University Libraries

On October 30, Roesch Library (@roeschlibrary) archivists will join archivists from around the country on Twitter to answer your questions about all things archives! This day-long event, sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, will give you the opportunity to connect directly with our archivists as well as archivists from around the country to ask questions, get information, or just satisfy your curiosity.

Archivists do the exciting work of protecting and sharing important historical materials including documents, photographs, audio and visual materials, and artifacts. Increasingly, our work extends beyond the physical and includes digital materials. #AskAnArchivist Day will give you a chance to connect with archivists who are tackling the challenges of preserving our digital heritage for the future.

What questions can be asked?

Archivists participating in #AskAnArchivist are eager to respond to any and all questions you have about archives and archival work.

No question is too silly…
• What’s the craziest thing you’ve come across in your collections?
• If your archives had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it?
• What do archivists talk about around the water cooler?

… and no question is too practical!
• What should I do to be sure that my e-mails won’t get lost?
• I’ve got scads of digital images on my phone. How should I store them so I can access them later on?
• How do you decide which items to keep and which to weed out from a collection?
• As a teacher, how can I get my students more interested in using archives for projects?

How does it work?

#AskAnArchivist is open to everyone - all you need is a Twitter account! To participate, just tweet a question and include the hashtag #AskAnArchivist in your tweet. Your question will be seen instantly by archivists around the country who are standing by to respond directly to you.

Have a question for Roesch Library archivists Jennifer Brancato and Stephanie Soule? Include @roeschlibrary with your question. We may not know every answer right away, but we will get back to you after we have had the chance to do some digging.

Don’t have a question right away? Search Twitter for #AskAnArchivist and follow along as questions and answers are shared!

So get ready because we are taking to Twitter to answer your questions all day long on October 30 at #AskAnArchivist.

-Jennifer Brancato, University Archivist