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March
16 Today is Freedom of Information Day in the USA, a national observance in
recognition of the vital role of free information in a free and
democratic society. It is observed on the birth date of James M.
Madison, fourth president of the United States and author of the
introduction to the Bill of Rights.
March
25 Today is celebrated as New Year's Day in the Kingdom of Gondor, for
it is the anniversary of Sauron's fall. Despite his power as a wizard,
Gandalf needed to perform archival research to confirm his suspicions
about the true nature of the Ring, thus setting in motion the events
that led to the end of the Third Age. Tolkien's
personal and academic papers, as well as most of his literary
manuscripts, are at Oxford University's Bodleian
Library, but Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has an extensive
J.R.R. Tolkien collection that includes the original manuscripts
and multiple working drafts for The Hobbit (1937), Farmer Giles of Ham
(1949), and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955).
March 31 On
this date in 2006, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
announced a change in the federal educational requirements for
archivist positions in the 1420 occupational series that for the first
time allowed coursework in archival science to be credited toward
qualifying as a US government archivist. Prior to this change, only
history coursework received credit.
March 31
Deadline to nominate proposals for inscriptions on UNESCO's Memory of
the World International Register, a list of library collections and
archive holdings of world significance, which was established in 1992
to preserve and promote documentary heritage of universal value.
Nominations should ideally be submitted through the National
Commission for UNESCO or the Memory of the World National Committee in
the country where it is located.
March 31
Deadline to comment on the proposed ISO standard "Guidelines
and Functional Requirements for Records in Business Systems,"
developed by the Australasia Digital Recordkeeping Initiative. ICA is
proposing this document become an ISO standard.
April
is Strategic Information Management Month.
April
1 On this date in 1985, the United States National Archives and
Records Service, a branch of the General Services Administration,
became an independent agency with its name changed to the National
Archives and Records Administration.
April
1 On this date in 2005, the National Archival Development Program
(NADP) took effect. It replaced the National Archives grants and contributions program
established in 1989 and is administered by the Library and Archives of
Canada.
April
1 Deadline
to apply for funding from the National Manuscript Conservation Trust
(NMCT). NMCT provides financial assistance in the UK for the
preservation of the nation's written heritage. Formerly administered
by The British Library, it was transferred to The National Archives in
2004. April
1 Deadline for the annual Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) Louisa
Bowen Memorial Scholarship for Graduate Students in Archival
Administration to provide financial assistance to a resident or
full-time student of the MAC region pursuing graduate education in
archival administration. Contact: bschulte@ku.edu
or www.midwestarchives.org/
April
1 Application deadline for the Archie Motley Memorial Scholarship for
Minority Students in Archival Administration, offered by the Midwest
Archives Conference.
April
2 On this date in 2003, Great Britain's Public Record Office (PRO) and
Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) combined to form a new
organisation: The National Archives. Sarah Tyacke CB, was named the
first Chief Executive of the National Archives. The new
organization was based at the PRO's former headquarters in Kew.
April
2 Dr.
Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, presents the RBS
Greenwich Lecture at the Thomas
J.
Dodd
Research
Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
April
4-5 Society of Indiana Archivists annual meeting; Indianapolis.
April
5 Deadline for applications for the "Save
America's Treasures" program. The grants are
administered by the National Park Service, in partnership with the
National Endowment for the Arts. Grants are available for preservation
and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and
cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and
sites, including collections, documents, monuments, works of art,
historic districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects. The
program was founded in 1998 by First Lady Hilary
Rodham Clinton.
April
10 On this date in 2006, the Associated Press broke the story that the
United States National Archives and Records Administration had signed
a secret
agreement with the CIA and the Pentagon in 2002 to keep silent
about a government reclassification program. The 2002 agreement showed
archivists were concerned about reclassifying previously available
documents — many of them more than 50 years old — but nonetheless
agreed to keep mum.
April
10–11 Society
of American Archivists workshop, "Understanding Photographs:
Introduction to Archival Principles and Practices;" Baltimore
,
Maryland.
April
10-11 Conference, "The Philosophy of the Archive;"
Edinburgh. Sponsored by the Centre for Archive and
Information Studies, School of Humanities, University of Dundee.
April
10-11 Groupe d'archivistes de la région de Montréal (GARM) seminar;
Concordia University.
April
14 On this date in 2003, military forces of the United States of
America refused to intervene when mobs looted and burned the Iraqi
National Library and Archives in broad daylight.
April
14 Deadline for proposals for the National Film Preservation
Foundation's "Avant- Garde Masters" film preservation
grant program. Interested archives must register by March 10, 2006.
April
15 On this date in 1935, the Roerich Pact was signed. It was one of
the earliest international agreements addressing cultural heritage. It
affirmed that monuments, museums, and scientific, artistic,
educational, and cultural institutions and their personnel were to be
considered neutral in times of war and accorded respect
and protection in peacetime.
April
15 Deadline to apply for two scholarships offered by the Lesbian and
Gay Archives Roundtable (LAGAR) of the Society of American Archivists
to help with expenses for attending the SAA Annual Meeting in
Washington DC, July 31-August 6, 2006. Contact: Mary
Caldera.
April
15–17 "Skills and Strategies for Managing Tribal Records;" Catossa,
Oklahoma. This is part of the Tribal
Archives, Libraries, and Museums2008 National Institutes.
April
17-18 "Managing and Preserving Archival Collections;"
Baltimore, Maryland. Presented by the Conservation Center for Art and
Historic Artifacts and cosponsored and hosted by The Johns Hopkins
Sheridan Libraries. Contact: 215-545-0163, pso@ccaha.org,
or visit www.ccaha.org.
April
18 On this date in 2006, the family of late
US
columnist Jack Anderson rejected the FBI's demand to allow government
investigators to search the famed muckraker's papers and remove
documents the investigators deemed confidential or secret.
