_____________________Kansas City Area Archivists______________________
KCAA --- The Dusty Shelf --- 1996-97
Eastern Kansas -------------------- Vol. 16, No. 2 -------------------- Western Missouri
Floundering in the Dragnets of the Daffy
This is the archives, Midwest USA. I work here. Each year some thirteen thousand people pass through our doors, each of them on a mission—a mission of discovery. Sometimes happy. Sometimes sad. Sometimes incomprehensible. It's my job to assist them. I'm an archivist. My name's Monday. Just call me "Blue" Monday.
Double Agent
We were working the Day Watch in the Research Room when in comes a male Caucasian, about six feet tall, blonde hair, blue eyes. Asks for materials on World War II. The librarian hands him the tray of catalog cards. He states that he is particularly interested in the Battle of Midway. The librarian shows him the relevant descriptions. Researcher then leans over the counter and--in a conspiratorial voice--tells her that he is actually a Japanese double agent sent by the government in Tokyo to the Kansas State Historical Society. His mission: to look at holdings on the Battle of Midway so that "they" will not repeat the same mistakes the next time.
The Montague Family
We were working the Day Watch in the Research Room again. A female Caucasian, age approximately 55, enters the room. Tells the staff she is working on the Montague Family genealogy. The librarian gives her the tray for the subject heading MONTAGUE FAMILY. The woman appears eager but is not too knowledgeable about genealogy. The librarian, having met this kind of patron before, feigns interest and appreciation. The woman talks incessantly about finding more information on her ancestor, Roman Montague. Finally, in some desperation, the librarian asks her to tell what she knows about this Roman Montague. The woman replies, "You know, Roman Montague: He married Julie Capulet."
Psychic Friends Historian
It was a sultry afternoon, June of '95. Darrell Garwood, archivist and co-ordinator for the approaching move to a new building, was working the phones on one of the last days before Operation Relocation. A woman calls. From California, naturally. Asks for information on a Kansan unknown to Archivist Garwood. He does a quick check in our files but comes up blank. Asks the caller for more information. She replies that she doesn’t know anything more. Only that her psychic had told her that she was the reincarnation of this Kansan, nothing else.
Halo Boy
It was about 4:00 p.m., a couple months ago. A reasonable looking Caucasian male approached the reference supervisor in the Research Room. He asks for an original copy of the Emporia Gazette for August 7, 1965. Stressed that it must be an original. Told the staff member that the federal government had cut out the original photo on all copies of the paper--the one showing him as a child with a halo. The Feds had replaced it with a generic photo of children playing. Wanted to see if our copy had been altered, too. Calls himself "Halo Boy."
He told the staff member that he was a victim of the "Seesaw Curse" derived from an "it" capture-and-kill game with demons. Showed the staff member a photo purporting to show the demon; she saw only a scratch on the photo.
In a conspiratorial voice, he told her that Robert Plant tried to capture him as a child, and that he was responsible for the Led Zeppelin drummer losing an arm. He also told her that the FBI had placed a tracking device in his teeth, and that he knew that a former co-worker at Emporia State University, the son of a legislator, had been born with a horn in the middle of his head. The horn had been surgically removed, but the former co-worker always wore a baseball cap to cover the scar.
Daughter of Three Presidents
It was the mid-'70s. I was a young archivist working out of the National Archives in Kansas City doing project work. The phone rang one day. I picked it up. That was my biggest mistake.
At the other end was a woman of indeterminate age. In her 45-minute telephone discourse she informed me that she needed to know who in the government she should contact to get her family’s land back. Having dealt with some people who felt that their ancestral lands had been improperly seized by the federal government, I felt compelled to find out the details. "Just the facts, ma'am."
She told me repeatedly, and in great detail, how her family used to own all the land east of 71 Highway and that "they" had taken it away from her and her family. Said that when she used to be a guest in the White House this hadn’t been a problem. It was only after FDR became president that the family's troubles started. (Obviously a Republican, I thought.)
I asked her about being a guest in the White House and was amazed when she said that she was the daughter of three presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, and Calvin Coolidge. Interesting, I thought to myself. Obviously bi-partisan co-operation not previously discovered by historians. Harding I'd believe, but not Coolidge or Wilson. I didn't ask for an explanation or details. I'd just had lunch and didn’t think my stomach could take it.
She went on about how, as a young woman, she was a frequent guest in the White House until Franklin Roosevelt became president. Then the invitations ceased. I was trying desperately and unsuccessfully to remember the phone numbers of people I disliked enough to transfer this woman to.
When I was finally able to get a word in edgewise, I think I gave the woman the extension of the GSA Real Property office. The National Archives was an unwilling part of GSA at that time, and we were always looking for ways to "get even" with them for their administrative bungling of archival concerns.
