CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
CRM VOLUME 22 NO. 2 1999
Archives at the Millennium
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Cultural Resources PUBLISHED BY THE PAntAntft VOLUME 22 NO. 2 1999 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Vtt/UniCniS ISSN1068-4999
Information for parks, federal agencies, Indian tribes, states, local governments, Archives at the Millennium and the private sectior that promotes and maintains high standards for pre Archives at the Millennium 3 serving and managing cultural resources Diane Vogt-O'Connor
DIRECTOR Archives—A Primer for the 21st Century 4 Robert Stanton Diane Vogt-O'Connor
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR The Value of Archives to National Park Service Historians 9 CULTURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP Barry Mackintosh AND PARTNERSHIPS Katherine H. Stevenson The Historic Documents Department—San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park 12 EDITOR Mary Jo Pugh Ronald M. Greenberg The Archives and Special Collections of the Mashantucket Pequot ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tribal Nation 15 Janice C. McCoy Donna Longo DiMichele
GUEST EDITOR Preservation Information from the NPS 17 Diane Vogt-O'Connor Jessica S. Johnson
ADVISORS The Archives at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House NHP 18 David Andrews Susan McElrath Editor, NPS loan Bacharach Managing Documentary Resources—Independence National Historical Park ... .19 Museum Registrar, NPS Karen Stevens Randall J. Biallas Historical Architect, NPS Is the Record of the 20th Century at Risk? 21 John A. Bums Diane Vogt-O'Connor Architect, NPS Harry A. Butowsky Creating Permanent and Durable Information Historian, NPS Physical Media and Storage Standards 25 Pratt Cassity Executive Director, Steven Puglia National Alliance of Preservation Commissions What Is the Encoded Archival Description Standard? 28 Muriel Crespi Cultural Anthropologist, NPS Kris Kiesling Mary Cullen Director, Historical Services Branch Archival Reorganization at Little Bighorn Battlefield 29 Parks Canada Lynn Marie Mitchell Mark Edwards Executive Director, D.C. Preservation League Archives and the New NPS Collections Management System 34 Roger E. Kelly Kathleen Byrne Archeologist, NPS Antoinette J. Lee Those Old Files...Surveying Archives in the National Park Service 35 Historian, NPS Elizabeth Banks ASSISTANTS The Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site Denise M. Mayo The Florence Bayard Hilles Library Opens to the Public 38 Jessica Oliveri Douglas Stover Records Management Assistance from NARA 39 Candace Lein-Hayes What Are Affiliated Archives? 42 Jerry Wallace Tips on How to Research in an Archives 44 Diane Vogt-O'Connor An electronic version of this An Archival Glossary for the Millennium 46 issue of CRM can be accessed Diane Vogt-O'Connor through the CRM homepage at
Statements of fact and views are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an opinion or endorsement on the part of the editors, the CRM advisors and consultants, or the National Park Service. Send articles and correspondence to the Editor, CRM. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Parte Service, Cultural Resources, 1849 C Street, NW, Suite 350NC, Washington, DC 20240; 202-343-8164, fax 202-343-5260; email:
2 CRM No 2—1999 Diane Vogt-O'Connor Archives at the Millennium
ost of us regularly produce per • how to obtain records management assistance sonal papers, such as corre from the National Archives ("Records spondence and family pho Management Assistance from NARA," page tographs, as well as project 39) files anMd reports. We produce documents as evi • how to discover the best practices for preserv dence of our actions, to capture our fugitive mem ing existing records you may have ories, to place our knowledge and information in ("Preservation Information from the NPS," a permanent form for future re-use, and as com page 17) memoration of our lives. The lifetime accumula • what an affiliated archives is ("What are tions of these electronic, paper, and audiovisual Affiliated Archives?," page 42) documents are the raw materials of archives, as • how tribes are managing their archives ("The well as of history. Few of us realize just how Archives and Special Collections of the short-lived many of our personal documents are. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation," page Most of us have little experience in managing 15) our records effectively, particularly fragile audio • how parks are managing their archives includ visual and electronic document formats. Few of us ing: produce and manage our papers in a way that - "The Historic Documents Department—San ensures they will be around for our children's chil Francisco Maritime National Historical dren. Yet in many cases, unless we are artists, film Park," page 12 makers, or authors, these records are the only - "The Archives at the Mary McLeod Bethune voice with which we can speak directly to the Council House NHP," page 18 future. Our diaries; project files; web sites; photo - "Managing Documentary Resources— albums and scrapbooks; memos, letters, and email, Independence National Historical Park," are often the only true proof of our activities, page 19 thoughts, and the events that shaped us. They are - "Archival Reorganization at Little Bighorn our legacy to future generations who will wonder Battlefield," page 29 who we were, why we did what we did, and what - "The Sewall-Belmont House National we were thinking. Without these papers, the record Historic Site—The Florence Bayard Hilles of our lives and our century may rapidly pass into Library Opens to the Public," page 38 the gray oblivion of the undocumented past. • who the stakeholders are that care how This issue of CRM describes: archives are managed, page 33 • what risks and challenges archives face today • how to find help on keeping archives, page 5 ("Is the Record of the 20th Century at Risk?," • where to find funding for keeping archive, page 21) page 6 • what the values of archives are ("The Value of • what archival terminology really means, page 46 Archives to NPS Historians," page 9) We hope that this issue of CRM will inspire • how an archives functions ("Archives—A you to care for your own personal, family, and pro Primer for the 21st Century," page 4), fessional documents so that the record of your life • how to gather essential baseline data on your and your century will be available to future histori archives for management purposes ("Those ans, scholars, and students, some of whom may be Old Files...Surveying Archives in the National your own descendents. Park Service," page 35) • how the National Park Service is cataloging Diane Vogt-O'Connor is Senior Archivist, National archival collections ("Archives and the New Park Service, and guest editor of this issue of CRM. NPS Collections Management System," page 34) Note • how the archival profession has set standards for placing descriptive finding aids on the This issue of CRM is linked to CRM Vol. Web ("What is the Encoded Archival 21, No. 6, "The Information Ecosystem," which Description Standard?," page 28) can be accessed through the CRM homepage at
CRM No 2—1999 3 Diane Vogt-O'Connor Archives—A Primer for the 21 st Century
rom the days of ancient on establishing and maintaining control, both Mesopotamia, archivists have served physical and intellectual, over physical documents. as society's keepers of proof. These documents themselves are often the only Archivists manage the authentic by trace of how and why events happened as they did. productFs of human actions—records. As humans, Both the building that holds the records and the we produce records at every stage of our lives as permanently valuable records themselves are proof of our actions—from birth certificates to called archives. Visitors from every age, culture, contracts. We also create records as milestones economic background, and nation regularly visit for our memories, leading to the development of archives. diaries, scrapbooks, sketchbooks, photographic Why Do Researchers Come to Archives? albums, personal web pages, and entire genres of Researchers come to archives to: commemorative documentation. • discover evidence within the archives' sifted In totalitarian societies, records remain and arranged information in support of an closed. In democracies records are essential tools assumption, law suit, or scientific/cultural for discovering whether individuals, organizations, theory and governments are meeting administrative, cul • explore an event/action/relationship within tural, ethical, fiscal, and regulatory mandates and a sea of related context that provides variant guidelines. In the late-20th century, American citi viewpoints zens, stockholders, organizational members, and • gather cultural and natural resource data for others insist that public records be available to management purposes including baseline auditors, educators, historians, journalists, data lawyers, and the general public for examination • locate illustrations or stories for exhibits, and analysis. The archivist's job has broadened to films, publications, teaching, videos, and include becoming a keeper of information as well web sites as evidence. • glimpse the authentic past by finding out Archives function as an institution or group's about their community, ancestors, or a long-term memory by preserving and describing favorite topic permanently valuable audio-visual, paper textual, • eavesdrop on the past by listening to the and electronic records that contain: internal dialogues of individuals and groups in their own words in letters, oral and video • data (discoveries, facts, and observations) 2 • information (data collected systematically histories, diaries, and meeting notes with purpose and complete context) Archives are the legacy we leave to the • knowledge (valuable information reflecting future, the natural byproducts of our actions, and human insight and understanding) the raw material of memory. • wisdom (excellent understanding, appropri Why Keep Archives? ate balance and emphasis, and sound At the cusp of the 21st century as we reach judgment) for the knowledge-based economy, we keep While it is relatively easy to capture data in archives because they are vital to our organiza databases for short-term sharing, the process of tions, culture groups, professions, and perhaps capturing an organization's knowledge for sharing even to our survival as a species. First and fore through time has yet to be effectively managed most, we require the essential information except through oral and administrative histories, archives contain for accountability, collective cross training, and effective records management. memory, management of our organizations and Such "deep knowledge" is rarely modular or easy resources, as proof of our authentic past, and as to transfer.' Sadly, information and knowledge tor- data grist for endless reprocessing in our infor turously acquired by an individual over decades mation management mills. In parks, we need can be lost in a minute through retirement, trans archives to document how the cultural resources fer, or death. In many cases, all that remains is the and natural ecosystem have changed over time and, in particular, how the hand of man has helped written records of the individual's thoughts, trans 3 actions, and work. cause these changes. The practice of archives grew out of the disci Beyond information alone, archives serve as plines of history and library science, with a focus important repositories of documents as evidence.
4 CRM No 2—1999 Materials in archives are valuable as legal or his Where Can I Find Help torical proof of events such as births, deaths, acci dents, and celebrations, as well as proof of activi on Keeping Archives? ties, such as land purchases, competition results, The Society of American Archivists is the professional and work completed. As historical or legal detec organization for individuals wishing to learn more about tives, we need archives to discover and prove what how to become an archivist or wishing to increase their we have, what we did, why we did what we did, knowledge of best professional practices. The Society offers and when it all happened. When lawyers and his courses, publications, activities, and events nationally. torians ask, "What did he know and when did he Announcements may be found on their web site at: know it?" we go to archives to discover the truth.
CRM No 2—1999 5 ronment, what peoples lived in an area, what led age, preserve, and describe this data to facilitate to the development of a particular series of struc both preservation and access. tures, or how a particular artifact was created, the Archives capture the knowledge of the staff basic data should become part of our organiza who shape and enrich our organizations. During tion's archives. our lifetimes of work as archeologists, architects, As scientific revolutions take place and our architectural historians, archivists, curators, edu view of our cultural resources and history changes, cators, historians, historic preservation officers, we can go back to the basic observations and data interpreters, landscape architects, and tribal cul captured in the organizational records and per tural resource specialists, we develop expertise in sonal papers in the archives to develop new ways hundreds of areas. Our official records and per to view our world. The richness and long-term sonal papers reflect that expertise in ways that are accuracy of future scientific and cultural devel otherwise uncaptured. opments depend upon the long-term storage and If mankind is the ecosystem's way of study accessibility of today's data. This long-term ing itself, then archives are the product of what we accessibility requires more than simply dumping find out. In our personal papers and official paper in a drawer; it requires that we actively man records is the informational legacy that each of us
Where Can I Find Funding for Keeping Archives? Your long-term goal should be to obtain baseline Foundation Center. Consider such organizations as the funding for archives. In the short term, you may need to following: operate on other sources of funding. Here are a few fund National Endowment for the Humanities Division of ing sources, both external and internal (National Park Preservation and Access (202-606-8570; email: Service). You may draw upon a wide variety of resources preservation@neh .gov when managing your archival collections including: Institute of Museum and Library Services (202-606- 5226, Web:
6 CRM No 2—1999 leaves for future generations. Our heirs are not gests that materials with a shared history of cre only our children, but also the children of our ation and/or ownership, such as the Smith Family minds, the generations of professionals who come Papers or Hawk Project Records, each be kept after us. Whether our knowledge is lost, our contri together. The collections have enhanced value as butions forgotten, and our information discarded groups of related items that the individual letters depends upon how we manage our records during or photographs removed from context will lack. our lifetime. Knowing who created the records and why Archives form part of the fabric of our helps researchers understand what the records will organizations, as linked to our organization's his cover and what functions they originally served, as tory as the staff, site, structures, and other well as indicating that the files are authentic and resources we cherish. For example: at the NPS, we not tampered with by someone with a special hold not only Thomas Edison's furnished house agenda. Archivists keep archival collections in and fully equipped laboratory, but also his busi their original order; not rearranged by subject, as ness records, laboratory research findings, and cor they would be in a library. This maintenance of respondence. Without the early archival sound original order is both cheap and efficient, as it recordings, the recording equipment would be allows archivists to use indices and guides already diminished in value. Without the laboratory note prepared by the collection creator. The original fil books and records that illustrate how the equip ing order of a collection also serves as valuable ment was used, the laboratory equipment would be physical evidence of the collection creator's less compelling. Taken together the laboratory and actions, relationships, and work patterns. home sites, structures, furnishings, equipment, Original order can be used by historians to date personal library, and the archives provide a com undated items, to attribute unsigned documents plete information ecosystem, a glimpse into the to likely creators, and for similar purposes. Loss life, work, and mind of an American genius. of original order is a significant damage to a col How Do Archivists Decide What to Collect? lection. Before being sent to an archives, records While the many documents in an archival must be scheduled (listed for transfer on a certain collection have a shared creator or collector, they date by a records manager) and evaluated may also be related by subject matter, document (appraised as to their significance to determine if type (e.g., correspondence, photographs), and his they are permanently valuable). In manuscript tory of ownership and usage. Archives may also repositories it may also be necessary to determine contain personal papers of individuals and families if the records fit the collecting focus (Scope of or groups, as well as manuscript collections assem Collections and mission statement) of the archives. bled by collectors on a common theme. Unlike Legal issues (e.g., copyright, privacy, and library cataloging, archival collections are not usu publicity restrictions), donor-imposed restrictions ally described at the item level. Archives have (e.g., not available until after the creator's death), many millions of items, few of which can be speed management policy restrictions (e.g., restrictions ily and cheaply copied through copy cataloging on fragile or physically endangered materials), and online as libraries do with duplicates of a book. cultural restrictions (e.g., restrictions on images of Since most archival documents are originals, copy- sacred ceremonies or burials when requested by a cataloging that duplicates the records of another 7 culture) may affect whether materials are collected institution is not a common option. 6 and how they are made accessible. Archivists Archival materials are described in a series of must only collect collections they can afford to hierarchical levels, each of which may have exten responsibly arrange, describe, preserve, and pro sive interrelated details. Important materials wor vide access to, whether they are personal and fam thy of attention may appear at any level.8 At the ily papers, corporate records, or the organizational top descriptive-level are national bibliographic records of groups. databases that provide key metadata (descriptions How Is an Archives Different from a Library? of finding aids and collections) for researchers. An archival collection consists of original, Archivists may also provide descriptive abstracts of often unpublished, materials accumulated by a all collections that their institution holds in a sin single individual, family, group, or organization gle indexed repository guide, as well as a finding over time. A collection, such as the Smith Family aid for each collection within their repository. Papers or the Hawk Project Records, may include Finding aids are descriptive guides to col letters, photographs, and other items created by lections that assist researchers in locating or their colleagues and given to the Smiths or the using archival collections. Finding aids include Hawk Project. The key organizational concept of guides (for example, repository, collection, and "provenance" is used in archives rather than the subject guides), descriptive inventories, accession library concept of "authorship." Provenance sug registers, card catalogs, special shelf and box lists,
CRM No 2—1999 7 indices, and even software documentation. In the appraisal, circumstances of creation, owner past, archival finding aids varied widely from ship, preservation, statistical compilations, as archives to archives. Recently archivists have well as interpretation and bibliographic begun standardizing the data, nature, and style of descriptions. Finding aids may be on the Web. finding aids. In the last 20 years, archivists have Storage, Work, and Reading Room Space in a focused on augmenting traditional finding aids with secure building with a good environment. library-type cataloging at the archival collection Researchers who are aware that the collections level within bibliographic utilities, such as the exist, know how to get to them, and are aware Research Library Information Network (RLIN) and of the policies they must follow for access, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), to usage, duplication, and publication. facilitate access. Without archives, which support an organiza What Is Involved in Keeping Archives? tion's memory and sense of history, an organization Essential elements of an archival program are: or group lacks a systematic understanding of the Trained Staff, knowledgeable about archival complex web of underlying causes and effects that theory, practice, and techniques of preserva have shaped it. Without a sense of history, we lack tion, access, and description and your organi a sense of who we are, where we are going, and zation's policies and procedures. why. Most frequently this handicap manifests itself Archival Procedural Guidance including by a lack of vision; an inability to sort through the • Mission Statement, which indicates your complex choices ahead of us based on more than audience, your goals, and your focus. personal preference and the latest management the • Scope of Collections Statement, which indi ory. A sense of who we are historically empowers cates what manuscript materials you will us to move into the future with confidence and collect by detailing the eras, locales, integrity. groups, activities, events, and other topics to be collected and whether your archives Notes 1 holds your organization's records or they Diane Vogt-O'Connor. "The Information Ecosystem," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp. 3-6. must go to another federal or state reposi 2 tory such as the National Archives. Mary Jo Pugh. "Information Seeking in Organizations and Archives," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp. • Records Management Program, which 10-14. delivers permanently valuable records no 3 Susan Kraft. "The Yellowstone Archives and its longer being actively used by staff offices to Affiliation with NARA," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp.27-29. the physical control of the archives, while 4 Kellee Blake. "The Stories You Could Tell: Using disposing of inactive records of no value.9 NARA Regional Resources for Site Interpretation," • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for CRM 21:6 (1998), pp. 24-26. appraisal, acquisitions, accessioning, 5 Harrison Eiteljorg, II. "Archiving Archeological Data arrangement, description, researcher in the Next Millennium," CRM 21:6 (1998), 21 -23. 6 access, as well as for duplication publica Melissa Smith Levine. "Electronic Publishing: A tion permission requests. An SOP should Legal and Practical Primer," CRM 18:9 (1995), pp. 23-26. indicate how you will handle these activi 7 ties. These procedures indicate how the Richard Pearce-Moses. "The Information Ecology of Archives," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp. 29-33. staff will gain administrative and intellec 8 Mary Jo Pugh. "Information Seeking in tual control of the archival collections in 10 Organizations and Archives," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp. the form of a manual or workbook. 10-14. • Processing Plan for collections, which pro 9 Betsy Chittenden. "Records Management in the vides a work plan, budget, and job descrip National Park Service," CRM 21:6 (1998), pp.15-17. tion for arrangement, preservation, and 10 In the NPS, the Regional Curators and Support description of the materials.1 x Office Curators maintain files of Standard Operating Procedures or Scopes of Work for archival work. Cataloged, Arranged, and Described Archival 1 Collection(s) under the administrative, physi ' In the NPS, the Regional Curators and Support cal, and intellectual control of the archives Office Curators maintain work plans, budgets, and sample contracts for preservation and description of staff. archival materials. Finding Aids (repository guides, box and folder lists, calendars, catalogs, databases, indices, Diane Vogt-O'Connor is Senior Archivist, Museum inventories, registers, and similar descriptive Management Program, National Park Service. systems) that capture information about each archival collection, including information on
8 CRM No 2—1999 Barry Mackintosh The Value of Archives to National Park Service Historians
