A Glass Half Full
US News & World Report Publishes
Letter from SAA President Tim Ericson
Archivists were highlighted to the more than 2 million readers of US News
and World Report on October 20 when SAA
President Tim Ericson's letter to the editor appeared in response to the publication's "100 Documents That
Define Our Nation" special issue.
As is often the case in large publications, however, his letter was edited.
This is how the letter was submitted:
On behalf of the Society of American Archivists, I'd like to congratulate
you on a superb tribute to our national heritage ("100 Documents That Define
Our Nation," September 22, 2003)—as well as your challenge to
readers to express their opinions about the relative significance of the
documents. Archivists know that people frequently forget the many important
ways in which archival records affect our lives. You have reminded everyone
why we should not take our documentary heritage for granted!
The National Archives serves as "home" for many of our national treasures.
But we must be mindful that similar treasures exist across the nation—in
state and municipal archives, in corporate and association headquarters,
in state and regional historical societies, in public and private museums,
and in the collections of religious and ethnic organizations. We might anticipate
that each of the tens of thousands of archives—large and small—that
exist throughout our country has its own list of "defining documents."
Archivists are acutely aware of an issue that is not addressed in your special
articles: the plight of our documentary heritage—and ensuring access
to it—in a time of declining resources. It is ironic that your special
issue comes at a time when the National Archives and Records Administration's
own initiatives in electronic records management are in grave danger of being
compromised by Congressional budget cuts, and when many state archives across
the country are undergoing draconian budget cuts in response to revenue shortfalls
(see www.archivists.org/statements/statearchives.asp). Your special issue
should be required reading for both federal and state legislators.
This is how the letter was printed:
On behalf of the Society of American Archivists, I'd like to congratulate
you on a superb tribute to our national heritage as well as on your challenge
to readers to express their opinions about the relative significance of the
documents [cite]. You have reminded everyone why we should not take our documentary
heritage for granted! The National Archives serves as "home" for many of
our national treasures. But similar treasures exist across the nation in
state and municipal archives, in corporate and association headquarters,
in state and regional historical societies, in public and private museums,
and in the collections of religious and ethnic organizations. Each has its
own list of "defining documents."
Archivists are well aware of the need to redefine the public perception of
archives. The publication of President Ericson's letter demonstrates that significant
inroads are being paved in this regard and, also, that the work of advocating
archives is never done.
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