The stories you have just read are actually true. The names were not changed because the individuals involved probably were not innocent.
I'm always looking for more stories of bizarre interactions between archivists and researchers, whether face to face, by mail, or over the phone. If your compelling story should be told, then please send it to me, Bob Knecht, or to Stan Ingersol, Dusty Shelf editor.
Bob Knecht
Kansas State Historical Society
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The KCAA Website at:
Featuring information on KCAA, History and Structure, Awards, Membership Information, Scholarships, Meetings, the Dusty Shelf, Publications, Workshops and Programs, Directory of Archival Repositories, and KCAA Calendar.
The Society of American Archivist's website at:
SAA’s site has sections pertaining to SAA’s vision, educational programs, governance, publications, membership, news, and annual meeting. Bookmark this one!
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KCAA colleague Ann McFerrin is scheduled to return to Kansas City from California on June 4. She has been undergoing medical treatment and has been responding positively to her current therapy. Remember her with a card or call.
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"Annual Meeting"
Denise Morrison
KCAA Co-Chair
The Annual Meeting is coming up on June 14, and I hope every KCAA member can attend. We will hold an auction again this year, so . . . here’s another chance for those who did not attend the auction last year to get in on the action! The money raised will again go to the Minority Internship Program.
Annual meeting always provides a good opportunity to reflect on KCAA’s work over the previous year:
All our committees worked hard to maintain current projects, and several new projects were also created.
The Minority Internship Program is on solid financial footing for the next three years, thanks to the generous support of the William T. Kemper Foundation, Hallmark, and Charles Batty.
The Publications Committee is hard at work putting the finishing touches on updating and republishing Keeping Your Past, the popular KCAA booklet. It is also planning a new publication for teachers and archivists.
The Education Committee has coordinated another successful symposium and already is working toward next year’s program.
Many, many thanks to all the committee chairs and members for their commitment and hard work during this past year. There is a lot that could be accomplished if more members would get involved. It is a good experience that--believe it or not--can be fun and rewarding. My two years as co-chair have been both, and I have cemented some good friendships among my KCAA colleagues, which is the best reward yet.
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KCAA’s annual meeting will be held this year on
Saturday, June 14, at the
Colony Steakhouse and Lobster Pot, 8821 State Line Rd. in Kansas City, MO.
Please mark your calendars.
We will again be having an auction to benefit the Minority Internship Program, so bring items to auction off.
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minutes: WINTER QUARTERLY MEETING, December 12, 1996
minutes: SPRING QUARTERLY MEETING, March 20, 1997
A Warm Welcome to Our Newest Members
Carol A Ayres
DePaul Library, Saint Mary College
Susanne Clement
Golf Course Superintendents Assn. Of America
George R Bauer
Olathe, KS
Bonnie Cozad
Kansas City, MO
Will Elsbury
Johnson County Library
Haskell Archives
Tommaney Library, Haskell Indian Nations University
Joseph Laframboise
Kansas State Historical Society
Kathleen Neeley
Lawrence, KS
Keri L Petersen
Kansas City, MO
David Richards
Meyer Library, Southwest Missouri State University
Angela N Stiffler
Clay County Archives & Historical Library
Dana Williams
American Century Investments
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KCAA Directory of Repositories
Visit KCAA’s Directory of Repositories on the World Wide Web. Promote this site and share its address with others. It is found at:
http://www.umkc.edu/KCAA/KCAADIR.HTM
Also, check the information on it pertaining to your institution. If it needs to be altered, then send updates to David Boutros of the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection at UMKC.
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Jelain Chubb Membership Chair
The IRS has collected its share of your hard earned money. Now its KCAA’s turn! MEMBER-SHIP RENEWAL forms were mailed the last week of April, and the 1997-98 membership year begins June 1. The renewal form provides an opportunity for you to join a committee. Please consider volunteering a few hours of your time each quarter to helping KCAA continue serving its members and the archival profession.
The educational programs that make up the Spring Symposia, publication of the Dusty Shelf and the Membership Directory, and the continuation of the Minority Internship program are all projects that rely on your willingness to contribute that most valuable commodity: TIME.
If you know someone who may be interested in joining KCAA, bring them to a quarterly meeting, or give me a call at 913-272-8681, ext. 307. I will send a brochure describing KCAA and issue a personal invitation to attend a meeting.
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Lynn Ward Publications Committee Chair
The committee is losing a valuable member, Elizabeth Barber, who is moving to Austin, Tex. Elizabeth’s colleagues will miss her. She has worked on the layout for the revised edition of Keeping Your Past, a KCAA publication out of print for several years that will be reissued soon.
Bobbi Rahder worked on a brochure on photograph preservation for the spring symposium. The brochure eventually will be expanded into booklet form.
