Overview
The Advocacy for Archives Award is one of CoSA’s longest-standing and most significant recognitions. It honors an individual or organization that has made a substantial and sustained contribution to promoting, preserving, and ensuring the accessibility of government archives at the state, territorial, or local level.
Established in 2010, past honorees have included U.S. Senators and Representatives, grassroots archival advocacy groups, and dedicated public servants within state archives.
Why This Award Matters
Acknowledges exceptional advocacy that strengthens government archives and raises public awareness.
Highlights the importance of public policy and community support in safeguarding archival records.
Demonstrates how coalitions, individuals, and organizations can make a long-term impact.
Reflects CoSA’s mission to not just preserve records, but to ensure their ongoing visibility and value to the public.
2026 Nomination Schedule
May: Deadline for nominations
Late June: Announcement of award recipients
- Late Summer/Early Fall: Awards presented at the CoSA Annual Meeting in Columbia, NC
Any questions may be directed to awards@statearchivists.org.
Nominees (individuals, organizations, or programs) should demonstrate:
Advocacy Impact - Clear and significant contributions to archival preservation, access, or awareness in government archives.
Sustained Commitment - Long-term or ongoing advocacy work, not just one-off efforts.
Community or Policy Engagement - Activities may involve working with legislators, public campaigns, institutional policy, or grassroots organizations.
- Who Can Nominate: Anyone - individuals, organizations, or CoSA members. Self-nominations are welcome.
- What to submit:
- Brief Biography (up to 1 page): Describe the nominee’s achievements, ongoing work, and CoSA involvement.
- Letter of support: At least one; from someone familiar with the nominee’s work.
- Optional materials: Resume/CV, examples of work, promotional materials, press releases, etc.
- How to nominate: Submit via the online nomination form (link coming soon).
- Selection committee: The CoSA Awards Committee (chaired by the Immediate Past President) reviews all nominations.
- Number of awards: The committee determines how many awards to give; it may also choose to not give an award in a particular cycle.
- The recipient will receive a certificate.
- The winner is publicly recognized at the CoSA Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony and via CoSA’s communications channels (website, newsletter, social media).
- CoSA can provide a press release template to help the awardee announce their achievement.
- Nominate a colleague, peer, or institution - consider individuals or programs that demonstrate leadership above and beyond.
- Spread the word - share the nomination form with your networks.
- Celebrate winners - once recipients are announced, help promote their work by sharing their stories.
- Support CoSA’s mission - recognizing leadership helps build a stronger community of state and territorial archives.