Massachusetts Archives
Name Entries
corporateBody
Massachusetts Archives
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Name :
Massachusetts Archives
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Massachusetts State Archives
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Name :
Massachusetts State Archives
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Massachusetts. Secretary of the Commonwealth. Archives
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
JurisdictionName :
Massachusetts
SubdivisionName :
Secretary of the Commonwealth
SubdivisionName :
Archives
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts Archives
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
JurisdictionName :
Massachusetts
SubdivisionName :
Office of the Secretary of State
SubdivisionName :
Massachusetts Archives
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Name :
Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Genders
Exist Dates
Biographical History
Pursuant to MGLA c 9, ss 2-2A, the Massachusetts Archives, under the direction of the state archivist on behalf of the state secretary, is responsible for securing, preserving, and managing for the public good, those noncurrent records of the Commonwealth determined to possess archival value by the Records Conservation Board. To meet this responsibility the Archives reviews and appraises records held by state agencies; acquires, weeds, arranges, describes, and processes records accepted by the Archives; conserves and preserves records held in the Archives; makes available for reference use records held in the Archives; administers various provisions of records law pertaining to records held in the Archives; administers the activities of the Archives Advisory Commission; and carries out surveys and other projects pursuant to its mission.
In addition the state archivist performs several ex officio responsibilities including representing the state secretary on the Records Conservation Board, the Archives Advisory Commission, the Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, and the Board of Trustees of the State Library; serving as the state coordinator for the grants program of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; and overseeing the records management program that operates under the authority of the supervisor of public records.
While an Archives Division as such was not established within the secretary's office until 1897, the secretary's responsibility for managing the archives and records of the Commonwealth, grounded in the Constitution of 1780 (C 2, S 4, Art 2), dates back even further to colonial and Revolutionary War periods.
The Massachusetts Archives was first established as a separate unit within the secretary's office under St 1897, c 351, which designated the third clerk of the office as chief of the Archives Division. Further clarification was not made until St 1962, c 18, which mandated the chief of the Archives Division be a qualified archivist, to hold the office of Archivist of the Commonwealth. The division, now generally known as the Massachusetts Archives, has developed around that position.
The 1962 legislation also broadened the scope of records the Archives should encompass by specifying that the archivist was to be responsible for the noncurrent records of the Commonwealth. Up until this time, and even into the 1970s, collections in the Archives had consisted primarily of colonial and Revolutionary War records and the legislative collection.
In March of 1986 the Archives moved from the State House to a new facility at Columbia Point in Dorchester.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/263248158
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79054934
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n79054934
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6784182
Other Entity IDs (Same As)
Sources
Loading ...
Resource Relations
Loading ...
Internal CPF Relations
Loading ...
Languages Used
Subjects
American Revolution Bicentennial, 1776-1976
American Revolution Bicentennial, 1976
Archival surveys
Archive buildings
Archives
Archives
Archives
Archives
Building
Souvenirs (Keepsakes)
Money
Monuments
Public records
Time capsules
Nationalities
Activities
Accessioning
Archiving
Archiving government records
Documenting buildings
Documenting landscapes
Historic preservation
Needs assessment
Records management
Surveying records
Occupations
Legal Statuses
Places
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Blandford (Mass.)
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts--Franklin County
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Billerica (Mass.)
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts--Boston
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Bridgewater (Mass.)
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Franklin County (Mass.)
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Boston (Mass.)
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts--Boston
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts Archives
,
Address
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Massachusetts
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>