ost professional disciplines historians because history is not a resource-based dealing with cultural resources discipline. Historians generally lack specialized focus on particular resource expertise in performing research with, treating, and types. Historical architects and maintaining cultural resources. Although they landscapMe architects exist to understand and treat sometimes use them in their research, their pri historic structures and cultural landscapes. mary milieu is the written record. Curators acquire and manage museum objects While the historical architect is examining and collections. Archeologists derive meaning the fabric of an old house for evidence of past from sites containing remnants of structures, modifications, and the archeologist is excavating objects, and other traces of human activity. the presumed site of a vanished outbuilding to Ethnographers are concerned with places and fea determine its location, dimensions, and other tures significant to groups traditionally associated attributes, the historian will likely be using what with them. ever archival documents he or she can find con These discipline-related resource types orga taining information about the property's owner nize the cultural resource management chapter of ship, improvement, occupancy, and use. Such doc the National Park Service's Management Policies uments may include photographs, maps, and other and the Service's Cultural Resource Management graphic depictions as well as written records: Guideline (NPS-28), which contain sections or deeds, wills, inventories, letters, published and chapters for archeological resources, cultural land unpublished first-hand accounts, and so on. These scapes, historic structures, museum objects, and primary sources pertaining to cultural resources ethnographic resources. During the preparation of are to historians what the resources themselves are the last release of NPS-28, some National Park to the other professionals. Service historians complained that they were being A schoolchild assigned to do a paper on a slighted. If the archeologists, architects, curators, historical topic is seldom expected to come up with etc., were getting chapters, why weren't they? new or definitive information on that topic. It is The Harpers The chapters were not for the disciplines, sufficient for him or her to read a few secondary Ferry Center Library houses they were told, but for the management of the par sources—books, encyclopedia articles, or other the NPS History ticular resources that fall within the disciplines' accounts written by others who may or may not Collection. purview. There is no discrete class of resources for themselves have done primary research on the topic—and summarize or synthesize their contents. Historians also use secondary sources to discover what others have learned and concluded about his torical topics, but normally as a starting point for their use of primary sources to uncover new infor mation enabling them to re-evaluate prior conclu sions and possibly reach different ones. This archival research is what fundamentally distin guishes the professional historian from both the young student and the popular historical writer. It follows, then, that historians have a vested interest in the proper management and use of archives, or primary source collections. Like the archivists charged with their management, histori ans should be concerned that the documents are carefully preserved and handled. Historians must also be concerned that the documents are main tained in their original order, which may shed additional light on the thinking behind their cre-
CRM No 2—1999 9 David ation; and that access to them is Nathanson, facilitated by inventories or other keeper of the finding aids. NPS History Collection. (Excellent guidance on han dling archival documents and manuscripts is provided in Conserve O Gram Number 19/17, issued by the NPS Museum Management Program.) Unlike an archeological site, which once excavated no longer exists for future archeologists seeking new information with more sophisti cated techniques, a properly maintained archival collection can be researched repeatedly by historians asking new questions about the topics it covers. The official records of public and pri mental historians addressing the NPS, its parks, vate institutions and collections of personal papers and its activities can seldom avoid research visits are found in many repositories, including govern to one or more National Archives facilities. mental archives, university libraries, and historical societies. The NPS History Collection. Historians will also do well to visit the NPS History Collection in The National Archives. The repository prob Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the NPS Historic ably used most often by NPS historians is the Photo Collection in nearby Charles Town, West National Archives, comprising the original building Virginia, both archival components of the Service's in Washington, DC, the new Archives II facility in Harpers Ferry Center. The keepers of the NPS College Park, Maryland, 13 regional archives History Collection collect, inventory, and maintain around the country, and presidential libraries for many kinds of material, beyond official records most presidents since Herbert Hoover. The subject to NARA disposition requirements, that National Archives, which holds the retired records document and illustrate the history of the NPS and of the federal government, is vital to NPS histori its parks and may not be saved systematically else ans because so many national park system areas where. Themes represented include development commemorate and interpret the activities of federal of the national park concept, the history of historic officials and agencies, from presidents to the mili preservation, the history of interpretation, women tary services to the Bureau of Immigration. in the NPS, park-related tourism, the Civilian Among the federal agency records housed in Conservation Corps, park forestry, the American the National Archives are those of the National Revolution Bicentennial, and NPS uniforms and Park Service. The NPS records, designated Record insignia. Group 79, are centered at Archives II, with smaller The collection's contents include duplicates holdings in the regional archives in or near San of selected official records, legislation, and execu Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Kansas City, tive orders; annual reports of secretaries of the Fort Worth, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, and Chicago. Interior, NPS directors, and park superintendents. In addition to correspondence and other textual Also included are reports of official conferences records, they include still and motion pictures, and staff meetings; master plans and interpretive maps, plans, charts, and other graphic materials. prospectuses; interpretive and informational publi Many official records pertaining to Yellowstone cations; personal papers of, biographical data on, National Park are retained in an "affiliated and transcripts of interviews with NPS officials archive" under an agreement with the National and park supporters; as well as NPS uniforms, Archives and Records Administration (NARA). badges, and other artifacts. Further information NARA's web site, at
10 CRM No 2—1999 Tom DuRant, historians. More information Keeper of the about this collection is available NPS Historic on 304-535-6707. Photo Collection. Repository Overview. It would be impossible to list all the archival repositories useful to NPS historians because their research interests are so wide- ranging. At the risk of slighting many equally relevant ones, only a few more will be mentioned here. Director's Papers. Papers of 10 NPS directors, sometimes limited to the desk files they kept during their directorships, are in four university libraries in addi tion to Archives II. • The University of California at Berkeley holds papers of Stephen T. noted figures. It is also the repository for the docu Mather. mentation produced by the Service's Historic • The University of California at Los Angeles American Buildings Survey and Historic American holds papers of Horace M. Albright. Engineering Record. • Clemson University holds papers of Russell E. A personal experience exemplifies the value Dickenson, George B. Hartzog, Jr., William of archives to NPS historians re-examining Penn Mott, Jr., and Ronald H. Walker. accepted interpretations of the past. George • The University of Wyoming holds papers of Washington Carver, whom the NPS is charged with Arthur E. Demaray and Conrad L. Wirth. interpreting at George Washington Carver National • Archives II holds papers of Arno B. Cammerer Monument and Tuskegee Institute National and Newton B. Drury and other papers of Historic Site (where he taught under Booker T. Albright and Wirth within Record Group 79. Washington), has been widely credited with creat The Denver Public Library's Conservation ing hundreds of new products from peanuts. Library has numerous collections on its topic, Carver's work stimulated peanut production and including papers of the Nature Conservancy and freed southern agriculture from dependence on cot the Wilderness Society. ton. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Research in the Carver papers at Tuskegee, Commission in Harrisburg holds the papers of the Booker T Washington papers in the Library of J. Horace McFarland, a leading proponent of the Congress, and contemporary agricultural publica National Park Service as president of the American tions and production records at the National Civic Association in the first decades of the 20th Agricultural Library revealed that few of Carver's century. "discoveries" were new or commercially viable. The University of Maryland's McKeldin Even more interestingly, peanut production peaked Library contains the National Trust for Historic before Carver became popularly associated with Preservation Library, which houses records of the the crop. National Trust and a major collection on preserva The NPS could legitimately present Carver as tion including the papers of Frederick L. Rath, Jr., a noted teacher and humanitarian, but not as a sci and interviews by preservation historian Charles B. entific pioneer who transformed the South's econ Hosmer, Jr. omy. Of course, appealing historical myths die Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic hard—a new poster in the Service's history office in Site preserves the extensive records of the land Washington featuring noted African Americans pic scape architecture firm founded by Olmsted and tures Carver with the caption "Revolutionized agri continued by his sons. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., culture in the South"! participated in the creation of the National Park Service and shaped many park landscapes. Barry Mackintosh is Bureau Historian, National The Library of Congress holds the papers of Park Service. many early presidents beginning with George Washington. It also holds the papers of Booker T. Photos courtesy NPS Historic Photo Washington, Harold L. Ickes, and numerous other Collection.
CRM No 2—1999 11 Mary Jo Pugh The Historic Documents Department San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
an Francisco Maritime National In 1963, the Hyde Street Pier and the his Historical Park (SAFR) preserves toric vessels were opened to the public as the San and interprets the maritime heritage Francisco Maritime State Historical Park. In 1972 of the Pacific Coast—the history of Congress established the Golden Gate National the tradesS, technology, traditions, and lifeways of Recreational Area (GGNRA) and over the next the peoples who lived on or through the sea—with decade the vessels and maritime collections, Archives are tools, and like all emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Region and including extensive collections of archives, manu tools, they are its maritime waterways. scripts, and photographs, were transferred and kept to be used. The park focuses on four areas: consolidated in the Maritime Unit of GGNRA. In In the reading • Historic structures—including seven historic 1988, Congress established the San Francisco room of San Maritime National Historical Park as a separate Francisco vessels Maritime NHP, • Objects—including small craft, manuscripts, administrative unit. archives take on historic documents, and photographs The mission of the park's Historic Document another life. They • Information—including library materials, oral Department is to identify archives and historical are used both by records for acquisition, to preserve them, and to park staff and by histories, public programs, and publications researchers from • Craftsmanship—assuring the continuation of make them accessible for use. Archival and historic all over the world traditional maritime skills document collections in the Historic Documents for products that This work began in 1950 with the establish Department, estimated at 2.4 million items, are have a multiplier ment of the San Francisco Maritime Museum managed as part of the museum collection in effect—distribut• accordance with NPS policy. ing knowledge of Association. In 1951, the Association opened the maritime history San Francisco Maritime Museum in the Aquatic Archives are the working files of working to millions of Park Bathhouse building and purchased the folks, records made or received in the course of people beyond square-rigged ship Baklutha, which was restored daily activities by organizations or individuals, the reading and opened to the public in 1955. In 1957, a preserved for their continuing usefulness to then- room. Photo by Campbell/Danford California state park unit was established to creators and the public. Created in the course of courtesy San acquire, restore, and display additional historic purposeful activities, these records provide both Francisco ships, such as the schooner C.A. Thayer, the steam evidence of the actions that brought them into Maritime National schooner Wapama, the ferry Eureka, and the scow being and information about associated people, Historical Park. schooner Alma. organizations, events, and places. As communica tion tools, records are created with many recording technologies and may be in paper, film, microfilm, audio-tape, video-tape, or magnetic storage. Archival collections document the maritime heritage of the Pacific Coast and include the archives of maritime-related organizations, the per sonal papers of seafaring Americans, and the archives of the park and its predecessor organiza tions. Identifying records for acquisition involves two activities: first, an acquisitions program for the archives of maritime-related organizations and individuals; and second, a records management program for the park's own records. Preservation of archival materials is a management function that depends on a continuum of policies and actions, ranging from actions at the repository level at one end to the item level at the other. Accessibility is provided through arrangement, description, and reference services.
12 CRM No 2—1999 Architectural Archives Program records docu The park has assembled a ment vessels as well as build well-educated and experienced ings. In the staff to manage its archival pro background are gram. Staff of the Historic the original steel Documents Department consist of racks and tubes three archivists, who collectively built by Union Iron Works for have nearly 30 years of experi storing its plans ence, a supervisory archivist with of vessels and nearly 30 years experience, and mining equip two photographers with over 20 ment built in years of experience. San Francisco from 1880 to The Department currently 1920. Photo by occupies about 6,000 square feet Campbell/Dan- on the third floor and mezzanine ford courtesy levels of Building E, Fort Mason. San Francisco Maritime The basic elements of a sound National preservation program are in Historical Park. place. The building has both a sprinkler system and a smoke detection system. Two vaults have dence is preserved. As records are arranged, basic temperature/humidity control and Halon fire sup collection level preservation actions are taken in pression systems. The third floor is equipped with rehousing into appropriate containers. Although a motion detector security system and a key moni segments of collections are physically separated for toring system. The photographers have copied all proper housing (plans, photos, textual records) nitrate negatives onto safety film, and the original their intellectual integrity is maintained. negatives are stored in seven flammable materials The arrangement of photographs is particu freezers, equipped with dataloggers. Smoke detec larly complex as there are two arrangement sys tors and a sprinkler system protect the space. tems. When the Maritime Museum began to collect The staff engages in an active acquisitions photographs in the 1950s, photographic collections program, identifying areas for acquisition and were not kept together. Instead, individual pho working with potential donors. The park acquisi tographs were arranged in a classification system tions committee reviews potential donations and according to size and form of image, thereunder by recommends to the superintendent that the park geographical location, and thereunder type of view. acquire those offers found to be significant and This classified collection was indexed on handwrit valuable. Managing the internal records of the park ten cards, with a typed catalog begun for a portion requires a records management program to ensure of this collection. The park began managing the sound management of active records by imple photographic collections according to archival menting filing procedures, by segregating tempo principles about 1978. rary records from permanent records according to Archival holdings can be described at any records schedules, and by transferring permanent level of aggregation, whether at the repository records to the archives. Park archivists provide level, collection level, series level, container level, records management services to park units. folder level, or the item level. At the repository Photographers document park activities, recording level, the J. Porter Shaw Library and the Historic actions for accountability, management, and inter Documents Department report to appropriate pretation. directories of libraries, archives, special collection, Providing Access to Historic Documents maritime history, and the like. Collection-level The third element of the archival mission is description varies. At a minimum, all collections making historic documents accessible for interpre are accessioned and added to the ANCS accession tation and education, achieved through arrange database.* Properly documented deeds of gift or ment, description, reference services, and outreach loan forms are executed for all accessions. As they activities. The arrangement of records serves as the are accessioned, all materials are rehoused in acid primary mode of access. Records resulting from free boxes and housed on shelving or flat files. one activity are kept together and are not mingled Finding Aids. Since 1984, WordPerfect and in a subject classification with records resulting dBase have been used to produce a basic control from other activities. Where possible, the creator's document, or finding aid, for each collection. The original order within a collection is retained. These finding aid typically includes elements such as an principles ensure that the value of records as evi administrative history or biography, scope and
CRM No 2—1999 13 A volunteer content note, and series descrip dusts a Hicks tions, followed by elements pro Engine marine duced with dBase, such as the drawing cov ered with oily folder or item description and dirt from the the index of vessel names, vessel machinist's types, personal names, place shop where it names, organizational names, was used to subjects, and document types. build engines. Photo by Index terms from all collections Campbell/ are integrated into a master Danford cour index, so that researchers can tesy San find the collections useful to Francisco their work. These finding aids Maritime National are printed out and used in Historical Park. paper form. The dBase program is also used to print out envelopes and labels. Cataloging. An ANCS record has been produced for accountability, but has not been used for access. In 1997, SAFR served as one of text of their description without having to wait for the test sites for ANCS+ (see page 34, this issue) the staff to pull the images. The advent of digitiza so departmental staff now have access to ANCS tion is most exciting in its potential to provide data through the park network. access to a visual surrogate of the item itself. Much SAFR archivists made many suggestions for of the existing item-level indexing can be linked to the archives module in ANCS+ and wrote the field a scanned image of the item itself. definitions and help screens for it. The existing Archives are tools and like all tools, they finding aids, including both the WordPerfect text are kept to be used. Reference services for historic and the dBase indexes, will be migrated to the documents are provided by the reference staff of archives module in ANCS+ this year and will give the J. Porter Shaw Library. The Historic us integrated online access to nearly all our hold Documents Department provides additional refer ings. ence services, especially for complex queries The department has adopted the Machine regarding plans, manuscripts, and photographs, Readable Cataloging (MARC) standard for collec publications, or copyrighst. The SAFR photo tion level cataloging, and has reported some collec graphic laboratory is equipped to copy and repro tions to the Research Library Information Network duce most forms of images. (RLIN). We look forward to having the MARC At San Francisco Maritime NHP, archives export function in ANCS+. We will use it to take take on another life. They are used by park staff, all our legacy data, bring it to national standards scholars, students, and the general public from for data content (APPM) and data values (LCSH, around the world for a wide variety of public and AAT, NAF), and export to the national bibliograph private purposes. The archives are used in produc ical databases, such as RLIN and the Online ing exhibits, books, magazine articles, genealogies, Computer Library Consortium (OCLC) and to the ship models, films, and videos. Thus the archives local online public access catalogs (OPAC) and here have a multiplier effect, bringing a deeper local networks. understanding of maritime history to millions of In 1999, staff are also learning to implement people beyond the reading room, helping them, the Standardized General Markup Language and us, to nurture and understand our inheritance (SGML) for the Encoded Archival Description from the past and our connection to the sea. (EAD) (see page 28, this issue) to allow for easy interchange and distribution of finding aids across Note an internet working environment. The department * ANCS is the NPS Museum Management Program is working with the University of California at Automated National Catalog System. Berkeley to encode our finding aids. This will increase the accessibility of the collections to staff Mary Jo Pugh is Supervisory Archivist, San and the public. Digital images can be attached Francisco Maritime Museum National Historical either to the ANCS+ database or the EAD finding Park. aid so that users can access the images in the con
14 CRM No 2—1999 Donna Longo DiMichele The Archives and Special Collections of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
n August 1998, the Mashantucket culture of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Pequot Tribal Nation opened the and its members. Materials held by the archives Mashantucket Pequot Museum and include tribal government records, oral histories Research Center, Mashantucket, and oral history project records, architectural ConnecticutI , the largest native-owned institution records, photographs, scrapbooks, tribal newspa of its kind. A major educational endeavor of the pers and newsletters, clipping files, pamphlets, tribe, the museum has permanent exhibits on the broadsides, memorabilia, and family and personal prehistory and history of northeastern native peo papers of tribal members. ples, with a particular focus on the history, cul The Special Collections encompasses materi ture, and changing way of life of the Mashan als that document the histories and cultures of tucket Pequots. other Native Americans. There are special collec Highlights of the exhibits include a diorama tions of maps, photographs, manuscripts, ledgers, depicting a caribou hunt; a re-created 16th-century engravings and woodcuts, research files, profes village populated with life-cast mannequins; sional papers of scholars, popular culture, and exhibits depicting Pequot life after the 1637 mas other materials that date from the 16th to the 20th sacre of the Mystic village; and the contemporary centuries. life of the tribal nation. The Research Center The primary clientele of the tribal archives includes a Research Library, the Archives and are the members of the Mashantucket Pequot Special Collections, and a Children's Library, Tribal Nation and tribal employees. However, as a which are open to the public. There are also arche division of the Museum and Research Center, the ology and conservation laboratories and a 420-seat Archives and Special Collections include as its auditorium for educational programs and perfor clientele scholars and the public in the region, the mances. nation, and the world. The revival of the Mashantucket Pequot The development of the tribal archives' pro Tribe has been a source of curiosity to the local gram depends on the support of the Tribal Council. and national community. Many believed that the We hope to work with the tribal chairman and the tribe was extinct; Pequot children heard their Tribal Council to develop a resolution for the mis teachers tell them so in class. A museum that tells sion of the archives. A tribal resolution will secure their story has been a goal of the tribe for many a viable mandate for the development of the tribe's years. Theresa H. Bell, Executive Director of the archives. The endorsement and support of the Museum and Research Center, is a tribal member. chairman and the Tribal Council will be critical to Her day-to-day involvement in the project assures the success of the program. that the exhibits, programs, and collections are An archivist depends on the trust and respect consistent with the tribe's mission for the Museum of the community to develop a successful archives and Research Center. program. When the archivist is not a member of The mission of the archives, similar to that the community that he serves, then it is particu of most modern archives, is to appraise, acquire, larly important to understand the group's history organize, preserve, and make available the and culture. archives of the tribe and to support the It is my responsibility to learn what the mem inquiries, primary research, and programs of the bers of the tribal community want for their Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. In particu archives. I must also learn the role of the recent lar, the Archives and Special Collections supports past in shaping contemporary Mashantucket the Museum and Research Center's overall mission Pequot culture. A contemporary Native American to document and reconstruct Native American cul tribe has several major spheres of activity, includ ture and history. ing the cultural, political, economic, and familial. The archives is the repository for records, As an archivist for a tribe, I must be aware of each manuscripts, printed materials, and other primary aspect and try to understand how they have an resources that document the activities, history, and impact on the collections and mission of archives.
