October is American Archives Month, and naturally the Smithsonian Institution Archives plans on celebrating. Luckily, the rest of the Smithsonian has big plans for the month as well! This is a head’s up to let you know about three big events we have planned for the upcoming weeks:

Archives Month Blogathon-

The month of October For the entire month of October THE BIGGER PICTURE, along with the Smithsonian Collections, Archives of American Art, The Affiliate, and other blogs from around the Smithsonian (TBA), will post about archives-related topics ranging from how to take care of your own archives to some of the weird things that we’ve found in our own archives. Check out the Smithsonian's Archives Month website for an up-to-date list of Smithsonian blogs that will be participating.

Archives Fair-

Friday, October 22^nd, 10 am to 5 pm S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive S.W., Washington, D.C. (click for map) Join us for the first ever Smithsonian Archives Fair, which will feature a lecture series and excitingly, a hands-on “Ask the Smithsonian” event. Like an Antiques Roadshow for archives, "Ask the Smithsonian" will feature experts from around the Smithsonian on hand to answer any questions that you may have about your archival materials, including: letters, diaries, maps, scrapbooks, photographs, films, recordings and computer disks (art objects and collectors items, such as paintings or toys will not be reviewed). To register for an Ask the Smithsonian appointment, call the Smithsonian Institution Archives at (202) 633-5941. All of these events are free and open to the public. For those not able to make it to the Fair in person, the lecture series will be live broadcast on our Archives Month website. Check out the schedule and more information here.

“Ask the Smithsonian” Facebook Q&A: Questions about your archives-

Thursday, October 21^st, 10 am to 5 pm For those of you who won’t be able to attend our Friday Archives Fair event in Washington D.C., join us on the main Smithsonian Facebook page on Thursday for a live online Q&A with a Smithsonian Institution Archives paper conservator and electronic records conservator. Questions you may have about your paper and electronic archival items will be answered by our experts. So, mark your calendars, register for the “Ask the Smithsonian” Archives Fair event now, and spread the word (Twitter hashtag #archivesmonth). We’ll keep you posted throughout the next month, and in the meantime, check out all of the archival resources the Smithsonian has to offer.