ELHS Archives I have been asked to add my thoughts to this discussion. I have some experience with records/archives, but by no means consider myself an expert. I sat on the Board of the WNYRHS for 20 years, and have been thru most of their two boxcars of records. I've been on the Board of the LLMHS for about 20 years and have been thru about half their records. In my 35 years with the IRS, I was the Records Officer (among other titles) for about 15 years for all IRS records in upper NY State. Records Management Boring & Time Consuming Records management to most people is boring, and it is extremely time consuming. It is difficult to find volunteers to continually work on the endless sorting and interpretation that is required. It is also difficult to find knowledgeable people. And quite a bit of work space is required. Records Condition I have found most RR records to be in deplorable condition. Many are salvaged or saved from abandoned buildings or dumpsters. Very few come from files and are in perfect order. Rusty prongs, staples, pins and paperclips seem to be the norm. Papers are folded, carbons are crinkled. About half the WNYRHS records are either partially burnt, wet or moldy, but they are B&B files, rare and filled with the most important information. Others are just piles of papers dumped into plastic bags. Years ago RRs used odd size papers, and many are bound into books. Digitizing such records may be not feasible. What to Save This is a really difficult decision making process. You have those who want to save everything to those who consider paper worthless. You must have a knowledgeable, experienced and common sense group to make these decisions, as you can't, and really don't want, to save everything. The Record System As Pat says, you must have "intellectual accessibility". You must have some system to categorize the records. It must work so you can find items. It must be adhered to and enforced and understood. If you digitize, then you must have a second "computer" system to find them in the computer. Priorities The volume can be overwhelming. Do you do first the most popular (diesel repair records) or the most at risk (pre-1900) records. Do you do DL&W first or Erie, or concurrent? Which get digitized first? Again, you must have a knowledgeable, experienced and common sense group to make these decisions. Budget Records management, when done properly, is a very costly affair. Space, climate conditions, security, staff, digitizing, copying, insurance, service, computer maintenance, etc all run up costs. The costs involved probably far exceed what one would think is needed. Accessibility, Longevity, Ownership Above, I highlighted some of the concerns with records management. What seems to be the major points of discussion among the list members is accessibility, longevity and ownership, three very critical concerns. Here are my thoughts: Accessibility To me, this is probably the most important. If people can't see the file, it is worthless. Accessibility means being able to find the file, to view the file and to get a copy of the file. If you can't find, view and copy, to me you don't have accessibility. I would look for an institution that offers these three critical functions. To expound further, I mean the institution has staff to find the file, you can view it in comfortable quarters without extreme reservations or conditions and you can copy it at reasonable costs. Having this service available at reasonable cost via phone or email is an added plus, as it saves a visit. Longevity You do want an institution that will be in business "forever". And if in business, will continue to house and service the EL collection. I suspect that most top rated universities and the US Government meet this first condition. So, selecting either of these is probably as good as it gets. As to the second condition of continuing to service the collection, you are probably safer with an institution that is dedicated to railroading or transportation as its core mission. If it can specialize in the EL, the better chance for perpetuality. Ownership This is a major psychological factor. There is pride in ownership. There is safety in ownership. There is comfort in ownership. There is wealth in ownership. I own a sizable EL collection, and I wouldn't trust anyone with it. I won't sell, I won't lend it and I won't give it away. BUT, if I'm not here anymore, I sure don't want my family to touch it! I have to make provisions with some institution that will provide accessibility and longevity. Pride, safety, comfort and wealth - the four factors to overcome. Wealth is a non-starter, because neither I nor the ELHS would sell our collections for money, so, can the ELHS still have pride, safety and comfort is the collection were in the hands of the right institution and we gave up ownership. I think the answer is yes - especially if the accessibility and longevity concerns are met. Conclusion I haven't really discussed being central to ELHS membership. I think other factors override this, and which ever way you go, you'll probably always be closer to half the membership. Also, I'm not sure that the membership is the major user. It might be historians, authors, academics, etc. And, if some digitizing is possible and remote research services possible, location to membership is not so critical. My gut feeling at this time is that Steamtown is a top contender. It is dedicated to the EL, it has US Government funding, it has professional archivists, it probably is closer to more members than most locations, and it has a railroad friendly Congressman and State to support it. It meets all the criteria I feel are necessary. However, I still have an open mind, and if some other institution presents a better option, I am open to it. I was the IRS executive in charge of locating new offices and closing unneeded offices in New York State. As soon as I announced to a Congressman and Mayor that their IRS office would be closed, I braced myself for the evitable "Why us?" But if you did a good study, had your facts right and acted in good faith, you could stand up to the questions, criticisms and scrutiny that always came. I trust the Board is concluding this process now. Ronald R. Dukarm ELHS #532 ELHTS #66 rdukarm_@_adelphia.net The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org To Unsubscribe: http://lists.elhts.org/erielackunsub.html ------------------------------
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