LOUISIANA ARCHIVES & MANUSCRIPTS ASSOCIATION LAMA NEWSLETTER

ARCHIVES NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

SPRING/SUMMER 2011 Ernest J. Gaines Center Opened at UL-Lafayette they (his works) will be in my home state," said Gaines. The Gaines Center provides a space for scholars and students to work with Gaines‟ papers and manuscripts. The center also anticipates the donation of extensive papers, manuscripts and tape -recorded interviews of Gaines schol- ars, according to Dr. Marcia Gaudet, the center‟s director. She is also the Dr. Doris Meriwether/BORSF Profes- sor of English and Research Fellow of the Center for Cultural and Eco- Tourism. “We imagine this center as a place for both national and international re- searchers. We also see this as a place for our students and students within the community. We want this to be a Ernest J. Gaines and his wife, Dianne, with (starting left) Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. David Barry, UL- Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie and Dean of University Libraries Dr. Charles Triche. Photo place where students can come to visit. courtesy of UL-Lafayette Communications and Marketing Office. This is the only place in the world which will have this collection,” said The site of the only complete collec- center. The collection includes pub- Gaudet. tion of Ernest Gaines scholarship in the lished and unpublished manuscripts, She noted that the center will coordi- world is now open at the University of drafts and notes; selected personal and nate other activities related to research Louisiana at Lafayette‟s Dupré Library. business correspondence; first editions and scholarship on the work of Gaines. The Ernest J. Gaines Center houses the of published works of the author; mis- The first of these activities will be an author‟s manuscripts, his papers and cellaneous papers; awards, honors and Ernest J. Gaines Scholars Conference translations of his works. Gaines and his memorabilia. at UL-Lafayette, bringing in major wife, Dianne, donated the collection to “We take great pride in housing this the university. He is Writer-in- collection. Other universities have (CONTINUED on Page 3) Residence Emeritus at UL Lafayette and surely courted Ernest Gaines over the is best known for The Autobiography of decades as his fame has grown. But he IN THIS ISSUE: Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dy- has remained steadfast in his loyalty to ing. the University of Louisiana at Lafa- Connecting To Collections Survey, 2 The university has promised to main- yette,” said UL Lafayette President LAMA and ATC Updates, 3 & 5 tain and preserve the collection in per- Joseph Savoie. Institutional News, 4-7 petuity, to make the collection available “Lafayette is not very far from where 2010 LAMA Meeting Photos and to scholars and to present programming I grew up and it‟s nearby the places Minutes, 8-9 about the author‟s work through the that I write about. I am honored that PAGE 2 LAMA NEWSLETTER LA LAMPP Connecting to Collections Grant Interim Report

