RAO National History Day Task Force Final Report
Accomplishments
Task Force members prepared a survey on National History Day. It was sent to the RAO membership and to archivists through the RAO and the Archives and Archivists listservs. We received 158 responses.
Task Force members compiled information for a SAA/RAO National History Day website.
Danna Bell-Russel compiled a National History Day bibliography.
George Bain is recruiting individuals to write articles on NHD participation. Please let him know if you would be interested.
Outstanding Questions
What should SAA’s role be?
- Should SAA establish a formal committee as it did for American Archives month? If so, what should RAO’s role be on this committee? RAO could serve as the lead with one of its members chairing the committee.
- Other than encouraging its members to participate in NHD, what other role might SAA play? Most survey respondents suggested that SAA and the regional organizations should serve as advocates for NHD. What might this involve? Based on survey results, SAA could encourage institutions to support NHD through contributions or employee involvement. Additional suggestions included providing training or offering workshops or awards.
How do we encourage/broaden participation?
Though we want our members to serve as judges and work with individual students, we could be doing so much more. We have included a variety of suggestions on the website. Would it help if RAO designed a standard curriculum for teachers that our members could use? This curriculum might focus on partnering with archives or workshops for teachers. Do we want to propose a session at the next annual meeting which highlights different NHD programs at archives such as workshops, class presentations, etc.?
Overview of NHD Survey Findings
The typical survey respondent participates in NHD at the local or state on an annual basis. The most common role is as a judge. Both timing and lack of institutional support were deterrents to participation. The most common reason for those who haven’t participated is that they had never been asked.
The individuals who helped out with workshops typically served as instructors. The workshops were for both students and teachers and showcase collections relating to the theme at the local repository. The survey confirmed that archivists are willing to bring students into their reading rooms to do research.
Many of the respondents were unsure whether the organizations to which they belong support NHD. This situation can easily be rectified. We should encourage closer ties between NHD and archival associations.
Send comments on this website to Jan Blodgett.
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