Future of the past
Our history must be preserved Guest writer
Over the past two years, there have been growing concerns about the future of the Arkansas State Archives among citizens interested in our state’s fascinating history.
As historians and genealogists exploring our regional archives in Powhatan and Washington and the main archives in Little Rock, we noticed the shortage of qualified staff members, heard of frozen staff positions, and kept hearing rumors of possible reduced budgets and staffing and maybe even the closing of one or both of the regional archives. In short, historians, genealogists, and teachers saw a growing need to help bolster and enhance the State Archives.
Charged with collecting, preserving, and disseminating our archival materials, the Arkansas State Archives is the keeper of our heritage. We are concerned about the future of historical treasures such as diaries, letters, family histories, land records, census records, maps, photographs, newspapers, and various county, state, and federal records that help tell the story of Arkansas’ long and interesting history. The collections also include books and periodicals about our history.
Over the past year, committed Arkansans have formed an organization to support and publicize the State Archives. Called the “Friends of the Arkansas State Archives,” this group quickly gained tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status and now has members throughout our state and stretching beyond our borders. The members range from professional historians to the amateur history buff, but we all recognize the importance of our heritage—and the responsibility we have for protecting that historical legacy.
The chief goals of the Friends are to encourage and support the discovery, publication, publicizing, and advancement of our state’s long history and to build an increased awareness of the work of the State Archives.
The State Archives is located in Little Rock on the Capitol grounds, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is at Powhatan Historic State Park, the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is at Historic Washington State Park, and the Black History Commission is in Little Rock. The Friends want to ensure that our state archives system is supported commensurately with the importance of its mission— collecting, preserving, and sharing the heritage of our state.
For those of us who have spent many a day digging though census reports, diaries, letters, and photographs as we attempt to create a history of our family or of a particular building in our community, or of a church our family and friends have attended and supported for several generations, we see clearly the vital role played by our state and regional archives. Not only are the archival materials indispensable to our finding, understanding, writing, and disseminating our stories, but professionally trained staff are essential to the collecting, storing, and preserving of these materials, and helping us locate and use the sources.
In this day of continued and serious attacks on the budgets and even the very existence of humanities oriented agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we all need to stay alert and vigilant to defend the humanities against the skeptics who don’t understand—or care—why they are important.
As Professor Michael Dougan shows in his book Arkansas Odyssey: The Saga of Arkansas from Prehistoric Times to the Present, the Arkansas History Commission, which governs the State Archives, has been faced with insufficient funding throughout much of its history. The History Commission’s 2015-2025 Strategic Plan points out that “the longterm stagnation of the agency’s budget has created a situation that makes it impossible for the agency to fully function as a state archives should with responsibilities for preservation of state records and the ability to assist local government agencies with records preservation.”
If you share our concern about the “future of Arkansas’ past,” then join the Friends of the Arkansas State Archives now! Dues are $10 per year for Basic, $25 per year for Sustaining, with a Life Membership available for $200, and a one-time corporate membership for $500. To join, send your full name, complete contact information including telephone number and email address, and a check for your dues to Friends of the Arkansas State Archives, P.O. Box 250916, Little Rock, AR 72225.
All funds raised through memberships and donations will be used to promote the current high quality of our state’s archival records.