Louisiana Libraries, Ar- La Raconteur (newsletter of Le LAMA Newsletter, South- (1) that statewide institutional chives, and Museums Preser- Comité des Archives). western Archivist, and Le directories need to be updat- vation Project (LA LAMPP) The advisory council mem- Comité des Archives newslet- ed to provide accurate infor- received its Connecting to bers and Lyrasis consultant ter, La Raconteur, came out mation, (2) that smaller insti- Collections award on March reviewed other state surveys in the fall issues of those pub- tutions need help simply to 29, 2010, for the grant period and drafted, reviewed, and lications. complete a basic quantitative beginning June 1, 2010, and revised a preservation plan- Initial response was slug- survey of their holdings and ending May 31, 2011. Part- ning survey for Louisiana cul- gish, and council members (3) that preliminary work- ners in the project are Louisi- tural heritage institutions. sent reminders and, in some shops on surveying-taking ana Archives and Manuscripts Much discussion centered cases, made direct contact would facilitate the process. Association (LAMA), Le around the need to make the with survey takers. As a re- Frequent reminders and per- Comité des Archives, Louisi- survey as thorough as possible sult, survey response rate sonal mentoring have pro- ana Association of Museums and simultaneously as unin- increased in the last week of duced improved results. (LAM), and LYRASIS Biblio- timidating as possible. the survey period. With the The survey-taking process graphic Services. The Project Director, Part- uptick in response, the Pro- has proved illuminating to The Project Direc- several of the institu- tor, Partnership Lead- tions which have com- er, Lyrasis consultant, pleted it even though and nine advisory they had conducted council members, statistical reviews of representing all geo- their holdings in the graphic regions of the past. In one case, an state and all partner archival institution dis- organizations, began covered that its actual work immediately holdings had more than upon receipt of the award nership Leader, and Lyrasis ject Director, Partnership tripled since its last survey. notification. consultant held a face-to-face Leader, consultant and advi- Others have reported posi- The first meeting of all par- meeting in mid-August to sory council agreed that the tively the value of the exer- ticipants occurred on June discuss feedback on the sur- deadline should and could be cise to them in terms of be- 14, 2010, by conference call. vey draft and plans for pro- extended until mid-January coming better acquainted Grant activities have proceed- ceeding with the survey. without jeopardizing the with their collections. ed according to schedule. Phase II began with a second overall schedule. Three hun- Through mentoring, mem- During Phase 1, June 1 conference call with all part- dred fifty-nine (359) institu- bers of the advisory council through September 1, the ners on September 10. tions were contacted. have realized the necessity for advisory council sent out me- An alpha test of the online While the advisory council stronger, more constant lead- dia releases. survey was conducted by ad- members continue working ership among libraries, ar- Outlets included the Associ- visory council members dur- with institutions on survey chives, and museums in Loui- ated Press-New Orleans, LA, ing the last week in Septem- completion, work has begun siana. Shreveport Times, Coushatta ber, and the survey was on site selection and work- Although the advisory coun- Citizen, Coushatta, LA, launched on October 4 with a shop development for the cil and consultant found it KTAL, KTBS, and KSLA submission deadline of De- workshop series “Surveying necessary to extend the data news, Shreveport and Ark-La cember 15. Your Own Institution.” Sur- gathering period, the overall -Tex, Red River Radio- Advisory council members vey results will be analyzed schedule for completion of Shreveport and Alexandria, divided statewide institutions beginning in late January. The the grant remains on track. LA, Minden (LA) Press Herald, into mentoring groups, and workshops will be held closer The additional information Bossier Press-Tribune, Shreveport each council member contact- to April 1 to allow for infor- gathered will more than justi- Sun, Sabine Index, Louisiana ed institutions in his/her mation from the web survey fy the slight internal adjust- Archives and Manuscripts group to urge completion of to be included. ments to the schedule of com- Association (LAMA) Newslet- the survey and offer assistance The survey-taking process pletion. ter, Southwestern Archivist, and as needed. Articles in the has underscored three points: -Laura McLemore SPRING/SUMMER 2011 PAGE 3 ATC Reports on Participant Evaluations The Archival Training Collaborative workshop, whether the topic is digital Trainees have responded to evalua- (ATC) has conducted dozens of work- preservation or maintaining a stable tion questions with overwhelmingly shops throughout Louisiana, Alabama, environment for physical materials, the positive feedback. Participants say that and Mississippi, offering instruction to trainer distributes evaluation forms to they enjoy the workshops, want to several hundred trainees in archival