Also, the Publications Committee has been gathering information for a booklet designed to help teachers and their students use primary resources. This will be in conjunction with next year’s KCAA symposium. Anyone who has worked with teachers or has provided students the opportunity to use primary resources, please share your experiences. Call Lynn Ward at (816) 221-1918.
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Mary Hawkins Publicity Chair
In consultation with Bob Knecht of the Education Committee, announcements regarding KCAA’s Spring Symposium were submitted in March to the Kansas City Star, Topeka Capital-Journal, Lawrence Journal-World, and to several electronic calendars.
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Amy Leimkuhler & Pat Michaelis Co-Chairs
Through Connie Menninger’s efforts, full funding was received for the 1997 minority internship. Funds received from the Kemper Foundation, the Hallmark Corporate Foundation, and Mr. Battey will be used to support this year’s intern, with no match required from the host institution. Information was sent to KCAA-related institutions in March. Connie has agreed to serve on the committee. A long-range strategy for funding will be developed.
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MidAmerican Archives
News of KCAA People & Repositories
Kansas State Historical Society
Joseph P. Laframboise is a new employee of the Library and Archives division of KSHS. He is the new Electronic Records Archivist and has other responsibilities in records management. A Detroit native, Joe has associate degrees in business administration and computer programming, a bachelor’s degree in history, and an ALA-M.L.S. degree. His previous experience includes working in the Folklore Archive of Wayne State University and as a data archivist and assistant librarian at Penn State University under an NHPRC grant. He has been a volunteer archivist at a hospital in Windsor, Ontario, and a reference librarian at Harper Woods (Michigan) Public Library. More recently, he was processing archivist and serials cataloger at the Reuther Archive at Wayne State. He lives in Lawrence and commutes to Topeka.
Western Historical Manuscript Collection-KC
Many new and exciting collections have recently been acquired by WHMC-KC. At the beginning of the year, we received the papers of Ilus W. Davis, former mayor of Kansas City and renowned civic leader, who died last year. The collection contains approximately 200 cubic feet of materials, including Davis’ mayoral files and a large quantity of other local and state political papers. Davis shared his expertise with numerous civic, charitable, and educational organizations and institutions. His personal and professional files reflect these many involvements. The collection dates from the 1950s through the 1990s and will serve researchers investigating a variety of topics.
WHMC has also received the papers of Jerome S. Cohen, local businessman and philanthropist. Cohen has headed the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund drive since 1955 and has been active in a wide range of activities, including the Soapbox Derby, Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, Park Board, Rotary, and Temple B'nai Jehuda. He was a close friend of H. Roe Bartle, and the collection includes their correspondence and related material. The Cohen Papers measure approximately fifteen cubic feet.
The Miller Nichols collection is another significant acquisition, consisting of 23 feet of Nichols’ personal and professional papers dating from the late 1950s through 1995. His subject files include extensive documentation of Republican politics, the Right-to-Work issue, J.C. Nichols Company records, and other correspondence and chronological files.
Another new and interesting accession is that of the Milgram Food Stores, first established in the Kansas City area in 1913. This collection contains correspondence, printed material, ephemera, clippings, and a large number of photographs documenting the operations of the Milgram Food Stores and the activities of the Milgram family. This relatively small collection (3 cubic foot) is packed with a wealth of information.
RLDS Archives
A year-long cooperative archival conservation project involving manuscript materials considered sacred to the "Mormon" or Restoration movement has recently been completed. Original manuscript materials involving a revision of the Holy Scriptures by "Mormon" movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr., have been in the RLDS Church’s possession since the 1860s. Due to years of use and the natural acid content of its paper, the manuscript materials were becoming soiled and fragile to the point of threatening future usefulness. The significance to these historical writings to the Restoration tradition provided a remarkable opportunity for cooperation between the RLDS and LDS churches. In early 1996, RLDS Archivist Ron Romig and LDS Archivist Steven Sorensen arranged the details of an agreement providing needed conservation services. The conservation work, completed by late fall 1996, was provided courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Historical Department Archives, at the LDS Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The conservation agreement also involved a marked 1828 Phinney edition of the King James Bible used by Joseph Smith, Jr., and his scribe assistants in the revision process, and a printers manuscript produced by the RLDS Church to aid in the publication of Smith's Bible revision in 1867. LDS Archives Conservator Dale Heaps handled the delicate treatment of the materials, including cleaning, washing, deacidification, stabilization, and encapsulation. Heaps also created elegant display boxes for future protection. Photographic images of the conserved materials were also filmed by LDS Archives. Such conservation and media substitution measures serve to insure the preservation of these materials and their content for the benefit of future generations.
