The NHPRC and a Guide to Manuscript and Archival Materials in the United States

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1 The NHPRC and a Guide to Manuscript and Archival Materials in the United States LARRY J. HACKMAN, NANCY SAHLI and DENNIS A. BURTON RESEARCHERS IN HISTORICAL SOURCE MATERIALS in the United States depend, at present, mainly on two publications for summary information about historical records. The first of these, the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections 1 (hereinafter NUCMC), is a national manuscript catalog which prints detailed information about an average of slightly over 2,000 collections per year. The second publication, A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States, 2 compiled by the National Historical Publication Commission's director, Philip M. Hamer, and now dated and out of print, identifies the papers of nearly 8,000 individuals as well as archives and records of numerous institutions and organizations in about 1,300 repositories throughout the country. In addition to these two publications, the researcher is faced with an ever-increasing array of published repository catalogs and guides as well as regional and topical guides, all of varying quality, currency, and format, 3 unknown or inaccessible, in many cases, to the average user. There is no one national guide to repositories nor is there one at the collection/record group level to which a researcher may turn for a reasonably complete and current listing of repositories and their records. 4 The National Historical Publications and Records Commission 5 feels that such a guide is a necessity, not only because of its information value for researchers and for archives and manuscripts professionals and institutions, but also because the current system of multiple guides with various purposes and formats involves duplication of effort and is an inefficient use of time and money. The purpose of this article is to outline the role of the NHPRC in developing a system for identifying historical records and manuscripts and the institutions in which they are located, and for making that information available to those who need it. The article is also a report on the first stage of this effort. This article is based on remarks delivered by Larry J. Hackman in the session "Toward a Revolution in Archival Information," at the 1976 annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists, in Washington, D.C. The authors are members of the staff of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, of which Hackman is deputy director. 1 Library of Congress, National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (Ann Arbor: J. W. Edwards, 1962), 1962, and Index (Hamden, Connecticut: Shoe String Press, 1964), and 1963 (Washington: Library of Congress, various dates). 2 Philip M. Hamer, ed., A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961). s See, for example, Brian Cockhill and Dale L. Johnson, comps., Guide to Manuscripts in Montana Repositories (Missoula: University of Montana Library, 1973); Richard C. Davis, comp., North American Forest History: A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1976); and Peter Duignan, Handbook of American Resources for African Studies (Stanford: Hoover Institution, 1967). 4 It should be emphasized that the goals and the content of a guide are different from those of a union catalog. References to a national guide in this article are made with this distinction in mind. 5 The National Historical Publications Commission, chartered in 1934 by the original act which established the National Archives, was redesignated the National Historical Publications and Records Commission by Public Law in December The American Archivist Vol. 40, No. 2 April

2 202 THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST April 1977 For several reasons, the commission believes that it is the most logical and effective agency to coordinate such a program for repository and collection/record group guides. Much of the commission's thinking relates to the recent development of its historical records program. 6 With the addition of this program, the commission has accepted the responsibility for encouraging "a greater effort at all levels of government and by private organizations to preserve and make available for use those records, generated in every facet of life, that further an understanding and appreciation of American history." 7 Because the records program is a cooperative effort between the NHPRC and institutions and organizations throughout the country concerned with our nation's records, state historical records coordinators and advisory boards have been appointed in each state (now forty-three plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) wishing to participate in the program, in order to develop plans and priorities and to foster and evaluate records grant projects. If the commission, the coordinators, and the boards are to begin to address effectively major historical records problems, information must be collected and maintained about all repositories and their holdings, regardless of type of institution or form of record. Simply bringing the conditions of repositories and records to wider public attention may, in itself, increase concern and support for improvement of conditions. Other than its own program needs, there are several considerations that make the commission a logical and effective choice to coordinate a repository and records information program. For one, the commission, as a grant-making agency of government, is in frequent contact with many records repositories throughout the country. Continuing relationships with many administrators and archivists in these institutions should lead to close and easy cooperation. Secondly, the network of state historical records coordinators and advisory boards, especially as they become more knowledgeable about conditions in their states, should serve as a strong grass-roots force to support the commission's efforts to obtain information. And, as the records program grows, a field worker system can be developed, partially through grant funds to state historical records advisory boards or to other appropriate organizations or institutions, to gather information that cannot be obtained more readily in some other way. A conference held in July 1977 to discuss state and regional projects compatible with the commission's program marks the first step in this direction. Finally, because the NHPRC (without a guide program of its own, and acutely aware of the scarcity of resources for this activity at all levels) is likely to know about and be asked to support many separate guide and directory projects, it is inevitable that the commission will play a key coordinating role in the description of historical records over the coming years. The commission believes that it makes sense, considering both cost and effectiveness, to support a coordinated guide program rather than a disjointed series of directories and guides in various areas of the country. 6 Even prior to the passage of Public Law , the commission had statutory authority to play a role in the preservation and use of historical records in ways beyond publication alone. However, with its few resources, it had never been realistic to think seriously of acceptance by the commission of this broader mandate. The commission had largely confined itself to encouraging and guiding documentary publication projects relating to a limited number of the more familiar names in American history. Indeed, it has only been since 1964 that the commission has received a small appropriation from which to grant funds for direct assistance to some of the most important editing and publication projects. 7 See the NHPRC pamphlet, Records Program Guidelines and Procedures: Applications and Grants, (1976), p. 1.

