Governor's Archives Awards

Awards to Wisconsin organizations, programs, and individuals to recognize outstanding contributions to historical archives and documentation. These awards honor efforts to preserve and increase the availability of historical resources in any format. Nominations will be accepted in three award categories: archival achievement, archival innovation, and archival advocacy.

Historical records are defined as original documents in the following formats: letters, diaries, scrapbooks, journals, photographs, films or videos, sound recordings, maps, microfilm, or original digital documents such as databases, spreadsheets, narrative text, or graphic images.

Work with personal and family papers, business records, organizational documents, state and local government records, or court files qualify for all the awards. Published sources such as newspapers are not considered historical records for the purposes of these awards.

Each category, achievement, innovation, and advocacy, has unique criteria:

Eligibility for Governor's Award for Archival Achievement: This award recognizes a historical records repository that has made an outstanding contribution to the archival profession, or a notable achievement of value to the archives community, its patrons or constituents. It is open to Wisconsin archival repositories and individuals only. The activity or contribution being nominated must be for work that is continuing.

Governor's Award for Archival Achievement Criteria:

-Establishing sound and active archival programs, where none has previously existed
-Substantially increasing public access and usefulness of an existing archival collection
-Contributing to a graduate degree program for archives students or to continuing education programs for professional archivists and other archives staff
-Preserving a threatened archival collection
-Making any other major contribution to the preservation, use or appreciation of Wisconsin's archival heritage worthy of recognition

Eligibility for Governor's Award for Archival Innovation: This award recognizes individuals, programs or organizations that successfully experiment with new ways to demonstrate the significance or relevance of historical records for understanding the past, or that use historical records to reach new audiences. This award is open to Wisconsin archival repositories and individuals only. The activity or contribution being nominated must have occurred during the last 3 years and may be continuing.

Governor's Award for Archival Innovation Criteria:

-Experimenting with new approaches to raising awareness and appreciation of historical records as keys to Wisconsin's cultural heritage
-Using new technologies for disseminating information about historical records
-Conducting public programs or classroom teaching that employs historical records in new ways
-Using historical records to reach new audiences

Eligibility for Governor's Award for Archival Advocacy: This award honors an individual or organization in Wisconsin or elsewhere for notable contributions to archival programs through organizational leadership, public advocacy, and financial or volunteer support. The nominated individual or organization must be advocating for Wisconsin programs. The activity or contribution being nominated must be for work that is continuing.

Governor's Award for Archival Advocacy Criteria:

-Establishing an educational or public history program designed to encourage the use of archival collections
-Creating writings, research or publications that contribute to a better understanding of archival collections in Wisconsin
-Teaching, public speaking or public programming that increases use or appreciation of archival collections
-Providing state, local or national leadership on archival issues
-Providing legislative support for Wisconsin archives or historical records
-Financially supporting work with historical records
-Making significant contributions of volunteer time to an archival repository or organizing volunteers for work with historical records