CRM No 2—1999 15 The Museum and Research Center are new Papers of Executive Branch Officials."*Federally tools in the tribal organization. Now that the recognized tribes are sovereign nations that gener archives is open to researchers, staff have more ate records like those generated by any govern opportunities to talk to tribal members and ment. We will continue to look to federal, state, employees about the role of a tribal archives. As and local government records models for direction we have the opportunity, archives staff describe the as we develop the archives. Moreover, we will con types of materials we are collecting and the impor tinue to consult with the staff of other tribal tance of community and tribal government support. archives to work toward a unified model of tribal We talk with people about why we collect certain archives. records and special collections materials and how The archives is the repository for a compre they are used for research. hensive oral history collection that was created One special collections purchase provides an through an oral history program developed by the interesting example of this educational process. tribe. Professional oral historians interviewed The acquisition was a 17th-century engraving that members of the tribe. Portions of the audio record depicted the execution of Jesuits by Iroquois. The ings are incorporated into the museum's exhibits. scene includes various torture scenes and execu However, access to the collection itself is currently tions. A visitor was concerned about the fact that limited to tribal members. the image depicted Native Americans as violent Family correspondence and papers currently and savage. To try to answer this question, we in the collection include letters from a Pequot talked about the engraving as an interpretation of a woman to her daughter. The letters, written in the documented event and the role of images in com 1920s, include information on the efforts of Pequot municating information about historical events. and neighboring tribes to work with the federal We discussed the possibility that this image was government, basket making, and disease. perhaps the only information that some 17th-cen- The Report of the Committee on the Sale of tury Europeans had about Native Americans. Pequot Land was written by a committee created From a European perspective, the priests by the County Court of New London in 1856. The appear to be martyrs and the Iroquois are murder information contained in the manuscript was a ers. Historically, images like this helped to perpet key in the tribe's successful land claim suit in uate the stereotypes of natives as savages; today 1976 and its ultimate success in obtaining fed such images tell us about how some stereotypes eral recognition. may have developed in history. In addition, we The recent history of the Mashantucket talked about the fact that the image does contain Pequot Tribal Nation is vibrant with tribal enter real information about Iroquois dress, wampum prises, including a pizza restaurant, hydroponics use, hairstyles, quill work, and post-contact mater gardens, maple sugar production, and a bingo hall. ial culture such as iron pots, knives, and axes. Records from these enterprises are slowly coming Perhaps most importantly, the discussion was an into the archives. opportunity to talk about the importance of the Some manuscripts that document Pequot his tribal archives as a place where the tribe can docu tory are acquired by purchase. Such materials pro ment its history in its own words and images, not vide valuable insight into life in native communi those of others. ties and often about interactions between natives Another educational goal that sets the and non-natives. The types of documents are the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's archives same as those collected by most special collection apart is the priority that we will give to supporting libraries and historical societies. We acquire mate Native American interns. Encouraging internships rials to document social, political, and legal history among tribal members and other Native Americans as well as material culture. One example is a roster is one way that the archives can empower its pri of Revolutionary War soldiers from Stonington, mary constituents, the membership of the Connecticut. The roster includes Pequot names Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and other and is accompanied by receipts for goods supplied Native Americans. to each soldier's family. The receipts provide infor Collections mation about individual families and the differ When it is appropriate, the staff of the ences in rations received by natives and non- archives will work with Tribal Council members to natives. facilitate the transfer of their personal papers to Collections are cataloged into Endeavor's the archives. In our work with the Council, we will Voyager system and the Research Library use the National Archives and Records Information Network (RLIN) database. Catalog Administration's model outlined in "Personal records and other collection information are avail-
16 CRM No 2—1999 able through the public access catalog in the shelves, the same type that is used in Archives II Research Library and the Archives and Special facility in Suitland, Maryland. Collections. Materials in the Archives and Special On behalf of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Collections are being imaged in the in-house pho Nation, the staff of the Archives and Special tography studio. In the spring of 1999, on-site Collections invites you to visit the Museum and researchers will be able to view linked images of Research Center. We look forward to welcoming materials described in the catalog. Researchers will you. be able to access the catalog through the Web in 1999; however images will remain available on- Note site only. An illustrated, automated catalog of a col Personal Papers of Executive Branch Officials: A lection focused on depictions of Native Americans Management Guide. National Archives and Records in popular culture is also available on-site. Administration, Management Guide Series. Facilities Washington: National Archives and Records The Archives and Special Collections facility Administration, Office of Records Administration, is on the floor above the Research Library's reading 1992. room. Researchers in Archives and Special Collections are accommodated in a reading room Donna Longo DiMichele is Head, Archives and that seats eight comfortably. There is a technical Special Collections, Mashantucket Pequot Museum services workroom with five workstations for and Research Center. archives staff. Another room is used for new acces sions, as a staging area for processing, and sup Information about the Museum and plies storage. The closed stacks include 9,872 lin Research Center, including hours, is available at ear feet of space on electric compactor cantilever
Preservation Information from the NPS
A Conserve 0 Gram is a short, focused leaflet on the preservation of museum and archival col lections published in a series. Updates are issued twice a year. Conserve O Gram leaflets are on the Web at
CRM No 2—1999 17 Susan McElrath outreach program at the NABWH includes a newsletter, staff presentations to a wide variety of groups, and an annual open house. The archivist The Archives at the has given talks on cataloging archives to beginning library school students at the Catholic University of Mary McLeod Bethune America. The outreach program not only encour ages use of the collections but also occasionally Council House NHP leads to the acquisition of a new collection. As with all archives, preservation and protec ocated at the Mary McLeod Bethune tion of the collection are a high priority. Recently, Council House National Historic Site the National Park Service installed a new compact Lin Washington, DC, a unit of the shelving system that provides additional security National Park Service and National Capital Parks- along with needed additional storage space. In East, the National Archives for Black Women's addition to the traditional measures of removing History (NABWH) is the fulfillment of Mary staples and paper clips, flattening folded and rolled McLeod Bethune's vision of a legacy for succeed documents, and storing documents in archival fold ing generations. Its mission is to identify, collect, ers and containers, staff store material separately develop, interpret, and preserve the legacy of by media when possible and isolate items with Mary McLeod Bethune including her unique focus mold or other problems. Staff is currently looking on the individual and collective history of African- into working with a commercial microfilmer to American women. film the archives largest collection, the Records The NABWH collects materials about or illus of the National Council of Negro Women. The trating the life and work of Mary microfilm will ease the wear and Mary McLeod McLeod Bethune, the National tear on some of the more fragile Bethune. Photo Council of Negro Women, and parts of the collection and permit courtesy Mary other African-American women's use by researchers unable to travel McLeod organizations. While focusing on to Washington, DC. Bethune Council the years of Mary McLeod House National As part of the Mary McLeod Historic Site. Bethune's life, 1875-1955, the Bethune Council House National NABWH seeks to document the Historic Site, the NABWH follows continuing impact of her vision to the management procedures of the present time. the National Park Service. The Promoting access and Bethune Council House is in the encouraging use of the collection process of developing a General are key goals for the staff of the Management Plan. This plan will NABWH. This emphasis means guide the National Park Service's that researchers are able to turn decisionmaking process for the to a variety of tools to gain infor site over the next 15 to 20 years. mation about the archives. The One of the crucial elements Bethune Council House's newly expanded web site of the General Management Plan is the Scope of 18 CRM No 2—1999 Karen Stevens Managing Documentary Resources Independence National Historical Park n June 28, 1998, Independence continuum documenting the park's history for over National Historical Park (INHP) 200 years and shaping its identity. celebrated the 50th anniversary of In 1995, the archives implemented its the signing of its enabling legisla archival program by establishing an access policy tion bOy President Harry S. Truman. The park is and printing a brochure describing its holdings and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. services. To promote use of the photograph collec Independence Hall and Independence Square are tions, the archivist reorganized the Photograph designated a World Heritage Site. Independence Reproduction Services program, in partnership with Hall, the First Bank, and the Second Bank are Eastern National Park and Monument Association, National Historic Landmarks. During its 50 years establishing policy and procedures for use of of operations, the park accumulated a significant images. The fiscal year 1998 statistics show that body of research, management and site project the archives served 409 researchers and processed records. orders for 725 photographs, a 20% increase in use In 1983, INHP created a central research over the previous year. repository for these archival records which reflect During the past three years, INHP Archives the development of the park and its resource man has made considerable progress toward integrating agement activities. The archival project team its resource documentation records into the shelved the collections in a locked stack in the museum management program according to guid library and compiled a preliminary inventory, Guide ance in the Museum Handbook, 1994, and Part II, to the Archives of Independence National HistoricalAppendi x D, 1997. Support for projects to imple Park, which still serves as the primary physical and ment museum standards and accountability came intellectual key to the collections. from a combination of NPS Museum Management Although the archival center was established Program funding and the INHP Cultural Resource some time ago, until recently there was only mini Management Division's budget. mal provision for program management. At the The archives recently completed a retrospec time, responsibility for curatorial care and refer tive accessioning project to identify the processing ence use of the archives was assigned to the library and cataloging backlog which currently has an esti technician, under the supervision of the chief histo mated 533,000 items. Prior to 1995, records rian, the administrative niche it occupies today. deposited in the archives were not accessioned. In the intervening years, the park lacked the The backlog includes the collections listed in the resources to address many conditions related to 1983 guide as well as field collections transferred standard appraisal, holdings maintenance, acces to the archives since then. sioning, processing, cataloging and descriptive find In 1996, the Museum Collections ing aids, reference and use. Recognizing the value Preservation and Protection (MCPP) program, of the archives and documentary resources, the funded the preparation of a Collection Management Cultural Management Division hired a profes Plan (CMP) and Action Plan of priorities and rec sional archivist to manage its archives and man ommendations for managing the park's archival col uscripts and supervise the library in 1995. lections. The accompanying records survey of park Today the archives contains nearly 500 linear buildings and offices identified nearly two million feet of materials in all archival formats including items for appraisal and disposition, clearly reveal slides, negatives and prints; drawings and plans in ing the need for a records management program. all media; audiotapes and reels, videotapes and Two processing projects awarded Backlog film; electronic formats; and microforms. Other Cataloging funds produced Automated National associated archival and manuscript collections, Catalog System (ANCS) records and finding aids for which pre-date the organization of the park and eight of the park's most significant pre-park records relate to the park's historic buildings and museum collections. These collections relate to the individu collections, reside in the museum collections under als and organizations pivotal to the establishment the management of the Museum Branch. These of the park in the 1940s and to the development records, along with the cultural resource manage and management of Independence Hall as a ment materials in the archives, reflect a seamless CRM No 2—1999 19 National Museum capture it all somewhere down the road, creators of by the City of these records are advised to send them to the Philadelphia, from archives at mutually agreed upon times. This is an 1860 to 1950. approach in line with the National Archives and Three projects Records Administration's strategic plan to identify funded from the federal records of permanent value at the front-end park's History of the record life-cycle. Branch budget When the above projects are completed in the address thorny next decade and beyond, the volume of resource issues related to management documentation generated will more preservation and than double the quantity of park records archived access to the park's to date. For a fuller discussion of this strategy see voluminous body of the article entitled "Building Project Records at site construction Independence" by Karen Stevens in CRM, Vol. 21, records, 1950 to No.2 (1998): 26-27. date. In 1997, an In one phase of the building improvement architectural program at INHP, a new library and archives facil archivist consultant ity will be included in the Philadelphia Exchange prepared rehabilitation project within the next five years. Recommendations and Processing Guidelines for the The archivist has been working with NPS Denver Architectural Project Records. Using these guide Service Center staff to design a facility which meets The original lines, an archivist processed, cataloged, and cre NPS museum preservation standards and the stack in the ated a finding aid to the Office of Architect's park's archival program and storage needs for 25 library is full; an research records, 1938-1993. years. adjunct storage area has been In 1998, a student prepared a preliminary Several important planning projects still need created at the inventory for more than 4,200 architectural draw to be addressed before full implementation of an Second Bank to ings and plans. Phase II of the project will inven archival program at INHP is complete. At the top house new tory the remaining estimated 2,500 drawings in of the priority list is a records management pro acquisitions until 1999. With MCPP funds, the park bought flat files gram. In addition to the library and archives, all the move to the park division office staffs, about 100 employees, Philadelphia to store the drawings and plans rehoused by these Exchange. projects. eventually will move into the Philadelphia Photo courtesy While making progress to implement NPS Exchange. This impending relocation presents a Tawny Nelb, museum management standards, improve account prime opportunity to implement a park records Nelb Archival ability, and provide access to archival materials, management program. And the park archives is Consulting, Inc. the archives established procedures for new acces positioned to support that initiative. sions and transfer requests from park offices. Park A second priority is to develop a comprehen staff, informed of the opportunity to transfer non- sive Photograph Collection Management Plan to current records to the archives, readily cooperated process, catalog and rehouse the research and with the archivist in shipping appropriately study photo collection of over 50,000 items and the appraised files according to the procedures. photographs from park maintenance, rehabilitation From 1994 to 1997, INHP was involved in and construction projects. This includes a collec developing a new General Management Plan tion of photographs, covering the years 1950 to (GMP). The GMP calls for construction of a date, from the historic architect's office, which Gateway Visitor Center, a new Liberty Bell complex plans a future CD-ROM scanning project for these to replace the current pavilion, the Independence images. Park Institute and a National Constitution Center Independence NHP recognized the impor as part of the development of Independence Mall tance of the park's documentary resources to NPS over the next five years. Concurrently, construction staff and researchers long before there were funds design and projects to rehabilitate the park's his and staff to manage them properly. Staff took steps toric buildings will generate mountainous piles of to preserve and protect them as best they could reports, drawings, photographs, and construction until the time was right. Now in its 51 st year, with records for upwards of 20 years. a professional archivist on staff, funding opportuni To deal effectively with these records, the ties available, and the prospect of an adequate archives devised an innovative, pro-active docu archival facility, INHP continues to honor its com mentation strategy for documentation deliver mitment to the NPS mission of preserving, protect ables from these projects. The plan appraised con ing, and interpreting cultural resources. struction project reports, drawings and pho tographs, submittals and correspondence as Karen Stevens is Archivist, Independence National archival records at the time of creation. Rather than Historical Park. 20 CRM No 2—1999 Diane Vogt-O'Connor files, leaving historic data orphaned and inaccessi ble. Since this data is our cumulative memory as a species, the situation is dire. Is the Record of the The market incentive for software and hard ware manufacturers to step in and solve this prob 20th Century at Risk? lem for society doesn't yet exist. The vendors profit from system obsolescence by selling corporations, groups and individuals new or upgraded software t the end of the 20th century the and hardware and new formats of old content over world's archives are facing challenges and over again. How many different versions of Aof a scale that were unimaginable your favorite music do you have (records, tapes, only a decade ago. First, the size of the human digital tapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs)? Few groups or record has grown at a geometric progression individuals have budgeted to keep moving old con beginning with the development of the photocopy tent to new formats endlessly; therefore, we lose machine and desktop publishing and greatly significant portions of our heritage of data, infor enhanced by electronic communications. The mation, and knowledge daily. National Archives and Records Administration is now annually accepting 10 times more electronic Why Do Archivists Fear a New Dark Ages? records from the Treasury Department in email Many electronic preservation specialists alone than it received from the entire federal gov believe that a significant portion of late-20th- ernment in the previous 25 years according to a century data, information, and knowledge will be recent article by Archivist John Carlin.1 lost permanently. In a letter to the editor of the Washington Post and in the newsletter CLIR Not only are the old creators of records writ Issues, Deanna Marcum of the Council of Library ing and producing more documentation, but new and Information Resources has predicted a 10-year voices—new organizations, new individuals, and loss of digital records.6 Danny Hillis of Walt new groups—are being empowered by these media Disney predicts "A 'digital gap' will span from the to produce documentation reflecting their views. beginning of the wide-spread use of the computer Every eight minutes, more new information is until the time we eventually solve this problem."7 added to the Internet alone than is currently held Peter Lyman of the University of California at by the United States National Archives and 2 Berkeley asks "Are digital signals destined to be a Records Administration. kind of oral culture, living only as long as they are This wealth of digital data provides us with a remembered and repeated?" Our era may in effect chance to learn more about humans as a diverse, become a new dark age about which most of the often frivolous, and endlessly inventive species core information, knowledge, and data will be than any previous media since the printing press. lost—except for that printed to paper or continu We can explore our world and its cultural and nat ously migrated to newer software platforms.8 ural resources without leaving home. Yet this ele Conservators point to the significant losses gant and playful electronic record is endangered. already experienced with such 20th-century media Unlike our photographic, paper, and motion pic as color photographs, cellulose nitrate motion pic ture film, which gradually decline into full loss over ture film, audiotapes, videotapes, and high-lignin a period of centuries, digital media self-destruct in wood pulp paper records. When combined with the decades with little warning. Some vanish much predicted loss of digital files the effect may be a more speedily—the average life expectancy of a general loss of contemporary memory, perhaps the web page is roughly 70 days according to Brewster 9 3 greatest such loss since the 1400s. Kahle of the Internet Archive. We may paradoxi cally be both the best documented era in history According to many experts, to prevent the and the least understood, as much of our docu emergence of such loss we must develop: mentation will be lost.4 • a universal preservation format that ideally is long-lived, compressed, but still eye legible While we have the first telephone and tele • a universal translator that is able to move graph messages still, the first email message, chat old files to the new formats constantly being group session, and web site have already been lost. developed by our market-driven economy 10 The predicted pace of electronic information loss is • certified repositories that are adequately accelerating. Not only do we have to contend with funded with trained and imaginative staff who the fragility of digital media; even more worrisome are well equipped to ensure the survival of is the speedy obsolescence of the software and 5 our new major documentation and communi hardware that makes the files usable. These mar cations media—particularly digital data. ket-driven systems change rapidly—roughly every Currently NARA has only 2 million dollars 18 months—and are often not able to play earlier annually to manage electronic records.11 CRM No 2—1999 21 When this is contrasted with the 40+ million vices digital environment with all funds received dollars currently being spent by the National going to intellectual property