#AskAnArchivist Day – October 4

October 4th is Ask An Archivist Day! We’ll be diligently tending our Twitter account (@ucsf_archives) and responding to questions about our collections, our jobs, or anything else to do with the stewardship of historical material. Tag your questions with #AskAnArchivist to join the conversation.

For example, you could ask:

Have you found any interesting ephemera or artifacts in the AIDS History Project collections? #AskAnArchivist

And we’d say:

Yes, lots. For instance, the papers of epidemiologist Donald Francis include a 12th World AIDS Conference condom and Stop AIDS t-shirt.

12th World AIDS Conference condom, 1998. Donald P. Francis papers, MSS 2015-01.

Stop AIDS t-shirt. Donald P. Francis papers, MSS 2015-01.

#AskAnArchivist Day is part of our October Archives Month programming. Learn more about other upcoming events here.

Archives Month — October 2017

Librarian Dorothy Allen explains how to use reference materials in the library. October is Archives Month! (also AIDS Awareness Month coincidentally). Since we’re an archive, we’re celebrating! Archives Month, if you haven’t heard of it, is “an opportunity to tell (or remind) people that items that are important to them are being preserved, cataloged, cared for, and made accessible by archivists.” We’ll be taking this opportunity to host all kinds of events and happenings which will revolve around the historical materials we preserve.

What exactly will we be doing? A lot! Here’s a brief summary:

  • On October 4th: Opening reception at 12 pm for our exhibit of Dr. Arthur Ammann’s photo-montages — a call for an end to the violence against women represented by the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
  • Also on October 4th: We’ll be participating in #AskAnArchivist Day on October 4th all day long. We’ll be diligently tending our Twitter account (@ucsf_archives), so send us questions about our collections, our jobs, or anything else to do with stewardship of historical materials! Tag your questions with #AskAnArchivist to join the conversation.
  • On October 6: Archives Lecture at 12 pm by Dr. David Smith on the history of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics, which he founded 50 years ago just down the street.
  • On October 17: ZSFG Archives Drop-in exhibit at 12 pm. Learn about the history of ZSFG, meet Griffin the ZSFG Archivist, and see materials from the collections.
  • On October 28: Visit us and other SF institutions for San Francisco Archives Crawl: Counterculture and Social Protest, 12-5pm.
  • On October 30: A Spoooooky Halloween open house at 12 pm in our reading room where we’ll exhibit various macabre images and frightening implements from the early days of medicine.

A Dental Student work on the teeth of a patient.

And of course, the main thing we will do this month is the same thing we do every month: steward the materials that document our collective past and inform our future. We hope you’ll join us in October to celebrate archives, and thank you for your support!

Archives Month – October 2016

October is Archives Month! Along with archives from across the country, we’re celebrating the value of historical records and the preservation of the past.

We have special events planned on Wednesday, October 5. Visit us in the Library 5th floor Reading Room from 12noon-1pm to view historical collections, tour library exhibits, and meet archives staff. Also, tweet your questions all day @ucsf_archives using #AskAnArchivist. RSVP preferred for the open house – sign up here.

archivesmonthportrait

October 1st Is #AskAnArchivist Day! We’ve Got Answers…

Today is the second annual #AskAnArchivist Day. The Society of American Archivists is organizing this day-long event to launch the celebration of the American Archives Month and help connect the public with diverse repositories in all states.

UCSF Library card catalog, 1970s

UCSF Library card catalog, 1970s

#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.
If your questions are specifically for the UCSF archives, be sure to tweet them to @ucsf_archives using the hashtag #AskAnArchivist on October 1st from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PST).
Ask us:

  • How do archives change lives?
  • What is the oldest book in your collection?
  • How can I donate materials to an archive?
  • What is the name of the UCSF first female graduate?
  • Why are archives important?
  • What textbooks did students use in 1898?
  • How old is UCSF?

The archives team will be waiting for your submissions. Click here to tweet.

Got questions? October 30 Is #AskAnArchivist Day!

On October 30, archivists around the country will take to Twitter to answer your questions about any and all things archives! This day-long event, sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, will give you the opportunity to connect directly with archivists in your community—and around the country—to ask questions, get information, or just satisfy your curiosity.

Postcard depicting the Affiliated Colleges, San Francisco, California, ca. 1900s

Postcard depicting the Affiliated Colleges, San Francisco, California, ca. 1900s

We are eager to respond to diverse questions you have about archives and archival work. Not sure what to ask? Here are a few sample questions we commonly get…

•    Who was the first chancellor of UCSF?
•    When the university was officially named UCSF?
•    How to archive a website?
•    What’s the most unusual thing you’ve come across in your collections?
•    How can I see you collections?
•    How can I volunteer in the archives?
•    Can you help me digitize VHS tapes?
•    I have old dental school yearbooks, can I donate them to archives?

#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.
If your questions are specifically for the UCSF archives, be sure to tweet them to @ucsf_archives using the hashtag #AskAnArchivist on October 30th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We may not know every answer right away, but we will get back to you after we’ve had the chance to do some digging.
The archives team will be on-hand to answer your questions. Click here to tweet.