Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 75
CHAPTER 183

Relative to California Archives Month.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 22, 2017. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SCR 75, Allen. Archival institutions: California Archives Month.
This measure would recognize the essential role that archives and archivists have in the state and would proclaim the month of October 2017 as California Archives Month in the state.
Fiscal Committee: NO  
WHEREAS, State and local governments, religious and medical institutions, colleges and universities, libraries, historical societies, museums, and businesses throughout California have established archives as a means of preserving our history; and
WHEREAS, Archives hold historically significant collections of unique materials, including government records, manuscripts, handwritten letters, diaries, maps, photographs, videotapes, and modern electronic data; and
WHEREAS, The first law in California, the Statutes of 1850, Chapter 1, “An Act concerning the Public Archives,” created the state’s archives; and
WHEREAS, Archival records are essential to support society’s increasing demand for accountability and transparency in government and in public and private institutions; and
WHEREAS, Archival records protect rights, property, and identity; and
WHEREAS, Archivists acquire, manage, preserve, and help patrons identify and use records that have enduring value as reliable memories of the past, and help people find and understand the information they need in those records; and
WHEREAS, Archivists provide exhibitions using archival materials to facilitate the study of California’s rich history; and
WHEREAS, Archivists make records available for study and appreciation, whether in a local repository or via the Internet; and
WHEREAS, Archivists play a key role in ensuring that the digital records being created today will be accessible when needed in the future; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the essential role that archives and archivists have in the state to acquire, manage, preserve, and help patrons identify and use records of enduring value that document our state’s history, and proclaims the month of October 2017 as California Archives Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.