ALBANY - New York Archives magazine has garnered three awards in one week: a coveted Nori from the Albany Ad Club Association of Communications Professionals, the prestigious Hamer-Kegan Award from the Society of American Archivists, and a second prize in the publications design competition from the American Association of Museums.
2K Design, a design firm from Clifton Park, NY, received the Nori for the design of the magazine. The Archives Partnership Trust, publisher of the magazine, was awarded the Hamer-Kegan Award for increasing public awareness of manuscripts and archives. The American Association of Museums' national competition, which drew more than a thousand entries this year, awarded the Trust a second prize for magazine graphic design.
New York Archives, entering its third year of publication, is a unique magazine about New York State's history told in brief feature articles for a popular audience. Each feature is well illustrated and includes a sidebar about the archival foundation of each article.
Recent features have included the history of baseball, the 1920 bomb explosion
on Wall Street, author William Kennedy's use of archives for his novels, floating
swimming pools in the East River, and the careers of New York governors Al Smith
and Thomas E. Dewey.
"[New York Archives] offers a visually appealing introduction to the archival
world," wrote Peter J. Blodgett, Chair of the 2003 Hamer-Kegan Award Committee,
in his award letter.
"Its articles are uniformly well written and amply reflect the diversity of peoples and experiences that comprise the history of New York State. The committee congratulates you…for developing a model publication from conception to design to execution."
"What an extraordinary week! Three awards added to the four already received.
Yet the archives magazine is only two years old!" said John Hanna, chair
of the Archives Partnership Trust. Hanna is also a principal in the law firm
of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna headquartered in Albany. "The readers are
blessed in the remarkable staff that puts out the magazine. With each issue
they show us the value of archives in our daily lives."
In its brief history, New York Archives received a Nori in 2002, first prize
in last year's publications design competition from the American Association
of Museums, a Gold Accolade Award from CASE District II (Council for Advancement
and Support of Education), and an Honorable Mention from the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Archives Conference.
The Archives Partnership Trust, a not-for-profit organization, was established by the State Legislature in 1992 to support the programs of the State Archives. Those programs extend to every local government and historical organization in the state.
The goals of the Trust are to increase citizen awareness of New York State's archival heritage, and raise private funds to preserve these unique collections and make them accessible to the public.
A subscription to New York Archives is a benefit of membership in the Archives Partnership Trust. Information about how to join the Trust and a sampling of articles that have appeared in the magazine are available at www.nysarchivestrust.org or by calling (518) 473-7091 or email at aptrust@mail.nysed.gov