Did you know that October is American Archives Month? It’s a time for archivists to dust off our favorite records and show them off, to put up new exhibits, give open houses and tours, and to bring greater awareness to our profession.

The month kicks off with #AskAnArchivist Day on Twitter, when archivists from around the country answer your questions! Last year the American Library Association Archives participated in this event and plans on doing so again next week Thursday, October 1. All day (at least during working hours), we will be answering your questions on Twitter. Just tag us with our Twitter handle, @ALA_Archives, and use #AskAnArchivist with your question.

No Question too Silly or Practical

The ALA Archives staff will be happy to answer your questions about our archives, anything from what days are we open (Monday-Friday) to who was the first female president of the ALA (Theresa West Elmendorf).

But questions don’t have to be specific to the ALA Archives for us to answer them. We’re happy to answer your tweet if you have general questions like what do we do all day, why did we want to be archivists, or how you can access archival materials. Last year, questions ranged from “It’s the zombie apocalypse, and these zombies eat HISTORY. What one artifact from your institution would you save?” to “What is the best digital media to use for long term preservation of documents?”

Meet the Staff

The following ALA Archives staff will answer your questions on October 1st on Twitter:

Cara Bertram
Visiting Archival Operations and Reference Specialist

She has worked at the ALA Archives for the past 2 and a half years, and specializes in ALA history, and access and use of archival materials.

 

Salvatore De Sando
ALA Archives Assistant

Salvatore is new to the ALA Archives, but is a veteran of the University of Illinois Archives and a recent graduate from the UIUC Graduate School of Library and Information Science. He has experience in processing archival materials and reference services.

University of Illinois Archives Joins In

Our friends over at the University of Illinois Archives, and the Student Life and Culture Archives will also be joining in, so be sure to ask all your Illini archives questions to @UIarchives.

We look forward to answering your questions on #AskAnArchivist Day and any other questions you might have during American Archives Month!