Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania State Archives will join with other Archives across the nation to mark American Archives Month, October 2015.
Pennsylvania’s Archives Month begins Thursday, October 1 with #AskAnArchivist Twitter event. Pennsylvania State Archives Staff will join archivists across the country to answer questions submitted via Twitter on a number of subjects throughout the day, including:
Genealogy and Military History – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Railroad Research and Caring for Family Records – 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Being the State Archivist – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by professional organizations and repositories around the nation to highlight the importance of records of enduring value. Archivists are professionals who assess, collect, organize, preserve, maintain control of and provide access to information that has lasting value. These experts help people find and understand the information they need in those records.
“Many people have a special place at home where they keep their most important records —birth certificates and family photographs that document their personal history, or deeds and mortgages that protect them legally and financially,” said State Archivist David Carmicheal. “Archives function in the same way for governments, corporations, universities and other organizations.”
The Pennsylvania State Archives will join the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Wednesday, October 7 at the State Capitol to provide information about the State Archives holdings and how we help government staff with records concerns.
Archives Month continues with a Best Practice Exchange from October 19-21. This informal gathering, hosted by the Pennsylvania State Archives, brings together practitioners from across the country with a focus to manage, preserve and provide access to digital government information. The Exchange provides an opportunity to discuss real-world experiences, including best practices and lessons learned. Past attendees include librarians, archivists, information technologists, educators and researchers largely from government and university archives and libraries. More information is available at www.bpexchange.org.
The State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) will meet from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Monday, October 26 at The Pennsylvania State Archives. SHRAB serves as the central advisory body for historical records planning in the state. Its mission is to foster the preservation and accessibility of historically valuable records and to promote public awareness and appreciation of this enduring legacy. The public is welcome to attend.
The Pennsylvania State Archives, part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, collects, preserves and makes available for study permanently valuable public records, with particular attention given to the records of state government. It also collects papers of private citizens and organizations relevant to Pennsylvania history.
Included among the archive’s holdings are more than 195 million pages of documents and manuscripts; 20,000 reels of microfilm containing some 22 million images of county deeds, wills, mortgages, estate papers, and assessment books; and more than one million special collection items, such as photographic prints and negatives, maps, postcards, posters, audio recordings, and motion picture films.
The Pennsylvania State Archives, located at 350 North Street in Harrisburg, adjacent to the State Museum of Pennsylvania, is open from 9:00 AM to 4:00PM Wednesday through Friday. Microfilmed records only are available from 9 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Saturday.
More information on the State Archives, including thousands of documents online, is available at www.PAStateArchives.com.
Media contact: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639