Anderson
’s papers were housed at
George
Washington
University
in preparation for their formal donation to the school. Coming in the
wake of the Patriot Act and attempts to reclassify as secret documents
at the National Archives, observers of academic freedom and libraries
viewed the FBI's request as part of a broader renewed emphasis on
secrecy in American government, focusing particularly on libraries and
archives.
April
19-21 MARAC
Spring meeting; Scranton, Pennsylvania.
April
21–22 Society
of American Archivists workshop, "Encoded Archival
Description;" University Park
,
Pennsylvania. Note that the SAA workshop "Style Sheets for
EAD: Delivering Your Finding Aids on the Web" will be held
immediately following.
April
22 On this date in 2004, the National Library and Archives of Canada
Act received Royal Assent. The act combined Canada's separate
national library and archives into a single institution, the National
Library and Archives of Canada, created a new executive called the
Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and amended the Copyright Act.
April
23, SAA
workshop, "Basic Electronic Records;" Baton Rouge,
Louisiana.
April
23-27 Session II of the Preservation
Management Institute 2006-2007; Rugters University, New Brunswick,
New Jersey. The Institute is designed for working librarians and
archivists who have preservation responsibilities but limited formal
preservation education.
April
24 On this date in 2006, archivists of the province of Quebec
launched the Quebec Declaration on Archives. The declaration was
a reminder of the essential role documents play in our daily lives, an
acknowledgement of the importance of archives in remembering, a
commitment to continue to preserve and make documentation accessible,
and a way to invite the general public to symbolically support
archival work.
April
24–25 Society
of American Archivists workshop, "Style Sheets for EAD:
Delivering Your Finding Aids on the Web;" University Park
,
Pennsylvania. Note that the SAA workshop "Encoded Archival
Description" will immediately precede this workshop.
April
24-26 Joint AABC / ARMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE; Victoria, British Columbia.
April
25 On this date in 2004, the New Zealand parliament
passed the Public Records Act. It replaced the Archives Act of 1957
and took into account changes in technology and record-keeping
practice.
April
26 On this date in 2004, couriers hand-delivered a letter from the
Juanita Skillman, Chair of the Board of ARMA International, to United
States Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Leiberman, the chair and
ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs. The letter requested "that the Committee assure itself
and the American people that the recent nomination of Allen Weinstein
[to be Archivist of the United States] presents the professional
qualifications and capabilities necessary to perform the duties of the
office of the Archivist and to promote the important function of
preserving for public access the documentation and information within
the jurisdiction of NARA." The action by ARMA, along with similar
actions by SAA and other organizations, helped stop an attempt by the
Bush administration to quietly railroad the Weinstein nomination
through the Senate and instead helped insure that the nomination
received deliberate Senate consideration and appropriate oversight.
April
26 New England Archivists of Religious Institutions (NEARI) Spring
Conference; New Haven, Connecticut. Contact: maryrita.grady@regiscollege.edu.
April
29 On this date in 2003, Eric Ketelaar, Professor of Archivistics at the University of Amsterdam, was recognized by
HM Queen Beatrix in the Queen's Birthday Honour List as an Officer of
the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Ketellar was recognized for "his
accomplishments as an inspiring educator and as an eminent scholar
and legal expert in the field of archives, both in The Netherlands and
abroad."
April
30 Deadline to apply for the Edward
Weldon Scholarship, which will provide the registration fee for a
Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA) member to attend the Society of
American Archivists (SAA) annual meeting.
May
1 The MayDay Project of the Society
of American Archivists is a collaborative campaign to improve
professionals’ readiness to respond to disaster. The MayDay project
encourages all records and archives professionals to do something on
May 1st of each year to help ensure that they are prepared to respond
to a disaster.
May
1 Deadline to apply for Fulbright
Awards for distinguished Fulbright chairs in Western Europe and
Canada.
May
1 SAA workshop "Legal
Aspects of Photography Rights, Archive Management, and Permissions;"
Monterey, California.
May
1-3 MARAC
Spring meeting; Chautauqua Institution, New York.
May
1-3 Society of California
Archivists annual general meeting; Monterey.
May
2 On this date in 2002 the Scottish
Council on Archives was founded. The Council was officially
launched by Glasgow's Lord Provost, Alex Mosson, at a civic reception
in the City Chambers attended by around 75 invited guests. Dr. Irene
O'Brien of Glasgow City Archives was the Council's first Chair.
May
2-3 The School of Information and the University Library at the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor are co-hosting a conference on
"Interdisciplinary Perspectives
on Archives and the Ethics of Memory Construction."
May
3 On this date in 2006, OCLC and RLG announced their intention to
merge. For research archivists, this brought the more in-depth
archival services of RLG to the broader audience of OCLC member
libraries around the world.
May
4 On this date in 1945, as the American army advanced on Prague, the
retreating German commander ordered his forces to destroy the Czechoslovakian National
Archives.
May
5 On this date in 1972, thirty-five archivists from Arkansas,
Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas met at the University of
Texas at Arlington and organized the Society
of Southwest Archivists.
May
5 SAA workshop, "Arrangement
and Description of Manuscript Collections;"
Hattiesburg
,
Mississippi.
May
5-10 ASA
Archives Institute; Edmonton.
May
11 On this date in 1904 was born William Kaye Lamb (d. 1999), Dominion
Archivist (1948-1968) and National Librarian (1953-1967) of Canada.
May
12-16 TAPE
workshop on the curation and preservation of audiovisual collections;
Glasgow.
May
13 Society
of American Archivists workshop, “Applying DACS to Single-Item
Manuscript Cataloging”;
Atlanta
, Georgia.
May
15 Deadline to apply to take the Academy
of Certified Archivists archival certification examination; and to
apply for "You
Pick Your Site" examination locations. Contact: Academy
of Certified Archivists, 48 Howard Street, Albany, New
York 12207, Tel: 518-463-8644, Fax: 518-463-8656, aca@caphill.com.
