A Year of Living Dangerously for Archives

See the challenge (below) in A Year of Living Dangerously for Archives. I'm looking forward to reading more of the #ArchivesQuotes. There are some really good ones here and I'm sure you have many more to contribute!

~Lori Richards

 

Today and tomorrow we will be launching Kathleen’s Challenge #3 for “The Year of Living Dangerously for Archives” – and we hope that you will both spread the word to your colleagues and participate yourself!

 

Challenge #3:  A Seasonal Toast to Archives

As we approach the holiday season – replete with wishes of good cheer and year-end toasts, let’s take an opportunity to share the thoughts we all encounter that remind us of the value of archives.

Why do archives matter?  This month’s challenge is simple:  Think about the “quotable” statements you’ve heard or read – perhaps in a professional presentation, an archives class or workshop, a newspaper, magazine, or journal article, a novel or play. The statement may have been made by someone with international recognition, a local “everyday” person, one of your professors, or a friend.  Whatever she or he wrote or said, it made you think, “Yes, that’s why archives are important, that’s why what I do matters….” 

Share your quote with us—by tweeting #ArchivesQuotes or via email to saahq@archivists.org.  We’ll add it to the resources on which we can draw as we move forward in our efforts to raise awareness of and to advocate for archives.  In this season of giving, let’s share with each other some insights about the value of archives.

 

Examples:

·    “…records are crucial to hold us accountable…They are a potent bulwark against human rights violations.” 
‒Bishop Desmond Tutu

·    “Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today.”
‒Sara Sheridan

·    “Of all our national assets, Archives are the most precious; they are the gift of one generation to another and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our civilization.”
‒Arthur G. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, 1904‒1935

·    “As archivists appraise records, they are doing nothing less than determining what the future will know about its past:  who will have continuing voice and who will be silenced.” 
‒Terry Cook

To view the challenge on the SAA website:  http://www2.archivists.org/living-dangerously/archivesquotes

Go ahead – live dangerously for archives and encourage others to do the same!

 

 

SAA promotes the value and diversity of archives and archivists. We are the preeminent source of professional resources and the principal communication hub for American archivists.

The SAA Foundation is the nation's leading source of nonprofit funding dedicated solely to the interests of archives and archivists.  To make your tax-deductible contribution online, go to http://www.archivists.org/membership/funds.asp.  Thank you!