Ethel W. (Edie) Hedlin (born 1944) is an American

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

and historian. She has held many positions within the archival profession, including service to the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, Wells Fargo Bank, and the Ohio Historical Society. She was for several years a private consultant with extended service to the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). She retired from the position of Director of Smithsonian Institution Archives, having held that position from 1994 to 2005. She has served the

Society of American Archivists The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist Voluntary association, association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Establi ...

as Council Member, chairperson of the Business Archives Committee, Vice President, and President. She was the Society's 49th president and served from 1993 to 1994. She was for several years a member of the NHPRC California Historical Records Advisory Board. Hedlin was a founding member of the Academy of Certified Archivists, having chaired the Task Force that created the academy.

Career

Hedlin first began work within the archival profession with the Ohio Historical Society as the institutional records specialist and State archives specialist. After earning her PhD from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1974, she published her dissertation, "Earnest Cox and Colonization: A White Racist's Response to Black Repatriation, 1922-1966", which has been heavily cited throughout the archival and historical professions. In 1975, Hedlin began working with the Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, California as their corporate archivist. In 1994, Hedlin became Director of the Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives, which is responsible for the official records of the Smithsonian Institution. Before she left in 2005, she overlooked the transition to electronic and digital archives as well as the first websites of the Institution.

Publications

Hedlin has written several books and articles on archival technique, including the 1978 article "Business Archives: An Introduction". Some other notable works include ''The Ohio Black History Guide'' (with Sara S. Fuller, 1975), "

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

" Revisited (1986), and Archival Programs in the Southeast: A Preliminary Assessment (1984).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedlin, Edie 1944 births Living people Duke University alumni American archivists American women archivists Librarians from Ohio 20th-century American librarians 20th-century American women librarians American historians American women historians Presidents of the Society of American Archivists 21st-century American librarians 21st-century American women librarians