each attendee. These evaluations are come back for more, and appreciate methods and best practices. The pro- the effort the trainers and the ATC ject has been very well-received and goes through to provide quality con- with the ongoing support of LAMA, tent at an inexpensive price during the successes of the past three years are tough economic times. Attendees ap- expected to continue and grow. preciate organized, thoughtful trainers Relying on trained trainers (those who provide hands-on training exercis- professionals who have been through es. Trainees also appreciate the in- Dr. Elizabeth Dow‟s „Train the Train- structor-led presentations and comput- er‟ program) to prepare topic-specific er-based activities that most trainers workshops, the ATC is able to provide, while most do request facilitate the education and more hands-on experiential growth of the archival profession time during the workshops – a in Louisiana through ongoing profes- challenge for trainers working sional mentoring relationships that designed to elicit both quantitative and with more esoteric topics like preser- begin at these one day workshops. qualitative information that can later be vation of digital media, for example. The administrative apparatus of the analyzed. They have produced data that Nevertheless, one trainee wrote that ATC is currently managed by Dr. Eliz- gives program administrators an overall they “learned about theory and prac- abeth Dow and her graduate assistant, impression of where the training is most tice, and I have a good grasp of what I Felicia Thomas, in concert with a nine successful, where it needs improve- need to do next. Even though I had no member tri-state board. After the ment, and how the trainees hope to records management experience be- IMLS-funded grant phases out, the implement their new training at their fore! Very thorough!” This sort of activities of the ATC will continue home repository. feedback serves not only to encourage under the aegis of individual state com- The Louisiana-based ATC programs our trainers but helps to identify future mittees. The LAMA-ATC committee have reached trainees from parishes areas of emphasis. (under the leadership of Michelle including Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bossi- To learn more about the Archival Riggs) has been instrumental in the er, Caddo, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Training Collaborative and the LAMA- workshops‟ success this year. Baton Rouge, LaSalle, Natchitoches, ATC committee‟s activities, contact The ATC uses a set of uniform evalu- Orleans, Rapides, St. Landry, Vermil- Dr. Elizabeth Dow at [email protected] ation forms to analyze the success of ion, Vernon, and Harrison County, TX. or Michelle Riggs at [email protected]. each individual training program and However, it is the eventual goal of the For more information about upcoming thereafter report the results to the program to provide training that is easi- workshops, please visit our website: Institute for Museum and Library Ser- ly accessible to residents of all parishes www.archivaltraining.org. vices (IMLS). After each training in Louisiana. -Felicia Thomas GAINES CENTER (Cont. from pg. 1) scholars for presentations and inviting other scholars to do 2008. Construction of the center, located on the third floor presentations and discussions in sessions, all focused on of Edith Garland Dupré Library, began in August 2009 and Gaines‟s work. The first conference is tentatively planned was completed in Fall 2010. for Fall 2012. In addition to the university‟s contributions and support, Another activity of the center will be the Ernest J. Gaines activities of the center will also depend on philanthropic con- Speakers and Writers Series. This series will continue to tributions. Fundraising initiatives are ongoing to support the bring major scholars and writers to the university and will activities of the center and to establish a permanent endow- focus on the work of creative writers and eminent scholars. ment. UL-Lafayette established the Ernest J. Gaines Center in -Bruce Turner PAGE 4 LAMA NEWSLETTER New Grant Helps Amistad Preserve Its Audiovisual Holdings Africa; the Saddest Days Oral Green Papers, include ama- History Collection, which teur film footage document- represents one of the more ing the daily lives of middle- substantive oral history col- class African American fami- lections in the immediate lies, which provides glimpses aftermath of Hurricane Katri- of social and economic factors na; the J. Susannah Norton in the lives of these families. Papers and the Sybil Kein The NHPRC grant funds Papers, which document Car- phase two of a three-phase ibbean and Creole folklore project undertaken by and endangered languages in Amistad to document its audi- North America and the Carib- ovisual holdings and the im- bean; and the Ed Pincus Film plementation of a formal Collection, which consists of preservation and reformatting the raw film footage shot in program at the Center. We 1960s Mississippi in the crea- look forward to providing The Amistad Research Cen- access to these materials at tion of two significant civil updates as we continue this ter is pleased to announce Amistad, which are of in- rights movement documen- project and make more of our that