3 ARCHIVAL MATERIALS IN THE UNITED STATES 203 The conditions discussed above have led to a major revision of the commission's previous plans merely to update Hamer's Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States. The commission, given its expanded mandate, its increased resources, and the availability of an automated system, has decided to support a guide program on a continuing basis rather than as just a one-time update of Hamer, viewing the program as a long-term responsibility of the commission and a primary need. The ultimate goal of the program is a national data base for a guide to archival and manuscript holdings in the United States. As it considered the scope of a program to gather data at the collection/record group level, as well as the need to compile information about the repositories information never yet effectively compiled the commission decided that the first step should be a directory of historical records repositories. Such a directory could be produced in a much shorter time than collection-level data could be gathered, and it would allow the commission to gather and share information about repositories, many of which had never been listed before in any easily available publication. The directory, to be issued in 1978, will include summary statements about the holdings of institutions, and information regarding hours and days of service, the availability or lack of an institutional guide and/or other published finding aids, acquisition policies, general restrictions on use, and other basic information to help direct researchers toward institutions and materials about which they might otherwise not know. 8 The commission hopes the directory will be viewed as an effective first step in a program that will be expanded and refined in the future. Institutions which do not supply full information for the first edition will be encouraged to do so for subsequent ones. Issuing a directory as a first step has the added advantage of assisting in several ways with the administration of the commission's records program. Compiling information for the directory allows the commission to collect information, not for publication, about the repositories themselves, including the condition of the materials they hold. We believe the information collected will help the commission and others to understand better the records situation throughout the country and, shared with state coordinators and boards, it may be useful in increasing support from other levels of government and the private sector. The commission hopes also that the statements of acquisition policy submitted by repositories and printed in the directory will serve as one step, long desired by many archivists and researchers, toward more orderly and effective direction of labor in the collecting of historical records throughout the country. By producing a directory of repositories, arranged by states and including a separate listing of institutions arranged by type (such as college and university archives, religious institutions, public libraries, and about fifteen other categories), the commission hopes to obviate the need for states and other groups to produce such directories themselves, thereby making cost-efficient the commission's gathering and publishing of such information. 9 In terms of quality, distribution, and the use of scarce resources, a central, continuing directory project is a sound approach. Because of the quantity and scope of information gathered for the project, and 8 As of April 1, 1977, over 2,400 repositories had returned repository information forms with data to be used in the first edition of the directory. 9 The guide system will allow the issuing of separate directories for each state, for portions of states, or for regions.

4 204 THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST April 1977 because the commission is committed to the guide as a continuing program, an automated data processing system will be used. After evaluation of the capabilities of several systems, it was determined that SPINDEX II would best meet the project's needs. 10 Since the guide project will, in the course of its development, produce a diverse group of publications, the basic SPINDEX II package is being modified and expanded to provide greater flexibility. For example, a new and more sophisticated indexing program is being developed, one that will permit the printing of separate indexes to acquisition policy statements and narrative descriptions of actual holdings as well as special indexes and lists of personal names, subject categories, and types and names of institutions represented. The ability to print selected data or information on specific types of institutions is included in the system so that the single data base can be used to create a variety of publications. Information is entered into the NHPRC's system by means of a CPT, MT/ST, or similar tape-typewriter device, producing cassettes or other input media which are then converted into magnetic tape data files. Each institution in the country will be assigned a unique control number from a master list being prepared by the staff. The staff is also developing a list of standard tag designations, each tag representing a different type of information. A data conversion unit in any location can be used for input of data compatible with the NHPRC system, provided that the proper control numbers and tag designations are applied. Following data input, the computer files are converted into publications by means of interface programs. An interface program arranges the data in a standard format, depending on the type of publication desired, and is used to add headings, justify margins, suppress certain types of information or tag designations, determine type face and size, and, in general, to format the end product automatically. A variety of interface programs are prepared, depending on the format requirements for the specific printed product desired. The repository directory will be the first step toward the commission's goal of a single guide to historical source materials in the United States. The second step will be to produce a guide or guides to collections and record groups. Collection-level description will not be as full as that supplied by NUCMC. Less information will be obtained about each collection, but that information will be at a level which can be more easily obtained for collections which are unprocessed as well as those which already have detailed finding aids. As much as is possible, a central staff will prepare the entries from published information or other material made available, perhaps in very rough form, by the repository. At the same time, gathering of information not otherwise readily available can begin through state, regional, or multiinstitutional projects supported through grants from the NHPRC, other federal agencies, private foundations, or other sources. Such projects, integrated with the commission's central guide program, may provide for the entry of collection-level information by means of appropriate devices at the separate projects or by the central guide staff using information gathered by scattered projects following 10 SPINDEX II is a program package originally developed under a Council on Library Resources grant, and it is now used in three ongoing activities at the National Archives. It is also used by such organizations as International Nickel, Inc., the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Cornell University, and Western Washington State College for archival, records management, and records survey purposes. It is well suited to the guide project because of its archival orientation in both the format and processing programs. See H. Thomas Hickerson, Joan Winters, and Venetia Beale, SPINDEX II at Cornell University and a Review of Archival Automation in the United States (Ithaca: Cornell University Libraries, 1976.)

5 ARCHIVAL MATERIALS IN THE UNITED STATES 205 commission guidelines and instructions. Thereafter, updated directories and collection guides will be issued in various forms including, if desirable, separate state guides, as resources permit the collecting and processing of data and as researchers and others demand them. The commission's guide program, even if it succeeds to its most ambitious expectations, will not mean that no other directories or guides should be produced. But success will mean that fewer will be needed, and it will probably mean that they will be better and less expensive because of the assistance the commission's guide project can be to them. Like the interstate highway system, as each little bit is completed it can be used. Someday all of the pieces will be there, integrated into a single whole.