Manuscript materials and the Phinney Bible were returned to the RLDS Archives in November 1996 following the completion of the first phase of conservation work. And subsequently, the 1867 printers manuscript was treated and returned in April 1997. As part of the cooperative agreement, photographic copies of the conserved manuscript materials will now be available at the LDS Church Historical Department and at Brigham Young University for scholarly access under archival conditions. As scholarly interest in Joseph's revision work has increased in recent years throughout the Restoration, the manuscript materials have also been electronically scanned. Transcriptions of original wordings are being now prepared by LDS Scholar Scott Faulring of Utah. This collaborative effort, involving the RLDS Archives and Church Historian's Office, the LDS Archives, Brigham Young University Center for Religious Studies, and FARMS, a private foundation for research, will produce both a facsimile edition of the manuscripts and a CD-ROM information base of scanned images from the manuscripts and the Phinney Bible, with searchable full text transcriptions.
Emma Smith Bidamon, Joseph’s wife, is credited with preserving the manuscript materials through the tribulation surrounding the church's expulsion from Missouri in the winter of 1838-39. Following Joseph's death in 1844, Emma again carefully cared for the materials. An exhibit entitled ". . .there is a sacredness attached. . . . " (referring to Emma Smith Bidamon's own description of the manuscript materials) is now open at the RLDS Church Museum in the Temple in Independence, Missouri. The exhibit tells the story of the revision of the "Holy Scriptures," or what RLDS members often refer to as the "Inspired Version" of the Bible. For more information on the exhibit, contact Lee Pement, RLDS Museum Curator.
Liberty Memorial Museum Archives
Becca Bruce, a graduate student in KU’s Historical Administration and Museum Studies master’s program, is an intern in the Liberty Memorial Museum Archives for the spring semester. Becca has been working with various projects including cataloging, humidification of rolled photographs and certificates, research, and cross referencing. Her work at the museum has been invaluable.
Although the museum is closed to the public while it awaits renovation, the archives collections continue to grow and archival materials regularly arrive from donors across the country. Among the recent donations are more than twenty books of World War I poetry from a donor in Colorado, and a photograph album from a donor in California.
Brochures of the Liberty Memorial Museum archives are available. Any person would like a few brochures for their reference desk should call Lynn Ward at (816) 221-1918.
Nazarene Archives
Lon Dagley, Nazarene Archives staff member since 1986, accepted an offer in April to work in the Information Technologies office of the Nazarene Headquarters. While Lon’s contributions to the future development of the archives are missed, Lon continues to work out of his old desk in the archives workroom for the present, using his computer skills to prepare the Office of the General Secretary for the Church of the Nazarene’s upcoming quadrennial General Assembly in June. Lon has been an active member in KCAA throughout his years in the Nazarene Archives.
The archives collections have been utilized by several entities preparing exhibits for General Assembly. These include videos prepared by different departments of the church and a significant contribution to the Office of the General Secretary’s exhibit.
The Raymond W. Hurn Papers is one of our significant new accessions. Hurn served the church as pastor, district superintendent in West Texas, Executive Secretary of the Department of Home Missions, and General Superintendent (1985-1993). The 12 cubic feet accession deals strictly with his general superintendency and the districts, educational entities, and headquarters departments assigned to his jurisdiction. Hurn has been a strong supporter of the archives and over 100 reels of microfilm and other papers pertaining to his earlier leadership in the area of home missions and church growth were donated several years ago.
The archives also recently received over 300 reels of microfilm from the Division of World Mission of papers extending from 1911 through 1985. These include financial papers and correspondents with missionaries and national pastors outside North America.
Your Repository News Could Have Gone Here!
That’s right!
So, beat the rush and send your news of collection openings, accessions, personnel, and exhibits for the next issue of The Dusty Shelf.
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Local, State, and Regional News
Indiana and Kansas Repositories Cooperate
Conner Prairie’s Center for the Study of Indiana Life has received microfilm copies of the Richard C. Adams Delaware Collection through a special arrangement with the Kansas Collection (University of Kansas) and the Kansas State Historical Society. Adams, a great-grandson of William Conner, was one of the first Native Americans to practice before the US Supreme Court. The collection contains over 10,000 documents dealing with Delaware Indian history. Together with the Pratt papers and other materials acquired earlier, the new collection gives Conner Prairie one of the finest collections on Delaware history that can be found east of the Mississippi River. (Tim Crumrin, Society of Indiana Archivists, in the SIA Newsletter, Sept-Oct. 1996).
Northeast Regionals Conduct Joint Meeting
The Society of New England Archivists and the Society of Maine Archivists held a joint meeting in April at the University of Maine in Orono, ME. Sessions were planned to deal with the internet, grants, historical memory, and documenting Native American cultures.
