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Description
I worked with the Kentucky Occupational Therapy Association (KOTA) in partnership with Eastern Kentucky University’s Special Collections and Archives for my Capstone Project and Applied Leadership Experience, with an emphasis on advocacy. KOTA plays an essential role in advocating for its members by focusing on community networking, research, advocacy, legislative affairs, and education (Kentucky Occupational Therapy Association, 2025). Research indicates the importance for professional associations to safeguard records, however several challenges include managing the volume of materials, selecting a cataloging system, ensuring easy retrieval, maintaining secure storage, and addressing concerns about sustainability (Brown, 2013). The needs assessment revealed disorganized physical records, limited digital records, and no plan for sustainability. The goals of this project were to implement an organized and sustainable archival system and to develop a clear deliverable, such as a handout, which would showcase KOTA’s legacy. Through this project, I demonstrated and strengthened my project management skills, as well as my abilities in organization, historical analysis, and advocacy. Ongoing feedback with my site mentor and weekly objectives were used to evaluate the project’s effectiveness. In the end, deliverables included a timeline infographic and a plan for future archivists. This project successfully addressed the need by preserving the archives, improving accessibility, and highlighting KOTA’s story from its foundation to its future.
References
Brown, A. (2013). Practical Digital Preservation: A How-to Guide for Organizations of Any Size. Facet Publishing.
Fred Sammons Archives. (2014). Help. https://fredsammons.org/help
Kentucky Occupational Therapy Association. (2025). Home page. KOTA. https://kotaweb.org/
Graduation Date
2025
Keywords
Archives, Professional Association, Organizational Records, Kentucky Occupational Therapy Association (KOTA), Advocacy
Disciplines
Occupational Therapy
Degree Type
Open Access Capstone
Document Type
Poster
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Department
Occupational Therapy
Site Mentor
Casey Humphrey, OTD, MHA, OTR/L, CBIS, CDRS
Comments
Link to presentation: https://youtu.be/pZ1CvHD8wVE