it has received funding creasing interest to the pub- taries. sound and moving image ma- from the National Historical lic, while at increasing risk The Center also houses col- terials available to researchers Publications and Records due to technical obsolescence lections with substantial field and the public. Amistad's Commission (NHPRC) to and physical deterioration as recordings, performances, staff wishes to extend its ap- identify and appraise the Cen- outlined in a recent publica- and interviews with some of preciation to the NHPRC for ter's substantial audiovisual tion sponsored by the Library the country‟s most notable this opportunity. holdings. of Congress. musicians. These include the -Brenda Flora To aid in this goal, Amistad The Center‟s audiovisual personal papers of the follow- welcomes our newest staff collections are of great signifi- ing: Harold Battiste (see in- member, Brenda Flora, who cance regionally, nationally, sert to the right), who brings extensive knowledge and internationally. High- worked with musicians such and experience working with lights include: the Kim Lacy as Sam Cooke, Sonny and audiovisual collections at the Rogers-Glenda Stevens Oral Cher, and Dr. John, and British Universities Film and History Collection, which founded the first African Video Council's Newsfilm chronicles the experience of American musician-owned Online Project and the BBC, New Orleans‟ leaders in the record company, All for One (AFO) Records; operatic This year marks the 50th anniver- as well as library/archival Civil Rights Movement; the sary of the founding of AFO Rec- experience from Tulane Uni- Tom Dent Papers, which con- singer Carol Brice; Anne ords, as well as completion of the versity's Recover Center tain hundreds of interviews Wiggins Brown, the original processing of the Harold R. Battiste and the University of New with civil rights leaders in Bess in George Gershwin‟s Papers at the Amistad Research Orleans. She is a member of Mississippi and Louisiana, as Porgy and Bess; William Center. In celebration of both the Association of Moving well as the personal narratives Warfield, who also gained events, Amistad is presenting the exhibition Harold Battiste: Keeping Image Archivists, the Louisi- of those most closely affiliated notoriety in Porgy and Bess; the Music Alive from January 18 ana Archives and Manuscripts with the development of the Ellis Marsalis Jr., patriarch of through March 31, 2011 in the Association, and the Greater twentieth century New Orle- America‟s most noted jazz Center‟s Exhibition Gallery. High- New Orleans Archivists. ans jazz aesthetic; the Ameri- family; and famed composer lighting Mr. Battiste‟s career and his Approximately one quarter can Committee on Africa and arranger of American many musical associations, the exhi- bition includes letters, photographs, of the Center's archival col- Archives and the George gospel and spirituals Moses musical scores, AFO business rec- lections contain some form of Houser Film Collection, Hogan. ords, phonograph records, and sound and/or moving image which chronicle African na- Various collections of indi- other highlights drawn mainly from recordings. This project tionalist movements and the vidual or family papers, such his papers. (Photos courtesy of the will allow for unprecedented United States‟ relation with as the Robert and Lillie Mae Amistad Research Center) SPRING/SUMMER 2011 PAGE 5 Le Comité to Host Genealogical Seminar Le Comité des Archives de la Louisi- gomery ([email protected]). ane‟s African American Special Interest The organization is currently updat- Group will hold a genealogical seminar ing its website (www.lecomite.org) to on Saturday, June 25, at the Delta Sig- include a "Members Only" sec- ma Theta Life Development Center at tion. This will include out-of-print Southern University. articles and publications, new research Reginald Washington, Archivist for guides, archival finding aids, and other the Research Support Branch, National useful genealogical research materials. Archives and Records Administration, Le Comité is the genealogical support and African American Genealogy Spe- group for the Louisiana State Ar- cialist, will present two lectures in the chives. Its 2011 officers are: Damon morning. His topics will be "Using Veach, President; Louis Altazan, 1st Federal Records for African American Vice President; Karen Ortolano, 2nd Research" and "The Bureau of Refu- Vice President; Cherryl Forbes Mont- gees, Freedmen & Abandoned Lands gomery, 3rd Vice President; Doris and the Freedmen‟s Savings and Trust Falkenheiner, Secretary; and Judy Rif- Co." fel, Treasurer. Board members at large In the afternoon, Sharon Batiste Gil- are: Ann DeVillier Riffel, Audrey Na- bors Jackson, and Winston De lins will give a presentation entitled Photo courtesy of Judy Riffel. "Louisiana Conveyance Records – A Ville. The group has scheduled its Rich Resource for Genealogical Re- afternoon session. A discounted regis- 2011 Annual Meeting for Sunday, Sep- search." A discussion and demonstra- tration fee for members who register tember 18. Details will be forthcom- tion of some African American geneal- early will be available. For more infor- ing. ogy websites is also planned for the mation, contact Cherryl Forbes Mont- -Judy Riffel

