Come one, come all!  In celebration of National Archives Month, archives and special collections libraries from throughout the region will showcase their rarely seen holdings for the public in the first ever “Explore History: Sacramento Archives Crawl” this Saturday, October 1.  Historic treasures from twenty-one Northern California institutions will be on display at four downtown host locations – the California State Archives, the California State Library, the Center for Sacramento History, and the Sacramento Public Library.  The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

Participants will “crawl” between four host locations, all located within downtown Sacramento. At the four locations, the public can view archival collections on display and take behind-the-scenes tours.  A sampling of the items on special display for the event include a double elephant folio set of Audubon’s Birds of America; the papers of Nathaniel S. Colley, Sacramento’s nationally known civil rights attorney; and ephemera documenting California’s women’s suffrage movement.

In addition, representatives from other archives and special collections libraries will be at the host locations to discuss their archival collections - historic photographs, rare books, historic artifacts - and answer questions about how to connect with local history resources.  Participating institutions include the following:

California Department of Transportation Library and History Center
California State Parks Archives
California State Railroad Museum Library
California State University, Chico – Meriam Library Special Collections
California State University, Sacramento – Special Collections and University Archives
El Dorado County Historical Museum
Lavender Library, Archives and Cultural Exchange
Little People of America Archive
National Archives at San Francisco
Placer County Museums Archives & Research Center
Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society Library
Sacramento City College Library Special Collections
Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Archives
Society of California Archivists
Temple/Congregation B'nai Israel Archives
University of California, Davis – Shields Library, Special Collections
Yolo County Archives

Archives Crawl Passports will be given to guests as they visit the host institutions.  The passport provides a map of the event and information about the participating archives and special collection libraries.  Event attendees who get their passport stamped at three of the four host sites will be given a set of limited-edition commemorative coasters.  The coasters honor the pub crawl theme by featuring reproductions of the city’s former Buffalo Brewing Company and its advertising campaigns.

The California State Archives is located at 1020 O Street; the California State Library is located at 900 N Street; the Center for Sacramento History is located at 551 Sequoia Pacific Boulevard; and the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library is located at 828 I Street.  Crawl participants may begin at any of the four locations.

This event was made possible by financial support from the Sacramento History Foundation, the California State Library Foundation, and the Gordon-Goldstein Foundation.  For more information about the crawl, visit www.sacarchivescrawl.blogspot.com.

The Sacramento Archives Crawl is part of Archives Month, a nationwide celebration held each October to raise awareness of the value of archives and to recognize the archivists who bring the past to the present.  For information about other events in California, visit www.calarchivesmonth.org.