August 15, 2005
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A Guide to Related Archival Collections Outside of the DCR Archives Pertaining to the Metropolitan Parks System, the Metropolitan Water Works System, and the State Forests and Parks System Compiled by Sean M. Fisher, Archivist DCR Archives, Office of Cultural Resources, Bureau of Planning, Design and Resource Protection, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation April 8, 2009 (First Release) (June 9, 2015 Update) Introduction Approximately 21 years since the availability of the Internet and the associated World Wide Web to the general public (1994)1, DCR staff, including planners and park rangers and interpreters, DCR’s consultants, and the research public have the opportunity to be informed of and utilize archival records, reports, photographs and plans pertaining to the Metropolitan Parks System (MPS), the State Forests and Parks System (SFP), and the Metropolitan Water Works System (MWW) beyond what is available in the DCR Archives, DCR’s CCC Archives, the DCR Plans Archives, and in the collections of our predecessor agencies at the Massachusetts State Archives. Archivists representing all types and sizes of archival repositories, and librarians of local history collections are increasingly using the Internet to post information about their archival collections, ranging from a simple list of collection names to comprehensive archival finding aid guides that detail every folder in a collection. Increasingly, more and more archival repositories are posting digitally scanned images from their collections of historic photographs. Some repositories are also posting searchable digital facsimiles of documents, volumes and reports to the Internet Archive (http://archive.org/about/about.php). This level of access is transforming the ways in which we identify potential archival and historical records for research and use in our work. For the Metropolitan Parks System, this Guide does not pretend to provide a reference to all relevant photographs that are held by the “usual suspects” of Boston area repositories whose photographic collections and references to collection names remain largely unavailable through online bibliographic utilities, and online collection lists and archival finding aids. Such repositories include the Boston Public Library Print Department, The Bostonian Society Library, Boston Athenaeum Prints and Photographs Department, and Historic New England Library and Archives.2 These repositories have significant photographic collections that include the facilities of the MPS and MWW. 1 On April 30, 1993, CERN released for free the WWW protocol and code invented by Tim Berners-Lee; and in January 1994, the Internet and the WWW became available for home use; see Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web by Its Inventor (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999), pp. 75, 80. April 30, 1993 is often referred to as the official date of the WWW release. TBL’s first WWW webpage invented in 1990, and the WWW name. See also http://www.w3.org/History.html. 2 In 2010, Historic New England Library and Archives and its other collections departments launched a new website to provide digital access to thousands of items in its collections. 2 Likewise for the State Forests and Parks System, where other large MA public libraries like the Worcester Public Library and Berkshire Athenaeum may hold archival/historical materials useful to interpret the state forests and parks in those regions. Any college and university in MA that has a physical connection to the MPS, MWW, and SFP systems and facilities will likely have useful photographic collections within their College/University Archives and Special Collections Departments. For example, the various Archives at MIT, Harvard, and Boston University will include useful images of the Charles River Basin; Boston College for Chestnut Hill Reservoir; and Williams College for Mt. Greylock. While for each MA city and town which a facility of the Metropolitan Parks System, Metropolitan Water Works System, or State Forests and Parks System resides, there is the likelihood that historic photographic images and/or other archival/historical records pertaining to that facility are held by the local history collection of the city/town public library, and/or the city/town historical society. These records are not public records in that one of the state agencies that historically managed the facility created, but rather what local residents created as they used the geographic area/facility, or what previous owners of the facility created before the Commonwealth owned and managed the facility. Often, the DCR Archives receives inquiries from staff and the public asking if the Archives holds records pertaining to a facility or place that date prior to the Commonwealth’s ownership/management. In most cases, we do not. The records of a DCR facility or place in the Archives start at the time the Commonwealth’s ownership/management begins. Only in some cases has the Commonwealth inherited records from a previous owner; the Ames/Butler/Plimpton Family Papers and Photographic Collections at Borderland SP, and the Howe Collection in the DCR Archives (Brookwood Farm, Blue Hills) are two examples (in 2014, the DCR Archives completed compiling an internal guide to DCR’s “Stewardship Collections”). If records survive of a facility or place documenting it before the Commonwealth’s ownership/management, the material is likely located in a city/town public library or historical society, college/university archives, or at other specialized archival/library repositories. It is not practically feasible to visit each city/town public library or historical society, college/university archives, or at other specialized archival/library repositories to review their collections for related items or collections. As we look forward to the next decades of the Internet, let us hope that at the very least, detailed information about the collections of these repositories will be made available on the Internet. A good start is the growing body of photographic collections from small Massachusetts repositories that is available on the Internet through a web portal called Digital Commonwealth. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/ The content within the web portal Digital Commonwealth is also accessible through the national web portal Digital Public Library of America (DPLA); http://dp.la/. The Guide will be updated regularly, as unique archival resources and collections come to be known. For the betterment of all DCR staff, I welcome submissions from DCR staff who know of or come across such items and collections. An extensive amount of research was undertaken in the 1980s and 1990s for the Heritage State Parks, as interpretive exhibits were designed for them. The listings in this Guide for the Heritage State Parks (HSP’s) are only a starting point. This Guide cannot be a comprehensive guide to the industrial history archival collections of the MA industrial cities and regions. 3 Each entry includes an Internet link to the website of the repository that holds the collection. If the repository has posted online a finding guide to the collection, that link is also provided. Each entry also includes a brief statement of its relevance to DCR. If a comprehensive book or article was written about the facility/place, I also include this information. One of the main tools I used to compile this Guide is WorldCat (www.worldcat.org). WorldCat is the web interface for the only national bibliographic utility (OCLC) where all books, archival collections, etc. are cataloged. For archival collections, WorldCat provides limited information (member organizations have full access). However, the full catalog description for archival collections is available free through the OCLC Manuscript Collections catalog in the National Union Catalog of Manuscripts Collections (NUCMC) (http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/oclcsearch.html). Use the “Advanced Search Form.” The archival records of DCR’s predecessor agencies that have been transferred to the Massachusetts State Archives are cataloged through OCLC/NUCMC. In WorldCat, best to search using the parameter “Archival Material” for format (advanced search). In NUCMC, use the Advanced Search Form, type “Massachusetts, followed by full name of agency; and select “Author—Corporate Name”. In 2012, a beta version of a free version of ArchivesGrid (est. 2006), which previously was only searchable through a paid subscription. ArchivesGrid is also an OCLC product, and provides extensive access to archival collections guides worldwide. http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/; http://archivegrid.org/web/index.jsp Some MA libraries have excellent collections of published/printed MA reports created by or for our predecessor agencies due to their designation as state government document repositories. The State Library of Massachusetts is the main repository of such materials. The others are the Boston Public Library, Worcester Public Library, Springfield Public Library, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Library (http://www.library.umass.edu/govdocs/). The State Transportation Library located at the State Transportation Building is also a valuable resource. The State Transportation Library is open to the public, and has an online catalog; see http://www.eot.state.ma.us/transportationlibrary/. While B.A., B.S., M.A., and M.S. theses, and Ph.D. dissertations are considered secondary sources, they are generally only available in the College/University Archives from where