Archives at the Millennium
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
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 <http:/Avvvw.cr.nps.gov/crm>. Cover: These early photographs of Welch miners, American school boys, and up-state New Yorkers form part of the precious yet fragile archival record of the 20th century. Photo by Hugh A. O'Connor. 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: <[email protected]>. 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 <http://www.cr.nps.gov/crm>. 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