A Congressman stands in front of reporters and others at a House Commerce Committee Hearing

How can your organization get involved?

We invite you to take action in your organization and generate programming, social media interaction, and content for Congress Week. Here are some ideas of ways in which you can get involved:

  • Put together an exhibit featuring a member of congress from your collections or focusing on a specific piece of legislation. Present your exhibit in a traditional gallery space or make it an online display. An exhibit can be as simple as a display of photographs or a slideshow highlighting important records from your archives
  • Host a lecture, forum, or other programming during Congress Week to engage the public about representative democracy. You can also send representatives of your organization to speak to local organizations about the importance of studying congress. 
  • Share stories, photographs, or other items on social media highlighting your collections via your institutions’ blog/Facebook/Twitter or create some content for ACSC’s Twitter and Tumblr. The Congress Week taskforce has ready-made content in our Congressional Minutes!
  • Seek out partnerships among ACSC members or elsewhere on your campus. Are there connections to be made in a fellow member’s papers; or, perhaps it’s time to ask your Government Documents Librarian to lunch?

Need some inspiration? Here are some examples of how ACSC organizations have marked Congress Week:

The University of Delaware Library debuted “22 Months: Ted Kaufman in the U.S. Senate,” an exhibit highlighting Kaufman’s senatorial career.

The Albert Gore Research Center displayed a slideshow of images for passers-by.

The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center hosted a coffee klatch, “Partisan Gridlock in the U.S. Senate and Filibuster Reform,” with former Senator Fred Harris.

The South Carolina Political Collections commemorated on their “A Capitol Blog.”

Many members contributed a wide array of posts for ACSC’s Tumblr and Twitter.

​The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics partners with the University of Kansas Alumni Association to present a program series, “Your Story, His Story, the Legacy: Snapshots from the Dole Archives,” based on different topics represented in the Dole collections.

The Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education hosted a screening for Shepherd University students of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” followed by discussion.

​The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies asked their student assistants to curate a “Twitter Fest” focused on the careers of the 47 congressional members from Georgia who have placed their papers at the Russell Library.