National Archives' Modern Archives Institute Receives Top Archival Award
Press Release · Friday, August 4, 2006

Washington, DC

Recipient of the Society of American Archivists 2006 Distinguished Service Award

Washington, D.C…The National Archives' Modern Archives Institute has received the Society of American Archivists' 2006 Distinguished Service Award for its “outstanding public service,” noting that it “has helped to formulate a common understanding of the principles that underlie the profession today.” Mary Rephlo, long-time director of the Modern Archives Institute, accepted the award on August 4, 2006, at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists, Council of State Archivists, and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators in Washington, D.C.

The Society of American Archivists praised the National Archives' Modern Archives Institute, the oldest archival education program in America, for its long history of service to the archives profession (over 60 years) and for its high-quality, intensive introduction to archival theory and practice in an accessible format. The Institute was developed in the years following World War II when post-graduate training programs in archival administration were virtually non-existent. Since 1945, more than 3,000 archivists have been trained by the Institute.

About the National Archives' Modern Archives Institute
The National Archives, in cooperation with the Library of Congress, presents two sessions of the Modern Archives Institute each year to introduce participants to archival theory and practice and the responsibilities of archival work. The two-week program features staff from both institutions as presenters and guides, offering their expertise to participants who work with personal papers, as well as those who work with the records of public and private institutions and organizations. The program provides basic knowledge about caring for archival materials and making them available, and includes lectures, discussions, workshops, a full day of activities at the Library of Congress, and tours of various units of the National Archives.

The next two sessions are January 22 - February 2, 2007, and June 4 - June 15, 2007.
See more information about the Modern Archives Institute.

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For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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