November 14, 2005
At its July 2005 annual meeting in Richmond, Virginia,
the Council of State Historical Records Coordinators voted to change
the name of the organization to the Council
of State Archivists (CoSA).
Learn more about
reasons for the name change>>
This month, CoSA launches its new website at www.statearchivists.org.
Much of the content is the same, but we've added a few features and
restructured some of the sections.
Here are some of the changes
so far:
The redesigned Archives
Resource Center (ARC) has been streamlined with a focus on guidelines,
technical materials, and tools produced by and for state archives.
If you've been an active user, we hope you'll
appreciate the cleaner interface. If you've never visited the ARC,
you'll discover links to a wide array of information gleaned from state
archives sites. Here's a small sampling:
Collections
online (digital archives, virtual exhibits, memory projects)
Resources
for teaching with primary sources
Record schedules
for state and local
governments
Records-related
laws, statutes, legislation
Electronic
records management and regulations
Disaster
preparedness and planning
The ARC also
contains several CoSA-developed tools:
Basics
of Archives (BACE) materials developed to introduce individuals
who have responsibility for archival collections -- but may never have
received formal archival training -- to the basics of archives
Placement
of archives and records management programs in state government
Acronyms
used by archivists and records managers
A separate section for News
Releases and Information Updates will make it easier to find actions
taken by CoSA and topics of current interest to its members.
The Archival
Connections section highlights collaborative efforts among CoSA
and other archives and records associations and seeks to facilitate
communication among these organizations. It includes a directory
of professional associations serving archivists in the U.S. at the
national, regional, state, and local levels.
Here's how to find other
frequently used sections:
Directory of state
archivists
www.statearchivists.org/statearchivists.htm
Hurricane Katrina
reports and photos
www.statearchivists.org/arc/hurricaneresponse.htm
Archives Week directory
and posters
www.statearchivists.org/arc/archweek.htm
State archives and
records management program websites
www.statearchivists.org/states.htm
SHRAB websites
www.statearchivists.org/shrabs.htm
CoSA reports and surveys
www.statearchivists.org/reports/
Coming soon!
Data from the 2004-05 Survey of State Archives
and Records Programs.
A new SHRAB Support Section that will
include downloadable copies of both the State Coordinator's Manual and
the SHRAB Member Manual.
Most of the pages are in the same relative locations
as in the old website (just substitute statearchivists.org
for coshrc.org in the URL), but a
few have been moved around to streamline the directory structure. Please
let us know if you have
trouble finding a favorite resource.
We will welcome your comments, suggestions, and corrections
as we settle into our new home on the Internet.