rights holders. Digital Library to move stable paper records State and federal privacy and publicity laws into short-lived, but accessible digital formats, raise serious concerns over what may be made it rapidly becomes clear that preservation of accessible and how, as do recent publications by knowledge has not been given equal priority culture groups on their wishes to gain legal control to access in this country. over materials already in the public domain or To keep electronic files, they must be materials created by non-group members.16 In our migrated (moved to the next generation of hard litigious times many of these issues are likely to be ware and software) and refreshed (copied to new resolved in the courts or by Congress, rather than and more durable media as digital media itself is by archivists. How can archivists balance the com fragile and short-lived and given a new tape wind plex and often contradictory requirements and to limit stresses) every 18 months or so.12 needs of donors, copyright holders, creators, indi Costs of Managing Digital Data Over Time viduals who are documented, scholars, and the Electronic records project experts have esti general public? mated that digital records are roughly 10-16 times Archival budgets are being seriously eroded more expensive to manage over time than paper by increasing costs, decreased budgets, fewer staff, records. National Digital Library Ameritech grant more users, burgeoning information, increasingly experience indicates that the cost of digitizing an unstable information formats, changing profes item is only one third of the start up cost of digital sional information standards and practices, revised work, with two thirds being the cost of cataloging, laws on fair use and copyright, and institutional metadata, and quality control.13 restructuring and instability. Simple neglect alone Archives are not funded to a level that is enough to ensure disaster. The looming dark empowers them to deal with the long-term manage ages of information loss present us with a renewed ment of the growing quantities of digital data, nor mission to save what we can despite our institu are most archivists trained to work with these tional constraints. media. Yet ignoring the problem is not an option. What Can We Save? In recent court cases, archivists at the National At the millennium, faced with a new digital Archives have been held responsible for managing dark age of information loss, archivists are re electronic versions of federal documents effectively, examining our appraisal strategies. We don't want regardless of institutional abilities and funding.14 to be crushed under the weight of the past, nor can These demands and legal requirements for we afford to save everything. super-archives to save an ever greater and more Yet, we are aware as never before that our diverse record are coming at a time when: records must reflect the full diversity and complex • organizations and governments are reorganiz ity of our world, rather than becoming an edited ing and downsizing compendium that celebrates a specific world view • archival budgets are flat or in decline or a single group. Real archives, like the human • archival descriptive standards are in flux15 unconscious and memory, contain some materials • archival staff must retrain to learn the new that will be unpopular. A real archives is a by standards product of the full range of human actions, rather • legislation affecting archives is changing than the neatly edited version of reality presented What Legal Challenges Affect Archives? by most publications. Legal standards are also in flux. Archivists Who decides what is preserved and what is are currently facing some of the most stringent legal destroyed? How do we ensure that the record of challenges ever to their right to provide fair use "what did he know and when did he know it" is access to materials whose copyrights are held by not lost? How do we ensure the memory of the others. Recent legislation has extended the dura holocaust, slavery, women's suffrage, and Native tion of copyright protection by 20 more years. American disenfranchisement? How do we record Archivists' traditional role has been to provide the human mistakes, the average day, as well as access under the legal concept of "fair use," which our best and brightest moments, so that we can allows access for scholarship, parody, education, learn as well as celebrate? How do we ensure that and news reporting purposes. Recent rulings by the what we save is authentic, of enduring value, and courts and developing legislation seem to promise accessible? Some options are described below. an ever-shrinking and more restrictive definition of Working with records creators and users "fair use purposes" particularly in the digital world. and teaching these individuals to: Archivists face the possibility that they may end up • save digital master files in common non-pro providing access to collections in a pay-for-use ser prietary file formats like TIFF 22 CRM No 2—1999 • avoid using compression when creating mas the mission, usage level of the items, and risk of ter digital files to facilitate future use; instead loss. These criteria have the merit of being based use compression on derivative or copy files as upon what our users want and what history tells us necessary or desirable is valuable. However, the resulting archives will • store master files offline in a redundant array reflect a particular worldview rather than the full of independent disks, which use multiple range of human experience. The advantage of this servers to back-up data in several different approach is that it reflects seasoned human judge servers simultaneously ment and it may be scaled to suit the repository's • maintain software and hardware and move budget since the repository is selecting in priority files to the next generation of software as nec order. essary to keep them useful Hybrid approach: use the best of all three • incorporate standard color bars and measur methods above. First, work with the records creat ing scales within a digital file to aid in man ing and using communities to encourage them to agement and viewing create long-lived and durable records, manage • keep a systematic record of file modifications them effectively over time, and responsibly provide and changes the records to archives when the creators or the • capture and manage file metadata (documen users are done exercising the data. Preserve and tation about digital files) to help when access manage the hardware and software necessary to ing, managing, or viewing the files make these user-selected materials accessible. • exercise or use all data regularly to ensure full Next, statistically sample everything, to an extent functionality that is economically feasible by the archives. Some archivists believe we can afford to wait Third, select any items that fit the collecting state for a technological solution that will not require ment of the archives and which are evaluated as any change in our relationship with records cre having high value to the archives and its audience. ators. If technology doesn't provide this answer, Allow value, use, and risk factors to influence the these archives will be dependent on whatever selection process. Finally, pray for technological knowledge is captured and maintained by the vari help and funding from the government, individu ous affiliated user communities in whatever format als, and the organizations benefiting most from the the communities use. Archives might support these new technologies, the software and hardware creator or user communities by providing guidance firms. on how to create permanent and durable records New Partnerships to Approach and how to manage and preserve their content and Even as archives face some of the greatest their software and hardware over time. challenges since the first archivists assembled col Intervene and statistically sample the digi lections of clay tablets in ancient Assyria, we are tal realm, avoiding the use of human judgment in finding some powerful new partners, including: selection. Work under the assumption that we The Edutainment Community. Entertainment can't count on a technological fix. A sample has the when wedded with education equals "edu merit of providing a non-editorial sketch of the tainment." This is best illustrated by the whole, although much material of proven and huge growth in specialized book clubs, cable enduring value will be missed simply because it television channels, special interest groups, doesn't fit the sample profile. Brewster Kahle's and web sites focusing on culture, history, Internet Archives, a digital backup of the Internet natural history, or similar issues, such as: taken at regular intervals, captures this data. The The History Channel question remains: who can afford to continue to The Learning Channel manage and migrate this information and provide The Knowledge Channel access to it over time? Kahle recently gave a 12 ter The Discovery Channel abyte copy of his Internet Archives to the Library New Internal Uses, such as: of Congress, which must determine whether it can Geographic Information System demands for afford the management mortgage on this gift. historic maps and plans, which result in In ancient India, the gift of a white elephant massive databases that allow land-based often bankrupted the state treasury while confer agencies, states, governments, and histori ring high status; the Internet Archives may be a ans to study and know areas in ways pre similar gift with much status, high user demand, viously unimaginable and a punitively high cost to manage through time. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which uses baseline data, avail Intervene and select items based upon tra able often only in archives, to track ditional archival selection criteria such as institu progress toward accomplishments tional mission, audience, value in relationship to CRM No 2—1999 23 Electronic Freedom of Information Act (E- theorists and managers, our information for later FOIA) mounting of frequently requested adaptive re-use, and our professional knowledge federal and state documents on the Web to and evidence for enhancement of our organizations facilitate access to federal records and professions, is our greatest gift to the future. Affiliated User Communities, such as: Civil War re-enactors Notes collectors 1 Carlin, John W. "Records Everywhere, But How Are hobbyist networks, such as railroad buffs They Going to Survive?" in The Record, 5:1, clubs, such as historic preservation September 1998, p.3. aficionados 2 Kahle, Brewster. "Setting the Stage: Summary of the Information Brokers, such as: Initial Discussion," in Time & Bits: Managing Contract researchers, who conduct research Digital Continuity. Edited by Margaret MacLean and for a fee Ben H. Davis, Santa Monica, CA: The J. Paul Getty, Picture researchers, who find imagery for Trust, 1998, p. 39. films, books, and articles 3 Ibid. Online Fulfillment Services, such as Image 4 Hillis, Danny. "Public Session: Panel Discussion," Directory and Corbis Media, who post the in Time & Bits: Managing Digital Continuity. Op cit., images for others to aid in their resale p.42. Online Rights Management Services, who 5 Ibid, pp. 18-20. help organizations track and manage intel 6 Marcum, Deanna. CLIR Issues, number 2, lectual property rights March/April 1998, pages 1-3. Foundations, Organizations, Universities, 7 Hillis, Danny. "Public Session: Panel Discussion," and Consortia, such as: in Time & Bits: Managing Digital Continuity. Op cit., The Council for the Preservation of the p.42. Anthropological Record's work on preserv 8 Lyman, Peter in Time & Bits: Managing Digital ing the papers of anthropologists (see CRM Continuity. Op cit., p.11-12. Vol. 18, No. 9, p. 34) 9 Carlin, John W. "Records Everywhere, But How Are Council on Library and Information They Going to Survive?" in The Record, 5:1, Resources focus on preserving the digital September 1998, pp 1-3. record 10 Taylor Shelley Z. "Ongoing Digital Dialogue: The The Long Now Foundation Time and Bits Threaded Discussion," in Time & Bits: Brewster Kahle's Internet Archives Managing Digital Continuity. Op cit., p 65. The Getty Information Institute's "Time and 1' Carlin, John W. "Records Everywhere, But How Are Bits" Conference They Going to Survive?" in The Record, 5:1, Northeast Document Conservation Center's September 1998, pp 1-3. "School for Scanning" 12 Eiteljorg, Harrison. "Archiving Archeological Data in Universities, such as: the Next Millennium" CRM, 21:6 (1998), pp. 21. Cornell University 13 Puglia, Steven. "Cost Benefit Analysis for Harvard University Reformatting Option," Speech at Afterimages: the University of California at Berkeley Reformatting Visual Materials in a Digital World, the University of Pittsburgh Conference of NEDCC and NPS at NARA Archives Yale University II, September 17-19, 1998. No organization or profession working alone 14 Public Citizen, Inc., et. al, v. John Carlin, Archivist can preserve our knowledge and historical evi of the United States, U.S. District Court, 1997 (Civil dence, or ensure the survival of our information Action 96-2840 (PLF)). and make it accessible to the insatiable audiences 15 Riesling, Kris "What Is the Encoded Archival who demand it. We must work together as allied Description Standard?" in this issue of CRM, page 28. professions and organizations to share our exper 16 Brown, Michael F. "Can Culture Be Copyrighted?" in tise and resources if we are to ensure the survival Current Anthropology, 19:2, April 1998, pp. 193-206 of our data, information, evidence, and knowledge and "Cultural Records in Question: Information and for future generations. We must explore all options its Moral Dilemmas," in CRM 21:6, (1998) pp. 15- open to us with open minds that are eager to share 17. the message of what is at risk. This legacy, which safely stores our factual observations for future Diane Vogt-O'Connor is Senior Archivist, Museum Management Program, National Park Service. 24 CRM No 2—1999 Creating Permanent and Durable Information Physical Media and Storage Standards The following outline provides references to guidance on the creation and management of durable copies of informa tion, including paper records, microfilm, photographs, and digital images. Systems Perspective: Standards Overview the preservation of recorded information having a Standards organizations can be grouped into three permanent value. categories: Medium-Term Storage Conditions are storage condi Industry Standards tions suitable for the preservation of recorded infor AIIM—Association for Information and Image mation for a minimum of 10 years. Management Life Expectancy (LE) Ratings ANSI—American National Standards Institute LE ratings have been assigned for the following types of ASTM—American Society for Testing and Materials photographic film materials: ISO—International Standards Organization Black-and-white (B&W) polyester-based NISO—National Information Standards Organization photographic films LE-500 PIMA—Photographic and Imaging Manufacturers B&W acetate-based photographic films LE-100 Association Diazo microfilm LE-100 User-Group Standards Vesicular microfilm LE-100 RLG—Research Libraries Group Thermally processed silver microfilm Government Standards (dry silver) LE-100 CFR—Code of Federal Regulations Polyester-based magnetic tape LE-50 Life Expectancy Research is being conducted to determine the LE ratings for other materials, but no other LE ratings have been ANSI and PIMA have adopted the following definitions assigned at this time. Accelerated aging studies indicate relating to the longevity of imaging materials. ISO has also that digital optical media will last between 30 and 200 adopted several of these definitions. years (the physical longevity is very specific to the type of Archival Medium is a recording material that can be disks and the manufacturer due to differences in the dyes expected to retain information forever, so that such used). However, the system obsolescence of digital data information can be retrieved without significant loss may be only 5 to 10 years (often less) and is the critical when properly stored. However, there is no such factor in migrating data to new technologies or systems. material, and it is not a term to be used to describe material or system specifications in American In the fall 1998 AIIM Review, 10 technologies were listed National Standards. that will affect document management over the next two Life Expectancy (LE) is the length of time that informa years. Number five on this list was replacement of optical tion is predicted to be usable in a system at 21c C and disk systems with computer output microfiche. A large 50% relative humidity (RH). The latest photographic market is emerging for computer output microfilm for all film standards use this definition. An alternate defini companies that were early adopters of optical disk storage. tion is that LE is the length of time that information is These companies are finding the cost of maintenance and predicted to be retrievable in a system under migration of optical digital storage prohibitive. extended-term storage (definition used in photo Comparison of Information System Models graphic print standards). Preservation Microfilm Model LE Designation is a rating for the life expectancy of • Information is human readable with magnification recording materials and their associated retrieval sys only. tems. The number following the LE symbol is a pre • Life expectancy of 500 years when stored properly. diction of the minimum life expectancy in years for • Need to duplicate only every 50 years to produce new which information can be retrieved without signifi printing master. cant loss when stored at 21° C and 50% RH. LE-100 • Lower cost to store. indicates that information can be retrieved after at least 100 years storage. Digital Preservation Model • Machine readable only, very system dependent. Extended-Term Storage Conditions are storage condi • Life expectancy of system only 5 to 10 years. tions suitable for the preservation of recorded infor • Need to refresh (recopy) an average of every 5 years mation on the majority of freshly processed photo through data migration and graphic films for 500 years (definition in latest photo graphic film standards). The previous definition of • SoftwanVhardware upgrades necessary. this phrase referred to storage conditions suitable for • Higher cost to maintain data (cost is expected to con tinue to decrease at a rapid rate). CRM No 2—1999 25 Physical and Chemical Stabilty Standards These storage conditions are appropriate for extended-term Standards exist that specify the properties for the following storage of: areas relating to the long-term keeping of recorded infor paper records mation. Use them when planning documentation projects. B&W polyester-based photographic film and prints They include physical and chemical stability standards, photographic plates such as the following: magnetic tape Paper Permanence optical discs ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992-Permanence of Paper for Cold Storage: 35° F (2° C) Publications and Documents in Libraries and 30% to 40% relative humidity Archives. These cold storage conditions are appropriate for extended- National Archives and Records Administration term storage of: Bulletin No. 95-7. B&W acetate-based photographic film Joint Committee on Printing A270. color photographic film ISO 9706 and ISO 11108. chromogenic color photographic prints Inks color hardcopy output 1987 UNESCO RAMP Survey. Note: Users of cold storage need to remember that the time mate Specifications for Stability of Photographic Materials rials are out of cold storage will mitigate the benefits of the cold ANSI IT9.1-1996/ISO 10602-1995 Processed Silver- storage, so time out of storage should be kept to a minimum. Gelatin Type, Black-and-White Film. Enclosures (Institutional Specifications) ANSI IT9.5-1996/ISO 8225 Ammonia-Processed ANSI IT9.2-1996 Photographic Processed Films, Diazo Photographic Films. Plates, and Papers—Filing Enclosures and Storage ANSI IT9.12-1995/ISO 9718 Processed Vesicular Containers. Photographic Film. ANSI IT9.16-1993 Photographic Activity Test. ANSI IT9.19-1994 Thermally Processed Silver Preservation Planning Microfilm. Traditionally, the selection and planning for preservation Test Methods for Stability of Photographic Materials was based on the needs of the materials, such as brittle ANSI IT9.9-1996 Stability of Color Photographic paper or deteriorating film. Over the last 10 years there has Images—Methods for Measuring. been national initiatives to integrate the archival, curator ANSI IT9.21-1996 Life Expectancy of Compact Discs ial, and/or institutional needs with the needs of the materi (CD-ROM)—Method for Estimating. als. The tools used for selection and planning include Test Methods in Progress appraisal, surveys, and preservation selection models. PIMA IT9.26 Life Expectancy of Magneto-Optic (MO) A more sophisticated planning approach—the cost-benefit Disks. analysis—can be used to prioritize preservation activities. PIMA IT9.27 Life Expectancy of Information Stored in See "Negative Duplication" in Topics in Photographic Recordable Compact Disc Systems. Preservation, 3 (1989), pp 123-134. Storage Reformatting The following storage standards provide specific recom Standards and guidelines exist for the reformatting of a mendations for the proper storage of materials. variety of records. NISO TR01-1995 Storage: Paper Records. Electrostatic Photocopy Quality ANSI/PIMA IT9.11-1998 / ISO 5466 Storage: Use archival bond paper. Photographic Film. ANSI/NAPM IT9.18-1996 / ISO 3897-1997 Storage: Use carbon-black based toner. Photographic Plates. Note: For further information see NARA Technical ANSI/NAPM IT9.20-1996/ISO 6051-1997 Storage: Information Paper (TIP) No. 5, Archival Copies of Photographic Prints. Thermofax, Verifax, and Other Unstable Records, 1990. ANSI/NAPM IT9.23-1997 Storage: Magnetic Tape Copies should pass the peel-test for toner adhesion that is ANSI/PIMA IT9.25 Storage: Optical Disc Media described in this paper. The recommendations above fall into two categories of Microfilm Procedures and Quality storage—general storage and cold storage. AIIM/ANSI standards. Research Libraries Group Preservation Microfilming The following general conditions come closest to meeting Handbook. all the environmental requirements in the above standards CFR Part 1230—Micrographic Records Management. for extended term storage: The above sources provide standards and guidance for General Storage: 68° F (18° C) records preparation, targets, background density, resolu 30% to 40% relative humidity tion, QI (quality index), residual hypo and silver, film base, and the quality of duplicates. 26 CRM No 2—1999 Photographic Copying and Duplication Color Management Activities Approaches to Duplication of Historic Black-and-White International Color Consortium (ICC) Digitizing Photographic Negatives guidelines. Interpositive / duplicate negative method—2 steps: Digital Project Guidelines best tonal accuracy. For Scanning Textual Documents: Direct duplicate negatives—1 step: least generational 200 to 600 pixels per inch (ppi) for 1-bit scanning. loss; hard to work with and maintain image detail. 200 to 400 ppi for 8-bit greyscale scanning. Print and copy negative: easiest to do, but lowest 200 to 300 ppi for 24-bit color scanning. quality. For Scanning Photographs: See the following Kodak publication: Photographic and 3,000 to 5,000 line files for 8-bit greyscale scan Digital Imaging Techniques, M-l, CAT No. E152 7969, ning. Eastman Kodak. 