WAAC serves its members, who have a professional responsibility for the preservation of cultural heritage, and disseminates information through its publications and annual meeting/conference.

[5] Regular columns include: A 10-Year Cumulative Index of the WAAC Newsletter (1979-1988, Volumes 1-10) has also been produced.

[10] This is a humorous guide to the "do's and don'ts" of collections handling, and was written by Nancy Odegaard and illustrated by Grace Katterman.

[15] In 2009 rain water entered the Alaska State Archives building, when a storm ripped the roof from the building, WAAC members who "serendipitously happen to be in Juneau for the Western Association for Art Conservation conference"[16] assist with the rescue efforts.

The conference went ahead, and included a public lecture by Yosi Pozeilov about pinhole cameras.