LAMA Initiates Louisiana Gubernatorial Records Project Under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Dow (LSU-SLIS) also include audio/visual materials (oral histories, VHS cas- and Brad Wiles (LSU‟s Hill Memorial Library), four archives sette tapes, recording discs, film stock) and digital items. students at LSU‟s School of Library and Information Science Governors will be grouped by historical era (i.e. Early State- will be compiling a register of historic archival collections hood, Ante-bellum, Civil War, Reconstruction, etc.) and from the Louisiana gubernatorial office currently available at each governor will have a separate entry with biographical archives repositories, research libraries, and records centers information and details of their term(s) of service. throughout the state of Louisiana. The students are Maria The information gathered for this project will be compiled Reyes, James Williamson, Julie Ozenberger, and Lisa into a database that allows for reformatting and repurposing. Jeungling. Ultimately, it will be made available in a publicly-accessible The register will include bibliographic, descriptive, and interface yet to be determined. custodial information for each collection for all of Louisiana‟s The student participants are presently undertaking a multi- governors since statehood was granted in 1812. The criteria phased pilot project to determine a work model as the pro- for inclusion on the register include collections created or ject moves forward. Since mid-February they have been compiled by a governor or their agent during or after the looking at the available collections for the first four gover- term of office; collections that consists of official items from nors. The first phase of their compilation process involves a governor‟s term of office; and, regardless of creator or searching OPAC‟s and other online catalogues of pre- provenance, collections that significantly document a gover- identified institutions that are likely to hold gubernatorial nor‟s term of office. archival collections located throughout Louisiana. The se- The collections will consist primarily of mixed manuscript cond phase involves contacting these institutions to inquire materials including correspondence, memoranda, photo- graphs, scrapbooks, and other paper-based items, but might (CONTINUED on Page 7) PAGE 6 LAMA NEWSLETTER New Orleans Archdiocese Sacramental Records Online Perhaps the most important resources es of the archdiocese. Of the total registers scanned images have become more widely available to scholars are the extensive, well- in the vault, 92 (6%) are books that sepa- used as this type of media becomes more maintained, and searchable archives collec- rately document the sacraments of slaves standardized in .tiff, .jpeg and .pdf formats. tions. Within this collection are the sacra- and free people of color. In 1777, the Span- Through the conservation program, the mental registers, which record the bap- ish began the practice of keeping separate registers are unbound, de-acidified, encap- tisms, first communions, confirmations, books. During the earlier French period sulated in Mylar and rebound. Ten years marriages, and burials of individual parish- (1718-1763) and prior to 1777, the regis- ago, the archdiocese had some of its records ioners. ters contain entries of all people. In 1795, scanned into individual .tiff images. Among Baptism, marriage, and burial registers Bishop Luis y Peñalver decreed that books these images are the registers of the slaves are the focus of this project because these should be kept separately. These range in and free people of color from St. Louis important moments in the Catholic faith are date from 1777 until just shortly after the Cathedral. These images have now been catalogued in the form of separate textual Civil War. migrated to .pdf format in order to place entries rather than simply as lists of names. With the fast approaching 200th anniver- them online for all researchers. More importantly, they illustrate the Catho- sary of Louisiana‟s statehood, the archdio- These documents speak for themselves lic heritage of families that are passed from with all the variations in spellings, transla- one generation to another. Each entry is tions of names in Spanish, French and Eng- usually handwritten and signed by the priest lish, lack of surnames, omissions, mistakes, and witnesses to the event. Depending on etc. Over time, names change due to a vari- the style and handwriting of the priest, one ety of life changing events, such as a manu- register (or volume) may cover ten years of mission where a former slave chooses a last local history while another 50 years. name or a marriage where a women takes Sacramental registers include information the name of her husband. There are varia- about families (parents, godparents, aunts, tions due to the record keeper, who often uncles, siblings, etc.), communities wrote the name as he heard it. (witnesses at a marriage), and events. They Due to changes in the governments which tell a story far beyond one individual. The controlled Louisiana, names appear in registers contain information about religious French, Spanish and English. For example, life (those entering the priesthood, brother- the name Stephen is Etienne in French and hood or sisterhood), African Americans Estevan or Esteban in Spanish; or, for exam- (including slaves and free people of color), ple, the name James appears as Jacques in Native Americans, immigrants, yellow fever French and Santiago in Spanish. Names in epidemics, natural disasters (hurricanes, cese decided to begin placing online the church records usually contain a baptismal tornadoes, and floods), mortality rates, etc. registers dating from 1718 to 1812. These name of a saint which often was never used Because sacramental registers detail the life are the records of the French and Spanish by the individual. But with prudent re- history of the local community over time, colonial