Utah Archives Month Resources

There are many ways your institution can celebrate Utah Archives Month, from something as simple as a social media post that tells your audience that October is Archives Month to hosting an in-person exhibit of your organizations records for your community. This page contains a variety of resources to help you choose the project or event that works best for you and help guide you through the planning process.

There are two sets of sources: the first set is “evergreen” and can be used every year to help guide your planning process, and the second set is specific to each year and its annual theme.

General Utah Archives Month Materials

Utah Archives Month Program Support Micro-Grants

USHRAB’s micro-grant program will provide funds of up to $500 for Utah-based cultural heritage organizations to develop and host Archives Month programs. Examples of qualified expenses include (but are not limited to): honaria/keynote speaker fees, digital exhibition software or hosting fees, equipment required for presentations, promotional material printing fees, graphic designer fees, and more. The costs that you are requesting to be covered need to be specific to the Archives Month programming. If you do not know if your organization or request qualifies, please email the executive secretary at USHRAB@utah.gov.

To Apply: Applicants must write an essay (max 500 words) describing the program that they intend to develop for Archives Month, the funding amount requested and the costs the funds will cover, and why the organization is in need of these funds. Applications are accepted until August 31 or until funds run out. Applicants who desire to host more complex events are encouraged to apply earlier in the year to allow enough time to prepare for the event.
Who can apply: Any non-profit or state/local government archival cultural heritage organization based in Utah. This includes archives, libraries, museums, historical societies, or any institution who engaged in work that preserves and provides access to their community’s history and maintains historical records.
Fund Disbursement: This is a sponsorship-style award; USHRAB will work with recipients and their institutions to ensure the micro-grant funds are dispersed using Utah Division of State Finance procedures.

How to Engage Your Audiences with Outreach

Archives Month can be a great first foray into the broader world of outreach. Most organizations have a social media account, or can create one easily for free. Social media engagement has a low barrier to entry, but there are certain strategies that engage audiences better than others. Here are some suggestions from MidwestMuseums.org for how to maximize your social media engagement.

• Give viewers a peek behind-the-scenes.
• Show “a day in the life” of records, artifacts, people, workers, etc.
• Show records and objects deconstructed, how they were made, or show views you can’t see when on display
• Create a collection I-Spy game/contest – how many X can you find??
• Text with an historian, historical figure, or other “personality” in your collection.
• Host “Did you know?” episodes or let people text questions to Did You Know…? resource for replies from staff.

Download our Utah Archives Month Event Planning Quickstart Guide

Our guide contains ideas and planning tool for events for any level of engagement. These range from simple social media posts about Utah Archives Month to more elaborate events like creating exhibits of your records. Remember: it’s always okay to start small and work your way up to something bigger.

Utah Archives Month 2025: Archives Outside Annual Theme Resources

Below, you will find Archives Outside graphics that you can have professionally printed or use on your institution’s web page and/or social media. If your institution has limited outreach funds but would like a few printed posters, stickers (up to 20), and buttons (up to 20) mailed to your institution, please contact us at USHRAB@utah.gov. For larger quantities, please consider applying for a USHRAB Archives Month Microgrant (see above) to cover the costs of professional printing for these assets.

Attend the annual Utah Archives Month virtual Brainstorm session

USHRAB hosts a virtual brainstorming session on the second Tuesday of February every year. This session is a chance for you to gather with other organizations who want to participate in Archives Month and think about how the annual theme could apply to your collection, ideas for events and posts, potential collaborators, and more. Check USHRAB’s Eventbrite page to find this year’s registration.