Archives Month

Every year, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) initiates a month-long celebration in October, highlighting a variety of archives and archivists throughout the United States and encouraging people to explore historical records at their local institutions.

Even though Archives Month officially began in October 2006 as a nationwide event, the earliest traces of an organized effort to recognize and celebrate archives date back to 1979.

Here's a brief history of Archives Month:

• 1979: Archives Week/Month started with the support of archives associations, state advisory boards, and some repositories.

• 1989: The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York led the first celebration of Archives Week in New York City.

• 1999: The Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) wrote a letter to the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and asked if they would be open to designating October National Archives Month.

• 2002: The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) started an online directory of Archives Week/Month activities and resources.

• 2005: Archives Week/Month gained more attention and was adopted by two-thirds of the United States.

• 2006: SAA established American Archives Month in October 2006 as an annual nationwide celebration.

• 2012: CoSA declared October 10 as Electronic Records Day.

• 2014: SAA introduced #AskAnArchivist Day on October 30, 2014. It is celebrated on a different day in Archives Month every year.

Since then, Archives Month has inspired archives and archivists to find new ways to connect with their patrons and promote their resources.

This guide is dedicated to highlighting the Central Piedmont Archives, what we as archivists do, and the resources and activities we make available to the Central Piedmont community.

If you'd like to celebrate with us on social media every year, use these official hashtags:

• #ArchivesMonth

• #AskAnArchivist

• #ERecsDay

We generate electronic records every day, from sending emails to taking photos on our smart phones. Most of us have also experienced the headache that comes with losing digital photos, dealing with corrupted files, or extracting information from old storage devices. Needless to say, electronic records have become a crucial aspect of our lives.

That's why the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) established Electronic Records Day on October 10, 2012. It was designed to shine a spotlight on the importance of our digital assets.

Electronic Records Day is a day to stop and reflect on how are your files being stored? Do you have backups? Where are those backups stored? Are your digital assets secured? What formats are they in? Will they be accessible in five years? If you use social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, how are you saving your posts?

Thinking about the answers to these questions can feel overwhelming. Listed below are some resources to help you navigate and develop your own preservation strategies.

• Personal Digital Archiving, State Library of North Carolina

• Setting Up Electronic Files, Smithsonian Institution Archives

• Preserving Your Digital Memories, Library of Congress

• Recommended Formats Statement, Library of Congress

• Eubank, Kelly. (2012, October 5). Celebrate 10.10.2012 Electronic Records Day! The G.S. 132 Files, State Archives of North Carolina.
• Society of American Archivists. (n.d.). American Archives Month. In Dictionary of Archives Terminology.
• Society of American Archivists. (n.d.). Electronic Records Day. In Dictionary of Archives Terminology.
• Society of American Archivists. (1999). Council Meeting Minutes: February 12 & 13, 1999—Vancouver, British Columbia. American Archivist, 62(2), 392-402.
• Society of American Archivists. (2006). Public Relations Kit: American Archives Month, October 2006.
• Society of American Archivists. (2006). American Archives Month 2006.