period as well as the American ter- search and gathering other evidence from they have always been recognized by church ritorial period. There are a total of 43 regis- records existing in courthouses and family officials as having unique value. ters in the vault dating between 1718 and papers, the record can be verified. One Although today‟s registers are produced 1812. So why start with the slaves and free should not confuse the differences and vari- in pre-printed formats which only allow people of color registers? ations of names as a lack of consistency and priests to enter dates and personal names, In 1987, under the direction of Msgr. Earl conformity on the part of the recorder, but register entries in the eighteenth and nine- Woods, chancellor and Dr. Charles E. No- rather see it as a journey of an individual teenth centuries were a reflection of the lan, archivist, the archdiocese began to pub- and his/her name across a lifetime. personality of the priest who made the rec- lish its sacramental registers. At that time, This project is ongoing and within the ord and annotations about diseases, wars, the decision was made to publish only those next 2 years, the archdiocese plans to make and fires. Despite the variability of penman- with surnames, due to the difficulty of in- available online as many of the sacramental ship and written formulae, the sacramental dexing those without a surname. By 2004, registers pre-dating 1812 as possible, in registers are the most preserved and norm- 19 volumes containing the records from preparation for the anniversary of state- enforced routine of the Archdiocese of New 1718 to 1831 were published. hood. This project will consist of not only Orleans. It was a routine activity which had The Archdiocese uses the monies generat- the slaves and free people of color registers, to be performed every time a death, a birth, ed from the sales of its published volumes to but all registers from 1718 to 1812. To or a marriage of a parishioner occurred. fund the preservation and conservation of locate the .pdf files, go to www.archdiocese Currently, the Archives houses 1479 reg- the earlier records. Since 1954, records -no.org/archives and choose the link, Col- isters in a climate controlled vault. There have been microfilmed for disaster recovery lections. are another 1800 registers in the 101 parish- purposes. With the advances in technology, -Lee Leumas SPRING/SUMMER 2011 PAGE 7 LSU-Alexandria Acquires Sue L. Eakin Donation The Central Louisiana Collections of LSUA. Eakin‟s plans to develop the Louisiana State University at Alexan- Epps House as a Center for Plantation dria recently acquired the papers of Studies were never realized, although former faculty member Professor Sue the house displays historical furnish- Lyles Eakin. Born and raised in Cen- ings and implements. tral Louisiana, grew up with The collection has been appraised at a love of history and especially the his- over 270 linear feet of papers, photo- tory of her home. graphs, and maps, as well as over After raising five children, Eakin 1000 square feet of books. Also in- earned her doctorate in history from cluded are hundreds of cassettes con- the University of Southwestern Louisi- taining interviews and oral histories. ana, now the University of Louisiana at Additionally, the collection includes Lafayette. She worked as a professor furniture, farming implements, mill of history at LSUA from 1965 to 1985. stones, post office equipment, and an Following her retirement from the extensive collection of dolls and figu- university, Eakin authored a column in rines depicting cultural representa- the Bunkie Record, her hometown news- tions of African Americans. Photo Courtesy of The Civil War Research paper. She died at the age of ninety. Engine at Dickinson College. Eakin published thirteen books and Throughout her life, Eakin re- countless articles. A list of her most- searched, collected, and published on known works include: Plantations slavery Northup related sparked in the topic of Central Louisiana history. through the Louisiana Heartland: Be- Her interests included Solomon North- Eakin a life-long pursuit. Eakin was instrumental in the crea- fore World War II, Rapides Parish: An up; African-American schools, church- Illustrated History 1st ed., Northup es, and leaders; Louisiana socialists; tion of the World Plantation Confer- Trail through Central Louisiana: Be- and the painter Clementine Hunter, ence, a group that assembled to study with whom Eakin conducted many how plantations and plantation socie- ginning at Louisiana State University recorded interviews. ties grew and evolved. Eakin orga- at Alexandria and Leading through Sue Eakin is perhaps best-known nized two World Plantation Society Rapides and Avoyelles Parishes, The through the publication of a scholarly conferences. She published the pro- Black Struggle for Education in Louisi- edition of , narrat- ceedings from the first conference. ana, 1877-1930s, Twelve Years a ed by and edited by The World Plantation Conference Slave. Eakin and Dr. Joseph Logsdon. Twelve records are among the papers donat- The papers are not currently availa- Years a Slave recounts Northup‟s ordeal ed. ble for research; however, the ar- of being kidnapped and sold into slav- Eakin campaigned to reconstruct on chives does take questions and an- ery and working the cotton fields of LSUA‟s campus the swers them as fully as possible. Rapides and Avoyelles parishes in Cen- House, the farmhouse Solomon Please contact LSUA‟s University tral Louisiana. Eakin‟s interest in Solo- Northup described building in his Archivist, Michelle Riggs, at mon Northup began in childhood when memoirs. In 2000, Eakin‟s efforts [email protected] for additional infor- she first read the book, having bor- bore fruit, and workers transported mation. rowed it from the library at Oak Hall what remained of the dilapidated -Michelle Riggs Plantation. Reading the horrors of Epps House to its present location at

