I’m a member of a fairly unknown profession: I’m an archivist. I usually have to follow up my answer to the standard “So what do you do?” question at parties with an explanation of what exactly an archivist is. My most common explanations are “I read dead people’s mail” or “I’m a librarian that works with letters and papers rather than books.” Most folks just smile and nod like they’ve understood. I’ve even had to explain that it is a completely different profession than an arsonist, which is mostly a hobby, rather than something that pays the bills.

But now this week all that will change, I’m sure. Because it’s Georgia Archives Week! This year’s theme is “Discover Hidden Treasures.” I know, I know, the excitement is unbearable. According the , “the purpose of Archives Week is to celebrate the value of Georgia’s historical records, publicize the many ways historical records enrich our lives, and recognize those who maintain our communities’ historical records.”

If you have the time, stop by your local museum or archives and see what sort of “hidden treasures” they have. Most are free and open to the public. You may learn something about your neighborhood’s past, your family’s history, or why Atlanta is the way it is today.

For more information, check out the Society of Georiga Archivists’ website: http://soga.org/aw/2005/aw.html.

Archives and libraries around the state are putting on special exhibits to demonstrate the uses for archival materials and their value to our communities. Some of the local exhibits include:

Cinnamon Kiss and 47 by Walter Mosley (author lecture and book signing)
* When: Friday, October 14, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.
* Where: Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
* Description: Walter Mosley is the author of nineteen critically acclaimed books and his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. His popular mysteries featuring Easy Rawlins began with Devil in a Blue Dress in 1990. Others in the series include A Red Death, White Butterfly, Black Betty and A Little Yellow Dog (both of which were New York Times bestsellers). Mosley’s sizzling new novel pits Easy Rawlins against his greatest challenge ever–a terrifying murder during the Summer of Love. Mosley has also published his first book for young adult readers, ÔøΩ47ÔøΩ. It is an ingenious mix of history, science fiction, and adventure.
* Cost: All author lectures and book signings are open to the public at no charge.
* For more information: Contact the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum at 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30307-1498; Telephone: (404) 865-7100; Fax: (404) 865-7102; Email: carter.library@nara.gov; Web: www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov.

Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian Institution
* When: Through October 9, 2005; On display Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The Atlanta History Center will host this unique exhibition in the Kenan Research Center at McElreath Hall.
* Description: “Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian Institution” documents two centuries of American ingenuity and industry, from inventor’s hand to investor’s boardroom, from patent office to factory floor. Drawn from the rich collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution of Libraries and organized by the Smithsonian Institution of Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the traveling exhibition encompasses familiar domestic and industrial icons as well as ideas that never got off the drawing board. The exhibition has been made possible by the support of Marsh Inc., the global risk and insurance services firm. A more detailed description can be found on the Smithsonian’s website at: http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/doodles/main.htm.
* Cost: Free
* For more information: Contact Hillary Hardwick at 404-814-4083 or HHardwick@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Archives Week Activity
* When: Tuesday, October 4
* Where: Federal Reserve Bank
* Description: Four oral history interviewees will be available for questions from Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta employees. The interviewees collectively have 165 years experience as employees of the Bank, and one person, hired in 1963, remains an active employee today.
* Note: Although this Archives Week activity is only available to Bank employees, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Visitors Center and Monetary Museum is open to the public for self-guided tours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Bank is at 1000 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30309 with directions available at the Visitors Center and Monetary Museum web site (http://www.frbatlanta.org/atlantafed/visitors_center/vc_directions.cfm). For a brief history of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, view the New Georgia Encyclopedia article at http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1740.
* For more information: Contact Annie Tilden, Library and Information Center, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Tel: 404 498-8740; Fax: 404 498-7931

Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill exhibit
* When: October 1-9, 2005, from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (and throughout the month of October)
* Where: Reading Room of the Georgia Tech Archives
* Description: Founded in Atlanta during the late 1860s, the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills operated under the management of Jacob Elsas and his descendants for more than a century. The Elsas family, long-time supporters of Georgia Tech, greatly expanded the Atlanta operations and opened mills in seven other locations in the United States during the first sixty years of the twentieth century. The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills collection was brought to the Georgia Tech Archives in 1985, where it now forms the backbone of the Archives’ collection of materials on textiles and the textile industry in the South. The exhibit in the Reading Room of the Georgia Tech Archives highlights the materials in the Fulton Bag collection, featuring especially the strike of 1914-1915.
* Cost: Free and open to the public
* For more information: contact Christine de Catanzaro; Tel: 404-385-0107; Email: christine.decatanzaro@library.gatech.edu

The March by E.L. Doctorow (author lecture and book signing)
* When: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.
* Where: Day Chapel, Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
* Description: Sherman’s march through Georgia and the Carolinas produced hundreds of thousands of deaths and untold collateral damage. In this powerful novel, Doctorow gets deep inside the pillage, cruelty and destructionÔøΩas well as the care and burgeoning love that sprung up in their wake.
* Cost: All author lectures and book signings are open to the public at no charge.
* For more information: Contact the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum at 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30307-1498; Telephone: (404) 865-7100; Fax: (404) 865-7102; Email: carter.library@nara.gov; Web: www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov.