District 43 Archivist

DISTRICT ARCHIVIST: POSITION DESCRIPTION

ARCHIVES MISSION: of the District 43 Archives is to document permanently the work of Alcoholics Anonymous within the District as well as AA information globally to make the history of the organization accessible to A.A. members and other researchers, and to provide a context for understanding A.A.’s progression, principles and traditions.

THJE ARCHIVES COMMITTEE

1. is responsible for establishing policies, budgets and procedures.
2. Through its group conscience, it under­takes and maintains final responsibility and authority for the use of the Archives. In all of its actions, the Archives committee needs to be guided by A.A.’s primary purpose.
3. One of the most important functions of the Archives committee is to establish a Collection Scope, defining and describing what your archives will and will not collect, and why.
4. The Archives committee may decide, as its first act, to select a member to serve as the archivist, so that there will be a central administrator for the collection.

THE ROLE OF THE ARCHIVIST

1. Length of Time: It takes a considerable amount of time to become familiar with a collection of historical information. Therefore, it is recommended that the archivist not rotate frequently.
2. District to determine length of time for the archives chair and co-chair to serve.
3. The archivist is the person responsible for the collection, including documents, books, recordings, and artifacts.
4. He or she maintains the physical integrity of the collection, and also develops an index, inven­tory, and/or finding aid, to provide easy ways to search and access the collection.
5. The archivist is also responsible for ensuring the protection of the anonymity of members, and the confidentiality of all A.A. records. In most cases, the archivist regularly reports to the local A.A. entity that supports the work, giving updates on current projects.
6. The Archivist has a custodial responsibility for assuring the physical integrity of the collection and its availability to persons with a valid reason for study.
7. The archivist gathers facts and documentation, from both the distant and recent past, to preserve A.A.’s message. Bill W. urged that archives are needed “so that myth doesn’t prevail over fact.” In a real sense, A.A. archivists are “keepers of the past.”

DISTRICT 43

Because we are fortunate that an AA member with previous and professional experience established our base archives, including group histories, personal stories, previous event and newsletter documentation, various editions of the big book and in various languages, the current primary duty of the archives is to:

1. Maintain and expand existing archives, including collecting personal stories
2. Exhibit Archives at group function upon request.
3. Hold monthly meetings with Archive committee members
4. Attend monthly District 43 Meetings taking direction from the Fellowship when needed.
5. Realize that Archival work and research is a method of learning about AA and passing it on to others.