GUBERNATORIAL (Cont. from pg. 5) Entries will be posted online as they become available and about any collections that might be unprocessed, uncata- after they have been edited. The project will move much logued, or otherwise unaccounted for online. The last phase more quickly over the summer and is set to terminate no includes a review of online inventories of smaller and more later than December 2011. Please forward all questions and specialized organizations (local historical societies, museums, comments about the Louisiana Gubernatorial Records Pro- private estates, etc.) and contacting those that do not have an ject to Brad Wiles at [email protected]. online presence to fill any potential gaps. -Brad Wiles PAGE 8 LAMA NEWSLETTER Images from the 2010 Annual Meeting

The 2010 LAMA Annual Meeting drew 53 attendees from institutions across the state, including a large number of students from LSU’s School of Library and Information Science. A number of ongoing LAMA projects were dis- cussed and several members stayed on hand for a walk- ing tour Baton Rouge’s historic Spanish Town. The 2011 meeting will be held at the Historic New Orleans Collec- tion. All photos courtesy of Neil Guilbeau. SPRING/SUMMER 2011 PAGE 9 2010 LAMA Annual Meeting Minutes

October 29, 2010 D. Report on LAMA/LLA/ACRL-LA Joint Commit- Hill Memorial Library, Baton Rouge, La. tee by Brad Wiles: still working out details and will prepare proposal later I. Meeting called to order by President Michelle Riggs; Motion by Lee Leumas to approve minutes E. Report on new ACA reading materials by Felicia from 2009 meeting; seconded by Brad Wiles; mo- Thomas: about 35% of required titles are lacking tion carried from existing collection at State Library (about 40- 50 books); will send compiled list to Brad Wiles; II. Old Business still seen as valuable by participants for prepara- A. No scholarships applied for yet; Two are now tion to take ACA exam; Lee Leumas proposed to available from LAMA ($300 each) prioritize the materials before purchasing; Robert Schaadt moved for executive committee to resolve B. Treasurer report by Bruce Turner; Motion to this matter; seconded by Lee Leumas; motion car- accept by Robert Schaadt; seconded by Laura ried McLemore; motion carried F. LAMA sponsored events in Louisiana by Brad C. Ad hoc committee for ATC (Archival Training Wiles: suggested sponsoring RBMS (Rare Books & Collaborative); members are Patti Threatt, Lisa Manuscripts) Conference (June 21-24 in Baton Lewis, and Laura McLemore Rouge); tabled for the time being; Wiles will con- tact Tara Laver or Elaine Smyth D. Newsletter report by Brad Wiles; accepting sub- missions for March 2011 newsletter IV. Announcements A. Announcement by Bruce Turner: City of Lafa- III. New Business yette asked to host SSA (Society of Southwest Ar- A. Nominations: Barry Cowen & Yvonne Loiselle chivists) Conference in 2014; He will need help to for board; Howard Margot for VP; Motion to ac- plan for it if the city accepts invitation cept nominations by Laura McLemore; seconded by Robert Schaadt; motion carried B. Announcement by Tara Laver: Offering free ma- terials on display at the meeting to anyone interest- B. LA-LAMPP (Louisiana Libraries Archives and ed for their collection Museums Preservation Project) update: Laura McLemore wrote grant to IMLS for survey of re- C. LAMA has organized a session at LHA (Louisiana positories (to be completed Dec. 15, 2010); Work- Historical Association) for past few years: can we shops to occur in spring (February/March 2011); do a LAMA session in 2012 in New Orleans? Lyrasis to process data and give five workshops in various parts of Louisiana to teach site surveys and D. Announcement by Laura McLemore: Can some- write preservation grants; Committee members in- one promote Louisiana archives in poster contest clude Bruce Turner, Judy Riffel, Michelle Riggs, for SSA? Alfred Lemmon, Faye Phillips, John Sykes, Greg Lamusi, Doug Harrison, Bill Reeves, Joyce Penn E. Announcement by Michelle Riggs: LAMA sent (museum in Lafayette), and Nita Cole letter to Board of Regents in support of SLIS pro- gram at LSU, as it is slated to close because of budg- C. Louisiana repository guide for governors’ rec- et cuts ords by Tara Laver (for Elizabeth Dow); First step to survey existing records we know about; next is V. Meeting adjourned to find records not yet known; will eventually cre- ate online database for this index LAMA MISSION AND MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION The Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association (LAMA) LAMA continues to administer the finances for both the Louisi- promotes the role of archives in the preservation of our national, ana and Mississippi branches of the Archival Training Collabora- state, and local heritage by cooperating with Louisiana‟s public tive. As of September 30, 2010, the total balance for these was and private archival repositories in their work of collecting, con- $1497.98. Feedback on the ATC model and individual workshop serving, and making accessible to the public manuscript, printed, has been overwhelmingly positive. The IMLS-funded ATC grant graphic arts, and audio materials of historical significance. terminates July 1, 2011, however the LAMA ATC committee will LAMA membership for 2011 is above the numbers of the pre- help determine the future course of action beyond this date. vious year. This year we have 59 members compared to 37 in Email dues notices will accompany the newsletter by the end of 2010. Numbers are up in nearly every membership category: 40 March. If you have not paid your LAMA dues for 2011, please individuals (23 in 2010); 6 organizational members (3); 10 stu- consider doing so. Also encourage those in your area who work dents (5); 2 senior (1); and one sustaining (unchanged). The LA- with historical records to join the organization if they are not MA Treasury balance as of September 30, 2010 was $6914.13. members. Membership forms are available in this newsletter and However this does not factor in costs from the annual meeting in on the LAMA website. October or other expenses since. -Brad Wiles, LAMA President