May
15 Deadline to apply for the Edward
Weldon Scholarship, which will provide the registration fee for a
Society of Georgia (US) Archivists member to attend the Society of
American Archivists annual meeting.
May
15 Deadline for NEH
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions.
May
16 Application Deadline for National Endowment for the Humanities
Preservation
Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions. Application
materials and instructions are available here.
May
16 Society
of American Archivists workshop, “Applying DACS to Single-Item
Manuscript Cataloging”;
Provo
, Utah.
May
17 On this date in 1988 was held the first meeting of the Southern
Archivists' Conference (SAC). It met at the University of Mississippi
in Oxford and included archivists from Alabama, Tennessee, and
Mississippi.
May
17 World Information Society Day.
May
19 Society
of American Archivists workshop, "Building Digital
Collections;" University Park
, Pennsylvania.
May
20 On this date in 1919 was born Wilfred Irvin Smith. Dr. Smith served
as Dominion Archivist of Canada from 1970-1984. He is often credited
with developing the concept of "total archives" by which
government archives preserve private records and personal papers as
well as official state records.
May
20 Deadline for 2008 "Save
America's Treasures" grants. Dedicated to preserving items of
national significance, the program was founded by Hillary Clinton in
1998. Senator Clinton continues to
support the Save America's Treasures program as Founding Chair.
May
20 Deadline for applications for the Archival Community Digitization
Program funded through the Canadian Memory Fund. The 2008-2009
guidelines and application templates are available for download at http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/ACDP.html.
May
21 Digital Preservation
Summit; Terre Haute, Indiana.
May
22-24 Archives Society of
Alberta's 2008 conference; Red Deer.
May
23 Society
of American Archivists workshop, “An Introduction to Archival
Exhibitions”;
Frankfort
, Kentucky.
May
24 4th annual Archives and
You! conference;
Regina
,
Saskatchewan
. Site visits will be held the following day.
May
28-30 New York Archives Conference Annual Conference; Potsdam.
May
28-31 Northwest
Archivists (NWA) annual conference; Anchorage, Alaska. Theme:
"New Frontiers in Archives and Records Management."
May
29 - June 1 SAA Council meeting; Chicago.
May
3
1 SAA Theodore Calvin Pease Award nominations due.
May
31 On this date in 1790, the US Congress enacted the United States
copyright law.
June
1
-
Academy
of Certified Archivists recertification petitions due;
-
Deadline for returning election ballots; and
-
Annual Academy dues payable starting today.
-
Deadline to
register for the ACA Item Writing Workshop to be held August 18 in
New Orleans.
Contact:
Academy
of Certified Archivists, 48 Howard Street, Albany, New
York 12207, Tel: 518-463-8644, Fax: 518-463-8656, aca@caphill.com
June
1 On this date in 1995, John Carlin was sworn in as the Eighth Archivist of the
United States. He was asked to step down in December, 2003, by the
Bush White House, with no reason given; however, many of President
George H. W. Bush's papers were due to become public less than one
month later. Some observers considered this a violation of the 1984
law establishing the National Archives and Records Administration,
which provides that the archivist will serve an indefinite term and
can be replaced if he resigns or is removed by the president. If he is
removed, "the president shall communicate the reasons for any
such removal" to Congress, the law says. Controversy over the
unusual nature of his resignation and congressional investigations
into the matter delayed his departure until 2005.
June
1 Hurricane season begins in the Atlantic. Are your disaster plans
current?
June
1 Deadline to apply for the Midwest Archives Conference $500
scholarship for minority students in archival administration.
June
1 Deadline, Boydston Prize for best review or review essay dealing
with the scholarly editing of works or documents.
June
1 NHPRC deadline (for the
November meeting). The Commission's main guidelines (which include
application forms) may be downloaded from their guidelines
page as "PDF" files or may be requested from the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National
Archives and Records Administration, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room
111, Washington, DC 20408-0001, phone: 202-501-5610, fax:
202-501-5601.
June
4 On this date in 1997, the National Archives of Canada
officially opened the Gatineau
Preservation Centre.
June
6 On this date in 2001, US President George W. Bush nominated Robert
S. Martin to be Director of the Institute
of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Martin was the first
librarian and archivist to head the institute, which was created in
1996 to centralize funding for libraries and museums. At the time of
his appointment Martin was Professor and Interim Director of the
School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University
in Denton, Texas. Previously he served as Professor and Associate Dean
of Special Collections at Louisiana State University (1991-1995) and
Director and Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission (1995 to 1999). A Fellow of the Society of American
Archivists, Dr. Martin is a past
president and a past Distinguished
Service Award recipient of the Society
of Southwest Archivists.
June 6 On this date in 2006, the
International Committee of the Blue Cross expressed its deep concern
about looters in East Timor destroying vital records and called on the
United Nations to protect the Truth Commission, National Archives, and
courts, which held documents "basic for the fight against
impunity."
June 6 On this date in 2006, the United
States Senate Judiciary Committee conducted an oversight hearing in
which members questioned Justice Department officials about the
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) interest in the papers of
the late journalist Jack Anderson. The papers were deposited at George
Washington University. In April, the FBI had demanded permission to
search them and remove any documents deemed confidential or secret.
The Justice Department spokesman gave the senators little information,
refusing to comment on sources, methods, or developments in the case. Coming in the
wake of the Patriot Act and attempts to reclassify as secret documents
at the National Archives, observers of academic freedom and libraries
viewed the FBI's actions as part of a broader renewed emphasis on
secrecy in American government by the Bush Administration, focusing particularly on libraries and
archives.
