October is American Archives Month! This annual event highlights the critical role archives and archivists play in collecting, preserving, and making available records of enduring value. 

To celebrate, New Mexico archivists are participating in several special events. On Monday, October 20, the New Mexico Archives & Archivists Special Interest Group of the New Mexico Library Association is holding its second annual Archives “Bizarre” at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe from 4:30pm-7pm. This free event, Archival Oddities: Misfits and Mysteries in Collections, brings together a dozen archival repositories from northern and central New Mexico to share mysterious, odd, and unique items from their collections. To reserve your ticket, click here (please note that this ticket does not include admission to Meow Wolf’s exhibits).  

The Border Regional Archives Group (BRAG) will be holding their Border Archives Bazaar in Las Cruces on Saturday, October 18, 10am-4pm, at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The theme this year is Voices Through Time/Voces a travéés del tiempo. Admission is $3 and covers access to the museum's indoor and outdoor exhibits. This fun event will include original historical documents, photographs, maps., and films from over a dozen cultural heritage institutions in southern New Mexico and far West Texas. The Border Archives Bazaar is now in its ninth year! 

Local archivists are also participating in an online series, Ask an Archivist: How to Care for Indigenous Materials. The next session is on Monday, October 20 at 11am. Click here to register. Possible discussion topics include how to care for Indigenous materials with respect, creating appropriate metadata, access based on community protocols, and building relationships with Indigenous communities. For more information, please contact Cassandra Osterloh.  

And be sure to visit the HSLIC Special Collections webpage to learn more about our holdings, services, and online content.