On April 2, 2011, I attended a session at the New England Archivists' Spring 2011 Meeting on working with community archives. One of the Yale archivists described his projects where he provided information to community organizations on how to manage the records that the community organizations created and stored. When I heard this, I thought to myself, "The Congregational Library does this!" The Congregational Library has several resources on our website, including a booklet on how to start a records management program and useful templates.
Why records management? What is the benefit of undertaking more work for your church? There are practical benefits to this sort of program. Finding everyday records quickly allows for more time to be devoted to planning church events, raising funds, or even filing taxes, because time will not be wasted hunting for that one all important piece of paper.
There is another reason why such a program could be beneficial: preserving the memory of your organization. Organized records will help preserve the parts of the past for future use, whether it is by members of your Church or by local historians. One special part about preserving your church's past is that you have the power to act. With resources linked in the first paragraph, and other resources, like those at the Northeast Document Conservation Center, you can begin planning how to preserve your institutions past. Please follow the Congregational Library events page for an up-to-date listing of relevant events.
--Abraham
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