June 9-13 "Designing Archival
Description Systems" will be taught as a new course
in the Rare Book School at the University of Virgini. The course will
be taught by Daniel Pitti. Applications are available at http://www.rarebookschool.org/applications/
June 9-20 41st Annual Georgia
Archives Institute; Morrow, Georgia.
June 10-11 "Digital Directions:
The Fundamentals of Creating and Managing Digital Collections;"
Jacksonville, Florida. Visit www.nedcc.org
for more information.
June
11 Today in 1987, the National Archives of Canada Act was proclaimed.
It succeeded the Public Archives Act of 1912, renamed the Public
Archives of Canada to the National Archives of Canada and the title of
its head to National Archivist of Canada, and addressed privacy and
access issues.
June
12-14 ACA 2008 annual conference; Fredericton, New
Brunswick.
June
15 On this date in 2005, in a stunning 238 to 187 victory for the US
library and archival community, the United States House of
Representatives approved an amendment to the Patriot Act that barred
the Department of Justice from using any appropriated federal funds to
search library and bookstore records under provisions of the Patriot
Act. The amendment, remarkably similar to the "Freedom to Read
Protection Act" that was attached to the House Science State
Justice Subcommittee appropriations bill, was advanced by
Representative Bernie Sanders (I- VT) and endorsed by a curious
coalition of some 38 House conservatives worried about government
intrusion and about 200 Democrats concerned about personal privacy. In
effect, the Sanders amendment restored legal standards and warrant
procedures for investigations of library and bookstore records that
were in place prior to enactment of the Patriot Act. The following
month, the Sanders Amendment was stripped from the bill by the House
Republican leadership. "It is an outrage that the Republican
leadership has decided to use their power to subvert the will of the
majority of House members," said Sanders.
June
15 Deadline to apply
for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
Electronic Records Research Fellows program.
June
15-27 Western
Archives Institute; San Diego State University; Application
deadline is March 15, 2008.
June
21-28, The
University of Wisconsin - Madison will hold the 1st Archives
Leadership Institute; Madison. The goal of the project is to examine
the leadership needs of the archives profession and to prepare
participants to influence policy and effect change on behalf of the
profession and the public. The program is directed primarily at mid-level to senior
staff and archivists who aspire to leadership roles in their
organizations and professional associations.
June
24-27 Archiving
2008, a conference sponsored by the Society for Imaging Science
and Technology in cooperation with ALA, CNI, DLF, OCLC, and other
organizations; Bern, Switzerland.
June
25 Today in 1794, the French law of 7 Messidor Year II proclaimed for
the first time the right of citizens to have access to public
archives.
June
25 On this date in 2003, the American Library Association adopted a
resolution deploring the inaction of the U.S. and British
authorities to secure Iraqi cultural institutions and prevent the loss
of precious cultural resources after the U.S.-led coalition's
military defeat of the Iraqi Government; urging the U. S. Government
to ratify and comply with The Hague Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Second
Protocol; and urging the U.S. Government to provide funding for the
reconstruction and rebuilding of libraries and other cultural
institutions in Iraq, and to collaborate with UNESCO and other
international and national bodies working to remedy "this loss to
the cultural record of humanity."
June
30 On this date in 2004, Edin Vejzovic, a 15-year-old Muslim boy from
the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, donated his $21 monthly allowance
to help save books and documents in a Franciscan monastery damaged
during
the Bosnian war of 1992-1995. Among the documents Edin helped save was
the 1463 order by Turkish Sultan Mehmed II allowing Catholics to
freely worship in Bosnia.
July
is National Ice Cream Month in the United States. The Knox
College Archives, Galesburg, Illinois, preserves the Ferris family
papers, which, among other things, document how William Mead Ferris
(1807-1883) introduced ice cream to Illinois.
July
1 NEH's Division of Preservation
and Access deadline. Guidelines and Application Instructions can be
downloaded from the NEH Web Site. To obtain a print version of the
Guidelines or to address a question to the NEH staff, e-mail NEH at preservation@neh.fed.us,
or write to: NEH Division of Preservation and Access, Room 802, 1100
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20506, 202-606-8570, NEHPRES@GWU
VM.GWU.EDU. Guidelines and application instructions may be
downloaded from http://www.neh.gov/pdf/guidelines/preservation.pdf
Program officers will be happy to provide sample grant applications
and other assistance in preparing a proposal.
July
1 Deadline for SAA to receive section newsletters for distribution
before the annual meeting.
July
1 Deadline for Canadian Council of Archives grant end of project reports for the year 2004-2005. Any
institution which is expecting a 2005-2006 grant, and does not submit
all its end of project reports by July 1st will see its
2005-2006 grant cancelled. Forms
for the end of projects reports can be found on the CCA web site here.
July 1 Membership year begins for the
Association of Canadian Archivists. Have you paid your dues?
July
4 On this date in 2002, Ian E. Wilson, C.M., National Archivist of
Canada, was appointed to the Order of Canada.
July 4 On this date in 1776 the
United States Continental Congress issued the Declaration of
Independence. One of the grievances enumerated against King George III
was
"He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public
Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with
his measures."
July
5 On this date in 1999, the government of Canada announced the
appointment of Ian E. Wilson as National Archivist of Canada. Mr.
Wilson had previously been the Archivist of Ontario since 1986.
July
5 On this date in 2001 the rotunda of the US National Archives in
Washington, DC, was closed for renovation. The "Charters of
Freedom"--the United States Declaration of Independence, the U.S.
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights--were taken off display and moved to NARA's conservation
laboratories at Archives II in College Park, Maryland, where NARA's
conservators removed them from the cases in which they were placed in
1951. The conservators, analyzed their condition, conducted preservation work, and
reëncased
them in modern housings. The Charters of Freedom were returned to the newly-renovated
rotunda at the end of the 18-month conservation project and building
renovation on September 18, 2003.
July
8 Feast day of St. Sunniva, a tenth-century Irish princess. After her
death, the Benedictine monks who protected her shrine became noted for
their record-keeping and their creation of a massive archives.
