history

Greetings from Georgia Archives Month 2025

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Society of Georgia Archivists 2025 Georgia Archives Month poster. 

Happy Archives Month! October helps us appreciate archives across Georgia and the nation with American Archives Month and Georgia Archives Month. Every October gives archivists the opportunity to promote their collections, letting researchers, citizens, and users see the importance of preserving local histories. One of the City of Savannah Municipal Archives’ documents is featured on the Society of Georgia Archivists’ Georgia Archives Month poster. The theme for this year’s poster was “leave your trace in the right place; documenting Georgia’s environment through archives.” With a focus on the outdoors and its’ connection to our lives, how the environment and the changes in our cities make an impact in our daily lives.  

“The Water Lords: Task Force Report on the Savannah River, Uncorrected Preliminary Draft,” by Ralph Nader and Center for Study of Responsive Law, 1971.

Record Series 1121-027, Savannah Area Local Government Documents Collection, SAV.WPC.1971-001, 1971.

City of Savannah Municipal Archives.

Savannah citizens have no bigger connection to the environment than the Savannah River. The Municipal Archives submitted for feature on the poster a significant report titled The Water Lords: Task Force Report on the Savannah River, Preliminary Draft, Introduction by Ralph Nader and written by the Center for Study of Responsive Law, 1971. The comprehensive report provides vital insight into the state of the Savannah River in the 1970s. The report was researched and written by the Savannah River Project task force, made up of Project Director James Fallows, lawyer and project adviser Harrison Wellford, and eleven students. The main objective of this task force was to find out how to stop the pollutants from reaching the Savannah River, as the task force already knew the river was polluted. The report also gives readers the opportunity to understand how easy it is to do their own study of their local environments.  

Hanging out by the Savannah River, 1997.

Record Series 0123-045,  Public Information Office Photograph collection, Item 0123-045_08-30-004.

City of Savannah Municipal Archives.

An impactful introduction by Ralph Nader recounts, “What this report calls for, in simplest fashion, is for the industrial companies next to Savannah, and other similar operations around the country, to pay their taxes and their environmental way—just as any small, non-corporate citizen is expected to do.” (Nader, VI)  

Another important aspect of this report is that it is an annotated uncorrected edition received by a local firm prior to publication. Throughout the publication you can see handwritten edits to sections of the text. Some of the edits are not just in the margins and between lines of text, but typewritten sections are pasted on top of one another. This gives the reader opportunities to see the edits and revisions suggested by the local company.

Did the report have any impact on the contaminations in the Savannah River? Absolutely, the lasting impacts of this report are felt throughout the country today. The attention and pressure brought upon the Union Camp Company (now known as International Paper Company) for discarding their waste into the Savannah River was one of the most significant. The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 after growing concern across the country regarding water pollution highlighted in reports just like this on.  

Union Camp, 1995.

Record Series 0123-045,  Public Information Office Photograph collection, Item 0123-045_08-41-001.

City of Savannah Municipal Archives.

Archives can not only connect us to the past but also to our environment. This report has been digitized and can be made available upon request. To see our full inventory of reports and studies check out the Savannah Area Local Government Documents collection.

Learn more about Georgia Archives Month at https://soga.org/archivesmonth and American Archives Month at https://www2.archivists.org/initiatives/american-archives-month-the-power-of-collaboration. 

By Megan Kerkhoff
Records Management Program Coordinator
October 2025 

Georgia Archives Month Grant now open!

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Purpose: The Georgia Archives Month Spotlight on Archives Grant is intended to help archives, museums, or heritage institutions in Georgia promote public awareness of their archives and manuscript collections. This grant will help selected organizations fund their events during Georgia Archives Month in October.

Grant parameters: The 2024 award amount will be one award of $500 and a Hollinger Metal Edge Gift Certificate in the amount of $250; award monies are intended to be used by the selected institution to fund an in-person or virtual event to be held during Georgia Archives Month in October 2024. The event should promote archives and manuscript holdings at an archives, museum, or heritage institution. Approved expenses for the Georgia Archives Month event include publicity costs such as printing and mailing expenses; an honorarium and travel costs for a speaker; and food and drinks for the event (only 50% of the total grant award may be used for expenses associated with food and drinks). Any questions about suitable uses of the grant should be directed to the Georgia Archives Month Committee. Past winners can be found here.

Selection process: The Georgia Archives Month Committee will accept applications for Spotlight nominees through October 15, 2024. The application includes a narrative describing how the funds will be used to promote the archives and manuscript collections of the archives, museum, or heritage institution during Georgia Archives Month. Only completed applications will be considered. The grant may be used to support an existing program or exhibit, but a new program or exhibit created specifically for Georgia Archives Month is preferred. Extra consideration will be given to institutions that are promoting diverse collections and to outreach efforts directed towards underrepresented groups.  Applicants will be notified of their status by the first week of October. The GAM Committee will award the grant to the successful applicants at this time and coordinate publicity about the awards with the award recipients.

Grantee responsibilities: The grantee will use the funds for the program or event outlined in the original application. The GAM Committee realizes that some change of details can take place, but a radical departure from the original application will result in a withdrawal of funds. In program literature and program scripts, the grantee agrees to mention the 2024 sponsors of Georgia Archives Month for their support (guidelines will be provided). The GAM Committee strongly encourages grantees to send letters to the 2024 GAM Committee sponsors thanking them for supporting the Spotlight on Archives grant program. The GAM Committee will provide the appropriate contact details to the recipient. The grantee will submit to the GAM Committee a summary of their event, photos of the event (if available), and receipts that document expenses by November 30, 2024. The grantee will allow the GAM Committee to use that information in future articles and promotional materials to raise awareness about this program or Georgia Archives Month. Please download this application and send to archivesmonth@soga.org as a PDF when completed.

GAM Spotlight Grant Application 2024Download

2024 Carroll Hart Scholarship Now Open!

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The Society of Georgia Archivists is now accepting applications for the 2024 Carroll Hart Scholarship. The application deadline is March 1, 2024.

This year’s Georgia Archives Institute will be held June 3-14, 2024.

For full details, please go to https://soga.wildapricot.org/scholarships/hart

The Society of Georgia Archivists awards a scholarship for attendance at the Georgia Archives Institute held each summer in Atlanta. The purpose of the scholarship is to enhance archival education and membership. The scholarship is named for Carroll Hart, former director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History, founding member of the Society of Georgia Archivists, and founder of the Georgia Archives Institute.

Individuals eligible to compete for the scholarship are:

  • Those engaged in compensated or volunteer archival work at any level in an institution in the state of Georgia.
  • SGA members employed outside the state of Georgia.
  • Graduate students preparing for a career in archives at a college or university in Georgia, or SGA student members studying outside the state of Georgia.
  • Those who identify as members of an underrepresented community or who work with collections that document underrepresented communities or groups.

Preference will be given to applicants who do not have access to institutional support for attending the Georgia Archives Institute.

The scholarship will cover an amount equal to the non credit tuition for the Institute, but not to exceed $550, and a year’s membership in the Society of Georgia Archivists. Please note that individuals must apply separately to the Georgia Archives Institute and pay the application fee to the Georgia Archives Institute. All regular deadlines and requirements for the Georgia Archives Institute apply. After participating in the Georgia Archives Institute, the recipient will submit a brief article on the experience for use in the SGA Newsletter.

How to apply:

Please fill out the online portion of the application for the Carroll Hart Scholarship. Then, to complete your application email your resume or CV and cover letter to scholarships@soga.org. Your application is not complete until these documents have been received.

Complete applications including cover letter and CV or resume must be received by March 1, 2024.