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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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Join us in St. Louis for the 2024 CoSA Annual Meeting

September 18-20

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.

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Events/Webinars


  • Chatting with CoSA

    Oct 9, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Fields of Dreams: Best Practices for Metadata Management

    Oct 10, 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM (ET)
    Presentation: Developing Metadata Standards with BACKER Speaker: Taylor Chase, Processing Archivist, Nevada State Archives Summary: This presentation will cover the accessioning and processing processes for the standardization of metadata of born-digital records at the Nevada State Archives as created through the BACKER project. These workflows were created in consideration of the challenges of limited staff and resources available to work with digital records. Presentation: Metadata for Electronic Records at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Speaker: Brian Thomas, Electronic Records Archivist, Texas State Library and Archives Commission Summary: Discovery in the Texas Digital Archive is built upon robust and highly standardized metadata, but sometimes standardized doesn't cover it. In this presentation Brian will discuss the method by which standardized and agency-provided metadata is handled to maximize discoverability and contextualization of records Presentation: NARA’s Metadata Guidance Summary: Four experienced NARA professionals will discuss four key parts of NARA’s metadata strategy: Transfer metadata guidance; digitization standards; guidance on metadata for classified records; and NARA’s approach to metadata guidance for other federal agencies. Speakers: Kevin De Vorsey (He, Him), Senior Digital Records Policy Analyst Michael Horsley (He, Him), Senior Digital Records Policy Analyst Anne Mason (She, Her), Senior Digital Records Policy Analyst John Martinez (He, Him), Supervisory Digital Records Policy Analyst The webinar will also feature moderator Nick Connizzo (CoSA, BACKER Grant Administrator) and the unveiling of the annual Electronic Records Day poster from SERI Tools and Resources Chair Josh Hackel (Illinois State Archives). #SERIWebinar #CoSAWebinar #ERDayEvents

  • Shop Talk with Preservica

    Oct 17, 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • State Archives Spotlight

    Oct 24, 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (ET)
    Come celebrate American Archives Month with us! We're shining the spotlight on Mississippi and Alaska this year. Your colleagues will share more about their operations, challenges, and strengths in this popular annual event. #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Dec 11, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Feb 12, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Apr 9, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Jun 11, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Aug 13, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

  • Chatting with CoSA

    Oct 8, 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ET)
    #CoSAWebinar

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