Hello Halloween, Farewell American Archives Month

Swampee, the USCGC Northland ship mascot, would like to wish you a Happy Halloween and last day of the American Archives Month! Photograph from the Leuman Maurice Waugh collection, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, L02029.

On this Halloween day, we say farewell to American Archives Month and the Collection Search Center’s blog-a-thon.

Over the past month, we explored the theme of the Power of Collaboration which included stories of “volunpeers” transcribing Smithsonian collections, artists collaborating with museums, an initiative to train community members to preserve religious records, collaborative partnerships between museums and Native communities, and the importance and value of these community collaborations. We also explored stories of cultural resilience in times of catastrophe, memories of an old (but not dead) photographic technology, a travelogue film shot in the American South, and the Archives Fair celebrating performance and preservation. We encourage you to read (or re-read!) all the stories from this past month.

Although American Archives Month technically ends today, it does not mean that our collaborative efforts will end as well. Collaboration is deeply ingrained in the work of archivists, librarians, and museum professionals. Collaboration has made such online initiatives as the Smithsonian Transcription Center, Collections Search Center, and the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA) a reality. And it is through the power of collaboration- with colleagues, scholars, artists, and social and cultural communities- that we will continue to fulfill the Smithsonian’s mission to ‘increase and diffuse knowledge.’

Emily Moazami, Assistant Head Archivist
National Museum of the American Indian