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Council of State Archivists

The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) is a nonprofit membership organization of the state and territorial government archives in the fifty states, five territories, and District of Columbia.

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2022 CoSA Year in Review Now Available!!

Our Mission & Vision

The Council of State Archivists provides leadership to strengthen and support state and territorial archives leaders and staff in their work to preserve and provide access to government records.

Core Values Statement

RELEVANT: CoSA anticipates and responds to developing trends, emerging research, and advocacy issues to meet the evolving needs of state and territorial archives leaders and staff.

INCLUSIVE: CoSA represents all state and territorial archives leaders and staff, encourages all agencies to provide equitable access to state records, and advocates for equity and inclusion within the government records workforce.

COLLABORATIVE: CoSA acknowledges, amplifies, and facilitates the creative strength and extensive knowledge of diverse members, partners, and stakeholders working together.

State Electronic Records Initiative

CoSA launched the State Electronic Records Initiative (SERI) in 2011 to focus on improving management, preservation, and access to state and territorial government electronic records in all 56 states and territories.  CoSA's SERI Steering Committee manages and oversees the work of the initiative, working with volunteers from state and territorial archives throughout the nation to collectively improve electronic records management and digital preservation for state and territorial governments.

Advocacy for Archives

CoSA advocates for advancing the needs of our members to stakeholders and the public by acting as a clearinghouse for information, participating in policy and funding discussions, developing advocacy and awareness messages, and working in partnership with counterparts in allied organizations. Prominent in this work is the CoSA Advocacy Committee.

Resources & Research

CoSA is seen as the source of reliable information about state archives and government records. CoSA regularly undertakes research on state archives issues ranging from electronic records management and digital preservation needs to advocacy. CoSA continues to expand its research and publication emphasis, and invites corporate sponsors to support report design and dissemination. CoSA uses the strength of collaboration and partnership to leverage resources, share expertise, and to solve problems.

Education & Training

CoSA’s education and training programs respond to member needs and focus on improving state archival programs, no matter their size or level of operation. Noteworthy among them is the flagship State Electronic Records Initiative (SERI). Smaller-scale education and networking occurs in annual meetings, monthly member and SERI webinars, listserv exchanges, the Awards Program, and the monthly newsletter.

Latest Activity

Discover our Latest News & Blogs

Latest Activity

Blog Posts

Events/Webinars


  • APPX Software Presents: A Practical Approach to Processing Millions of Emails

    Jun 8, 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (ET)
    CoSA recently published Be Prepared, the final report of the PREPARE: Preparing Archives for Records in Email grant. This report discusses the many challenges related to the processing of emails by state archives. In this report, ePADD and RATOM were reviewed as useful tools for the processing of emails. These tools have “blazed” the way for the processing of emails. But, as good as they are, they don’t go far enough. Building on the experiences of these groundbreaking tools, APPX Software is developing and will soon be releasing the first comprehensive practical system for processing large volumes of emails. This innovative system can help you process the millions of emails created by the governor and his staff not to mention the millions of additional emails that are created each year by staff in other state agencies. Do you panic when you receive a request for public records that involves emails? Have you been saving emails hoping that there would someday be a way to process them in a timely manner that is both cost effective and practical? Learn how a creative blend of human intelligence and artificial intelligence techniques can make this possible. The future is coming soon. #CoSAWebinar

  • Building Archives Virtual Symposium: Construction phase (part 2)

    Jun 22, 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    Note the extended time from 3:00 to 4:30 This is the second part of our series on Building/Remodeling a State Archives. In Part 2, we will look at the construction phase and beyond for the project. Our panelists for this session will be from Massachusetts, Iowa and Tennessee. Chris Wood from the SmithGroup in Washington DC will provide some closing remarks and summarizing what has been discussed. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. #CoSAWebinar ​

  • CoSA-NARA Webinar: Topic TBD

    Aug 24, 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (ET)
    More info coming soon. #CoSAWebinar ​

  • CoSA Member Webinar: Topic TBD

    Sep 28, 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (ET)
    More info coming soon. #CoSAWebinar ​

  • State Archives Spotlight

    Oct 26, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    More info coming soon. #CoSAWebinar ​

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