Ohio Archivists Nurture Links to Cuban Colleagues
The Society of Ohio Archivists has developed and maintained a positive relationship with Cuban archivists for several years now, and Ohio professionals currently are sponsoring a trip to the United States in 1998 by Professor Carlos Suarez Balseiro of the University of Havana. Professor Suarez played an important role in consolidating the archives and records management education programs at his university, and he has launched new archives and records management programs in various parts of Cuba. Suarez currently heads the new Sociedad y Archivos, the professional organization of Cuban archivists. The new organization had 40 members by March 1. SOA is cooperating with the Midwest Archives Conference, the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in Professor Suarez’s scheduled visit in 1998, which will include a stop at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (Ohio Archivist, Spring 1997)
Kentucky Guide Database Available Through LC
The Kentucky Guide Database—some fourteen thousand collection level descriptions of archival and manuscript collections in Kentucky repositories--is available on the World Wide Web through the Library of Congress. The Guide Program was a response to the need to locate, survey, describe, and publicize collections in nearly 300 repositories throughout
Kentucky. The project took ten years to reach its present stage. A variety of organizations were canvassed for relevant collections: universities and colleges, public libraries, historical societies, religious institutions, museums, corporate archives, historic sites, and government agencies among them. These includes collections at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and the Kentucky Historical Society. The collection descriptions that were submitted were converted into standard MARC AMC format and loaded into the Research Libraries Information Network’s Archives and Manuscripts files. Now, through the Library of Congress’ National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections, the RLIN AMC file can be searched through the LC website. Researchers can find a direct link to the NUCMC service through the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives website at http://www.kdla.state.ky.us (Kentucky Archivist, Spring 1997).
Southern Baptist Changes Affect Archives Strategies
The decision of the Southern Baptist Convention to eliminate its Historical Commission and place the Southern Baptist Historical Collection in Nashville under the supervision of the church’s Council of Seminary Presidents—a group now dominated by fundamentalists—has raised questions about revisionist history at the hands of church fundamentalists. In light of this, some donors who previously would have given materials to the Historical Collection in Nashville are searching for repositories where changes in historical interpretations at the denominational level will not affect or limit the use of the collections they give. Sue Lynn McGuire, archivist at Western Kentucky University and Kentucky Council on Archives member, urged fellow KCA members to realize that some Southern Baptist congregations may no longer look to the denomination’s headquarters for help. Therefore, she urges colleagues to encourage local Baptist churches and associations to have their minutes microfilmed and to donate diaries and letters of churchfolk to regional collections. (Kentucky Archivist, Spring 1997).
Michigan Archival Association Grows
The Michigan Archival Association reported 176 dues-paying members last summer, and 141 persons attended the organization’s 1996 annual meeting in Ann Arbor. (Open Entry, Fall 1996)
Regional Archival Organizations Websites
The Society of Indiana Archivists now has a home page on the World Wide Web: http://cawley.archives.nd.edu/sia/ . The site features the SIA newsletter and and a brochure titled "From Attic to Archives: First Steps to Setting Up Your Archives."
Society of North Carolina Archivists: http://www.duke.edu/~rkoonts/index.htm
Archives Association of British Colubmia, including an on-line version of A Guide to Archival Repositories in British Columbia: http://www.harbour.com/AABC/bcguide.html
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History, Archives, and the Public Interest
KU Will Receive Dole’s Papers
The Kansas City Star reported in February that the University of Kansas will receive Bob Dole’s congressional papers, a collection reported to be some 3,000 feet. The collection’s exact location on campus was still an open question at the time of the announcement. KU currently has custody of the papers of former U.S. Sen. James Pearson, former Kansas governors Robert Bennett and Bob Docking, and former Representative Jan Meyers. Former U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum placed her papers at the Kansas State Historical Society, where papers of her father, former Gov. Alf Landon, are kept. (Kansas City Star, February 25, 1997).
Indochina Archives Moves to Texas Tech
The Dallas Morning News reported in January that the Indochina Archive, the largest non-government collection of Vietnam War-related materials, will be transferred from the University of California at Berkeley to Texas Tech University. Douglas Pike, the collection’s curator, accepted Texas Tech’s offer after budget cuts at UC-Berkeley threatened to cut off the collection’s funding. Pike reportedly had worked without pay for 18 months. Texas Tech offered to house the collection in its Center for the Study of the Vietnam Conflict. The collection includes 7 million pages of manuscripts, maps, videotapes and 15,000 books and monographs related to Indochina. (Dallas Morning News, January 29, 1997. Via Archives List)
No Contest Plea in Document Theft Case
A professor at the University of Arkansas, accused of stealing historical documents, pled no contest to theft and tampering with government records. He was fined nearly $5,000 by the Presidio County Court in Texas. In spring 1996, police officers responded to a call from the Marfa Public Library, where a librarian saw the individual stuff papers and photos into his pockets and socks. Over one hundred stolen documents were found in his car. He was subsequently indicted for tampering with government records in two other Texas courthouses. In Marfa, allegations were that he tore pages from old record books and took documents from files in a courthouse storage room where he had been allowed to study. (Big Bend Sentinel, January 16, 1997. Via Gaylan Corbin, Archives List)
Records Receive Reverent Destruction
From the minutes of the 1943 meeting of the Women's Auxiliary of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, published in the Journal of Convocation, Missionary District of Idaho, 1943:
"Mrs. ---- told the Auxiliary of many old records in her care, and asked the pleasure of the meeting as to their disposition. After some discussion, it was voted that everything no longer of value be ‘reverently destroyed.’" Appraisal and disposition with grace! (Alan Virta, Boise State University, to the Archives List, April 25, 1997).
