Archivists Challenge DC Mayor to Fund Municipal Archives Cleanup
A recent
article in the Washington Post entitled “City’s
Records Center Compiles a History of Neglect” (Sewell Chan, December
4, 2003) highlighted the deplorable condition of the Washington, DC, Municipal
Archives.
SAA President Tim Ericson expressed the archival community’s concern
in a letter to the editor published on December 18.
SAA also cooperated with the Mid-Atlantic
Regional Archives Conference (MARAC),
the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC), and the Northwest
Archivists, Inc. (NWA) in contacting DC Mayor Anthony Williams to urge that the Archives receive the
support and funding it needs to fulfill its mission.
See SAA Vice President Rand Jimerson’s letter to
Williams.
See MARAC’s letter to Williams.
See MAC’s letter to Williams.
See NWA’s letter to Williams.
SAA President Tim Ericson's letter to the editor (Washington Post,
December 18, 2003; Page DZ04):
Preserving Public Records
Sewell Chan's excellent article on the deplorable
conditions at the Washington Archives ["Endangered Archives," District
Extra, Dec. 4] describes a condition that is all too frequently the norm in
archival programs across the country.
Lack of support for the facility represents a false economy. If the District
government thinks it is saving money by providing a low level of support to
the archival program, it should think again about the $250,000 it is paying
for off-site storage.
When archivists finally are able to evaluate the 112,000 boxes from D.C. General
Hospital and the Lorton Correctional Facility that are now in storage, they
probably will find that more than half of those records have no historical
value and can be discarded. The District government will have been using taxpayer
dollars to store recycling fodder.
In the same way, stripping the archives program of the staff needed to create "finding
aids" will mean that city employees who need to reference truly valuable
records will be spending more time—and taxpayer dollars—to locate
that information. District offices will remain cluttered with worthless records
that could be discarded once they have been evaluated.
For every year that the original wills and other significant historical documents
entrusted to the District are allowed to remain in substandard storage facilities,
the resulting deterioration will add to the eventual cost of restoring and
preserving them.
There are many options available to assist the District government in the
work of maintaining an archives facility that serves its citizens, including
applying for grant funding. Ultimately the mayor and other District government
officials must take responsibility for one of their most important and fundamental
obligations: preserving, and providing access to, public records that document
the rights and privileges of the people who live in our nation's capital.
Timothy L. Ericson, President
Society of American Archivists
Chicago
December 10, 2003
Honorable Anthony Williams
Mayor, District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Mayor Williams:
I am writing to express the concern of the Society of American Archivists
regarding the plight of the valuable historic records and archives of the District
of Columbia, as described in the December 4, 2003, Washington Post article, “City’s
Records Center Compiles a History of Neglect,” written by Sewell Chan.
This article deeply troubles me both professionally and personally. The lack
of funding for the efforts of Clarence Davis and the staff of the DC archives
places irreplaceable documents at risk of loss or destruction. These include
both historical records—such as original wills of Dolley Madison, Francis
Scott Key, Frederick Douglass, Woodrow Wilson, and other notable Americans—and
essential records protecting the rights and privileges of contemporary citizens
of the District—including my own mother, my sister, and her husband and
two children.
As President-elect of the Society of American Archivists, a national professional
association of 3,600 archivists and records professionals, I find such neglect
of public records to be both distressing and near-sighted. The District of
Columbia has a responsibility to protect its citizens’ rights in regard
to voting, property ownership, marriage, and a myriad of other aspects of the
relationship between the people and their government. This is an essential
responsibility of the hard-won right of home rule for the District. The city
also should take pride in its historical prominence as the nation’s capital
and the home for more than 200 years of some of the country’s most significant
leaders both in politics and in economics, the arts, and society. This rich
heritage is in jeopardy from the poor facilities and inadequate staffing provided
for the DC archives and records center.
Paying nearly $250,000 per year to rent storage space from the National Archives
and Records Administration flies in the face of sound budgetary controls. These
funds would far better serve the District as down payment on an adequate storage
facility, as Mr. Davis has repeatedly requested. A second priority should be
to provide safer and easier access to these records for both DC residents and
researchers.
Because these problems directly affect my own family members, I take strong
personal interest in the resolution of this long story of neglect of the District’s
vital records. These records include my wife’s birth records, as well
as current property and citizenship rights of my mother, my sister, and her
family. Their interests and their rights, as well as those of the other citizens
of the District of Columbia, are in serious jeopardy because the records that
protect them are neglected and inadequately funded by the city.
The records and archives of the District of Columbia are essential to the
proper functioning of its government and to the protection of its citizens.
It is disheartening that this symbol of home rule and civic pride is being
left to rot—and that future generations will be robbed of the knowledge
of their heritage and the proud history of the District of Columbia.
On behalf of the Society of American Archivists, we sincerely hope that you
and the members of the City Council will take steps to ensure that the DC Archives
receives the funding that it needs to survive, and that work begins at once
to save these records from loss.
I will be visiting my sister and my mother for the holidays. Because my mother
lives only a few blocks from the Archives, I would be glad to meet with Clarence
Davis and to assist both you and the Archives staff in planning for a better
future of stewardship for these essential records of the District of Columbia.
Please let me know how I can help you in meeting this challenge.
