Archives: Thinking outside the box. Literally.
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The hot topic among archivists across the country this past week: So, how do we stop storing records in boxes in a research room and, instead, make them available to the whole world?
Wait, I know, I know: Take off the lid! Take them out of the box!
But it isn’t that simple. Figuring out how to get records from cardboard box onto computer screen is more complicated than blowing off the dust, scanning the records, and e-mailing the PDF to mom. So archivists put their heads together at the annual meeting of National Association of Government Archives and Records Administration in Seattle this month to share best practices. They looked at how to get millions upon millions of pieces of historical significance, dating back to the beginning of statehood, on the Internet and then make it accessible to the Googling-Texting-Tweeting public.
Our own State Archivist Jerry Handfield moderated a session at the annual meeting, and joining others on a tour of the Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond on Friday. Our crew also shared about our award-winning Washington State Digital Archives – a model for the country on this type of record preservation, where the public can find millions of photos, old records, maps, business info, etc for free and in a snap.
If you haven’t seen it, make a stop today: www.digitalarchives.wa.gov
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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