, and currently serves as the Virginia Caucus chair for MARAC. She holds a BA in English from James Madison University and an MS in Information Science from the State University of New York at Albany.