The Society of Southwest Archivists is a professional organization established to:

  • stimulate and make available research in archival administration and records management
  • promote sound principles and standards for preserving and administering records
  • foster opportunities for education and training of archivists, records managers, and custodians of private papers
  • strengthen relations with others in allied disciplines and with organizations and institutions having mutual interests in the preservation and use of our recorded heritage.

SSA serves over 500 archivists, special collections librarians, preservationists, conservators, records managers, and others interested in the preservation of our documentary heritage. The six states in our region are Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, but our members come from almost every state and several countries. We look forward to working with you to improve and promote the archival profession.   

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Please consider making a donation to the SSA Endowment that funds the scholarships. To make a donation, please visit the donations page. Thank you for your support of SSA's mission.

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SSA on Amazon Smile

The Society of Southwest Archivists is now an official charitable organization on Amazon Smile. If you are an Amazon customer, you can register your account on Amazon Smile to automatically donate .05% of the purchase price of your Amazon purchases to SSA.
Community Outreach Fund

SSA established the Community Outreach Fund in 2015 to support outreach events or programs that promote archives to the general public. SSA has set aside $1,000 per year to support such endeavors.
National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives

The Society of Southwest Archivists and the Society of American Archivists created the SSA-SAA Emergency Disaster Assistance Grant Fund—a fund established to address the stabilization and recovery needs of archival repositories that are directly affected by natural disasters.

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Latest Posts

  • SSA Elections 2022: Call for Nominations

    If you would like to serve, or know an ideal candidate, please submit your nominations for the following positions:  Vice-President/President Elect (three year term-one as VP, one as President, and one as Immediate Past President)  Executive Board (3 positions, two-year term)  Nominating Committee (1 position, two-year term)  Scholarship Committee (1 position, three-year term)  Secretary (two-year […]

  • SSA at 50: Snapshots From Five Decades

    John H. Slate, Chair, 50th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee. This is the first installment of a series of articles that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Society of Southwest Archivists. Let’s begin at the beginning! On May 5, 1972 thirty-five archivists, librarians, and historians met at the University of Texas at Arlington to form the […]

Today in the Archivist’s Daybook

October 24, 2021

  • On this date in 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233 which erected new barriers to obtaining access to former presidents' White House materials. It sharply diminished the public's right to access by requiring scholars, journalists and others to receive both the permission of former and sitting presidents and to demonstrate a specific "need to know" when requesting documents regarding all presidencies from Reagan onward.

    October 24, 2021

  • On this date in 2001, the United States National Archives and Records Administration signed a secret Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Intelligence Agency to pull documents in the public domain from the shelves and review them for possible reclassification as secret. The memo documented a disturbing role that NARA played in a multi-year effort by US federal agencies to remove thousands of historical documents from public access, even though the records had previously been declassified.

    October 24, 2021