3,000 to 5,000 line files for 24-bit color scanning. Approaches to Photographic Tonal Reproduction For Scanning Maps/Plans/Oversized Materials: Standardized Exposure—traditional approach: poten 200 to 300 ppi for 8-bit greyscale scanning. tial for loss of detail with dense negatives and neg 200 to 300 ppi for 24-bit color scanning. atives with large density range; shadow mask Cornell University Library Scanning Recommendations optional (technique developed by Chicago Albumen for Printed Type Works). Scan at: Shadow Normalization (NARA/Library of Congress)— 600 ppi for 1-bit scanning. minimizes loss of detail, produces consistent dupli 400 ppi for 8-bit greyscale scanning. cate negatives, and allows for objective evaluation NARA Digitizing Guidelines of tone reproduction. NARA guidelines provide the minimum digitizing require Hybrid Standardized Exposure with Highlight ments for on-line access being used for the Electronic Normalization—has benefits of both techniques. Access Project, and include guidance on quality assurance Specifications procedures and records handling guidelines. See them on National Archives and Records Administration/Library of the Web at: CRM No 2—1999 27 Kris Kiesling What Is the Encoded Archival Description Standard? rchivists, librarians, and museum • container or folder lists and administrative curators use EAD (Encoded Archival information that the repository uses for intel ADescription), a data structure lectual and physical control of the materials. standard for: The hierarchical listing of the EAD elements • creating archival finding aids (such as guides, shown below outlines some of the basic structural inventories, registers, catalogs, and container elements, which are repeated at various levels of lists) for records and personal papers, in a description. Archival collections are by their nature standard and clear fashion; and hierarchical—the meaning of an individual item is • coding archival finding aids for use online in clarified and enhanced by the materials surround order to clarify their contents and provide ing it—and EAD represents that hierarchy in a hierarchical access to the collection descrip series of unfolding layers of information using the tion in a way that mimics the way a same basic elements for each layer. It should be researcher uses a collection. noted that not all EAD elements would be used at Most simply, EAD is a sequence of fields or every level of description, and that very few of the elements into which bits of information from or for elements are required. an archival finding aid are placed. EAD encodes the logical components of a Archival finding aids to be encoded with EAD finding aid, i.e., a paragraph is not just a para are typically more detailed than summary- graph, rather, it is a paragraph within a scope and cataloging records found in a library cataloging contents note or a creator sketch. This kind of system. Finding aids may include: markup, called descriptive markup, permits the re • contextual information about how and why use of the data for other purposes, such as guides the materials were generated (creator sketch) to holdings or machine readable cataloging format • the formats of materials included, topics and (MARC), library records, and facilitates indexing persons represented, and a general descrip and information retrieval. tion of the contents (scope and contents note) EAD is being used by many repositories to • more detailed descriptions of groups of mate encode collection-level descriptions of hundreds of rials within the collection (series descriptions) linear feet of material with a common history of creation (provenance), while Durham University Sample of Encoded Archival Description SGML Tag Use 28 CRM No 2—1999 (UK) is using EAD for the very detailed item-level Office makes available the EAD files at its FTP descriptions provided in their hand lists. site, and maintains the EAD web site. EAD is flexible enough to support many dif For more information on EAD, visit the EAD ferent types of screen or page formatting. EAD is web site at Lynn Marie Mitchell Archival Reorganization at Little Bighorn Battlefield riginal ledger drawings made by for their preservation, arrangement, description, Richard Woodenleg, a Cheyenne and use for reference. The park's archival collec who participated in the Battle of tions, described below, rank with the finest in the the Little Bighorn June 25-27, National Park Service. 1876O; letters from General Philip Sheridan to The Elizabeth Bacon Custer Collection Brevet Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer (Accession #19), donated to the park in 1943. during the Civil War; a full halfplate tintype of After Custer's widow Elizabeth died in 1932, his Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer in personal papers were stored in trunks and kept civilian clothes taken by the photographer intact by a trust administered by a New York City Eastabrooke in New York's Union Square; bank, until such time that a museum could be Custer's military commissions signed by presi constructed to display the collection according to dents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson; all her wishes. This collection includes George these items represent just a small portion of the Armstrong Custer's personal effects and clothing, archival holdings being treated at Little Bighorn as well as extensive photographic and documen Battlefield during the next four years. tary items. A large portion of the archival materi At the request of Matthew Wilson, curator at als include Custer's military records and corre the National Park Service Intermountain Region's spondence beginning with the West Point years Support Office in Denver, this author completed and continuing through the Civil War. The final the first official archival assessment of Little portion concerns the Indian Campaigns, from the Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in May Battle of the Washita through to the end at Little 1996. The author evaluated archival holdings, Bighorn. including the photographic collection, rare books, The Walter Mason Camp Collection and archival materials and provided suggestions (Accession #312), contains primary source materi- CRM No 2—1999 29 als about the Battle of the Little Bighorn from the Plains, by George A. Custer, the collection also perspective of battle participants and survivors. contained such oddities as Recollections of Old Walter Mason Camp completed these early inter Milestown, by S. Gordon, published in Miles City, views after the turn of the century, when he was an Montana, in 1918, and inscribed by the author. employee of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Collection Challenges That Limit Usage Railroad. This is one of the collections most heav Unfortunately, access and use of the materi ily used by researchers. als by researchers and historians have been ham The Seventh Cavalry War Records pered by overcrowding, lack of finding aids, incor (Accession #11), originally located in a quarter rect cataloging information, and poor storage con master's building in Fort Bliss, Texas, and trans ditions. The most apparent and significant ferred to the park around 1942. These materials problem with the archival materials at the park primarily pertain to the Seventh Cavalry between stems from the fact that at some point in the the years 1865-1910. past, all items from all the unique collections Little Bighorn also has a vast collection of (accessions) had been merged—mingling items original 19th-century photographic materials of different provenance and obliterating original including ambrotypes, tintypes, albumen prints, collection order. These intermingled collections stereographs, and lantern slides, as well as cartes were then stored together, thereby creating a sub de visite and cabinet cards. These images docu stantial problem in access to the collections. ment military forts and posts, military life (soldiers Furthermore, all letters and documents had been and scouts, camps, daily occupations, campaigns, cataloged at the item level. Often each page of a etc.), American Indian views (personalities, daily letter was given its own catalog number. Due to life, etc.), and myriad additional plains-related this loss of provenance and original order and subjects and activities. In addition, other historical chaotic cataloging, it has been impossible to create events (dedications, ceremonies, etc.) are covered. a finding aid for any given collection. All items are valuable, both as artifacts and as his In the photographic collections, there are torical evidence. extreme cases where 50 or 60 copy photographs of Additionally, the photographers themselves the identical images or events were cataloged, have historical significance, both individually and again each with a unique catalog number. There is when viewed collectively. Their names include an existing register of photographs, but it has not such well-known 19th-century American photogra been updated since it was originally created. phers as David F. Barry, Christian Barthelmess, Planning for Improved Access Chief Sitting Bull, William R. Cross, Orlando S. Goff, John C.H. 1885. Photo by Based on the findings and observations dur D.F. Barry cour Grabill, Frank J. Haynes, John K. Hillers, Stanley J. ing the initial two-week visit, the author prepared a tesy NPS. Morrow, and George E. Trager. Rare or lesser- series of detailed recommendations to guide the known views by pho park over the next four to five years in the reorga tographers such as nization of the archival holdings. Foremost was the William S. Soule proposal that materials should be reassembled into have been tentatively their original provenances (original collections by identified. their history of creation and ownership). Although The park also labor intensive, this work would be well worth the has a fairly extensive effort as over 40 archival collections would be collection of rare accessioned, cataloged, and rehoused and stored book material with with an extensive finding aid completed for each. significant value. The collections would also be microfilmed, and While some titles when additional funding is obtained, scanned onto may also be located CD ROM. Microfilming and scanning will greatly in other libraries or enhance access to collections as well as provide special collections, copies to take the place of the original for preserva the park has many tion and security purposes. extremely rare vol This initial report served to obtain the exten umes that have high sive funding needed to correctly inventory and value for military his reassemble historic collections, catalog and re-cat torians and collectors alog items, complete storage upgrades of all of Western archival materials, and complete conservation Americana. In addi treatments for certain items. tion to such expected In the fall of 1997, planning began for the items as four copies three Little Bighorn archival projects. It was of My Life on the decided that the re-establishment of the prove- 30 CRM No 2—1999 nance of the archival ing museum vault. Working collaboratively with collections was the first the park's former superintendent, Gerard Baker task. In order to com and Rick Cronenberger, historical architect at the plete this reorganiza Intermountain Regional Office in Denver, Wilson tion, a comprehensive initiated a second project for the Stone House to inventory of all help complete more extensive rehabilitation and archival items was nec repairs to this important National Register prop essary. The Western erty, including a handicapped accessiblity ramp. Archeological and The combined goals of the two projects were to: Conservation Center • Correct park-identified deficiencies in sev (WACC) archival staff eral categories documented on the park's fis designed a database to cal year 1996 NPS, Checklist for Preservation record information and Protection of Museum Property. about each cataloged • Create a dedicated storage space for the item. The database museum and archival collections with a sepa contains 18 fields rate curatorial office, located in an adjacent including: catalog and room, which had formerly been used as the accession number, park's library, and previously as storage for object name, date, books by the park's former benefiting associa description, re-housing tion. work necessary, pre • Improve the museum storage and housing sent location, cataloger, conditions for the large museum and archival and a duplicate field. collections, including the archeological collec Once the item-level tions and associated records that had recently inventory is completed, lists will be produced for General George been returned from long-term storage, and A. Custer, 1875. each unique accession number, allowing a com objects. This work included upgrading secu Photo courtesy plete sorting of items into their respective acces rity, fire protection, housing equipment, room NPS. sion groups. layout and design, and developing dedicated All work, including processing, cataloging, oversize storage (for artifacts, documents, rehousing, and other collections care for the 30 photographs, and fragile items, such as the boxes of unprocessed Seventh Cavalry War Seventh Cavalry regimental flags and silk Records, the archeological project material, and the guidons found in the park's textile collection). rare book collection, was done at WACC in Tucson. • Complete a Collection Condition Survey This allowed the park to proceed with two addi (CCS) for the framed works of art, large for tional projects, the remodeling of the collections mat documents, photographs, and other items storage area and the rehabilitation of the historic found in historic and non-historic frames in Stone House as a library and research center. order to more effectively store and preserve Constructed by the War Department in 1894 as the this element of the park's unique collections. home for the first battlefield superintendent, the The various Phase I portions of these Stone House was selected as the curatorial work museum collection storage upgrades for this multi- space. year project have all either been fully or partially completed, by the end of 1998. Park and Support In fiscal year 1997, the park received funding Office staff are working to complete new fiscal year to complete upgrades to the museum collection 1999 funding proposals. The Stone House project storage area. This included various repairs to the is complete and park staff are planning to relocate visitor center's security and electrical systems, the park's library collection and to move the histo flooring, and other physical improvements. rian's office into the building before the end of fis Museum Management program specialist Don cal year 1999. This rehabilitated historic building Cumberland, Harpers Ferry Center staff, Matthew is now once again serving the large numbers of Wilson, and the park and WACC staff also com park staff, visitors, and researchers who visit the pleted collections planning documents including a park each year. Collection Storage Plan (CSP), which was created in 1992 for the park's entire collection of cultural The archival reorganization at Little Bighorn resources. began in January of 1997 with WACC's archival staff completing the first of four scheduled on-site The final CSP included an official recommen visits to the park for fiscal year 1998. Working dation to relocate the park's library and historian's closely with park curator Kitty Bell Deernose, the office to the nearby Stone House in order to make author, and archive technician Khaleel Saba began room for additional museum collection storage and the task of verifying the accession and catalog a curatorial office and workspace next to the exist number of each item and packing the records for CRM No 2—1999 31 transport back to Tucson. This required a physical storage boxes were prepared and labeled by comparison of the document to the catalog record, Custom Manufacturing Inc. in Fairfield, then recording the appropriate accession number Pennsylvania. The individual items were then on both the back of the items and its accompany appraised, based on booksellers catalogs and ing folder. An estimated 3,000 items were verified advice from professional appraisers and Custer during this first visit, and by the end of April 1997, scholars. a total of 8,000 items had been processed by vol After cataloging and re-storage in fall 1997, unteers (VIPs) and Student Conservation the materials were returned to the park in Assistants (SCAs), under the supervision of curator December 1997. Once returned, they were orga Deernose. nized in alphabetical order by creator, when pre Succeeding on-site visits were completed by sent, and title, if not. Another 35 items were cata a WACC archival team in April, July, and loged and received storage upgrades at the park. In September to work on the inventory. In addition to addition to the rare book cataloging completed by WACC, Deernose, along with assistants and volun librarian/archive assistant Maurya Smith, Khaieel teers from the park participated in this effort. Saba completed processing and cataloging of the During the April visit, procedures were developed associated field records from the three archeologi- for completing the item index to ensure a certain cal projects completed in 1983-1989, 1989, and level of standardization. Standardization also 1994-95. allowed for correct identification of the object Working with volunteers and SCAs, name field. This was important because of the Deernose re-housed the 4,000-item historic photo incorrect identification of archival items on the graph collection and placed the cataloged portion original catalog record. A full halfplate tintype of of the Seventh Cavalry War Records in archival Custer had been identified as a daguerreotype, map folders and storage boxes from their previ items were often identified only as "photograph" ously overcrowded storage conditions. With the when they were actually cartes de visites or copies assistance of WACC's conservator Gretchen Voeks, of drawings. "Letters" was another ambiguous a humidification chamber was built in the conser area, so staff began using the term "holograph" to vation lab in order to flatten rolled items. Many of differentiate a hand-written document from a typed the 10,000 item Seventh Cavalry War records copy. require humidification in order to clean, house, The inventory process was completed during and store them in oversize map folders and storage September 1997 with over 14,700 items recorded. boxes. Some items will require additional conser The success of this project was due to the fact that vation treatment, such as the estimated 700 in addition to the scheduled on-site visits, burned and brittle documents that will require Deernose had people working on the project treatment by a paper conservator. This conserva throughout the fiscal year. tion component continues through fiscal year The actual reassembling of the collections 1999. was completed with the additional assistance of Archival work for fiscal year 1998 included two contract employees, both with previous the re-cataloging of 10 historic collections, includ museum experience. The reorganized materials ing the Dodd Collection, the Marquis Collection, were all arranged in ascending chronological order the Fougera-Gibson Collection, the O'Donnell and rehoused. With a list generated per accession Collection, the Windolph Collection, the Snyder- from the inventory, a cross-check of collections was Ronayne Collection, the Mary Jane Colter completed. In all, the park now has 38 archival Collection, and the Barry Collection. Many of these collections, although the creation of finding aids names should be familiar to Custer scholars. remain to be completed until the collections are Archival storage is being improved for all cataloged. materials and collections. Backlog cataloging of the The backlog cataloging activities were being Dustin and Hammer Collections, the last of two completed concurrently at WACC, while the inven large research collections currently unprocessed tory process of cataloged items was being com and cataloged, is being completed. These collec pleted on-site at the park. A total of 412 items, tions include correspondence and writings of Fred consisting mainly of rare books with some unique Dustin and Kenneth Hammer, two well-known items—morning reports, scrapbooks, burial regis researchers and writers of the Custer legend. The ters and the like—were cataloged at WACC using remaining inventory of the unprocessed records of the Automated National Catalog System, the NPS the Seventh Cavalry is also being completed. Museum Management Program catalog system. The re-cataloging of collections will be Items were identified as to place and date of publi accomplished using the National Park Service's cation, materials, condition, and physical descrip cataloging system called the Automated National tion based on archival cataloging standards. New Catalog System-i- (ANCS+) and work is being com- 32 CRM No 2—1999 pleted both at WACC and during several two week The cataloging of the Dustin and Hammer on-site visits scheduled in April/May and in Collections will be done via a more traditional September. Mitchell and Smith are developing writ archival approach, by processing and organizing ten policies and guidelines for this ongoing project, the materials into appropriate series. Finding aids which will continue through fiscal year 2000. will be prepared for both collections and all work Deernose has prepared a notebook contain will be done with the new ANCS+ museum program ing copies of accession information (from park described in an article by Kathleen Byrne, else accession folders) for each collection. These refer where in this issue. ences to specific accession material will be a great The reorganization of the archival materials asset to WACC archival staff during the re-cata at Little Bighorn has been, and will continue to be loging efforts, as well as for the preparation of find an immense professional challenge. All individuals ing aids. During the re-cataloging of historic materi associated with this effort will feel the satisfaction als, certain collections will be off-site and not avail of knowing that this achievement will have a pro able for research for up to six months at a time. found impact on history and research for genera Deernose is alerting park staff, historians, and tions to come. researchers of what collections/materials are closed for processing and when they can anticipate resum Lynn Marie Mitchell is Archivist, Western ing research. Archeological and Conservation Center, NPS. To Whom are Archivists Responsible? As professionals, archivists are responsible to: their own organizations to: • follow the letter and spirit of policies and procedures • ensure that access restrictions are enforced equitably, even to staff • ensure the security of the collections from theft and vandalism • preserve the collections while making them accessible both physically and intellectually • capture and share expert knowledge about the collections the collections creators, donors and their heirs to: • ensure their privacy to the extent allowed by law and requested by the donor • obtain all intellectual property rights (copyrights, model and interview release forms, and related permissions) or honor the donor's intellectual property rights • enforce agreed-to access restrictions to the extent allowed by law • give full credit to the creator/donor in all credit lines the user community of scholars, students, publishers, filmmakers, and the public to: • provide equitable access to all individuals • keep researcher usage data confidential except when the user allows it to be shared • provide courteous, timely, and knowledgeable reference services • maintain documentation on collections used, duplicates provided, and permissions granted • document all permissions granted for publication, distribution, and so forth the collection subjects to: • ensure that their privacy is not infringed • be aware of and follow legal and policy guidance on access and use • be aware of potentially sensitive materials, evaluating them for appropriateness before the col lections are acquired, or if this is not possible, consulting with the affiliated group before deci sions are made that may affect the group the professional archival community to: • follow the professional ethics statements of archivists and records managers • adopt national standards for all work, particularly description and preservation • share information on policies, practices, and procedures at professional meetings • obtain adequate training and experience to operate as a full professional (See "Archival Certification and the National Park Service," in CRM 18:2, p.13) • cooperate in acquisitions with other regional groups so as to avoid competition in acquisitions and foster sharing of collections and expertise • work with partners to produce regional union guides, thematic Web exhibits, and similar works Diane Vogt-O'Connor CRM No 2—1999 33 Kathleen Byrne Archives and the New NPS Collections Management System In 1998, almost 300 National Park Service sites received a new museum collections manage ment program that includes a component for fully describing archival collections. The program is called ANCS+. It is a customized version of Rediscovery for Windows, a product of Redis covery Software, Inc., of Charlottesville, Virginia. The archives component of the program includes the data elements needed to fully describe collections at the collection, series, file unit, and item levels. The program provides parks with the ability to upload data into national bibliographic systems. It supports data interchange with existing nationwide biblio graphic utilities, such as RLIN. Users can import, export, create, and update MARC records. Other features of ANCS+ include a power ful and easy-to-use word search function, imag ing capability, a structured lexicon for managing descriptive terminology, an integrated report writer, and an Internet interface. The program integrates well with a variety of software pack ages. It includes reports that produce finding aids and container and folder lists. It also provides a researcher registration system and tracks dupli cation requests. The archives component of ANCS+ was developed by the Museum Management Program of the National Center for Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnership Programs with sig nificant contributions from field staff. These include Mary Jo Pugh, Taylor Horton, Lisbit Collins Bailey, and Erica Schoenhals Toland at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park; Diane Godwin at the Northeast Museum Services Center; Lynn Marie Mitchell and Khaleel Saba at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center; and Amy Verone and Susan Sarna at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. ANCS+ is an exciting step into the future. It brings a new level of technology and profession- alization to the management of National Park Service archival collections. Most importantly, the program will greatly increase staff and public access to these collections. Kathleen Byrne is Staff Curator, Museum Management Program ANCS+ Archives Module screens for Collection, Series, and Item level cataloging. 