Sincerely,
Randall C. Jimerson
President-Elect
Society of American Archivists
rand.jimerson@wwu.edu
cc: Clarence Davis
December 10, 2003
Dear Mayor Williams,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives
Conference (MARAC). Our organization represents archivists and others who care
for historical records in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
On December 4, 2003, the Washington Post printed the article "City's
Records Center Compiles a History of Neglect: Documents Lie All but Ignored
In Dingy Building" by Sewell Chan. This article discusses the history
of neglect of the DC Archives, the home of the records that document the history
of the District of Columbia. We were very concerned to hear that the records
are unprotected with no security staff to ensure that these vital documents
are not stolen or damaged, and that there is no conservation or preservation
plan to ensure that these records are preserved for future generations to use.
As Timothy Ericson, president of the Society of American Archivists noted in
the article, "Archival records preserve people's rights: voting rights,
property rights. They document marriage, educational achievements, all sorts
of things that are important to people in their everyday life." The District
of Columbia risks losing its heritage and documentation of its rights, rights
that were fought for by the proponents of home rule, through the sub-standard
operations of its current archival program.
In addition, the article noted that due to the District's inefficient handling
of government records the city is losing money; money that could be used to
improve District services or help build a new archives building to safely house
the records of the District, including those held by the National Archives
and Records Administration. In addition, these "lost" funds could
help support a professional staff that could meet the needs of the researchers
and implement a records policy that would ensure the appropriate disposition
of non-permanent records and protect those permanent records needed to ensure
the rights of the District and its people.
It is disheartening that this symbol of home rule and civic pride is being
left to rot, and that future generations will be robbed of the knowledge of
their heritage and the proud history of the District of Columbia. We hope that
you and the members of the City Council will take steps to ensure that the
DC Archives receives the funding that it deserves and requires to protect,
preserve, and make accessible the records of the District’s heritage,
and that work begins immediately to save these records from loss.
Sincerely yours,
Lisa C. Mangiafico, Chair
Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
cc: Linda Cropp, Chair, Council of the District of Columbia
December 11, 2003
Dear Mayor Williams:
I would like to add to the voices of the Society of American Archivists and
the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, expressing alarm over the sad
state of the District of Columbia Records Center and the District’s handling
of its historical records. While the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC), the
second-largest professional archival association in the United States, comprises
twelve states in the Midwest and is technically outside of the DC geographical
area, all of us in the archival profession share the view that significant
historical records deserve the best possible care, and failing that, that agencies
at least apply minimal preservation and access procedures according to accepted
archival standards. Unfortunately, it appears that the District has allowed
the DC Records Center to fall below even those minimal conditions. I am deeply
concerned about the conditions at the Center as described in the December 4,
2003, Washington Post article, “City’s Records Center Compiles
a History of Neglect,” written by Sewell Chan.
As others have emphasized, instituting a program of records management and
archival preservation—with strong backing by high officials and office
administrators—results in monetary savings. When a municipality tracks its
records through their life-cycle, from documents’ initial creation through
their active life and later transfer to either the archives (a facility meeting
archival standards for environmental control, security, and access) for permanent
preservation or for recycling, the city enjoys a handsome return on its investment
in professional archival/records management practice. The DC archives operation
could become cost-effective while serving as the District’s memory for
present and future generations.
The conditions described in the Post, unfortunately,
are not unique to the DC archives. In my home state of Indiana, the state archives
is poorly funded
and needs more support to fulfill its mission to preserve state records of
legal, administrative, and/or informational and historical value. Similar conditions
exist in other public archives across the nation. Because of the District’s
stature as the location of the capital of our country,however, seeing its historic
records suffering from this neglect is particularly distressing.
There is a short, but effective motto among archivists, curators, librarians,
and persons simply concerned about our nation’s documentary heritage: “No
records—no history.” One might add a corollary for municipalities: “No
records—no protection from liability and costly storage rental fees.” From
fiscal, legal, and historical points of view, operating a professionally administered
records center/archives makes sense. I hope you and the DC City Council will
find the funds necessary to create such a program in the District of Columbia.
Present and future generations will thank you for it.
Sincerely,
Stephen McShane, President
Midwest Archives Conference
December 11, 2003
Dear Mayor Williams:
I am writing on behalf of the Northwest Archivists, Inc., to express our deep
concern for the valuable historic records of the District of Columbia. I was
in Washington and saw the December 4, 2003, Washington Post article, “City’s
Records Center Compiles a History of Neglect,” written by Sewell Chan.
I am adding my voice to the archival organizations that have already contacted
you, including the Society of American Archivists and the Midwest Archives
Conference.
As president of the regional archival association for Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, and a former resident of the DC area, I find the
District’s lack of care for its essential records troubling for a number
of reasons. First, unique and important records are being lost. These records
are crucial for individuals and for the protection of freedoms. Second, as
others have pointed out, paying $250,000 a year to rent space for un-appraised
records is fiscally unsound. The District needs a staffed archives and a well-considered
program of records management and preservation.
We in the West are no strangers to fiscal realities; we all struggle with
tiny budgets, many needs, and huge geographic distances. Yet we manage: Two
of the best municipal archives facilities in the United States—Seattle,
WA, and Portland, OR—are located in our region.
The District can do a far better job with its records. But the first move
rests with you and the DC City Council. I urge you to give serious consideration
to the present and future of the District archives. Such a direction can bring
nothing but good to the citizens of the District and this country.
Sincerely,
Jodi L. Allison-Bunnell
President, Northwest Archivists Inc.
cc: Clarence Davis
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