Albany, NY -- The New York State Archives' Throughout the Ages website has been selected by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) to receive its Leadership in History Award of Merit. The award will be presented to Julie Daniels, Coordinator of Educational Programs for the New York State Archives, on September 12, 2008 during the 2008 AASLH Annual Meeting in Rochester, New York.
The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.
Throughout the Ages is a visual educational resource from the New York State Archives, the Archives Partnership Trust, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation that focuses on using historical records as learning tools in pre-K-grade 6 education. The website offers more than 500 digital images of historical photographs, letters, broadsides, maps, and paintings.
Images are organized by topics, which are divided by subtopics. For example, United States History is divided into subtopics that include Native Americans, Colonial America, Civil War, etc. Each image is accompanied by a caption, and about half of the images also include prepared historical background information, focus questions, the appropriate New York State Learning Standards and Key Ideas, a historical challenge, interdisciplinary connection activities, and a list of additional resources. Images accompanied only by captions provide teachers with the option of writing their own historical background information and questions.
Throughout the Ages features an innovative "Build Your Own Worksheet" option that allows you to print a worksheet for each image. You can select or deselect exactly what information you want to accompany the image. For example, you can choose to print a portrait of Abraham Lincoln with the caption, historical background information, and questions that are provided. Or you can customize the printout by including only certain portions of the information from the website. You can also edit and/or write your own caption, historical background information, and questions for each image.
The New York State Archives preserves and makes accessible the essential recorded evidence––past and present––of New York's governments, organizations, peoples, and events. At its Albany facility, the Archives cares for more than 200 million archival records of New York State government dating from the 1630s to the present. The State Archives also offers technical assistance, financial support and other services to local governments and community organizations in every region of the state.
The American Association for State and Local History is a not-for-profit professional
organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote
history. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides leadership,
service, and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local
history in order to make the past more meaningful in American society.