Gish Archive Goes to Performing Arts Library
Lillian Gish's personal papers and materials will be deposited the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Gish, who died in 1993, left a large collection of materials. Her incoming correspondence, perhaps as many as 10,000 unpublished letters from friends and business associates, is the heart of the collection. The archive also includes production photographs from many of the plays and films in which she appeared, family photographs, medical records, appointment ledgers, scripts, and books. "This is one of the great American working lives in film and theater, and these are the working documents," said Robert Marx, executive director of the performing arts library, located in Lincoln Center. "There's a solid professional correspondence that balances the personal correspondence." Gish’s will instructed that her archive be left to a university or research institution and not be sold. Her trustees conducted a yearlong search before choosing the Library for the Performing Arts. The library delayed announcing the collection until preliminary cataloguing and preservation work was performed. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts also holds related collections, including the papers of Helen Hayes. The Gish Archive will be opened to research in the fall, after the library has completed its cataloguing and preservation work. (William Grimes in the New York Times, January 23, 1997. Via Archives List)
Charles Colson Papers Opened
The papers of Charles Colson, a former presidential aide and convicted Watergate felon who began a Christian ministry to prisoners, were recently opened by the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College in Illinois. The collection of 143 boxes contains correspondence, memos, transcripts of court and committee testimony, clippings, audio tapes and photographs. It document Colson's service to President Richard M. Nixon as special counsel, his religious conversion, involvement as a witness and defendant in Watergate investigations and trials, life in prison, and his subsequent ministry. "It is especially interesting for the way it shows how Mr. Colson began to grapple with the meaning of [religious] faith," according to Robert Shuster, BGC Archives director. An on-line guide to the collection is accessible at: gopher://gopher.wheaton.edu:70/11/Wheaton_Archives/BGC/Guides/Coll/27 5
Nat’l Archives Makes Nazi Gold Records Accessible
Researchers have streamed to the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, for over a year, reviewing records related to Nazi gold. The handfull of researchers from Senator Al D'Amato's (R-NY) office in March 1996 has mushroomed into researchers from the Swiss government, Jewish organizations, Swiss banks, and news organizations, not to mention interested historians. To assist researchers, the National Archives has developed a 300 page finding aid that covers Nazi gold related records located in over thirty different record
groups created between 1940 into the 1960s. An Interagency Group on Nazi Assets, chaired by Stuart Eizenstat of the Commerce Department, is also investigating what the American government knew and did about Nazi loot. (Page Putnam Miller, NCC Washington Update, February 18, 1997)
Clinton Chooses Little Rock for Presidential Library
On February 12, President Bill Clinton announced that the Clinton Presidential Library would be located in Little Rock and would be affiliated with the University of Arkansas. Skip Rutherford, a Clinton friend and Little Rock public relations executive, will coordinate local planning for the library. Clinton has indicated that he hopes the Library will employ the most advanced technology to make its holdings available to all Americans. (Page Putnam Miller, NCC Washington Update, February 18, 1997).
SAA Election Results in Tie
The recent election for vice president/president elect of the Society of American Archivists resulted in a tie between the two candidates: Luciana Duranti of the University of British Columbia, and H. Thomas Hickerson of Cornell University. A total of 902 ballots were cast in the election. SAA’s executive council, meeting via conference call on April 15, declared that both candidates were elected and determined the order in which they would serve: Duranti as vice president/president elect in 1997-1998, Hickerson in 1998-1999. Each will serve as president during the year following their service as vice president. (Archival Outlook, May/June 1997).
Documentary Editing May Get Higher Priority
The Executive Committee of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission has recommended that NHPRC revise its strategic plan and again give top priority in future grant making to the publication of the papers of the Founding Fathers. Archivist John Carlin applauded this proposal, saying that "historians protested and we listened." The action came in the wake of strong opposition to a revised priority list adopted in November that placed documentary editing projects in a lower level of priority. Historians immediately criticized the decision, arguing that the papers of the nation’s founders are important to the nation’s self-understanding and welfare. They pointed out that the NHPRC’s title specifically includes the term "Historical Publications."
