The 250 for the 250th online exhibition
SAA’s America250 Task Force is creating an online exhibit to recognize the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States by showcasing the nation’s rich, diverse, and challenging history through the materials we care for in our repositories. Our goals are to raise the visibility of our repositories and their holdings, and to highlight the role of archivists in safeguarding America’s many histories. The exhibition is also geared toward K12 students and educators: In bringing these archival objects into conversation with each other under broad thematic umbrellas, we hope to inspire discussions–including difficult ones–about our nation’s history, our values, and our shared future.
What to submit
We invite repositories in all the states, territories, and the District of Columbia to share one item (in any format, including document, photo, moving image, audio, object) from their collection that they feel contributes to the story of America. Please submit digital files and metadata, including a short statement about why you selected this item to represent a part of U.S. history.
Some additional considerations:
- Your institution must have the right to share the submission openly on the web, or the submission must be in the public domain.
- You are strongly encouraged to submit accessible items, e.g. text documents that have been OCR'd, audiovisual material that has been captioned, etc. Alt text for photographs can be added to the description field in the metadata form. For accessibility resources, please visit the Accessibility and Disability Section website.
- Items should be no more than 250 MB.
- Multi-part submissions are not permitted. Please combine multi-part documents into a single PDF before submitting.
When to submit
Submissions will be open until July 4, 2026. The exhibition will remain online indefinitely.
How to submit
Submitting an item to the online exhibition is a two-step process.
- Step 1: Submit the digital item directly to our Preservica instance using the link you received via email. If you responded to the interest form circulated by SAA in October 2025, you should have received an invitation link (from Sarah Quigley via Preservica) by email. If you did not receive a link but would like to contribute an item, please email SAAAmerica250TaskForce@archivists.org.
- Step 2: Submit metadata via Microsoft form. The email link referenced above also contains a link to a Microsoft form that you will use to submit basic Dublin Core metadata about the item.
Metadata Form
The final field on the metadata form is for assigning your submission to one of five thematic categories, adapted from the categories developed by the American Association for State and Local History. Please select your preferred category based on the following descriptions:
- Unfinished Revolutions: Unfinished Revolutions contains items that reflect periods, movements, and events that left unresolved issues that still impact the nation today. Whether it is the unfinished promise of Reconstruction for Black civil and economic rights, the struggle over national health care, or the unending work to conserve our environment, there continue to be many unfinished revolutions since 1776.
- Power of Place: Power of Place focuses on items that bring the national story to life by capturing the essence of a consequential moment, issue, movement, or person from the nation’s past. Such items might be a photograph from the Great Depression, an artifact from an antebellum plantation, a register of immigrants from a port of entry, or a poster advertising a musical or political event.
- We the People: The revolutionary idea embedded in the U.S.’s founding is that the people rule. Leaders are elected and represent the will and consent of the governed. As a nation of diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences, this idea has not always been easily realized, and the country has continually undertaken efforts to make it a more perfect and inclusive union. Here, we see evidence of that project to ensure power remains with the people.
- American Experiment: The American Experiment contains items that pertain to the founding era of the United States. Items that reflect the people, documents, events, issues, and individuals that impacted the creation of the nation and the struggles of the Revolutionary generation.
- Doing History: Doing History shows how individuals and communities have taken up the task of preserving, interpreting, and making the country’s past visible. This critical work reminds us that the past is not a distant land, but always present and relevant, speaking and guiding contemporary citizens and elected officials. Items here might include monuments, remembrances, class projects, sermons, or photographs and documentation of memorials.
For an example of completed metadata, please see this image: Hoover Dam.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email SAAAmerica250TaskForce@archivists.org.
Thank you to Preservica for providing us with a way to host the exhibit.