34 CRM No 2—1999 Elizabeth Banks Those Old Files... Surveying Archives in the National Park Service urveys can be an above ground Completing the survey form for each collec archeological excavation into the tion of records systematically gathers the who, unknown or a guided tour of what, when, where, and why. For example, the managed, valued documentary Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association resourcesS. Parks that have placed a high priority (GBMA) was an organization formed to acquire on records management reap the benefits of and preserve 1863 battlefield land in Gettysburg, access to past research, decisions, controversies, PA. Extensive research and documentation of the and actions as a foundation for current manage battle was conducted. War Department staff and ment. Too often, park staffs are unaware of park veterans worked with the GBMA, including place records at the National Archives or records stored ment of monuments on the battlefield. The GBMA at the site. operated from 1864 to 1893 when their holdings of Why Survey Records? lands and records were turned over to the newly An archival survey at a park may help to designated Gettysburg National Park administered establish priorities and/or begin to bring to light lit by the War Department. tle known or long forgotten records. Some parks Organization charts provide an outline that have records of management of the site prior to parallels the organization of park records gener National Park Service administration as well as ated and/or acquired during the course of adminis NPS records. The survey process includes discus tration of a park area, center, or central office. sions with park staff to gain a "big picture" view of Current organization charts can be supplemented the history of the park, the extent of records man with information from administrative histories on agement work, the location of records, and a review changes in management and staffing. Records from of reference use by staff and other researchers. all divisions and projects may not be found, but Stewardship of documentary resources is usually the surveyor has a clearer idea of what he or she not the responsibility of just one division, but this may find. varies from park to park. Sometimes the adminis A sense of adventure is an asset as trative officer, curator, or historian has taken on the archives survey work frequently involves expe majority of the responsibility. In some areas a com ditions to basements, attics, other unheated mittee of staff members work together to review areas, outbuildings, closets, trailers, and other records management decisions and serve as advo innovative storage spaces. However, it is usually cates for preservation of important resource man well worth the effort when park staff exclaim, "I've agement records. Frequently, the records that sur been looking for those files/that report for 10 vive have served as important reference sources for years!" staff for many years. Records that have been What Do Surveyors Ask? packed away in less accessible storage are more The surveyor needs to ask many questions to likely to be at risk and assumed to be of little or no understand the historical sequence of major orga current value. nizations, individuals, and events. Are there What Is Involved in Surveying? records of organizations or individuals that admin Survey basics include meeting with the divi istered the area before the National Park Service? sion chief (or other representative) from each divi Knowledgeable staff and written administrative sion in the park, center, or office. This exchange histories are major assets when fitting together the clarifies the goals of the survey, the need for access pieces of the puzzle. For parks without this infor to records storage areas (except locked personnel mation, the staff may be as surprised as the sur files), and a summary of staff knowledge of park veyor by the records found. For example, the sur records. Survey forms provide a framework for con veyor may be briefed by helpful park staff that sistent documentation of each collection or group of "there are no records before 1970 in the park." records. Included in Appendix D Archives and During the survey of 30+ file drawers of "old park Manuscript Collections, NPS Museum Handbook files" the surveyor may find records back to the Part II, is a survey form to duplicate for survey use. 1920s pre-dating the NPS administration of the CRM No 2—1999 35 area. The 1920s to 1960s records may have been tral offices, and others needing research access to well known to previous park staff, but at some time the records. the memory was lost. In effect, these major park Surveys provide evidence that the preserva documentary resources were virtually lost and tion management of natural and cultural resources unavailable to current park staff. is dependent on the preservation management of Perceptions of documentary materials and the related records. These resource management "old files" vary greatly. In some cases the records of records include architectural drawings, pho early preservation/conservation organizations have tographs, maps, aerial photographs, charts, statisti been mixed in with NPS records and filed by the cal data, archeological field notes, natural resource respective area. In other cases, the records of each project files, forest and structural fire management organization are respected as distinct organic units research and plans, plant surveys, computer disks that document sequential eras in the management and tapes, reports, contracts and cooperative of a park area. Just as with historic structures, agreements, etc. natural areas, cultural landscapes, and museum National Park Service resource management objects, the less the materials are altered or records are critical resources in their own right, but rearranged, the more integrity they retain. are often not recognized as such. Park archival There are many instances of one or two collections, no matter their age or provenance, heroic staff defending and saving "old files" even serve to reconnect current staff with the man though outnumbered by staff with no knowledge of agement history of the park. They illuminate the the contents and long-term value of the records. who, what, where, when, and why to inform cur These situations are just as likely to result in the rent decisions. destruction of important records if records manage Recurring management issues are found in ment is not a priority and knowledgeable staff are park files and may document work at other parks not involved. as well. For example, a file at Morristown NHP Surveys may be a first step in changing per labeled with a pre-1950s NPS file code "701-01.4 ceptions of archival collections—from "taken for TREES," includes correspondence dated 1947 granted" to "integral part of the park's natural and between the tree preservation crew and the park. cultural resources." Archives surveys begin to docu Included is a schedule for work at Adams Mansion ment the extent of records, their provenance, condi and Salem Maritime NHS in Massachusetts, tion, and research use. Surveys are also to help staff set priorities for managing records including One of the origi transfer of specified files to the National Archives nal McKim, and Records Administration as described in NPS- Mead & White architectural 19 Records Management Guideline. Based on NPS- drawings in the 28 Cultural Resource Management Guideline, NPS- archives of 77 Natural Resource Management Guideline, and Vanderbilt the NPS Museum Handbook, certain records are Mansion NHS. accessioned and cataloged into the park museum C. 1896, ink on tracing cloth. collection. These resource management records are kept with the natural and cultural resources that they document. For records with short-term reference value as specified in the records management schedule, they are destroyed after a designated period of time. The routine administrative records have a short life. If all park records are saved long- term and records management is deferred, the amount of files becomes overwhelming and access is difficult. The survey provides an opportunity to review the records schedule with park staff and/or provide copies of missing portions of the schedule. Why Bother Surveying? Once priorities are set for archival collections, Resource Management Plan project statements should be written for the materials that need to be protected, processed, and cataloged. The manage ment of the park's archival and manuscript collec tions benefit not just the park, but other parks, cen 36 CRM No 2—1999 Vanderbilt Mansion and Home of Franklin Delano major role in establishing the park and his involve Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York, and ment with other park areas. The notice states: Morristown in New Jersey. The tree preservation Through his appointment to the Commission crew was based in Region One, Richmond, to choose an area in the Southern Virginia, was managed by a tree culture foreman, Appalachians for Eastern National Parks he and was responsible for keeping records for each worked closely with the officers and board tree that they treated. The forester in Region One members of the [American Planning and consulted with a pathologist, Bureau of Plant Civic] Association and the National Industry, Beltsville, Maryland, to review "the prob Conference on State Parks. This led to the lem of the protection of certain roadside and speci establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains men trees in Morristown NHP from the Dutch Elm and Shenandoah National Parks. disease [and] the desirability of a similar study of We should not have been surprised when let the problem at Adams Mansion and Salem ters from Harlan P. Kelsey were found in the per Maritime NHS." sonal correspondence of Ferdinand Zerkel's papers In correspondence dated 1938 in the same at Shenandoah National Park. Zerkel had been file, the chief forester informed the superinten working on a history of the planning, establish dent that ment, and early development of Shenandoah NP [T]he ECW itinerant tree preservation crew before he died. He was a key figure in this work at is no longer in existence...The Washington Shenandoah and willed his papers to the park. Just and Richmond Offices of the Branch of as Kelsey's contributions to Salem Maritime NHS Forestry will be of as much help as possible, were only partly known to a few park staff, so but the bulk of the work and the responsibil Zerkel's work is not well known at Shenandoah. ity must necessarily rest upon each local His papers are currently being processed and cata staff... For this reason it is deemed advisable loged at the NPS Northeast Museum Services to decentralize the file of individual tree Center. records heretofore maintained in At Independence NHP, the park archivist Washington. We mailed these to various reviewed the park records at the Philadelphia areas concerned under separate cover with branch of the National Archives. Among the records the request that they be maintained in the were Completion Reports from the 1950s describ local office and kept up to date as work is ing park preservation/restoration work on historic done on numbered trees... structures that were the subject of an ongoing search by park staff. The documentation in the A blank form may provide insight into ser- Completion Reports was needed to plan current vicewide management of specific resources. An preservation/ restoration work. example was found in the 1930s files at Salem Consistent investment in records manage Maritime NHS of a National Park Service, Museum ment yields huge bonuses in support of current Division Field Study form. Although some of the management. Knowledge is a powerful manage language has changed, the basic issues remain cur ment tool. The mission of the National Park rent and in some parks have yet to be addressed. Service is focused on the long-term management of Certainly fire doors, sprinklers, exhibit and storage natural and cultural resources, balancing preserva areas, catalog records, funding sources, building tion and use. In this context, the resource manage uses, and vermin proof storage cases are ongoing ment records created and acquired by parks are concerns. rarely "non-current," but part of a continuum of Pre-park and park establishment records data, decisions, evaluations and re-assessments. were found at Salem Maritime NHS. The records Otherwise, if disconnected from the work of our are those of a private individual, Harlan P. Kelsey, predecessors, how informed are our decisions and who "collaborated" with others including the how do we evaluate the quality of current steward National Park Service to protect part of the historic ship? Salem waterfront. The Harlan P. Kelsey Papers Placing a higher value on preservation of have since been processed and cataloged into the resource management records builds an essential park museum collection. and strong foundation for accomplishing the mis Although park staff knew that these papers sion of the National Park Service. Recognition of were important, no one was sure who Kelsey was resource management records as a critical or the extent of his involvement with the park. An resource in their own right reinforces the respon obituary located in the September 1958 issue of the sible management of all cultural and natural journal Planning and Civic Comment was found in resources. the library of a Boston area university. This research provided biographical data on Kelsey, his Elizabeth Banks is Archivist, Northeast Museum Services Center, NPS, Boston, Massachusetts. CRM No 2—1999 37 Douglas Stover The Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site The Florence Bayard Hilles Library Opens to the Public uilt by Robert Sewall in 1799-1800, Once the property was in National Woman's the Sewall-Belmont House is one of Party hands, a committee was formed in 1940 to the oldest houses on Capitol Hill. convert the old carriage house of the Alva Belmont Rented to Secretary of the Treasury House. The group desired a library to accommo AlbertB Gallatin from 1802-1813, the house was a date the Alva Belmont Book Collection, which had witness to the only resistance to the British inva been in storage since 1933. The chairman of this sion of Washington, DC, during the War of 1812. committee was Florence Bayard Hilles, an ardent On August 24, 1814, American flotilla men who feminist and former president of the National had occupied the house fired shots at the British. Woman's Party. The committee hired a young In retaliation, the British burned the house. female architect, Elise Dupont, to help with the Rebuilt by Robert Sewall in 1820, the house was carriage house conversion. By October 1941, the owned by his descendants until 1922. The committee had completed the physical conversion National Woman's Party bought the house for its of the library, and with the help of volunteer librar headquarters in 1929. Named for the original ian, Mary Elizabeth Downey, the Alva Belmont The Florence owner and Alva Belmont, a benefactress of the Book Collection was installed. The new library was Bayard Hilles women's movement, the Sewall-Belmont House dedicated on November 12, 1941, as the Alva Library, Sewall- was designated a National Historic Site by Belmont Feminist Library. Ms. Downey was named Belmont House Congress in 1974. Today, by cooperative agree its first librarian. This library was pronounced as NHS, ment, the house serves as a National Park Service the first feminist library in the United States. Washington, DC. site. Ms. Downey actively promoted the new library with calls for books, biographies, articles, scrapbooks, and other related materials. She wanted to build the library into a place where women could learn about religion, science, med icine, politics, and the history of the daring women who ventured into these fields. She also believed that in order to further the educational aspect of this library outreach programming would be essential. Within the first month of the dedica tion she began an ambitious educational program with teas, lectures, and book discussions. Downey also strongly encouraged National Woman's Party members to promote feminist literature in their local libraries by requesting purchases of books related to women's history or novels by or about women. Downey was instrumental in promoting growth of feminist literature in university libraries. The Alva Belmont Feminist Library grew rapidly, requiring more shelving for books. A new volunteer librarian, Alice Matthews, came on board. By 1943, the library was a major source of pride for the National Woman's Party. A decision was made to name the library after the woman who chaired the committee, Florence Bayard Hilles. The newly named library was re-dedicated 38 CRM No 2—1999 on December 12, 1943. Prominent members of the By the mid-1970s, the library was all but for library community, such as George F. Bowerman gotten. Today, the National Park Service and the and Clara W. Herbert of the Public Library of the National Woman's Party are restoring the Florence District of Columbia and Dr. Archibald MacLeish, Bayard Hilles Feminist Library, both as a building Librarian of Congress, spoke at the dedication. In and as an archival collection. The library's response to Mice Paul's dedication announcement women's history collections are being preserved Florence Bayard Hilles stated that: and cataloged in order to make them accessible to It was Thomas Carlyle who said 'The true researchers interested in women's history. On university of these days is a collection of September 17th, 1998, the library was re-dedicated books'. So the old Coach House has become and re-opened to the public in a gala ribbon cut a library and a university as well.... In ting ceremony attended by members of Congress, expressing my appreciation and gratitude I the White House, and the public. Mter 25 years of find it difficult, so I shall content myself by neglect, a national treasure trove will be restored simply saying, 'Thank you, thank you'. to its former glory and re-dedicated to serving the The Florence Bayard Hilles Feminist Library cause of women's history. remained an important force within the National The library is now open to the public to serve Woman's Party until the early 1960s. With a col scholars and researchers of women's history. You lection of nearly 3,000 books on woman's history can visit the Sewall-Belmont House National between 1900s-1960s, the library is a substantial Historic Site and library at 144 Constitution resource. The collection boasts over 1,000 historic Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC by calling 202-546- photographs of the National Woman's Party, Alice 3989 or via the World Wide Web at Paul, and woman's suffrage. Other special collec Candace Lein-Hayes Records Management Assistance from NARA ational Park Service personnel application of agency records schedules, preserva and other federal agencies tion of permanent records, disaster planning for around the country have a place agency records, and electronic records manage N to turn for assistance with ment. Most NARA regional records facilities also records management problems or questions. The house a regional archives which collects, pre National Archives and Records Administration serves, and makes available to researchers the per (NARA), Office of Regional Records Services, manent records created by regional offices of fed operates a system of regional records facilities eral agencies. General information about the which provide records management services to NARA regional records facilities is available on the federal agencies. Each regional records facility NARA web pages at serves a specific geographic region and provides a CRM No 2—1999 39 NARA Regional Record Facilities NARA-Northeast Region (Boston) NARA-Southwest Region Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center 501 West Felix Street, Bldg. 1 380 Trapelo Road Fort Worth, TX 76115-3405 Waltham, MA 02452 Facility Contact: Kent C. Carter Facility Contact: Paul Wester Telephone: 817-334-5515 Telephone: 781-647-8100 Area served: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Area served: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Texas New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont NARA-Northeast Region (New York City) NARA-Rocky Mountain Region 201 Varick Street Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 48 New York, NY 10014-4811 Denver, CO 80225-0307 Facility Contact: John Celardo Facility Contact: Mark Ferguson Telephone: 212-337-1300 Telephone: 303-236-0801 Area served: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Area served: Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, the U. S. Virgin Islands North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming NARA-Mid Atlantic Region (Northeast NARA-Pacific Region (Laguna Niguel) Philadelphia) 24000 Avila Road 14700 Townsend Road Laguna Niguel, CA 92677-3497 Philadelphia, PA 19154-1025 Facility Contact: Diane Nixon Facility Contact: James Mouat Telephone: 949-360-2618 Telephone: 215- 671-8241 Area served: Arizona, southern California, and Area served: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Clark County, Nevada Virginia, West Virginia NARA-Southeast Region NARA-Pacific Region (San Francisco) 1557 St. Joseph Avenue 1000 Commodore Drive East Point, GA 30344-2593 San Bruno, CA 94066-2350 Facility Contact: James McSweeney Facility Contact: Sharon Roadway Telephone: 404-763-7477 Telephone: 650-876-9018 Area served: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Area served: Northern California, Nevada (except Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clark County), American Samoa, Trust Territory of Tennessee the Pacific Islands NARA-Great Lakes Region (Chicago) NARA-Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) 7358 South Pulaski Road 6125 Sand Point Way N. E. Chicago, IL 60629-5895 Seattle, WA 98115-7999 Facility Contact: Shirley Burton Facility Contact: Candace Lein-Hayes Telephone: 773-581-7816 Telephone: 206-526-6501 Area served: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Area served: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pacific Ocean area except American Samoa NARA-Great Plains Region NARA-Pacific Alaska Region (Anchorage) 2312 East Bannister Road 654 West Third Avenue Kansas City, MO 64131 -3011 Anchorage, AK 99501-2145 Facility Contact: R. Reed Whitaker Facility Contact: Thomas Wiltsey Telephone: 816-926-6920 Telephone: 907-271-2443 Area served: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska Area served: Alaska 40 CRM No 2—1999 provided by the agency). But this does not mean Micrographic services are available from that the records are inaccessible to agency person several of the regional records facilities. Several nel. NARA records centers routinely provide refer national parks located in the NARA, Pacific Alaska ence service to the records, with most reference Region have used this reimbursable service to requests pulled and on their way back to the microfilm the park's permanent records. In many agency within 24 hours of receipt at the NARA cases, the paper records were retired to the records facility. Once the records stored in a NARA facility center for eventual transfer to NARA after the have reached their mandatory retention period, microfilming was complete and the park maintains NARA staff will handle the records disposition. a microfilm copy for easy reference. In other cases, Most federal records are scheduled for tem the paper records were returned to the park and porary retention and are destroyed when their the microfilm serves as security copy should any mandatory retention period is met. Most inactive- thing happen to the original records. NARA micro- official records scheduled for permanent retention graphic labs film to archival standards, so agencies are transferred to NARA with agency approval. can feel confident that the microfilm will last. Each regional records facility