Electronic Records Resources

Archival Advocacy at Home: Preparing & Messaging for Visiting District Congressional Offices 

11-24-2020 11:23 AM

April 18, 2019 | View Recording

Speakers

  • Sarah Koonts, State Archivist, North Carolina State Archives
  • Jim Corridan, Chairperson, Joint Working Group on Issues & Awareness

Archives are often easy targets for losing federal funding and assistance - but it doesn’t need to be that way! Many times, simply advocating for and educating your elected representatives and their staff about the vital role of archives and the value of archival collections can turn ambivalence or hostility into loyal support!

Later this month and into early May, archivists around the country will be visiting their local Congressional District offices to advocate on behalf of federal funding for archives. These visits are a follow-up to last August’s successful “Archives on the Hill” event, sponsored by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), the Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC), and the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

JOIN members of the Joint Working Group on Issues and Awareness (a committee of CoSA, NAGARA, RAAC, and SAA) for this preparatory webinar where presenters will discuss the basics of a Congressional office visit, messaging ideas, and offer other practical advice for contacting your Representative or Senator.

This webinar and subsequent office visits comes at a perfect time: just before Congress begins mark-ups and hearings on the President’s budget bill – a budget submission that cuts many federal programs that are vital to archives, including the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as well as zero-budgeting and slating for closing the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Now is the time for us to raise our voices in support of federal funding for archives!

To prepare for this webinar and your Congressional office visits, please see our Advocacy Guide. Attendees of this webinar will walk from this presentation feeling better prepared with the information and tools necessary for a successful visit!

A recording of this webinar will be available on CoSA’s YouTube channel, SAA’s online course portal (see “On-Demand Events"), and NAGARA’s Advocacy Page.


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