On May 19, the NHPRC Executive Committee recommended that NHPRC have three top priorities: completing the Founding Fathers projects, solving electronic records problems, and collaborating with state historical records advisory boards. William Slany, the Historian of the State Department and the Chair of the NHPRC Executive Committee, said that the substitute strategic plan represented a recognition that a large number of organizations were opposed to the November plan, and that a controversy was festering that needed to be addressed. (Page Putnam Miller, NCC Washington Update, May 20, 1997)
Fair Use Conference Fails to Reach Agreement
On May 19, Conference on Fair Use (CONFU) participants met to consider the various reactions to their December 1996 Interim Report, which contained proposals designed to establish fair use guidelines for digital images, distance learning, and educational multimedia. Participants concluded that there was limited support for the digital image and distance learning guidelines. However, major organizations representing users, universities, and libraries clearly had rejected CONFU’s multimedia guidelines. Bottom line: the proposals had failed to achieve wide-spread support from copyright and user communities.
During the contentious meeting, the Consortium of College and University Media Centers indicated that their members would disseminate and use a separate set of guidelines with or without CONFU endorsement. They stressed that their guidelines were strongly endorsed by members, and therefore "they had no intention of pulling the[ir] guidelines back." However, many in the higher education and library communities expressed strong reservations about the educational multimedia guidelines, stating that they restrained fair use by including strict limitations. John Vaughn, Association of American Universities, called for general principles with examples of accepted practices, without rigid limitations that might diminish the "fair use" law. In light of the general disagreement at the meeting, CONFU voted to expand its Executive Committee and charge it with deciding:
how best to construct a final report,
whether to refine the digital image and distance learning guidelines
if a year of testing and experimentation with the proposed guidelines would be useful.
CONFU will hold its next meeting in May 1998. The May 1997 meeting, intended to bring closure to a two and a half year process, ended on a note of frustration and confusion about the appropriate next steps. (Page Putnam Miller, NCC Washington Update, May 20, 1997)
Zapruder Film Declared Public Record
The Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board unanimously voted at a meeting in late April that the famous Zapruder film is a public record. The Zapruder film is a family home movie that captured the shooting of President John Kennedy. Although widely shown on television and movies, the Zapruder family presently holds a copyright on it.
Officials Questions CD-ROM’s Permanence
Michael DiMario, the Public Printer, expressed strong doubts about the permanency of CD-ROM in testimony before a House Subcommittee on February 11. DiMario testified that the Government Printing Office is developing plans, as instructed by Congress, to develop CD-ROM versions of the Congressional Record and the Serial Set. However, he noted that librarians view these documents as essential resources and core documents of American democracy that should be preserved in paper format for the free use of the public in every state. DiMario also questioned the permanence of CD-ROM format from an archival media standpoint and addressed issues concerning computer hardware and software obsolescence. Congress has directed the Government Printing Office not to distribute bound Congressional Records to the Federal Depository Libraries, and to distribute paper copies of the Serial Set only to regional depository libraries and to one depository library in each state that has no regional depository library. The Serial Set is the permanent record of Senate and House documents, congressional committee reports, presidential and other executive publications, as well as treaty materials. Until last year, the 463 depository libraries in districts throughout the country received paper bound Serial Sets and the bound Congressional Record to provide users permanent access to the work of Congress.
Robert L. Oakley, Director of the Law Library at Georgetown University and Professor of Law, also testified at this hearing on behalf of four major library associations -- the American Association of Law Librarians, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Special Libraries Association. He identified two critical concerns of the library community: (1) the public's ability to locate information that is distributed electronically, and (2) the fundamental need to guarantee that electronic government information will be permanently accessible. He urged that the Congressional Record and the Serial Set be printed on paper for distribution to all depository libraries. He noted that the case has not been made for permanent electronic replacements that ensure long-term public access with the ability to migrate from one technological platform to another. (Page Putnam Miller, NCC Washington Update, March 12, 1997).
Kansas City Notes
KCAA member Niel Johnson gazed at readers from the front cover of the May 4 issue of Star Magazine, a Sunday feature of the Kansas City Star. Niel, who does a mean imitation of the late president Harry Truman, was photographed in connection with the cover story titled "Still Wild About Harry," which just about says it all . . . The April issue of the Missouri Historical Review has an article on the 1968 race riot in Kansas City, written by Joel Rhodes of UMKC.
Former Justice Blackmun Donates Papers to LC
Former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun has given his personal papers to the Library of Congress, where they will join those of thirty-eight other justices and chief justices. The collection will strengthen the ability of legal scholars to understand how the Supreme Court dealt with major legal issues of our time. The papers will be restricted until five years after Justice Blackmun’s death. (LC Press Release).
