Storage of Historical Documents

With so much popularity surrounding family genealogy and local history, and the vast amount of knowledge available concerning efficient archival storage practices, it seems surprising to hear that one city government (and perhaps many more around the country) has been called out for their improper storage of historical records. A special commission in Providence, Rhode Island recently wrote and presented a report criticizing the local government and archivists for storing the city’s historical records in an “inadequate,” “musty” room, with “a lot of mold” and “significant security, environmental and storage issues.” The commission was assembled by the Providence City Council after the deteriorating building conditions forced the archivists to move their oldest historical record to another location the previous year, in order to halt its declining status.

Hearing this, I began to wonder; shouldn’t local governments be held responsible to preserve their historical records to the best of their ability? It is obvious that the Providence government did not feel that this was a significant duty of theirs; are they aware of the importance of their own historical artifacts? I think the importance would be especially visible, since the artifacts are directly related to their own city and citizens. With more research, I found that some states’ archivists, namely Florida and Idaho, have developed standards and requirements for the storage conditions of their public records. The Idaho standards include that the facility should be made of non-combustible, fire-resistant materials, and is preferably a “stand-alone structure” without other tenants and activities occurring. The Idaho document also calls for an air pressure balance that would ensure consistent temperature and humidity, and a minimum trace of contaminants.

The New York State Archives also mentors organizations and individuals looking to begin an archive, using resources and information from their website. Although the Archives first suggests using a commercial or off-site storage facility, they next give advice as to proper storage conditions for historical records. Suggestions include keeping the storage temperature between 65-70°F and the relative humidity between 35-45%, with no major fluctuations. The New York State Archives also reminds archivists to plan for protection against ultraviolet light, air pollutant, vermin, disaster, and theft. Furthermore, both the Idaho standards document and the Archives advise having a secure lock system on the storage facility and limiting the number of people with access.

The report criticizing the Providence government and archivists comes at an interesting time, as the Preserving the American Historical Record (PAHR) bill continues to sit in the United States Congress. This piece of legislature advocates for the federal government to release monetary grants for every state “for projects that preserve historical records and make them more accessible.” The bill is asking for $50 million to fund this national project. The PAHR was introduced on April 29, 2009, but is still being debated and revised by legislative committees. Perhaps the Providence news story will persuade some Congress members that the federal government should have more of a helping hand in the preservation of historical records across the country.

This leads me to some very important questions. Should the state and local governments be held responsible for proper preservation of historical records? If not, who should be responsible? What can we do to enforce accountability? Furthermore, should the federal government be responsible for providing money and support to states to encourage them to preserve their historical records?

References:

H.R. 2171--111th Congress: Preserving the American Historical Record Act. (2009). In GovTrack.us (database of federal legislation). Retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2171.

Idaho State Historical Society. (n.d.) Storage of Public Records Standards. Retrieved from http://www.idahohistory.net/record_storage.html.

Marcelo, P. (2010, May 31). Panel criticizes storage of historical records in Providence. The Providence Journal. Retrieved from http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROVIDENCE_ARCHIVES_REPORT_05-31-10_OJIKV6Q_v11.19f5c85.html.

New York State Archives. (n.d.) Managing records: Storage and preservation. Retrieved from http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_storage.shtml.

Roe, K. (2009). PAHR: Preserving the American historical record. Retrieved from http://www.archivists.org/pahr/.

State of Florida Bureau of Archives and Records Management. (1996). Public Record Storage Guidelines for Record Centers and Archives. Retrieved from http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/handbokos/PublicRecordsStorageGuidelinesforRecordsCentersandArchives.pdf.