July
9 On this date in 1998, United States First Lady Hilary
Rodham Clinton unveiled the logo for the White
House Millennium Council and its "Save America's
Treasures" program (Save America's Treasures is a
public-private partnership between the
United States National Park Service and the National
Trust for Historic Preservation). The Millennium Council also sponsored the
National Archives Preservation Project, which was a 3-year plan to ensure
precious American documents, such as the Declaration of Independence,
Constitution, and Bill of Rights, survive into the next millennium.
Congress later extended the program and expanded it to include a wider
selection of American cultural treasures. Senator Clinton continues to
support the Save America's Treasures program as Founding Chair.
July
9-11 Archive Fervour / Archive Further: Literature, Archives,
and Literary Archives; University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UK). July
11 Feast day of San Benedict of Nursia (formerly March 21), who is
celebrated in Spain as the patron saint of librarians and archivists
("Benito" in Spanish). He founded the Benedictine monastery
at Monte Cassino and was the father of Western monasticism.
In 1964, in recognition of the work of Benedictine monks
in evangelizing and "civilizing" many European countries
in the Middle Ages, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him patron saint of
all Europe.
July
13 On this date in 2000, Dr.
Anne Thurston, founder and Executive Director of the International
Records Management Trust, was appointed an Officer of the Order of
the British Empire (OBE) for "Services to Public Administration
in Africa". Dr. Thurston is a pioneer in defining
international solutions for the management of public sector records.
In 1989 she founded the International Records Management Trust (IRMT)
to develop new approaches to the problems of managing public sector
records in developing countries by establishing efficient records
management systems. It is now a leading agency in its field and the
most active in researching, obtaining funding and delivering solutions
to records management problems in the developing world.
July
21-27 XVIth
International Congress on Archives; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
July
23-26 NAGARA annual conference; Atlanta.
July
24-25 "A Race Against Time: Preserving Our Audiovisual Media,"
presented by the Conservation Center for
Art and Historic Artifacts; Boston, Massachusetts.
August
3-5 International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (ICHORA4),
Perth, Australia.
August
7 On this date in 1956, the "Convention for the Protection
of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" went
into force.
August
7-9 Australian Society of Archivists conference; Perth. Theme:
"Archives: Discovery and Exploration."
August 8 On this date in 2007, members
of the Iraqi National Guard forced entry and occupied the premises of
the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad. They occupied the
building for two days. This followed earlier incidents in which US
military patrols entered INLA's main building without the Director's
permission. SAA, ICA, IFLA, and other library and archival
organizations issued statements deploring such actions as further
compromising the INLA's security and the safety and well-being of its
collections and staff; drawing attention to the good progress Dr.
Eskander and his staff has made in reconstructing INLA following the
serious losses is suffered after the American invasion of Iraq in
2003; and calling upon the Government of Iraq and appropriate military
authorities to respect the integrity of this important cultural
institution.
Aug
10 Feast day of St. Lawrence the Librarian, venerated by some as the
patron saint of archivists partly because he was martyred on behalf of
donor restrictions. Rumor has long held that the Secret
Archives of the Vatican preserves his mummified head.
Aug
11-12 On this date in 2004, Archives Council Nunavummi (Titiraqtauhimaqarvikmi
Katimayiit Nunavutmi) held its inaugural meeting in Cambridge Bay
Nunavut, Canada.
Aug 23–31 Society of American
Archivists Annual Meeting; San Francisco.
August
24 On this date in 1814, Stephen Pleasonton, a senior clerk in the US
Secretary of State's office, hastily bundled the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution of the United States, international
treaties, and George Washington's correspondence into coarse linen
bags and took them 35 miles from Washington to Leesburg, Virginia.
There, he hid them in an abandoned house to safeguard them from
British troops, who were in the process of burning government
buildings in Washington.
Aug 24 Today in 2005, the Cambodian
Parliament passed the country's first Archives Law. The law was
drafted with the assistance of the French National Archives as part of
a long term project to develop the National Archives of Cambodia. The
law provided the National Archives of Cambodia with the powers it
previously lacked to acquire records that had been accumulating since
1979 in various Cambodian Government Ministries and agencies.
September
is Archives Awareness Month in Great Britain. An
excellent website provides promotional guides, suggested themes,
toolkits, and more.
Sept
1 Deadline to apply for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
(MARAC)
scholarship to attend its fall meeting.
Sept
5 Today in 1950, United States President Harry Truman signed the
Federal Records Act.
Sept 5 Today in
2007, The National Security Archive, a private research institute and
library that is housed at the George Washington University, filed a
lawsuit against the White House and NARA regarding missing Bush
administration email messages.
Sept
11 Read an
archivist's perspective on the events of September 11, 2001.
Sept 11 Workshop:
"E-Government
and Digital Archives;" Munich.
Sept
13 On this date in 1975, the Bureau
of Canadian Archivists (Bureau canadian des archivistes) held its
first meeting.
Sept
13-19 Conference of the
International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA),
hosted by the Australasian Sound Recordings Association (ASRA) at the
Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Australia.
Sept 15 On
this date in 2004, an ordinance went into effect at the Huntington
Public Library, California, that banned cell phone use involving
talking, text messaging, and ringing tones in a public library. The
city ordinance allowed librarians to issue citations on the spot
rather than calling the police. First time offenders will be
warned; $250-$500 for second time, and $1,000 for third time. Yes!!
Sept 17
Constitution Day; United States. Prior to the upholding by the US
Supreme Court of the US Patriot Act in 2001, it was generally believed
that the US Constitution protected the rights of US library and archives users by shielding library and archival use records from government search
without a warrant. That is a constitutional protection United States
citizens no longer have. See the American Library Association's
"Resolution
on the USA Patriot Act and Related Measures that Infringe on the
Rights of Library Users."
Sept 18 On this date in 2003, the National Archives of Australia
officially announced the establishment of the Ian Maclean Award, an
award to fund research benefiting the archival profession and
promoting the important contribution that archives make to society.
The award is open to archivists from all countries. Prospective
applicants should contact Derina
McLaughlin, +61 2 6212 3986 before lodging their application to
discuss the scope of their research project. Further information about
the award and stipend can be found on the National
Archives of Australia website.
Sept
22 On this date in 1930 was born A. Otis Hebert. Hebert served as
Director of the Louisiana Department of Archives and Records from 1966
to 1974. In 1971 he became a founder and the first president of the Society
of Southwest Archivists (USA). He posthumously received the
Society of Southwest Archivist's first Distinguished
Service Award in 1977.
Sept 23 On this
date in 2004, Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla announced the
appointment of Ian E. Wilson as Librarian and Archivist of Canada.
Sept
25 On this date in 1946 United States President Harry S. Truman signed
Executive Order 9784 ordering all federal agencies to begin a records
management program.
Sept
25 On this date in 2003, the National Archivist of Canada, Ian E.
Wilson, received the medal of Commander of the French Order of Arts
and Letters.
Sept 28
International Right to
Know Day. The day is sponsored by the
Freedom of
Information Advocates Network (FOIANet). The FOIA Network was
created by in 2002 when Freedom of Information organizations from
various countries around the globe met in Sofia, Bulgaria, created a
network of Freedom of Information Advocates (FOIANet), and agreed to
collaborate in promotion of the individual right of access to
information and open, transparent governance.
Sept 29 On this date in 1965, US
President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts
and the Humanities Act into law. The act called for the creation of
the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as separate, independent agencies. The
Washington Post called the creation of the endowments "a
momentous step."
Oct
1 NHPRC deadline (for the May
meeting). The Commission's main guidelines (which include application
forms) may be downloaded from their guidelines
page as "PDF" files or may be requested from the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National
Archives and Records Administration, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room
111, Washington, DC 20408-0001, phone: 202-501-5610, fax:
202-501-5601.
Oct
2 On this date in 2002, the Canadian government announced the merging
of the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of
Canada into a new single governmental agency, the Library and Archives
of Canada. The National Archives of Canada was founded in 1872 as the
"Public Archives of Canada." It was renamed the National
Archives of Canada in 1987. The National Library of Canada was founded
in 1953.
Oct 15-17 La Federación de Archiveros
de la República Argentina convoca al 6to Congreso Argentino de
Archivística, bajo la temática: "Sistemas de Archivos. Sistemas
de Archivos del Poder Legislativo, Sistema de Archivo del Poder
Ejecutivo y Sistema de Archivo del Poder Judicial", a realizarse
en la provincia de San Juan.
Oct 17 On this date in 2005 Natalie Ceeney
became the Chief Executive of The British National Archives. She
succeeded
Sarah Tyacke, who retired after more than thirteen years in the post.
Ms Ceeney was previously director of operations and services at the
British Library, where she managed all of the British Library's
services, including its famous reading rooms and its remote
delivery services.
Oct
17 On this date in 2003, the 32nd session of the General Conference of
UNESCO adopted the Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage.
Oct
21 On this date in 2001, US President George W. Bush signed the
"Patriot Act." One section of the act abolished what many
had considered traditional US protections
regarding the right to read by requiring librarians and archivists to
open confidential patron use records to federal government agents without warrant or
subpoena. It further forbade library and archives staff from
informing patrons if their records had been requested or
obtained by federal agents. View the American Library Association's
"Resolution
on the USA Patriot Act and Related Measures that Infringe on the
Rights of Library Users."
Oct
27 On this date in 2003, the new National Archives
Building Research Center opened in Washington, DC.
Nov
1 On this date in 2001, US President George W. Bush issued Executive
Order 13233 which erected new barriers to obtaining access to former
presidents' White House materials. It sharply diminished the public's
right to access by requiring scholars, journalists and others to
receive both the permission of former and sitting presidents and to
demonstrate a specific "need to know" when requesting
documents regarding all presidencies from Reagan onward.
Nov
1 Tropical Cyclone season begins in the South Pacific. Are your disaster plans
current?
Nov 1 Deadline to register for the Modern Archives Institute, National
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC. Contact: Modern
Archives Institute, Professional Development and Training (PDT), National
Archives and Records Administration, Room 3110, 8601 Adelphi Road, College
Park MD 20740-6001.
Nov 2 On this date in 1882, Sir Hilary
Jenkinson was born (d. 1961). Jenkinson's masterwork, A Manual of Archive
Administration, was first published in 1922.
Nov 2 Deadline for receipt of preliminary applications
for the
Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library.
Nov 8 On this date in 1989 the
International Records Management Trust (IMRT)
was founded.
Nov 8 On this date in 1999 the
International Records Management Trust (IMRT)
launched the Rights and
Records Institute. It mission is to empower developing country governments
to manage information in support of citizens' rights and to make public
service delivery more efficient, cost effective and transparent.
Nov 12 On this date in 2007, A
federal district judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the
White House from destroying back-up copies of millions of deleted emails while
a lawsuit was pending to gain access to them.
Nov
12 On this date in 2007, Dr. Saad Eskander, Director of the Iraq
National Library and Archive (INLA), received the prestigious
Archivist of the Year Award by New York's Scone Foundation at a
ceremony at Columbia University. The honour was conferred on Dr
Eskander in recognition of his leadership of t he reconstruction of
the INLA following its burning and looting in 2003.
Nov
14-15 New England Archivists fall meeting; Boston.
Nov
18 On this date in 2004, the William
J. Clinton Presidential Center officially opened in Little Rock, Arkansas.
It received more than 500,000 visitors during its first year, far surpassing
its projected first year attendance of 300,000.
Nov
21 On this date in 2001, the election victory of a
center-right coalition under Anders Fogh Rasmussen brought
unprecedented budget cuts to the Danish National Archives and the
cancellation of the building of the new archives at Oerestad. In spite
of a major reorganization of the Danish National Archives, the
elimination of the conservation lab, the elimination of some
supervisory positions, and a reduction in the IT budget, 22 archives
employees lost their jobs. Your vote counts.
 Nov 25 Feast Day of St. Catherine
of Alexandria, considered by some to be the patron saint of archivists,
potters, spinners, knife sharpeners, scholars, teachers, and others. She was
the literary re-incarnation of Hypatia, the first famous female scholar. Hypatia taught mathematics and philosophy in Alexandria to both Christian
and non-Christian students until she was murdered by a Christian mob
in 415 C.E. "St. Catherine" became a substitute figure, a
Christian murdered by pagans. Catherine began appearing as a literary figure in
the eighth or ninth centuries. She became immensely popular during the Middle
Ages and Joan of Arc claimed that St. Catherine was one of her advisors. In
1969, the Catholic Church removed her feast day from
its general calendar, citing a lack of historical evidence for her existence.
Dec 11 Feast day of St. Damasus I
(circa 304-84), pope (366-84). A special achievement of his pontificate was
providing adequate housing for the papal archives.
December
16 On this date in 1991, Dame Stella Rimington (1935- ) became
Director General of MI5,
Britain’s secret intelligence service. She was the first female MI5
Director General, the first to be named publicly, and the first to publish an
autobiography. She was made a Dame Commander of the Bath
in 1996 and was the model for Judi Dench’s “M” in the James Bond
movies. She earned a Diploma in Archive Administration from the University
of
Liverpool
in 1959.
Dec
17 On this date in 2002, the Chairman of the Russian government,
Mikhail Kasianov, confiscated the buildings occupied by the Russian
State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg and consigned them to the
Administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The archives is
the largest Russian archives with about 7 millions files pertaining to
the entire Russian Empire from Peter the Great to 1918. The archives
formally closed on April 15, 2005, and will be closed for about a year
until a new building is ready sometime in 2006.
2009
Jan
1 On this date in 1959, the Public Records Act of 1958 took effect. It
transferred responsibility for public records and the Public
Records Office (at that time the national archives of England, Wales and the
United Kingdom) to the Lord Chancellor and placed the day-to-day
management of the PRO in the hands of a Keeper of Public Records. For
the first time a statutory, general public right of access was given
after 50 years (with arrangements for exceptions) to public records
transferred to the PRO or to a place of deposit elsewhere appointed by
the Lord Chancellor. On January 1, 1968, the Public Records Act of
1967 took effect which reduced the fifty-year closure rule to thirty
years. The 1967 Public Records Act's thirty year rule
was replaced on 1 January 2005 by a statutory right to know under the
new UK Freedom of Information Act. Persons can now make a request for
information at any time and have that information supplied to them
unless an exemption applies. To
celebrate the full implementation of the Act, The UK National Archives
released over 50,000 files that were less than 30 years old on the day
the Act went in force.
Jan
1 Deadline to apply for Fulbright
Awards for NATO advanced research fellowships and institutional
grants.
Jan
2 Deadline to apply for the first leadership institute for archives
professionals, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin - Madison. 25
archivists will be selected to spend the week at UW - Madison's
beautiful lakeshore conference center and guest house. Most of the
costs are covered by a grant from the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission (NHPRC) and a registration fee of $500 includes
tuition, instructional materials, lodging and some meals. A number of
scholarships for travel and tuition will also be awarded. Regional
archival organizations are also encouraged to consider sponsoring
members who apply and are selected for the institute. A tentative
schedule and application materials can be downloaded at http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/archivesinst.html
Jan
7 On this day in 1997 the former National Archives of Canada (now the Library and Archives
of Canada) moved its first
boxes of documents into its new archives building in Gatineau.
Jan
12 On this date in 2006, the American Institute of Architects
announced that the William J. Clinton Presidential Center had received
its 2006 Honor Award for Architecture, the profession's highest
recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture.
Jan
15 On this date in 2003, British Columbia's Provincial Archivist, Gary
Mitchell, received the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of his public service
to his fellow citizens, community and province.
Jan
19 On this date in 1993, as midnight approached, United States
Archivist
Don W. Wilson signed an agreement giving President George H.W. Bush
exclusive control over the computerized records of his presidency.
According to the agreement, Bush could even order the US Archivist
to destroy computer tapes and hard drives, which were the kinds of materials that
had proved critical to the Tower Commission's investigation of the
Iran-contra affair during the second Reagan administration. This was a
subversion of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1981, which
declared that the records of all presidents and vice presidents would
be the property of the American people. Wilson was subsequently appointed director
of the George Bush Center at Texas A&M University. In February
1995 a federal judge voided the agreement as a
violation of the PRA.
Jan
20 On this date in 1981, the US Presidential Records Act took effect.
It declared that after this date the records of all US presidents and
vice presidents would be the property of the American people. The law
allowed citizens to review all materials, including confidential
communications with advisers, 12 years after a president left office.
The act also assured that the most sensitive records relating to
national security, foreign relations, financial and trade secrets, and
personal privacy were exempt from disclosure.
Jan
26 On this date in 2003, Ross Gibbs, Director and Keeper of
Public Records for Victoria, Australia, was acknowledged in the
Australian Honours List with a Public Service Medal (PSM) for Services
to Archives & Records Management.
Jan
30 A decree on this date in 1922 gave the Russian archives
administration authority to inspect the files of all government
offices.
