Tag Archive for 'archives month'

Workshops on Digital Preservation to be offered by State Archives

The third in a series of workshops on basic digital preservation is scheduled for Wednesday September 26th from 9 A.M. to noon at the State Archives, 800 Summer Street NE, in Salem.

This third workshop, Protect/Manage/Provide, covers the basics of protecting, managing and providing access to digital content selected for long term preservation. The Protect portion of the workshop will provide instruction on steps that attendees can take to protect their digital content from problems such as corruption, obsolescence, inappropriate access and disasters.

The Manage part of this workshop will address the provisions needed for the long-term management of digital content that participants or their organizations have selected to preserve. We will discuss some basic risk management techniques like creating a written preservation policy and assessing what resources are needed to manage the digital content selected for preservation.

The final section of this workshop, Provide, will give instruction to attendees on how digital content should be made available over time given individual and organizational policies, technology and the needs of the end users.

Austin Schulz of the State Archives staff will lead this workshop. Austin attended the Digital Preservation Outreach and Education training at the Library of Congress as part of a national effort to encourage individuals and organizations to actively preserve their digital content. The training he provides consists of six modules geared toward individuals seeking a basic introduction to digital content preservation and is open to the public. Although the workshops are free, pre-registration is required.

To register simply e-mail the Archives at: reference.archives@state.or.us and put “Digital Preservation Workshop” in the subject line. If you have any questions or would like to register by phone, please contact Austin Schulz at (503) 378-5161.

October is Archives Month – Oregon Post-WWII

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This photo from the Highway Department’s archive shows some young tourists enjoying a sunny day in their convertible with Mt. Hood in the background.

After the Second World War ended, the State of Oregon experienced a tourism boom. State parks were full, Highway 99 was busy and during the Centennial of our statehood and colorful festivals were visited in cities throughout Oregon.

This picture is one of many in our Archives Division’s web exhibit on the State of Oregon during and after the second world war, called ‘Life on the Home Front: Oregon Responds to World War II’.

October has been Archives Month. We hope that you got a chance to explore the Archives Division’s wealth of online and offline resources.

October is Archives Month – Willamette Cattle Company Agreement

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In honor of October being Archives Month, we wanted to bring out some of the cooler things the Archives has in its online holdings. Today’s submission is an written agreement of the Willamette Cattle Company from the year 1837.

To learn more about this document, click here. Stay tuned for more exciting items from the State archives or go explore for yourself!

Celebrating 100 Years of Suffrage

Abigail Scott Duniway (right) arrives to vote in Portland for a 1914 election.  Source: SoS Archives Division

Abigail Scott Duniway (right) arrives to vote in Portland for a 1914 election. Source: SoS Archives Division

Planning will get under way this fall for an important anniversary in Oregon’s political and cultural history.

In 1912, Oregon voters gave women the full right to vote but it wasn’t an easy effort. Five previous statewide suffrage ballot measures had failed in the previous three decades, the most recent by increasingly large margins. Its final success in 1912 still placed Oregon among the first states to give women the complete right to vote and it came full eight years before ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In 2012, Oregon will celebrate the suffrage centennial with appropriate displays and retrospectives coordinated by the Oregon Archives Divisions. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Kate Brown will take part in a small reception at the Archives Building to mark the start of planning for the centennial celebration.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this process,” Brown said. “This was a vote that changed the face of Oregon and it came with the support of some brave and colorful figures from our past. This is a golden page in Oregon history.”

Taking part in the celebration will be the Oregon Women Suffrage Centennial Project, a part of the Northwest History Network. The project has already started a web site, www.oregonsuffrage.org, that takes a close look at Oregon’s suffrage movement with articles, a time line and photos.

President Teddy Roosevelt took a leading role in the Progressive Era. Source: Oregon SoS Archives

Full suffrage for women had its first debate in the Oregon Legislature in 1872. By 1878 women – if taxpayers — won the right to vote in school elections only. By 1912, suffrage had been defeated in five statewide votes, the first in 1884 and 1900, put before voters by the Legislature, and again in 1906, 1908 and 1910, put on the ballot by the newly-established right to citizen initiative. The last three measures lost by increasing larger margins, going from 44 percent support in 1906, to 49 percent in 1908 and 37 percent in 1910.

But 1912 saw a groundswell toward progressive causes, which included women’s suffrage. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt and his Progressive Party (known as the Bull Moosers) came in second in Oregon to Woodrow Wilson in the presidential balloting. And that year, after five defeats, suffrage finally won approval, gaining 51.7 percent of the vote.

We’ll keep you updated on other events leading up to the suffrage centennial.

October is Archives Month

A copyright from Archives

When it comes to the ‘wow factor’, our Archives Division is about as good as it gets in State government. Since 1947, Archives has been the home of the state’s most valuable and indeed invaluable records, spanning from the provisional and territorial governments through to the present day.

Taking a quick tour of the Archives website, one can find information on genealogical research, a collection of Governor’s records, some incredible Web exhibits, and a link to the online version of the Oregon Blue Book; an encyclopedia of Oregon knowledge. That isn’t even to speak of the amazing stuff you can check out during a personal visit to Archives here in Salem.

Beach goers in 1940

Beach goers in 1940

Once a year since 1989, Archives divisions across the country have taken center stage with an officially recognized Archives Week or Month. In Oregon, Governor Ted Kulongoski made a formal proclamation for Oregon Archives Week, and later Archives Month, starting in 2004. At that point our State joined in supporting Archivists efforts to: increase the public’s awareness of archives and historical records; educate people, organizations and others about preserving their own historical records; and encouraging people to explore and use the archives in their area.

This year, the Oregon State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) applied for, and received National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant funds in part to support the printing and distribution of a poster commemorating Oregon Archives Month.

Archives Month programs vary from state to state and usually include a broad range of activities such as award presentations, exhibits, lectures, open houses and workshops. To get up to date information on Archives Month events in Oregon, check out the Archives month website.

Current events include the Multnomah Library’s “The Origins of Multnomah County Library: Primary Sources Celebrating Oregon & National Archives Month”, which will run through November 23. An event sponsored by the University of Oregon will celebrate home movies, while two separate events will be taking place on the Oregon State University campus this month, details can be found here.

Archives month is a tremendous opportunity for Oregonians to explore the State’s rich past with a full plate of fantastic events. Should you miss out on the fun this month, don’t fret; our Archives division is open year round to help you find whatever you might be looking for.