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A Partnership for the American Historical Record
Access to the American historical record is in jeopardy…
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission, which is authorized
at $10 million, has long been the champion for the preservation and use of
the documents that are essential to our democracy. NHPRC funding has been
zeroed out in the President’s proposed budget for 2007, putting at
risk our ability to draw on our past to inform our present and future. The
time has come to put forward a program to address this critical issue.
This
is the program we propose…
The Partnership for the American Historical Record is a proposal to increase
federal support for records held by state and local governments, historical
societies, libraries, and related organizations. This initiative would
preserve and provide access to records of long-term value by supporting:
- Emergency planning for records that would secure vital records and ensure
continuity of operations in state and local governments, colleges and
universities, and
community- based organizations;
- Research and development on electronic
records and adoption of best practices for managing records created and maintained
in electronic form;
- Creation of a wide variety of access tools, including
archival finding aids, documentary editions, indexes, and images of key records
online;
- Preservation actions to protect historical records from harm, prolong
their life, and preserve them for public use, beginning with disaster
preparedness and recovery, as well as digitization projects and electronic records
initiatives;
- Initiatives to use historical records in new and creative ways to
convey the importance of state, territorial, and community history, including
the development of teaching materials for K-12 and college students, active participation
in
National History Day, and support for life-long learning opportunities;
and
- Programs to provide education and training to archivists and others who
care for historical records, ensuring that they have the necessary
knowledge and
skills to fulfill their important responsibilities.
America needs this program because historical records are essential…
Ask those who had to re-establish their identities and livelihoods after losing
all of their personal possessions during Hurricane Katrina. Archival records
held by government agencies and private institutions were critical to documenting
births, marriages, property ownership, employment and educational histories,
professional credentials, and eligibility for social services.
History connects people to community—whether the community is a family,
a neighborhood, a city, a state, or a nation. Connections to the past are essential
to sustaining our democracy, educating our youth, enriching our sense of place
in family and community, supporting information needs in our business and legal
affairs, and making reasoned decisions about our nation’s future direction.
PAHR deserves your support because…
Much of the American record—evidence of births, education, marriage (and
divorce), property held, obligations satisfied, and criminal conduct—is
held at the state and local level. Our state and local governments and history
organizations preserve the records that protect our rights.
Our nation has recognized the importance of history by its support of such
national institutions as the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and
the Smithsonian Institution. Yet this support is not adequate to reach those
portions of our nation’s archives that are being held in state and local
governments, historical societies, archives, and library history collections.
More resources are needed at the state and regional level to ensure the essential
care of the documents that must be readily available to the people of this
nation.
Financial resources are needed for the American historical record…
The Council of State Archivists, the Society of American Archivists, and the
National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators strongly
urge those interested in the survival of the essential evidence of America’s
past to join us in requesting from Congress $20 million in funding for the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission. This funding is
$10 million more than the authorized level and it is more than we have ever
requested for NHPRC.
Why now? Because it is time that the archives community asks for and receives
the resources that we need to make the American historical record available
to the public.
Why $20 million? That amount will allow full funding for NHPRC’s national
grants program, which has done so much to preserve and make available essential
records that document democracy. And it will allow for initial funding for
the Partnership for the American Historical Record. PAHR will provide formula-based
grants to states for re-grants and statewide services to support preservation
and use of historical records. The program as envisioned would begin with $10
million and expand over time. Each state would receive a portion of these funds
for redistribution to organizations within its borders. More information on
the specifics of PAHR follows.
PAHR would be administered by NHPRC in addition to the existing national
grants program, which we continue to assert should be funded at its full
authorization level of $10 million. PAHR cannot be useful if it negatively
affects the existing national grant program. In fact, a state-based program
would alleviate some of the demand on national-level project money by shifting
many re-grant programs to the new PAHR funding and opening wider opportunities
for new and expanded varieties of nationally significant projects.
What this means financially….
Related fields receive substantially more funding than is expended for the
American historical record. We need a substantive change in the federal funding
base in order to effect real change and improvements.
With PAHR, base funding would be provided to each state or territory, with
the remainder of funding distributed using a population/area-based formula,
comparable to that for library aid. The state archives or the organization
with the comparable functions for statewide archival services would administer
the program. With guidance from its State Historical Records
Federal funding to related fields:
Libraries (LSTA): $250 million
Museums (IMLS): $50 million
Historic buildings: $35 million
Advisory Board, each state would develop a five-year strategic plan to establish
funding priorities following NHRPC guidelines and review. Annual applications
thereafter would provide parameters for re-grants, reports on project outcomes,
and core statistical measures for monitoring of conditions and progress.
Once we obtain initial funding for this program, in future years we will seek
additional authorization and funding from Congress. Our ultimate goal is to
achieve funding comparable to that available for related fields.
We hope that you will support this effort….
Now is the time to write, to phone, or to visit your members of Congress to
express your support for increased funding to address the compelling needs
of the American historical record. More information on how to do that is
available on http://savearchives.pbwiki.com
If you have questions about the details of this proposal, feel free to contact
us
Council of State Archivists
Society of American Archivists
National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators
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