Just been 'elected' to be the District Archives Chair? The job ahead of you is not as scary as it may seem. Any one of us that has taken on a position in service has faced the question of whether or not we can do this job. For archives it is almost easier than all the other positions. Wait now before you get all excited it is true. As the Archives chair, archivist or liaison, a big part of your responsibility is to get the groups active in recording their own history. When I began my archivist journey as the archivist for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Intergroup Archives Committee, I went and visited all the Districts here and spoke to them about the contents of the Archives Workbook (found under Documents & Forms) to take the mystery and fear out of what we do. One way to get the groups in your District to participate in archives is to get the G.S.R. to have a look at the Area 83 Group History form and get them to fill it out at a group business meeting. Talk to the District table about what you read in the Oral History kit (found under Documents & Forms) and get the G.S.R. to identify a few long timers in their group, make a date over coffee and get them to 'tell what it was like when they came in.' If you can encourage your District G.S.R.s and officers to do these things and actually have them do it,then you have done a remarkable job of accomplishing what would not have been done had you not started.
Any questions about these things? Come to the 2nd Annual Area 83 Archives Workshop on June 9, 2007 in Kingston!
