For her contributions in cultural competency to the archival and records profession, Archivist Helen Wong Smith has been recognized by the (CoSA) with the President’s Award of Excellence. Wong Smith received the award in September. The recognition is not open for nominations and is given at the discretion of the CoSA president.
CoSA is a nonprofit membership organization providing leadership and support for state and territorial government archives in 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia. While not a member herself, Wong Smith was invited by CoSA to present a , followed by an , and included her in an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project to provide training and mentoring support for its members.
“To receive the President?s Award of Excellence from an organization I am not a member of is an unexpected honor and reflects the applicability of the cultural competency framework in our society,” said Wong Smith. “There are a myriad of opportunities to integrate cultural competency awareness and training which can have immediate effects and hopefully influence policy and procedures.”
Assistance with CoSA grant
CoSA Immediate Past President W. Eric Emerson applauded Smith for her extraordinary contributions to the IMLS grant, BACKER (Building Archival Capacity for Keeping Electronic Records), and its integral emphasis on ensuring that cultural competency and awareness are part of building useful and responsive digital repositories and electronic records programs.
“Helen’s unmatched expertise in cultural competency and thoughtful guidance has been so helpful to CoSA members during the first year of the grant, and we look forward to her continued contribution to CoSA’s cultural competency emphasis,“ Emerson said. “We know that the work she is doing with us over this three-year grant will have a lasting impact on state and territorial archives far into the future, on our collections, our users and our workforce.”
Wong Smith led a survey project to assess nationwide cultural competency in state archives, which resulted in a vital report, . The report will help guide CoSA’s effort in assisting state and territorial archives reach greater cultural competency. In addition, she used the results of the report and created and offered a series of cultural competency workshops, followed by hosting monthly discussion groups.
Wong Smith has served as archivist for University Records since 2018. She earned her bachelor’s degree in and a master’s in library and information science from 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补. She currently serves as vice-president/president-elect of the , the oldest and largest national organization of professional archivists in North America, and is the first person from Hawaiʻi to hold this position. For more than 35 years, she has highlighted Hawaiian collections through research and presentations and has written extensively on Hawaiian cultural resources.