Burt Altman

From FSU Libraries Subject Pages

Archivist/Librarian
Strozier Library Special Collections, Room 110B
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee, FL 32306
Phone: (850) 645-7962
Fax: (850) 644-1221
Email: baltman@mailer.fsu.edu

Job Responsibilities

• Appraises, arranges, preserves, describes, and services assigned collections.
• Provides training and advice to department staff on processing of manuscript collections in the Libraries.
• Provides in-person reference and research assistance to patrons using Special Collections.
• Provides reference and research assistance to patrons in Special Collections via regular mail and telephone.
• Provides reference consultations to students and faculty in College of Education, and in the American and Florida Studies Program.

Liaison Areas

• Education

Specifically, I am the liaison to the College of Education's Educational Psychology and Learning Systems Department which includes the following programs:

• Educational Psychology (Learning & Cognition, Measurement & Statistics, Sport Psychology)
• Psychological Services (Career Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling, School Psychology, Combined Counseling Psychology and School Psychology)
• Instructional Services (Instructional Systems, Distance Learning)

Education

• M.A. - History - Adelphi University - Garden City, New York
• M.L.S. - Library Science - C.W. Post Center - Greenvale, New York
• B.A. - Political Science - Ithaca College - Ithaca, New York

Selected Work History

• Information Services Librarian - Queensborough Public Library - Jamaica, New York
• Part time instructor - Leon County Schools Adult and Community Education Department - Taught courses in Lotus 1 2 3 and WordPerfect

Selected Publications

• Altman, Burt and Nemmers, John. "The Usability of Online Archival Resources: The POLARIS Project Finding Aid," The American Archivist. Vol. 64, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2001.

• Altman, Burt. "Activities at the Pepper Library," Claude Pepper Library News. March 1, 2002; April 29, 2002; June 30, 2002; December, 2002; June-July, 2003.

• ______ "Ed Ball and the Florida East Coast Railway War," Florida Historical Quarterly. Spring 1985.

• "An Automated System for Congressional Papers," Society of Florida Archivists Newsletter. Fall 1985.

Selected Presentations

• “Preserving Your Family Records.” Sponsored by Tallahassee Genealogical Society, in commemoration of Family History Month. Presented at Leon County Public Library, Thomasville Road Branch, October 2005.

• “Connecting with Our Communities through Exhibitions, Publications, and Events.” Participant in Panel Discussion, Society of Florida Archivists Annual Meeting, Lakeland, FL., Spring 2004.

• “For a Researcher Far, Far Away: Connecting Archival Collections to Long-Distance Researchers.” Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting, PowerPoint presentation, August 23, 2002.

• Presentation at Book Care and Handling Workshop, sponsored by FSU Libraries Preservation Committee, February 1, 2002.

• “Web Sites, Electronic Finding Aids, and the Archival Researcher.” Panel discussion at Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting, August 1999.

Professional Affiliations

• Certified Archivist and Member - Academy of Certified Archivists - Society of American Archivists
• Society of Florida Archivists: President, 2007-2008; Vice-President (2005-2007); Host Committee Member for 1998 SAA Orlando Conference; Local Arrangements Chairperson for 2006 Annual Meeting; SFA Award of Excellence (1998); Director, SFA Executive Board (1990-2005); Newsletter Editor (1987 1997); Florida Liaison to Society of American Archivists (2000-present); Society of Florida Archivists Webmaster and Listserv Manager, (1999-present).
• Society of American Archivists: member of College and University Section; Congressional Papers Roundtable; Florida Key Contact; Florida Archival Mentor.
• Tallahassee Historical Society (2000-2004); Tallahassee Genealogical Society (2003-present), Tallahassee Genealogical Society Archivist (2006-present).

Personal Interests

• Classical Music
• Genealogy
• Historical Research
• Photography
• Reading

Personal Message

I have worked with the Florida State University Libraries, Special Collections Department, since January 1981 as a librarian and archivist. For many of those years, I served as archivist for the Claude Pepper Library, providing direction and leadership for the Library's services and operations. Currently, I oversee the manuscripts processing program of the Special Collections Department, process archives and manuscripts, and train staff in archival procedures. In addition, I provide reference assistance to Special Collections and actively participate in providing library instruction and other university libraries services.