Happy International Archives Day!
The International Council on Archives (ICA) established International Archives Day in 2007 and selected 9 June to commemorate the founding of the ICA on 9 June 1948. The ICA is an international organization of archivists and archival institutions (the University Archives is a member).
Archivists around the world unite their voices to help the public understand why it is important to support archives and the work of archivists.
Why do we have an International Archives Day? As the ICA notes:
One might think that we have got a full calendar of international days to celebrate. However the public’s image of the archives is foggy: often confused with libraries, archives continue to be perceived as documents for internal use only, which are difficult to access and are of interest only to historians. The perception of records and archives by the public and the organizations that create them is not clear. This troubled image has an impact on the financial and human resources that responsible managers and administrators dedicate to records and archives operations and/or institutions.
International Archives Day recognizes that “archives constitute a major cultural heritage and information resource. The archival heritage is a valuable testimony about the economical, political and social development of humanity. The diversity of archival sources and formats is considerable.”
To celebrate, the ICA is collecting documents and images from Archives all over the word and posting them on the International Archives Day website. Dalhousie submitted Jack London’s resignation letter from the Socialist Party, found in the Roscoe Alfred Fillmore fonds (MS-10-1, Box 2, Folder 9).
Resignation letter from Jack London to members of the Socialist Party (MS-10-1, Box 2, Folder 9)
The letter was written from his ranch in Glen Ellen, California and reveals his dissatisfaction with the trends of socialism in the United States. It also announces the resignation of London’s wife, Charmian K. London.
Find us on Facebook or check out the Archives catalogue and online collections for more information on archival materials held here at Dalhousie.
What an interesting document! Maybe the archives could institute a “document of the day” service to expose all the other intriguing things in their collections. (One thing, though, he is resigning from the Socialist Party (US), not the Communist Party of Canada as your blog post says)
Thanks for spotting that, Joe! Looks we had it right in the caption, but not the text. It’s been corrected.