periodically issues a NARA's strategic plan emphasizes working in NARA Field Bulletin which provides detailed partnership with federal agencies to improve the instructions for records retirement, reference, and management of federal records. One example of disposition. Contact your regional records facility this type of partnership is the project to identify, for a copy of the current bulletin. arrange, and describe the archival collection on the Records management training is another Mt. Rainier National Park. NPS and Western service available from the NARA regional Washington University (WWU) have implemented records facilities. The courses available in most a cooperative agreement for graduate students regions include Basic Records Operations: Files from the Archives and Records Management pro Improvement and Records Disposition, Records gram to complete the work on the archival collec Transfer and Reference, Electronic Records Issues, tion. NARA, Pacific Alaska Region under a memo and Disaster Planning and Response for Records randum of understanding with NPS is providing Managers. These courses assist federal employees records management technical assistance to the in acquiring the skills needed to implement good WWU graduate students and Mt. Rainier National records management practices within their agen Park staff. cies. The general courses are open to employees NARA staff have provided guidance in inven and contractors of any federal agency but NARA torying temporary and permanent records in park staff can tailor many of the courses for agency spe offices and storage areas, conducted records man cific presentations. The courses are not only agement briefings for park staff, and assisted in offered at the NARA regional records facilities but boxing records for storage in the records center. frequently at locations throughout each region in NARA staff works closely with WWU graduate stu an effort to make it easier and less expensive for dents to insure federal records management and federal employees to attend. Fiscal year 1999 archival standards are followed when processing workshop schedules are currently available at the the collection. NARA staff has microfilmed much of regional records facility serving your area. the archival collection and is now assisting in the Perhaps the most useful service available creation of a finding aid to the collection. This col from the NARA regional records facilities is the laborative effort has benefited all of the parties records management advice and guidance avail involved and is making the Mt. Rainier National able over the telephone from the Records Park archival collection more easily accessible to Management staff. NPS personnel and the public. NARA regional staff have access to the fed The NPS mission is to "preserve natural and eral records management regulations, guidance cultural resources for the enjoyment, education, and directives issued by federal agencies, profes and inspiration of this and future generations." sional literature relating to archives and records Good records management will help NPS and management, and a library of federal agency other agencies achieve this goal and NARA records schedules. Through their contacts with fed regional records facilities and staff are a records eral agencies, NARA staff often are aware of management resource available to assist federal records management solutions implemented by staff. other agencies and can share this information. NARA staff is frequently able to provide on-site Candace Lein-Hayes is Coordinator of the Records technical assistance, although such visits may Management Program, National Archives and require reimbursement of travel expenses. Records Administration, Pacific Alaska Region. CRM No 2—1999 41 Jerry Wallace What Are Affiliated Archives? he Affiliated Archives Program of accordance with pertinent federal laws and appro the National Archives and Records priate NARA regulations and archival and facility Administration (NARA) offers an standards. Essentially, the records are to be treated alternative to the usual physical like any other records comprising the National transfeTr of permanent historical records into a Archives of the United States, and their status, as NARA facility. This program authorizes the such, is seen in their inclusion in NARA's reference records creating agency to maintain and keep guides and listings. The affiliate also is responsible records at a non-NARA facility using non-NARA for all costs associated with establishing and main staff as long as they are maintained to NARA stan taining the records and archival facility and for pro dards and made available to the public. The viding a qualified archivist to administer them. National Park Service has successfully partici NARA may terminate the agreement if the affiliate pated in the affiliated archives program since the fails to meet its obligations. mid 1970s through its Yellowstone National Park The Federal Records Act of 1950, which first archives and the Historic American Engineering authorized affiliated archives, was passed at a time Record (HAER) collection. when NARA had no regional archival operations The Archivist of the United States is autho and no field presence, other than for the lone rized to establish affiliated archives under the pro Roosevelt Presidential Library at Hyde Park, New vision of 44 USC 2107. Applicants for affiliation York. Upon accessioning by NARA, all permanent with NARA may be other federal agencies or state historical records came from the creating agency to and private institutions. The process of affiliation is the National Archives Building on Pennsylvania usually initiated by the applicant and begins with Avenue in Washington, DC. In time, it was recog the submission of a formal application to the nized that there were instances when permanent Archivist. There follows a period of internal NARA historical records, because of peculiar local review and discussion and then negotiations with interests and uses, ought to remain locally. The the applicant. If the request is approved, the Federal Records Act, by authorizing the establish Archivist places on deposit the permanent federal ment of affiliated archives, provided the Archivist records, which have been previously accessioned with an alternative to the centralization of all per into the National Archives of the United States, at manent historical records in Washington. The first the designated non-NARA facility. As a result of affiliate was established in 1953 at the US Military this transaction, the affiliated archives receives Academy at West Point. Albright Visitor physical custody of the records, while NARA It was found, however, that because of their Center, retains legal custody and, along with it, ultimate specialized nature, as well as a certain NARA reluc Yellowstone responsibility for them. tance to establish them, affiliated archives offered National Park. Photo courtesy For this privilege, the affiliate, through a for only a partial solution to the problem of regional- Yellowstone mal memorandum of agreement with NARA, agrees ization of archival records. Consequently, in 1969, National Park. to house, maintain, and service the records in NARA established a nationwide system of regional archival facilities, which have now grown to 13 in number, to house and make available records of local interest. Their presence in major metropolitan areas across the country has ended the need for affiliated archives as simply an archival storage alternative to NARA in Washington. Today, affiliated archives are established only under special circumstances when the value of records to their users will be significantly enhanced by their deposit at a non-NARA facility, although other factors may occasionally come into play. The Yellowstone National Park Archives, which became an affiliated archives in July 1978, illustrates this program's rationale. Researchers at the Yellowstone National Park Archives clearly 42 CRM No 2—1999 benefit from being able to use the park's records in • State Archives, Pennsylvania Historical and the physical setting in which they were created, Museum Commission and to which they relate, and from the availability - Records of General John Frederick of the park's cultural resources complex. Among Hartranft these research resources are related materials - Record Group: US Army Continental found in the park's manuscript collection, in its Commands, 1821-1920 (RG 393) extensive library holdings, in its non-federal photo In 1995, NARA established a Task Force on and map collections, and in its museum's holdings. Affiliated Archives to consider their future. The Another advantage is the availability of the park's Task Force report reaffirmed their place in NARA's knowledgeable staff. archival program and suggested ways for strength At Yellowstone, researchers also benefit from ening and improving the program. NARA's 1997 the proximity of the records to Montana State Strategic Plan also addresses affiliated archives' University, which, through its Library's Special role in a positive fashion, looking toward their pos Collections, makes available its significant holdings sible use in handling certain large electronic of greater Yellowstone papers and books, which records databases. There is the possibility of sev expands upon and supplements the park archival eral new affiliates coming into being over the next holdings. The University's faculty and student few years. One now under consideration is for cer body, moreover, with their interest in Yellowstone, tain large scientific databases maintained at an constitute a focused and continuing source of agency data center. Another possibility is for a tra researcher interest. A similar value enhancement ditional affiliate at a military staff college. occurs to the records found at the other affiliated Encouragingly, there also have been exploratory archives. discussions with NPS staff regarding the establish There are currently seven affiliated archives, ment of new affiliates within NPS, focusing in par four of which are at federal agencies and three at ticular on the great western parks, as was originally state-operated institutions. The first affiliate, as envisioned 20 years ago when the Yellowstone previously noted, was established at West Point in affiliated archives was established. 1953; the most recent, the Hartranft, which was Since 1989, NARA has had a formal program opened by the Archivist in May 1995 at the for overseeing and supporting affiliated archives Pennsylvania State Archives. The latter's establish activities. As NARA's liaison, I maintain frequent ment is unusual in that it resulted directly from the contact with affiliated archives personnel and, in settlement of a legal issue involving their owner turn, serve as their contact point within NARA. My ship. The federal affiliates are found at: principal concern is in providing assistance and • Yellowstone National Park Archives guidance in areas of archival administration and in - Records of Yellowstone National Park ensuring that the provisions of our joint agree - Record Group: National Park Service (RG 79) ments are met. Benefiting the affiliates are periodic • HABS/HAER Division, National Park Service, meetings with NARA staff specialists to discuss and the Prints and Photographs Division, issues and matters of mutual interest and the Library of Congress archival training provided, usually gratis, to affili - Historic American Engineering Record ated archives archivists and archives technicians. (HAER) Affiliated archives personnel are also free to call on - Record Group: HABS/HAER (RG 515) NARA specialists for assistance, as, for example, in • United States Military Academy Archives the areas of preservation or in planning a new - Record Group: United States Military facility or moving archival holdings. Academy (RG 404) - William W. Jeffries Memorial Archives, U.S. Jerry Wallace is NARA Liasion for Affiliated Archives, Naval Academy National Archives at College Park, Maryland. - Record Group: United States Naval Academy (RG 405) To learn more about NARA's affiliated The state operated affiliated archives are at: archives program, please contact: • Oklahoma Historical Society Jerry L. Wallace - Records of the Five Civilized Tribes and of NARA Liaison for Affiliated Archives Other Indian Tribes of Oklahoma Office of Regional Records Services (NR) - Record Group: Bureau of Indian Affairs (RG 75) National Archives at College Park • New Mexico State Records Center and 8601 Adelphi Road Archives College Park, MD 20740-6001 - Land Records of New Mexico Tel: 301-713-7200, x252 - Record Group: Bureau of Land Fax: 301-713-7205 Management (RG 49) Email: [email protected] CRM No 2—1999 43 TIPS on Ho w to Define your topic focus. Write down your individuals, groups, and organizations that you research topic in a clear descriptive sentence. will research and any alternate names they might Don't try to research a huge topic, such as the have had (e.g., pseudonyms, married names, cor Civil War. Instead, limit your topic by dates, porate name changes). Identify the types of doc locale, individuals/organizations, specific activi uments you will use to answer your questions ties or events, or similar factors. Ask yourself the (diaries? films? correspondence? architectural journalist's six key questions (who, what, where, drawings? photographs?) Once written, set your why, when, and how) about your topic. If your research statement aside. Reread it a week later topic is too broad, you will invest years in your to see if it still makes sense. Make any necessary research and visit most archives in the U.S. If revisions. Add to your list of questions to be your research is focused too narrowly, you will answered during your research. Show your ques soon exhaust all the information on your topic. tions and research statements to your peers for Think of your topic as question(s) that you try to review. Incorporate their comments. Refine your answer by locating the best and most relevant research statement. evidence. Check reference sources to find out what Read extensively about your topic in reputable archives or libraries hold the collections you published sources. Ask your local university ref wish to use. First check "Ready, 'Net, Go" on erence librarian/bibliographer to help you iden the Web at 44 CRM No 2—1999 Research in an Archives cation policies and procedures. Talk to the staff. when working with photographs or film. Follow Find out how much research you can do from a any required procedures for special format mate remote locale using collections published as rials, such as oversize materials, friable (e.g., books, microfilm publications, World Wide Web chalk, charcoal) media, sound recordings, site content, or CD-ROMs. Some archives, like motion pictures, and videotape. Don't touch the the Archives of American Art, have an extensive surface of photographic images. Handle docu microfilm publication program to facilitate ments carefully by opposing edges, or use a stiff research nationwide. Fill out any researcher reg piece of board to support weak documents when istration forms, duplication request forms, and turning them over. Alert reference staff about any similar paperwork sent to you and return them. badly deteriorated ripped, torn, missing, vandal Read the access and usage policies and proce ized, or damaged items. Never rearrange materi dures carefully. Plan your research travel on a als. If an item looks out of order, alert the staff- map, going to the most likely archives first. Find don't move it. Never remove an item from a funding. Note: The Foundation Center can help folder for duplication; instead use a separate you find funding for individual research efforts. sheet of blank paper as a flag to make it easy for (See CRM 18:4 (1995) p.9-13.) staff to locate the item and photocopy it. Take clear and complete notes about what you dis Get oriented at the archives. Meet the staff, cover, including the collection name and cata particularly the reference archivist and any staff log/accession number, box number, and folder members with expertise on your topic. Show the number, and a brief description (creator, docu archivists your research statement. Talk to the ment type, and synopsis) of each important doc reference staff extensively about what collections ument you may wish to use. Tell the reference they think will be most fruitful on your topic. Tell archivist if he/she may alert other researchers to them how long you can stay and what final prod the topic you are working upon so as to avoid uct (film, report, article, book) you expect to pro duplication of scholarly effort. duce. See if the reference staff is aware of any related or similar collections at other archives. When your archival research is done. Thank Learn the necessary logistical information, such the staff who helped you. Ensure that you have as where you must park; what you can take into paid for and received all your duplication orders the reading room; where to check your coat, hat, or that you have paid and left a shipping address briefcase, and other paraphernalia; how and for all materials to be sent to you. If the latter is when to sign in and out; what their handling the case, reconfirm your order and the credit policies are; how to request collections; what lines and captions of your duplicated items. fees are charged for duplication services; how to Ensure that you know of any restrictions on pub obtain permission to publish an item; how to lishing items that you have duplicated, including request duplicates of an item; and where to copyrights, privacy and publicity legislation locate the finding aids. Learn when the research restrictions, and ethical and cultural sensitivities. room will be crowded. (See CRM 18:9 (1995) pp. 23-26.) Obtain any necessary permissions before you leave, while Work systematically with the identified you still remember what it is you want to pub archival collections. Wash your hands before lish. While writing up your research findings, entering the archives to limit the amount of oil remember to use appropriate credit lines, cap transferred to the records. Use only pencil or tions, and citations as required by the archives. computer to take notes in the reading room, not When writing, be conscious of your responsibil ink pens. Never place your writing pad or paper ity to avoid plagiarism and to properly credit directly on an original document or folder. Don't sources. After publication, remember to send two scan, xerographically copy, or photograph items or more copies of the completed work to the without permission. Never smoke, eat, or drink archives. Thank the archival staff for their assis in the reading room. Remove a folder from the tance in your acknowledgements. If you receive box, look through the documents in the folder special assistance or outstanding service, write a from front to back, then replace it in the same special letter of thanks to that individual and/or position in the box before going on to the next the head of the archives. folder. If an item seems fragile, avoid handling it. Wear gloves when requested to do so, such as Diane Vogt-O'Connor Senior Archivist, NPS CRM No 2—1999 45 An Archival Glossary for the Millennium Acquired archives: Collections created by an tions have a common provenance and a organization as a routine part of doing busi shared internal order original to the collection. ness but removed from the physical custody of (2) The total archival and manuscript holdings the originating institution and now in the of an organization including audio-visual, physical custody of a second organization. electronic, and textual records. See holdings. These intact collections maintain their prove Archival masters: Refers to the first generation nance and original order and are still referred of source materials, such as manuscripts, pho to as archives, although legally severed from tographs, or original electronic files. When their creator. speaking of digital copies, this term (archival Active records: Official records needed and used master) is also used to refer to the large and for current business by organizational staff. high quality preservation and/or duplication Administrative value: Refers to the archival digital surrogate file that is kept off-line. material's usefulness for management, as in Archival quality: Refers to permanent, durable, the case of architectural drawings and plans and non-destructive storage or copying materi useful for building repairs, maps necessary for als or equipment suitable for use with landscaping or rescue, or, in a park, other archives. Also refers to long-lived (100-year- records that indicate how an ecosystem or cul plus) documentation formats such as silver tural resource has been affected over time. gelatin emulsions. APPM: Archives, Personal Papers, and Archives: (1) The permanently valuable non-cur Manuscripts is an archival style manual for rent records of an organization, with their orig description. inal order and provenance intact, maintained Appraisal: (1) The act of assessing an archival or by the original organization. (2) The organiza manuscript collection's value—including infor tion that created and holds the records. (3) mational value, artifactual value (uniqueness The physical building/room in which the and physical qualities such as process, media, records are held. or techniques used), evidential value, associa- Archiving: Refers to the act of transferring an tional value, administrative value, and mone electronic file from active to inactive memory tary value—using criteria such as age, subject in an automated system. content, contextual documentation, condition, Archivist: A professional knowledgeable in quality, quantity, legal restrictions, filing orga archival theory and practice, who is responsi nizational problems, public relations concerns, ble for the administration or management of and associational nature. (2) The act of deter archival and manuscript collections. mining if a collection contains official or non- Artifactual value: Refers to the collection or official records by consulting the records item's intrinsic value as unique or rare exam schedule. (3) Used in society as a whole to ples of material culture. This value relates to refer strictly to establishing the monetary value the age, format, process, media, condition, and of an item. quality of the material. In a photograph, for Archival assessment: Evaluation of an organiza example, the arifactual value might be due to a tion's total archival and manuscript collection combination of rare process (calotype negative management needs incorporating surveys, the or carbon print), good focus and composition, production of collection-level survey descrip special format (oversize stereograph or carfes- tions, collections evaluations, and recommen de-visite), exceptional vantage point (birds-eye dations for action. Assessments facilitate view or satellite image.or a particular genre (a records management and the care of archival fine portrait, seascape, market scene, or land collections in organizations that have little scape). These characteristics of artifactual experience with these issues. value can help archivists attribute an unsigned Archival collections: (1) Records created or work to a particular creator, date an item, and accumulated by an organization as a natural discover other contextual information. part of conducting business. Archival collec 46 CRM No 2—1999 Assembled collections: Accumulations of docu (2) The total archival and manuscript holdings ments, most often gathered from multiple of an organization. sources by a collector, generally unrelated by Context: The circumstances of creation and his provenance. The documents frequently are in tory of ownership and usage of an archival col the same format or related to the same topic. lection, as well as the collection's original Assembled collections are sometimes referred arrangement or filing structure. A clear context to as "manuscript collections," "artificial col gives a collection enhanced legal and research lections," or "special collections." value as it indicates that the collection's Associated records: All documentation gener integrity was respected during a continuous ated by the activity of collecting or analyzing chain of custody (ownership). The evidence in artifacts or specimens needed to effectively the collection remains intact. The collection manage those related objects. was not rearranged or inappropriately added Associational value: Refers to the archival mate to or weeded. Historians may depend upon the rial's relationship, usually by ownership or inferences they draw from the collection's use, to an eminent individual, group, event, or authentic filing structure. See also original similar activity or organization. The associa order and provenance. tion may be to the records creator, owner, user, Client/server: Refers to systems architecture in or individuals or groups who appear as subject which