#Archive is professional#

How do Archives Center holdings relate to those of the NMAH?Ĭollections held in the Archives Center supplement or complement those of other Museum units.

#Archive is professional#

The Society is a source of information about archival education, local and regional professional associations, and specialists in the archival field. Founded in 1936, it has more than six thousand members and serves the field through programs in education, research, publication, and advocacy. The Society of American Archivists is the national professional association of individuals and institutions concerned with the preservation and use of archives. They also assist users of archives to locate needed information. Where can I find information on the history of my family? My community? My business or organization? Are the older documents in my possession valuable for historical purposes? What should I do with them?Īrchivists identify, organize, and preserve archival records. Local archives may be your most convenient source of answers to these frequently asked questions: Gallaudet University Archives, George Washington University's Special Collections Division, Georgetown University's Special Collections, Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, National Academy of Sciences, and Historical Society of Washington, D.C. There also are major holdings of archival materials in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. The Music Division holds the papers of George Gershwin and other composers, artists, and conductors. The well-known photographs of the Farm Security Administration are among the many archival collections in the Prints and Photographs Division.

The Manuscript Division of the Library holds personal papers and records of organizations in the areas of politics, literature, science, religion, military and naval history, and African American history and culture. It houses one of the world's great research collections. The Library of Congress provides information services to the United States Congress and technical services to the nation's libraries. The Archives also has major holdings of photographs, motion picture films, and maps. The heaviest use of the National Archives is by genealogists searching census, immigration, and veterans' records. The original founding documents of the United States are on permanent display in the Archives Exhibit Hall at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. The National Archives holds millions of records from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government. Users may search across the Smithsonian's archival resources within the Smithsonian Institution's on-line catalogue Collections Search Center. These holdings measure over 137,000 cubic feet and cover nearly every facet of our nation's past – from the history of the Institution itself to the history of American, African American, and Latin American art, culture, music, and design science and technology landscapes and gardens and native and indigenous world cultures. The Smithsonian Institution has varied archival collections held in fourteen different units.

They are valuable to researchers, scholars, students, journalists, lawyers, and others who want to know about people, places, and events in the past.Īs the national capital, Washington is home to the country's largest concentration of archival collections and repositories. All state governments as well as many local governments, universities, businesses, libraries, and historical societies, maintain archives.ĪrchiveGrid, supported by OCLC Research, offers online access to more than two million descriptions of archival items and collections.Īrchives provide firsthand information about the past. These records - and the places they are kept - are called 'archives.' Archival records take many forms, including correspondence, diaries, financial and legal documents, photographs, and moving image and sound recordings. Archivists identify and preserve these documents of lasting value. In the course of daily life, individuals and organizations create and keep information about their personal and business activities.