HELLO, CLEVELAND!

By Janet Carleton and Jennie Thomas, Host Committee co-chairs

The #SAA15 Host Committee is so very happy to welcome you to Cleveland!

We’ve shared with you almost everything we know about Cleveland and the local Northeast Ohio area, and we hope you’re able to use that information to have an amazing time while you’re in town! Our fabulous Host Committee, alongside a great group of volunteers, will be staffing the registration desk as well as the Convention Center’s St. Clair Avenue entrance for the week, and we look forward to answering your questions and helping you navigate your week. SAA has also arranged for the Cleveland visitors bureau, Destination Cleveland, to have a table at the Convention Center to provide you with even more information on what to see and do!

And now for something every visitor to Cleveland needs to see…

Mobile Apps for the CLE

By Lisa Rickey, Host Committee member

Wondering what mobile apps would be good for your visit to the CLE?

Archives2015 online schedule mobile icon

Well, if you haven’t already checked out the online schedule, signed up for an account to create your own personalized schedule, and bookmarked the mobile app for it, then that should be Job #1. The most up-to-date schedule information is found in this electronic version, so it’s really a must-have for conference-goers.

If you plan to use public transportation, you will want to check out the Greater Cleveland RTA’s mobile apps. Some of the useful services provided include maps, stop times, and notifications.

For general information about Cleveland-area news, weather, sports, and entertainment, make sure you install the Cleveland.com app. Also available from the Cleveland.com apps list are several apps pertaining to specific Cleveland-area sports teams, such as the Browns and the Cavaliers, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

Interested in history? (Aren’t all archivists, to some extent?) Then consider installing the Cleveland History app. Developed by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Historical lets you explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city’s history.

You can also find Cleveland area cultural info in apps from FieldTripper and the Cleveland Museum of Art’s ArtLens.

Your Archival Pet Photos can Help Cleveland Animals

Margaret Shaffhauser with bull terrier dog at the Canine Association Show, 3 Nov 1934 / by Ted Hood (courtesy of State Library of New South Wales via Flickr Commons)

By Nicole Laflamme

Vote for your favorite archival cat or dog! 

In an effort to support the Cleveland Animal Protective League (CAPL), Kate Theimer is hosting a web contest encouraging archivists to “vote” for their favorite archival photos of cats and dogs.  A selection of sixteen archival photographs featuring pets will be narrowed down each week in a bracket-style tournament…with the ultimate dog or cat winner being selected during 2015 SAA Conference! The contest will support the work of the CAPL.

Two ways to participate:

#1. SUBMIT ENTRIES!
Entries should be submitted to kate.theimer@gmail.com by July 22.
For more details about the contest and how to submit entries, please visit Kate’s blog, Archives Next.

• Submit archival photos (unlicensed, sourced from your archives or repository) of a dog OR cat.
• Submissions from outside the U.S. are welcomed.
• Please provide an appropriate credit line for your image.

Cat in a silk shoe. Raivola / by Edith Södergran (courtesy of The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland via Flickr Commons)

#2. VOTE!
Voting will begin on or about July 24th at Archives Next.

(Note: We deliberately chose photos of cats and dogs from international archives to illustrate this post, so as not to give an unfair advantage to any American photos we came across — though there were plenty of good ones on Flickr Commons! And we look forward to seeing yours!)

Velvet Tango Room Named to “150 Best Bars in America”

The Daily Meal has named Cleveland’s the Velvet Tango Room as one of the “150 Best Bars in America.”

The bar, located on Columbus Road, was the only Cleveland establishment listed on The Daily Meal’s annual rankings at No.90. Bars located in bigger cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and San Francisco took up most of the list.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/food/index.ssf/2015/04/velvet_tango_room_named_to_ann.html#incart_river

Cleveland named 7th best food city in America by Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure recently called on its readers to rank America’s best food cities, as well as each city’s most crave-worthy features, from street vendors and cafes, to gourmet markets and upscale eateries.

Cleveland, it seems, impressed on both accounts, ranking seventh out of 20 cities… More at http://m.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/03/24/cleveland-named-seventh-best-food-city-in-america-by-travel-leisure

Yes, Cleveland Really Does Rock!

Art lovers line up at the 78th Street Studios, then elbow through crowded stairways to gaze appreciatively at artworks of Cleveland’s skyline and the emerging waterfront.

Hundreds pack the halls on Third Friday events at the region’s largest fine arts complex with 40 plus galleries and studios all under one roof. This is the arts showpiece of the Cleveland Renaissance, the Mother of all Art Walks. The arts scene has exploded over the past decade, reflecting the city’s changing tastes and ideals.

There is no stopping the tide. Cleveland’s once gritty industrial landscape lost its manufacturing base years ago, and people left town. Today, they’re moving back home. Generation Y and millennials are charging up their own economic engine. High-tech jobs, world-class health facilities, and a revived cultural scene are giving this once Rust Belt city an exciting new look… – Marci DeWolf

See more at: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2015/03/21/cleveland-rocks-city-makes-comeback/vjYMflq7YdCoffMNJraG3H/story.html

Get excited for ARCHIVES 2015! Cleveland is featured in NY Times “52 Places to Go in 2015”

When LeBron James decided to return to his roots, Cleveland was already rallying after decades of decline. A milelong stretch of Detroit Avenue is now the Gordon Square Arts District, the city’s newest creative hub. Waterfront warehouses are being transformed into restaurants and retail spaces. And the recent reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Art in a modern mirrored, hexagonal structure has solidified the Uptown district’s newly hip status. Another reason to visit this year? To beat the politicos who will descend on the city for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Ingrid K. Williams

See more at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html?placeId=cleveland