one computer supplies information to matter, such as in anthropological records. another. Often such systems are developed so Authority files: Published or unpublished lists of that tasks can be divided up between several data value standards (e.g., subject terms/ machines for efficiency's sake. names) selected for use in description. The Data: Refers to simple facts and easily quantifi lists may provide definitions, occupations, able and repeatable observations that may be cross-references from variant versions of quickly captured on machines, structured, and names or terms, and dates. transferred to other machines and interested Cellulose nitrate film: A flexible film base used parties. Data is the lowest level of information for motion picture film and photographic nega and the easiest to manage, while information tives between about 1890 and 1955. This film and knowledge are increasingly complex and base self-destructs over time going through five difficult to abstract and automate. stages of deterioration. The film should be Digital archives: Refers to the long-term preser handled with gloves, foldered in buffered vation and research accessibility of digital data sleeves, boxed, placed in Ziplock bags and in an institutional setting. Digital archiving is removed to off-site (non-museum storage) cold achieved by following selection criteria for storage in a freezer. what will be archived, managing intellectual Certified Digital Archives: Refers to a potential property rights, following open system stan process described by the Task Force on Digital dards, migrating and refreshing data regularly, Archiving of the Commission on Preservation maintaining sufficient software and hardware, and Access and the Research Libraries Group and developing target scanning resolutions for to monitor and record the authenticity and different materials. On a national basis, digital veracity of digital data maintained by organi archiving also involves developing a registry of zations. Some institutions might be selected to digital archival master files and determining a serve as digital time capsules to hold and basic economic model for sharing long-term migrate electronic records until their copy retention costs. rights and privacy concerns have expired. A Digital watermarking: Refers to the use of repository might apply for certification and be encoded patterns in electronic files, such as subject to rigorous inspection or, alternatively, the Digimarc™ package, which allow the participants might be expected to meet a set of material's creator or owner to indicate owner standards and customers might evaluate the ship and contact information and track down veracity and completeness of the data. uses of the material on the Web. Collections: (1) An accumulation of manuscripts, Document: The smallest complete unit of record archival documents, or materials having a or manuscript material accumulated to form a shared history of creation and ownership. A file (e.g., a letter, photograph, or report). A collection may be audio-visual, electronic, or document may consist of multiple sheets or textual in format (e.g., personal papers, orga may have a recto (front) and verso (back), nizational records, or assembled collections). both of which carry information in a fixed form. Documents are also referred to as CRM No 2—1999 47 papers, records, and manuscripts. Documents Format: Refers to the document type or form, are most clearly described when referred to by such as the document's size and shape or the their specific formats and processes (document configuration of the media and support. For a types), such as albumen stereographs, outgo fuller description of document types or formats ing correspondence, diaries, ink drawings, or see the Getty Information Institute's Art and field notebooks. Architecture Thesaurus, 2nd edition, (Oxford, Durable Naming Conventions: Refers to regis England: Oxford University Press, 1994) for a tering and recording permanent and durable full hierarchical list of terms. names and locations for long-lived electronic Genre: Refers to the document's style, content, objects (documents, images, and other files) and form, including the document's purpose found on the Internet. Sometimes called URN (e.g., advertisements, presentation album), the or Universal Resource Names and numbers, document's viewpoint (e.g., panoramic view), durable naming conventions are viewed as the broad topical category (e.g., landscape, still natural successors to URLs. Durable naming life, portrait, or street scene), method of repre conventions are storage system independent. sentation (e.g., abstract, figurative), circum EAD: See Encoded Archival Description. stances of creation (e.g., amateur works, stu Encoded Archival Description (EAD): A non dent works), or function (e.g., dance cards, proprietary text encoding standard for archival death certificates). For a full list consult the finding aids (guides, registers, indices) which Thesaurus for Graphic Material IT. Genre and preserves the hierarchical relationships Physical Characteristic Terms, 2nded., 1993, between levels of description, while allowing Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution for element-specific indexing and retrieval. Service, Washington, DC 20541. The standard uses Standard Generalized Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Refers Markup Language (SGML) as tags embedded to data maintained and linked to physical in electronic documents. These tags identify coordinates (spatially referenced), such as pre and establish relationships among finding aid cise mapping data. Since the entire database parts and suggest an appropriate ordering to incorporates precise physical descriptors it the data elements found in a finding aid. may be displayed in ways not easily possible Ephemera: A broad category of documents origi previously. nally created for temporary or short-term use, GIF: Refers to the Graphic Image File format, a such as advertisements, invitations, posters, digital file format used for still images. GIF programs, schedules, and tickets. files are extensively used on the Internet. Evidential value: Refers to the collection's abil Historical documents: See assembled collec ity to serve as historical or legal proof of an tions, documents, manuscripts, and personal activity, event, procedure, or process since the papers. record(s) are byproducts of these activities. Holdings: The sum total of all archival and man Federal Records Centers (FRC): Regional uscript collections held in physical custody by records centers of the National Archives used an organization. See also archives, collec as off-site storage records centers for federal tions, physical custody, and repository. agencies. See page 39. Holographic documents: Documents handwrit Finding aid: (1) A broader term for any format of ten in the script of the individual who created textual or electronic tool that assists or signed them. researchers in locating or using archival and Information: Refers to data that has a clear link manuscript collections. Basic finding aids to a purpose or context, which requires a clear include guides (for example, repository, collec definition, a unit of analysis, and a layer of tion, and subject guides), descriptive invento human interpretation or mediation. To be use ries, accession registers, card catalogs, special ful in a computer environment, information lists (for example, shelf and box lists), indexes, requires clear agreement on definitions and and (for machine-readable records) software communications standards. documentation. (2) The file guides, indexes, Information ecology: Refers to the science of registers, and aids produced by the records understanding and managing whole informa creator, usually referred to as "control records" tion environments, primary, secondary, and or "contemporaneous finding aids." (3) The tertiary sources as well as data, information, specific type of descriptive tool described in and knowledge. the text above. See page 28. Information ecosystem: A metaphor that refers to the entire information environment in a 48 CRM No 2—1999 group, organization, agency, or body. The the scarce commodity is human attention, not ecosystem includes all those individuals and information. Human attention is labor, which units involved in creating, managing, using, gives information structure, usefulness, and and adaptively re-using primary, secondary, value—in effect making it knowledge. tertiary information sources. In an effective Information technology as a means to the end information ecosystem data, information, and of capturing the interest of students and schol knowledge are all viewed as organizational ars. Technology democratizes access to infor resources. mation, leading to expanding markets for Information Resource Management (IRM): knowledge workers and consumers. Generally refers to the use of technology Leaves: See sheets. (hardware and software) to manage data. Life expectancy: Refers to the length of time data Informational value: Refers to the subject con will be usable in a system housed at 21°C and tent of the archival collections, such as the 50% relative humidity. people, groups, places, activities, events, Lossless compression: Refers to any process for objects, projects, and processes documented. compressing an image file that ensures that Integrity: Refers to collections whose prove the file once uncompressed will look identical nance and original order are intact and whose to the original such as the TIFF file format. documentary context is complete. Lossy compression: Refers to any process for Intellectual control: The mastery or command compressing an image file that causes the file, established over the informational, evidential, once umcompressed to differ (not necessarily and contextual content of archival and manu substantially) from the original appearance of script collections resulting from discovering the image file. and describing their provenance and original Manuscript collections: Groups of documents order and from the processes of arrangement that have been assembled due to their individ and description. ual literary or historical values. Manuscript Intellectual Property Rights: Refers to copy collections are frequently contrasted with rights, privacy rights, and publicity rights archives, which have a shared creator, a found in original works created by human shared history of ownership, and a shared intelligence. original order. See also manuscripts. Inventory: (1) A structured guide to an archival Manuscripts: Individual documents, primarily or manuscript collection that includes a brief textual, that have literary or historical value. history of the collection and a list of the mate Manuscripts include a wide range of document rials arranged in series. Inventories function types from correspondence, book drafts, and as a type of finding aid. (2) A physical count of diaries to personal papers and resource man a collection conducted for accountability pur agement records. Manuscripts are often paper- poses. See also survey. based textual records. Items: Refers to individual documents or manu MARC: Machine Readable Cataloging format scripts. An item may be composed of multiple refers to a electronic communications format sheets or may have both a recto (front) and a for the transmission of library cataloging data, verso (back) with writing or images on both later adapted and adopted by archivists. sides. Metadata: Refers to documentation about data, JPEG: Refers to a digital file format for use with such as descriptions of electronic files that still images created by the Joint Photographic effectively tell you the format, structure, con Experts Groups. tents, and authority of the materials. Metadata Knowledge: Refers to information that has been standards, such as the Dublin Core and the judged valuable, synthesized, analyzed, and Encoded Archival Description Standards, are reflected upon by humans. Knowledge is diffi developed and being adopted or adapted. cult to structure, transfer, and capture, and Monetary value: Refers to the dollar value may be difficult to express in symbols as it placed on rare or collectible manuscripts such requires some consensus on what is relevant, as autograph letters or photographs. Monetary what the data means, what the proper unit of value is affected by all of the other values analysis is, and what the purpose of the listed above. knowledge acquiring activity is. Museum records: Official records generated by Knowledge-based economy: Refers to Richard museums, such as accession, catalog, inven Lanham's premise in the Electronic Word tory, and loan records. (1993) that in a knowledge-based economy, CRM No 2—1999 49 National Union Catalog of Manuscript Personal papers: The records created or accu Collections (NUCMC): NUCMC is a valuable mulated during a lifetime by an individual or ongoing program of the Library of Congress family. They have an intact provenance and an that helps smaller archives distribute archival original order. Personal papers differ from collection descriptions over national biblio archives in that they are routinely removed graphic utilities such as the Research Library from the custody of the collection creators and Information Network (RLIN). placed in external archival repositories, but Non-official records: Non-official records are they function as the archives of individuals assembled collections of copies and duplicates and must be treated with the same respect as created for reference purposes; acquired col all collections. Parks may collect the personal lections of manuscripts from non-federal papers of individuals related to the park, such sources; resource management records; perma as founding fathers, formative staff, or eminent nently active records; and materials acquired individuals associated with the history of the for reference and exhibition that don't fall site. under the definition of being federal records Photographs: A fundamental document type materials. found in all categories of records from museum Non-records: See non-official records. records to assembled collections. Photographs NUCMC: See National Union Catalog of come in many formats (for example, from Manuscript Collections. cartes-de-visites to stereographs), in a wide Official records: Collections of organizational variety of vantage points (for example, bird's- records that document the creation, develop eye-view, microscope images, satellite images), ment, organization, functions, policies, deci genres (for example, landscapes, still lifes, por sions, procedures, operations, or other routine traits), and processes (for example, silver activities of the organization. Known as gelatin, carbon). Photographs are formed by "records" by the National Archives, official the action of radiation (usually light) upon a records are made or received by federal offices sensitized surface. While often thought of as a while transacting business and preserved as single process, photography is many hundreds evidence of the offices' actions or functions or of related chemical processes on a variety of because of the records' informational value. supports, such as metal, paper, plastic, or They may be active, in which case they are glass. retained by the agency or inactive, in which Photomechanicals: Multiple copies of images case they are appraised via NARA records made in ink from photographic printing plates. schedules and either disposed of or sent to a These permanent images include chromolitho federal records center. graphs, duotones, halftones, offsets, photolith- Online order fulfillment services: Refers to ographs, photogravures, photoengravings, organizations which post non-publication silkscreens, and Woodburytypes. Photo quality electronic text, images, sound files, and mechanical reproductions were most com moving image files on the World Wide Web to monly used for postcards and for illustrations facilitate browsing and ordering these items for in books, magazines, and newspapers. purchase. Ordering and payment may take Physical control: See physical custody. place in an encrypted (safe) environment. Physical custody: Either temporary or perma Original order: The functional filing arrange nent custody of an archival or manuscript col ment imposed on a document collection by its lection. Physical custody does not entail intel creator. The original order of collections can lectual (cataloging and description in finding provide information not found elsewhere, such aids) control or copyright (the right to exhibit, as when the creator received a communica publish, or prepare derivative works). This is tion, who reviewed a document, or what the particularly true for previously unpublished sequence of an administrative activity was. personal papers, organizational papers, or Original order should be preserved in a collec other historic manuscript collections. In gen tion as it allows for rapid arrangement, accu eral, the creator of the records holds the copy rate contextual research, and additional right. insight into the record creator's methods and Primary information sources: Refers to original activities. If a collection has no order because digital, textual, and audio-visual records of mismanagement or disaster, a decision to including documents, photographs, motion impose an order may be made only by an picture films, videotape, and electronic experienced archivist. records. 50 CRM No 2—1999 Primary value: Refers to the value that records the collection title, accession number, date of have to their creating organization, their origi collection receipt, donor, collection status, and nal usefulness. other basic information for purposes of later Provenance: (1) The entity (for example, person, processing (arrangement, preservation, and family, organization, or office) that either cre description). ated the records or accumulated them in the Rights management: Refers to the process of set natural course of activity. (2) The history of ting up equitable financial systems and struc physical custody of a collection or item. tures for balancing the rights of the copyright Provenience: Museum curators and archeolo- owners with the use interests of the public. gists use the term "provenience" to refer to the Secondary sources: Refers to publications such source or origins of objects and to the exact as monographs. location where the object was found or made. Secondary use: Refers to all use of information Quality control: Refers to various inspection beyond that for which it was originally cre techniques and adjustment mechanisms used ated, for example: use in an archives is a sec to ensure that the copy of an original docu ondary use. ment meets the standards required by the con Series: A group of documents arranged or main tract. In microfilm and photography quality tained as a unit within a file system because of control includes chemical, densitometric, and their shared circumstances of creation, receipt, visual tests. With digital media, quality control or use. An example of a list of series would be: focuses more on systems calibrations, docu 1) incoming correspondence, 2) outgoing cor mentation, and adjustments to the equipment respondence, 3) photographs. after comparing the original to the copy. SGML: See the Standard Generalized Markup Records: (1) All information fixed in a tangible Language. (textual, electronic, audiovisual, or visual) Sheets: Individual pages, for example each page form that was created by an organization as of a 5-page letter. An individual sheet may part of its daily business. (2) Two or more data have both a recto (front) and verso (back). fields that are grouped as a unit in machine- Special collections: (1) Non-official collections readable records. (3) Official federal files, per of manuscripts, personal papers, non-federal the National Archives and Records corporate records, magnetic media, audio Administration definition. visual materials, and other documents. (2) Records management: The process of determin Non-textual records such as magnetic or ing the status, value, and disposition of an audio-visual materials. organization's records throughout their lifetime Standards: Archivists follow a wide variety of (for example, official or non-official; active or standards created by many associations and inactive; of permanent value or not as listed organizations, from the Society of American on the records schedule). Records manage Archivists (SAA), the American National ment involves scheduling records for their ulti Standards Institute (ANSI), and the mate disposition and arranging for their dispo Association of Information and Image sition when that day comes. Management (AIIM), including standards for Recto: The facing page (front) of a single sheet of authority control, automated systems and net text or images. works (see Z39.50-1992), data content and Reformatting: Preservation duplication of origi cataloging (see APPM), data structure and nal archival materials through the use of long- exchange (see MARC), editing and publishing, lived copy technology such as silver halide non-cataloging structure and contents includ microfilms or large format digital files and ing finding aids (see EAD), abstract prepara computer output microfilms. tion, and information processing (see SGML), Register: A type of archival finding aid. As and statistical standards. SAA has a working defined by T. R. Schellenberg in Modern group on standards for archival description. Archives: Principles and Techniques, p. 66: "In Survey: A comprehensive and systematic review a register a record is made of documents in the of a collection conducted either to obtain a order in which they accumulate. The docu brief overview of a collection or a park's hold ments are assigned numbers consecutively. ings or to gain knowledge on a particular These numbers are the key by which the docu point, such as the amount of cellulose nitrate- ments ... are controlled." Most modern regis based negatives and film in a repository, or the ters, such as those at the Library of Congress, physical condition of a group of collections. are collection-level finding aids that contain Surveys may be conducted on any level (item CRM No 2—1999 51 to repository) and on any topic (for example, that serves as proof of ownership or origins of the amount of stereographs in a repository or an image. Electronic watermarks may allow the level of documentation on women in the the organization that watermarked the file to NPS). trace usage of the file on the Internet. Tertiary sources: Refers to published sources Wisdom: Refers to knowledge that has a pro which draw their content from other published foundly human context allowing for life-long sources, such as text books, abstracting ser analysis, reflection, and synthesis. Often based vices, and indices. upon a particular life experience, wisdom is Textual records: A broad category of written not necessarily the same from individual to records, including holographic, typed, word- individual, group to group, or organization to processed, and mechanically printed docu organization. Often in organizations, the orga ments, manuscripts, records, and archives. nizational wisdom and culture is expressed in TIFF: Refers to the Tagged Image/Interchange the mission statement which provides the con File Format, a nonproprietary digital file for text against which all activity can be judged as mat that has become a defacto standard. wise or unwise. Ambrose Bierce said, URL: Refers to Uniform Resource Locator, an "[Wisdom is] a special knowledge in excess of addressing scheme for finding files on the all that is known." Internet. The URL tells you the type of Z39.50-1992: An information retrieval service resource, the host and domain name, the file definition and protocol specification for path and the file name. library applications developed jointly by the Verso: The reverse side (back) of a single sheet of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) text or images. and the National Information Standards Visual records: A broad category of records con Organization (NISO). taining images including graphic, photo Diane Vogt-O'Connor graphic, and photomechanical prints (in all formats from negative, direct positive, inter- positive transparency and slide, to print); drawings; paintings; and watercolors. Watermarking: (1) Refers to makers marks in paper that are formed when the paper fibers are in suspension and placed over a grid to allow the water to drain off. Watermarks are often used in determining the authenticity and origins of a document by appraisers. (2) Also refers to the use of software to alter an elec tronic document to produce a subtle pattern U.S. Department of the Interior FIRST CLASS MAIL National Park Service Postage & Fees Paid Cultural Resources (Suite 350NC) U. S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW G-83 Washington, DC 20240 OFFICIAL BUSINESS PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300 VOLUME 22 • NO. 2 Cultural Resources Washington, DC