- About Archives
- About SAA
- Careers
- Education
- Publications
- Advocacy
- Membership
Archival sources protect the rights of individuals and organizations, ensure the accountability of governments and institutions, and provide access to historical information and cultural heritage. The Society of American Archivists (SAA) will work with the archives profession to advocate for public policies and resources that ensure that such records are identified, preserved, and made accessible. SAA defines public policy as any government policy—federal , state, or local –that directly affects archivists or the archival record, including legislation, executive orders, judicial decisions, funding priorities, and other regulatory measures.
In alignment with our Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics, SAA is committed to supporting policies that will ensure the protection of privacy and individual rights; ensure the transparency and accountability of government at all levels; guarantee the administrative continuity necessary for good governance; make accessible evidence of the diverse and complex elements of the human experience; and preserve historical documentation for future generations.
SAA firmly believes that the critical nature of information in a democracy places the burden to prove the need for confidentiality, or the legitimacy of excluding information from the public domain, on those asserting such claims. Unless there are legal or other compelling reasons to the contrary, SAA will consistently value the general good obtained through open access to information over the limited good achieved by information closure or proprietary use. SAA also is committed to actively resisting policies that undermine existing records authority and privacy laws or that endanger the integrity of the historical record held in both public and private institutions.
SAA recognizes that social issues and archival concerns may overlap (e.g., in matters of personal privacy, access to public information, or misuse of records for political purposes). Therefore, SAA reserves the right to speak out on human rights or social justice issues that affect archivists or researchers.
SAA will prioritize the following policy areas:
Requests for SAA’s commitment to a specific policy issue will be more vigorously pursued if that issue fits within these priorities. However, many worthy advocacy issues lie outside the scope of this policy agenda. Individual members or groups may request that SAA address these issues using the same procedures as for public policy issues; SAA will consider them on a case-by-case basis.
View SAA's 2018 Legislative Agenda and Action Plan.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
How to Suggest SAA Take Action on an Issue
SAA's Criteria for Advocacy Statements
For more information and perspectives, see the Committee on Public Policy’s microsite.
Several other SAA groups track issues of importance to archivists and the archival community. See, for example, the microsites of SAA’s Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct, Intellectual Property Working Group, and Issues and Advocacy Section. SAA also collaborates with the Council of State Archivists, the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, and the Regional Archival Associations Consortium on the CoSA/NAGARA/SAA/RAAC Joint Working Group on Issues and Awareness.
Approved by the SAA Council: November 2017.
To view previous versions, see: