I can't believe it's the end of American Archives Month. What a journey we have taken together! Before I leave the Library Blog and disappear back into the Archives, let me share one more very important point.
You don't need any special training to archive things. Most employers of professional archivists want you to have some training. But if there is an important event or movement happening in your community that you would like to document, YOU can do that! According to the all-knowing Wikipedia:
Community Archives are archives created or accumulated, described, and/or preserved by individuals and community groups who desire to document their cultural heritage based on shared experiences, interests, and/or identities, sometimes without the traditional intervention of formally trained archivists, historians, and librarians.
Examples of community archives:
Photos from the Mass Memories Road Show, which includes over 11,000 photographs, stories, and videos from throughout Massachusetts.
Don't wait for the archivists to get their act in gear. Your story matters. You can control how your story is preserved for future generations. Here are some resources to get you started:
THIS, my friends, is the importance of archives. THIS is the work that needs to be done. Preserving our history today so that it will not be forgotten tomorrow. Don't let your story be swept under the rug. You deserve to be heard. You deserve to be acknowledged. Through community archiving you can ensure that today's fights are not in vain. Make future generations remember what you experienced so that they might build a more just society.
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