LYRASIS would like to congratulate all of the archivists earning Digital Archives Specialist Certificates including our own Digital Services Consultant, Leigh Grinstead! 
CHICAGO—Forty-Five archivists earned the Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) after completing required coursework and passing a comprehensive examination in August. SAA’s DAS certificate program was developed by experts in the field of digital archives and provides archivists with the information and tools needed to manage the demands of born-digital records.
DAS certificate holders must complete nine courses from four tiers: Foundational, Tactical and Strategic, Tools and Services, and Transformational, and pass the comprehensive examination. DAS certificate holders have the skills to understand the nature of electronic records; define requirements, roles, and responsibilities related to digital archives; formulate strategies for appraising, describing, managing, organizing, and preserving digital archives; plan for new tools and technologies and integrate them into existing functions to appraise, capture, preserve, and provide access to digital collections; curate, store, and retrieve original masters and access copies of digital archives; and provide reliable service related to electronic records and digital archives.
The new Digital Archives Specialists are: Sarah Allen (Nationwide Insurance), Alix Bentrud, Benjamin Blake (University of Baltimore), Heather Bolander-Smith (NY State Archives), Anne Britton, Caitlin Bumford (State Bar of TX), Christiann Burke (Tuzzy Consortium Library), Tammie Bush (Army Corps of Engineers), William Donald Caughlin (AT&T Inc), Emily Christopherson (Mayo Clinic), Tyler Cline (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming), Evan Earle (Cornell University), Elizabeth Engel (State Historical Society of Missouri), Stacey Erdman (Northern Illinois University), Dyani Feige (Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts), Angela Fritz (University of Arkansas Libraries), Ross Griffiths (Illinois State University), Leigh Grinstead (LYRASIS), Tal Hurwitz, Susan Ivey (University of Mississippi), Amy Kasameyer (University of California, Berkeley), Elizabeth Kelly (Loyola University New Orleans), Sara Kiszka (Northern Michigan University), Deborah Kloiber (St. Catherine University), Elizabeth La Beaud (University of Southern Mississippi), Stacy Belcher Lee (University of Hong Kong), Katherine Lincoln (Drake University), Nicola Mantzaris (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum), Molly McMurphy (Army Corps of Engineers), Cynde Moya (Living Computer Museum), Kristen Nyitray (SUNY at Stony Brook), Nicholas Pavlik (92nd Street Y), Jennifer Préfontaine (Centre Canadien d’Architecture), Lucy Putnam (Glenmary Home Missioners), Rona Razon (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection), Lisa Rickey (Wright State University), Joanna Rios (NYC EDC), Nate Scheible (History Associates Incorporated), Shanna Strunk (Mary Baker Eddy Library), Charlotte Sturm (National Archives at College Park), Greta Suiter (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Nathan Troup (Missouri State Archives), Toni Vanden Bos (Wright State University), Marcella Wiget (Kansas State Historical Society) and Samantha Winn (Virginia Tech).
A total of 228 people have earned Digital Archives Specialist certificates since the program began in October 2011. Currently, there are more than six hundred participants in SAA’s DAS program who are working toward earning a certificate. For more information, visit www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das or contact SAA Education Director Solveig De Sutter (sdesutter@archivists.org).