October is American Archives Month!

As archival repositories and archivists around the country celebrate American Archives Month through a variety of programs, events, exhibits, and lectures let’s go over the basics for those that are unfamiliar with archives.

What are archives?

Archives are the records individuals or groups create in the course of daily life or business; documenting their activities and are kept because of their enduring value to their creators and/or potential users. Enduring value essentially means records should be preserved because the information within them will continue to be useful and significant in the future. These records and the places in which they are kept are called archives.

Not every record has enduring value, nor can every record be saved so it is up to the archivist to assess records and select those that warrant preservation. A variety of factors assist archivists in their selection of records, but it’s their institutions’ collection policy that guides them in the process.

Archives are not just paper documents (i.e. letters, diaries, financial and legal documents), records come in a variety of forms, including photographs, electronic records, films, sound recordings, and even art work.

What are archivists?

Archivists are the professionals who work in archives. They assess, collect, organize, describe, preserve, manage, and provide access to archival records.

Archivists assist users in finding and understanding the information they need within records.

It is the responsibility of archivists to protect the records in their care from damage, deterioration, and theft to the best of their abilities, so they are available for future use. That’s why archives have special rules for accessing records, using records, and duplicating records. Archivists don’t want to hinder the use of records with these rules, they want to ensure records will be available to the users who come after you. Remember, archives are rare and unique items, their damage and/or loss cannot be easily replaced or remedied. Often, records are irreplaceable.

BHC Archives

Were you aware the Border Heritage Center has archives? Well, we do! The Border Heritage Center holds over 70 archival collections that document the history, community life, and culture of El Paso and the surrounding Southwest Region, including northern Chihuahua, Mexico.

Scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, manuscripts, architectural drawings, and so much more can be found within our collections. If you’re curious to learn more, make sure to contact us, we’re more than happy to tell you about the interesting records in our vault!

Happy Taco Day!

Friday October 4, 2019