National Archives Is Seeking Volunteers Who Have the ‘Superpower’ of Reading Cursive — Which Only 24 States Still Teach

January 20, 2025 by Danielle Jennings

"It's easy to do for a half hour a day or a week,” Suzanne Isaacs, community manager with the National Archives Catalog, said.

Reading cursive can now be added to the list of most-wanted skills — at least according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

The federal organization tasked with archiving the country’s most precious records and documents is currently looking for volunteers who can read the cursive writing of over 200 years' worth of documents, USA Today reported.

The majority of the handwritten documents that need transcribing are from the Revolutionary War when writing in cursive was the standard form of penmanship, the outlet said.

National Archives Building. PATRICK DONOVAN/GETTY

Texas Becomes the Latest State to Reintroduce Cursive Writing into Grade-School Curriculum

Suzanne Isaacs, community manager with the National Archives Catalog, explained what the organization is searching for from volunteers. “We create missions where we ask volunteers to help us transcribe or tag records in our catalog,” she told USA Today.

“Reading cursive is a superpower,” Isaacs added.

The volunteer process is quite simple. Those interested should register for a free online account with the National Archives and then begin reading available documents that are ready to be cataloged.

“There's no application,” Isaacs said. “You just pick a record that hasn't been done and read the instructions. It's easy to do for a half hour a day or a week.”

Cursive Writing Now Required to Be Taught in California Schools

Reading (and writing) cursive is quickly becoming a lost art form, as there are currently just 24 states that require cursive be taught in U.S. schools to students in K-12, according to Education Week.

This is less than half of what was required 25 to 30 years ago.

Much of that reasoning is attributed to the rise in using computers instead of handwriting documents, as well as the frequent use of text messaging, according to the organization.