OFFICERS BOARD MEMBERS PUBLICATION INFO President Elizabeth Dow Newsletter Editor Bradley J. Wiles School of Library and Information Bradley J. Wiles Hill Memorial Library Science, LSU-Baton Rouge Hill Memorial Library, LSU Louisiana State University [email protected] Ann Boltin Vice-President Diocese of Baton Rouge Website Howard Margot Irene Wainright Historic New Orleans Collection Cyndy Robertson New Orleans Public Library University Library [email protected] Secretary University of Louisiana-Monroe Neil Guilbeau Allen J. Ellender Archives Hans Rasmussen V ISIT LAMA ONLINE AT Nicholls State University Hill Memorial Library WWW. LOUISIANAARCHIVISTS . ORG Louisiana State University Treasurer Bruce Turner Barry Cowan University of Louisiana-Lafayette Hill Memorial Library Louisiana State University Past President (ex-officio member) Michelle Riggs Yvonne Loiselle James C. Bolton Library, LSUA New Orleans Public Library LAMA offers the following membership categories: Membership in LAMA entitles you receive the LAMA Newsletter and invitations to the Association's an- Student $5.00 nual meetings. LAMA members al- Senior Citizen $10.00 so automatically become members $15.00 Individual of the Southern Archives Confer- Family (2 people, $5 for each additional member) $20.00 ence (SAC), an umbrella organiza- Organization ($10 for each tion of Southeastern state archival additional rep) $30.00 organizations, encompassing the Sustaining $50.00 state organizations of Louisiana, Patron $100.00 Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennes- Life $1000.00 see. SAC meets every other year in one of the membership states. Subtotal: Total:

Payable to:

LOUISIANA ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS ASSOCIATION

Check Name

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Email

Phone

Complete this form and send along with payment to:

Dr. Bruce Turner University of Louisiana at Lafayette P.O. Box 40199 Lafayette, Louisiana 70504 [email protected]