American Archives Month 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee is recognizing and celebrating archives month through a series of blog posts throughout October 2024.

by Christine Liebson, MLIS, CA, member of SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee.

Since 1979, Archives Month has been a time to reflect on the importance and value of archives and archivists. Although SOA has been celebrating Archives Month/Week since 1993, October was officially designated American Archives Month by the Society of American Archivists in 1999. 

Timeline: 
  • 1979: at a grassroots level Archives Month/Week is celebrated by regional, state, and local entities such as repositories and local associations both collaboratively and independently
  • 1993: SOA celebrates Archives Month/Week
  • 1994: SOA prints its first Archives Month poster
  • 1999: Society of American Archivists officially designates October as American Archives Month
  • 2002: Council of State Archivists create an online directory of activities and resources including poster gallery dedicated to Archives Month
  • 2007: SOA moves to a month-long observance

Looking through the SOA gallery of Archives Month posters from 1994 to the present is a reminder of the myriad of ways that archives reflect our shared human experience. Even in the brief span of less than 30 years, a word cloud based on the poster themes highlights topics such as the outdoors, elections, music, wars, and many more. 

A word bubble of words relating to Archives Month. The largest words are Ohio, Archives, Celebrating.

The Advocacy and Outreach Committee has again created a thematic poster to celebrate Archives Month in 2024 based on photographs submitted and selected by members of SOA. Our theme this year is O-H-I-Olympians.  We hope that the Archives Month Poster and blog posts throughout the month inspire you to explore them!

Poster of 6 historic images of athletes in Olympic games. The photographs are arranged over a red and blue background.

American Archives Month is also an opportunity to reflect on our shared future – about the people who are using archives today for the first time, how they interpret and engage with archival materials and the generations to come that will discover them anew.  Essential archival functions of preservation and access to our collective memory are inherently dedicated to future users, whose encounters with our collections we will never witness. Check out the Society of American Archivists latest resources and activity ideas for American Archives Month to bring a renewed interest in your archives.

References
Society of American Archivists – Dictionary of Archives Terminology. Accessed September 17, 2024.
Society of American Archivists – American Archives Month. Accessed September 17, 2024.
Society of Ohio Archivists – Archives Month Posters. Accessed September 17, 2024.

Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Emily Gainer