It’s officially the start of the 2011 Archives Month Blogathon across the Smithsonian. This year, nine blogs from across the Institution, including The Bigger Picture blog, are participating in the event, which lasts the entire month of October. Following the blogathon is a chance for you to hear about some of the treasures in archives across the Smithsonian, as well as challenges and issues our archivists face on the job. It’s also a time to highlight the fact that there are many archival resources across the Smithsonian (most of them highlighted here), each with its own specialty and each responsible for its own objects, artwork, and other collections. There is an incredible variety of pretty wonderful archival collections across the Smithsonian (which happens to be the world's largest museum and research complex).

All of the participating blogathon blogs, as well as a live RSS feed, are featured on the Smithsonian’s Archives Month website. However, you can also simply subscribe to the blogathon feed (Sorry! The feed is no longer available.) to keep up with what we’re writing about. If you want to see all of the blogathon posts from The Bigger Picture, you can also check out the 2011 Archives Month tag and browse away.

Enjoy, and check back throughout the month for updates on Archives Month.