Feb
1 Deadline for applications for the Society of Southwest Archivists
three annual professional development scholarships. For more
information, contact Scholarships Committee Chair Emily E. Hyatt at ehyatt@consolidated.net
Feb
1 Deadline for applications for the "Save
America's Treasures" program. The grants are
administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the
National Endowment for the Arts. Grants are available for preservation
and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and
cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and
sites, including collections, documents, monuments, works of art,
historic districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects. The
program was founded in 1998 by First Lady Hilary
Rodham Clinton, who continues to support the program as its
Founding Chair.
Feb
4 Today in 2008 US President George W. Bush sent his last fiscal year
budget proposal to congress. For the sixth year in a row, he proposed
a zero budget for the NHPRC.
Feb
6 On this date in 2006, US President George W. Bush submitted to
Congress a budget in which he proposed funding the National Archives
and Records Administration at $12.2 million below its then current
operating needs and eliminating the NHPRC entirely. For the
second year in a row President Bush proposed no funds whatsoever for
National Historical Publications and Records Commission grants and
only $510,000 for staffing and administering remaining ongoing
grants. Once ongoing grants were completed, the NHPRC would have been
terminated under President's Bush's proposal.
Feb
10 On this date in 2005, following controversy over the nature of his
appointment, the United States Senate quietly confirmed
Dr. Allen Weinstein as the ninth Archivist of the United States.
Feb
15 Deadline to apply for the Society of California Archivists James V.
Mink scholarship to assist with the expense of attending the
SCA annual meeting.
Feb
15 Deadline to apply for the Carroll
Hart Scholarship to attend the Georgia Archives Institute.
Feb
21 On this date in 2006, the New York Times in a front-page story revealed a
nine-year-old
secret program at the United States National Archives to remove from
public access and restore to classified status thousands of historical
documents that had been available for years, including some already
published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by
researchers. After receiving complaints, the archives' Information
Security Oversight Office, which oversees government classification,
began an audit of the reclassification program. J. William Leonard, director
of the office, said he ordered the audit after reviewing 16 withdrawn
documents and concluding none should be secret. "If those
sample records were removed because somebody thought they were
classified, I'm shocked and disappointed," Mr. Leonard said.
"It just boggles the mind." National Archives officials
later said that one third of the seized documents were removed
improperly and much of the remainder had little or no national
security value.
Feb
24 On this date in 1903, Sarah Schellenberg of Harvey County, Kansas,
gave birth to a boy whom she named after the then President of the
United States.
Feb
24 Deadline
for submitting self-nominations for appointments to SAA committees and
liaison positions.
Feb
28 Deadline for SAA
awards nominations and SAA Fellow nominations (except for Theodore
Calvin Pease Award, the deadline for which is May 31).
Feb
28 Deadline for Colonial Dames Scholarship award, enabling two
archivists each year to attend the Modern
Archives Institute at the United
States National Archives and Records Administration in Washington,
DC.
Feb
28 Deadline for nominations for the Society
of American Archivists Distinguished Service Award.
March
1 Application deadline for summer archival internships, Jerome and
Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation,
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington DC. Mary Dyer, Internship Coordinator, Room 1040 MRC 605,
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington DC 20560, ph 202-357-1606, fx 202-357-1853.
March
1 Application deadline for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
(MARAC) scholarship to attend its semiannual meetings.
March
1 Deadline to apply for the Leonard Rapport Modern Archives
Institute Scholarship, sponsored by MARAC.
March
1 Application deadline for Academy
of Certified Archivists Travel Assistance Awards. For the
recipients of the award, the ACA will waive the $50 exam application
fee plus support up to $200 in related travel expenses to and from the
candidate's closest exam site.
March
4 On this date in 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark
decision that interpreted fair dealing for research to include copying
entire works. Copying photographs and journal articles were used
as examples of fair dealing in the judgment. In giving fair
dealing a broad and liberal interpretation, the court opened the door
to copying for research purposes in an archival institution.
Since much of the copying occurring in archival institutions is for
research, this decision eased the need for copyright permission in
many instances.
March
9 On this date in 2006, the USA’s two top law enforcement officers,
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller,
acknowledged that the FBI broke the law by misusing the Patriot Act to
secretly demand that telephone companies, Internet service providers,
banks, credit bureaus and other businesses produce personal records
about their customers or subscribers. The FBI's transgressions were
spelled out in a damning 126-page audit by Justice Department
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. Fine found that FBI agents sometimes
demanded personal data on people without official authorization,
improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances,
and underreported to Congress how often they used these powers.
March
10 Today is Archives Day in Russia.
March
10 On this date in 2005, the American Library Association and a group
of historians petitioned the United State Congress to suspend the
planned transfer of the Nixon Presidential Materials from their
location at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, to the
Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Their
petition noted that the Nixon Presidential Library is not formally
part of the US presidential library system but is instead a private
facility that is asking for millions of dollars in public subsidies
with no guarantee that it will preserve a unified collection, provide
public access, or undergo independent review.
March
11 On this date in 2003, the Society
of American Archivists, citing the principle that broad access to
government records protects values that are essential to
representative democracy, joined with nine other organizations to file
an amicus curiae brief opposing a claim by US Vice President
Richard Cheney and the National Energy Policy Development Group that
it need not disclose information under the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA) regarding deliberations conducted in 2001. The brief
asserted that, “Public participation in government can be meaningful
only if the people know what officials are doing and how they are
doing it. Equally, without that information the people cannot
hold public officials accountable.”
March
15 On this day in 2003, the Chief Executive of The British National
Archives, Sarah Tyacke CB, was among 200 working women invited to the first female only event at Buckingham Palace. Ms.
Tyacke, who was the first female Keeper of the Public Records,
attended the event which took place in the same week as International
Women’s Day, to celebrate the ‘excellence of women’. Ms. Tyacke
was also the first woman director of Special Collections in the
British Library before joining The National Archives.
Aug 1-9 Society of American
Archivists Annual Meeting; Austin, Texas.
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