British Spy Agency Opens Early Records
The archival records of M15, the British intelligence agency, are being opened to the public for the first time. The first batch of opened records will cover the years 1909—when M15 was established—through the end of World War I, when the agency had over 800 employees. On May 18 it was reported in the London Times that the names of M15 employees would not be blanked out of the released documents. On the other hand, the names of all those who supplied information to the agency will be blanked out in order to protect their privacy and to reassure present informants, including those passing on information about the Irish
Republican Army, that their identities will not someday be disclosed. The documents scheduled for release later this year are expected to provide additional information on several celebrated mysterious in 20th century intelligence gathering. Among them: the case of exotic dancer Mata Hari, shot as a spy in 1917 by the French. Other documents are expected to disclose information on Sir Joseph Jonas, the wealthy Lord Mayor of Sheffield, who was convicted of spying for Germany.
The initial opening of files is expected to be followed by a second round dealing with World War II era records. Documents from the period between the two World Wars are expected to be by-passed for some time and opened at a later date. The inter-war years were troublesome, for British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald was damaged by a forged letter during this period. Stephen Grey, the London Times’ Home Affairs Correspondent, notes that M15’s current leaders have embraced a policy of greater openness in order to change public perceptions of the agency’s role. (Stephen Grey, London Times, 18 May 1997, via Archives Listserv).
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The UC-Boulder Archives: http://www-libraries.colorado.edu/ps/arv/frontpage.htm
Davidson College Archives website at:: www.davidson.edu/administrative/library/archives/archive2.nclk
"Books Go To War: The Armed Services Editions in World War II" is an exhibit curated by the Book Arts Press (http://poe.acc.virginia.edu/~oldbooks) and digitized by the Special Collections Digital Center, available online at: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/ase/
Syracuse University Library preservation page, URL change: http://web.syr.edu/~libweb/aboutsul/depts/preserve/index.htm
Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/
Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition Web site: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/award/
Vianne Sha's "Internet Resources for Cataloging" and "Library and Information Science Toolbox," now integrated with other resources, has moved to: http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/. New resource title: "Internet Library for Librarians".
Concordia Historical Institute (Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod) http://www.chi.lcms.org/
McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi: http://www.lib.usm.edu/archives.html .
An exhibit of rare books and other objects held by Special Collections at the University of Virginia Library is at: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/most/
The Rockefeller Archive Center website announces a new and improved website at: http://www.rockefeller.edu/archive.ctr/
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, revised and expanded web site, at: http://pilot.msu.edu/unit/msuarhc/
Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, revamped web page: http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/lobby
The Section on Archival Education and Training (SAE) of the International Council on Archives (ICA) has a web page at: http://volvo.gslis.utexas.edu/~issa/
The John Rylands Library (Manchester, England) has a Virtual Exhibit of Early Methodist Preachers at: http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/methodist/preacher.html
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Co-Chairs
Denise Morrison (KC Museum)
(816) 483-8300
Bobbi Rahder (Haskell Indian Nations Univ.)
(913) 749-8470
Secretary
Amy Leimkuhler (UMKC)
(816) 235-1508
Treasurer
Matt Veatch (Kansas State Hist. Soc.)
(913) 272-8681
Kansas City Area Archivists is a local non-profit organization serving archivists in Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri. Annual membership dues: $15 individuals, $25 institutions, $10 students, $50 sustaining institution, $100 supporting institution.
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Editor
Stan Ingersol
Production Staff
Lon Dagley
Jerry Austin
Greg Brunson
Preservation Notes Editors
Nancy J. Hulston & Alan Perry
The Dusty Shelf is published three times a year by Kansas City Area Archivists. We honor exchanges with other organizations. The Dusty Shelf is compiled and edited by staff of the Nazarene Archives and mailed by staff of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-KC.
Materials for publication should be sent to: Stan Ingersol, Nazarene Archives, 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131, (816) 333-7000, or via e-mail to singersol@nazarene.org.
Memberships and address changes should be sent to: Jelain Chubb, Kansas State Historical Society, Center for Historical Research, 6425 SW 6th Ave., Topeka, KS 66615 (913) 272-8681, ext. 307.
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1997
JUNE 14
KCAA ANNUAL DINNER
Colony Steakhouse & Lobster Pot
8821 State Line Road, KC MO6:00 P.M. Social Hour
7:00 P.M. Dinner
7:45 P.M. Business Meeting
8:30 P.M. Auction
AUGUST 24-31
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHIVISTS
61st ANNUAL MEETING
Fairmont Hotel, Chicago, Ill.
OCTOBER 16-18
MIDWEST ARCHIVES CONFERENCE
FALL MEETING
Embassy Suites Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri
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Last revised: Tuesday, November 01, 2005