We have an information dilemma on our hands at AIIM.
Starting the year, we believed that 2023 is the 80th anniversary of AIIM. We have several blog posts referencing 1943 as AIIM’s founding date. In fact, we celebrated our 75th anniversary just five years ago. 2023 must be our 80th anniversary, right?
We believe the National Microfilm Association was founded in 1943. Since then, we have gone through two major rebrands, reflecting the changing industry and focus of our members. In 1982, the organization changed its name to the Association for Information and Image Management. We rebranded once again in 2018 as the Association for Intelligent Information Management. That’s the story new AIIM staff and leadership hear during their orientation.
Yet, there is more to the story. What we are missing is descriptive metadata that would tell us what the reported “founding date” means and indicate its importance. We are an information management organization, and we lack, well, information. Don’t you love the irony?
The beginning of a nonprofit has several important “first” dates that are meaningful to its membership. These dates might include when the founding members first gathered; when a name for the organization was first announced; the date of the first annual meeting; and when the organization was incorporated. It’s not dissimilar from the important dates in a romantic relationship (e.g., when you first met, when you became engaged, or when you married).
The Internal Revenue Service’s records indicate AIIM was founded in 1945 because our articles of incorporation are dated 1945. AIIM Board Member Marko Sillanpaa found an article from a 1946 magazine announcing the formation of the National Microfilm Association. 
And while I don’t have evidence, I also believe something relevant to AIIM’s history occurred in 1943 because there is usually some truth behind the lore.
So that leads us to the dilemma and where we could use your help. We’d like to collect the options for our important beginning dates and define what each date actually means -- the descriptive metadata.
If you want to play, fill out this form and tell us the date, the descriptive metadata, and your argument for why this should be considered AIIM’s founding date.
We will then run a competition at The AIIM Conference in New Orleans, April 25-27, where members can vote on their favorite date. The winner will get an $80 gift card and eternal bragging rights. Let the games begin! #Maybe80 #AIIM23
