State & Local Records News

Vol. 13, No. 1 Published by the ADAH Government Records Division September 2008

HRAB opens applications for local recordspreservation grants

Thanks to an award from the NationalHistorical Publications and RecordsCommission (NHPRC), Alabama’s

Historical Records Advisory Board (HRAB) willsoon be able to offer a total of $50,000 to localgovernments and historical entities for records pre-servation projects. HRAB members met on July 16to approve grant program guidelines. GovernmentRecords Division archivists of the Alabama De-partment of Archives and History (ADAH) willoversee grant projects and administer the program.

Under HRAB’s guidelines, funds may beawarded for such activities as:# conducting records inventories and iden-

tifying historical records# improving environmental conditions; ob-

taining archival containers and shelving# cataloging, indexing, or preparing records

finding aids # hiring an archival consultant# undertaking limited conservation or refor-

matting projects There are a few restrictions on grant funds,

and applicants must be prepared to provide a 50%cost-share of the total project budget. Local costsharing may consist of direct financial contribu-tions (such as hiring staff or purchasing equip-ment), a percentage of time devoted to the projectby current staff, or a combination of the two. Dueto the limited amount of funding available fromNHPRC, awards to individual projects will notexceed $3,000.

To assist potential applicants in planningprojects and submitting applications, ADAH willhold training sessions in Decatur (Oct 9), Montgo-mery (October 10), Mobile (Oct 14), Birmingham(Oct 22), and Dothan (Oct 23). HRAB staff willalso review draft applications prior to the officialapplication deadline: January 31, 2009.

For complete grant guidelines, applicationforms, and training workshop information, go to:http://www.archives.alabama.gov/hrb/regrant.pdfQuestions may be directed to Tracey Berezansky,HRAB Deputy Coordinator, or Tom Turley, LocalGovernment Records Archivist, at (334)242-4452,or records@archives.alabama.gov.

Records Commission News

At its meeting on July 30, 2008, theState Records Commissionapproved a new RDA for the Ser-

vice Division of the Department of Finance, aswell as revised RDAs for the Alabama Departmentof Archives and History, the Alabama HistoricalCommission (Black Heritage Council), the Ala-bama School of Mathematics and Science, theDepartment of Public Safety, and the Departmentof Transportation. It also reviewed annual RDAimplementation reports from 31 state agencies.

The Local Government Records Com-mission did not meet on July 30, because its mainagenda item, a revision of the municipal RDA, was

2 State and Local Records News September 2008

still under review by the Alabama League of Muni-cipalities.

The records commissions’ next meetingswill take place on Wednesday, October 29, 2008,at 10:00 a.m. (State) and 1:30 p.m (Local). Mem-bers will convene in the Region’s Board Room atADAH.

Two new members join recordscommissions

Newly appointed members of theState and Local Government Rec-ords Commissions attended their

first meetings in April and July.In April, Dr. John Giggie was selected to

replace Dr. Lisa Dorr as the University of Ala-bama’s representative. Dr. Giggie attended the twocommission meetings held that month, althoughwe neglected to note that fact in our June issue.

Returning to the commissions in July wasRebecca Morris, who replaces Ed Packard as theSecretary of State’s representative. Ms. Morris pre-viously served on the commissions while she wasemployed by the State Department of Revenue.

We welcome Dr. Giggie and Ms. Morrisand look forward to their participation in the com-missions’ work.

Tracey Berezansky becomesNAGARA’s president

At its national conference, held inAtlanta on July 23-26, the NationalAssociation of Government Archi-

vists and Records Administrators (NAGARA)inaugurated Tracey Berezansky, Assistant Directorfor Government Records at ADAH, as president.She succeeds Mary Beth Herkert, the state archi-vist of Oregon.

NAGARA is the only organization in theUSA that focuses on the interests and needs ofgovernment records managers and archivists. It

deals with archival and records management issuesof local, state, and national concern.

Tracey’s election is a signal honor forADAH and allows us to undertake a leading role inthis important records management organization.Congratulations, Tracey!

Loose records program finallyapproaching conclusion

Since ADAH and the GenealogicalSociety of Utah (GSU) began theloose records microfilming program

in 1999, 46 of Alabama’s 67 counties have com-pleted projects. The latest three to finish (after ourlast report in May 2007) are Hale, St. Clair, andHouston Counties.

Houston County, which completed filmingin July 2007, produced 31 rolls of estates and mar-riage records (1903-1941). In August, St. ClairCounty followed with 34 rolls of estates, marria-ges, and circuit court files (1890-1915) from boththe Ashville and Pell City Courthouses. Hale

Alabama’s loose records program

as of September 2008

3 State and Local Records News September 2008

County’s project, finished in October, yielded 37rolls of estates and guardianships (1867-1950).

Microfilming is almost complete in Law-rence County and will begin soon in MadisonCounty. Recently, the GSU has decided to offercounty projects the option of utilizing digital ima-ging instead of microfilm. Talladega County’srecords will be digitized, as will records from theJefferson and Montgomery County circuit courts.(These two counties previously completed micro-filming projects.)

Elsewhere, Escambia County has nearlyfinished records preparation, and Franklin Countycontinues preparation work. A new project beganin May at the Old Courthouse Museum in MonroeCounty. In all, we expect to complete projects inbetween 52 and 56 counties before loose recordswork eventually concludes.

More counties added to AGSloose records database

Meanwhile, the Alabama Genealo-gical Society continues its effortsto create a statewide database of

loose records microfilm. This project, which be-gan in 2006, incorporates and standardizes existingindices from loose records projects or—if neces-sary—creates indices for projects that were notoriginally indexed. Web guru Jim Anderson coor-dinates the work, and many other AGS memberscontribute time collecting county index informa-tion and entering the data.

As we went to press, the all-name databaseincluded over 50,000 entries from at least 17 of thefollowing counties: Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock,Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Choctaw,Clarke, Clay, Cullman, DeKalb, Henry, Jefferson,Montgomery, Russell, Shelby, Tallapoosa, andTuscaloosa. Others will be added soon.

For complete information on this project, orto search your ancestors on the AGS database, seethe project website at: http://lrp.algensoc.org/lrpw/loader.html.

Historical probate records transferred

to the Marshall County Archives

Marshall County Archives in final stages of completion

Alabama’s newest local archives,Marshall County’s, is moving to-ward completion. Housed in a for-

mer car dealership across from the courthouse inGuntersville, the facility provides about 2,000square feet of storage space. Currently, it holdshistorical volumes from the county probate office;original county newspapers; and files microfilmedduring the county’s loose records project, whichwas completed in 2005.

Betty Taylor, Margene Black, and Rose-mary Darnell of the Marshall County PreservationCommittee serve as part-time volunteer staff forthe archives. At present, they are still organizingthe records and setting up shelving and equipmentprovided by Probate Judge Tim Mitchell. JudgeMitchell credits the late Billy Cannon, formerchairman of the county commission, with securingfunding for the archives.

This fall, Marshall County will apply for aHRAB local records preservation grant to finishoutfitting the facility. Ms. Taylor hopes that thearchives can open to the public within the next fewmonths.

4 State and Local Records News September 2008

Conference of state archivistsconvenes at ADAH

SARC state archives directors meet at ADAH

On May 8-9, the SoutheasternArchives and Records Conference(SARC) held its annual meeting at

ADAH. Directors and staff from the state archivesof seven states—Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana,Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, andTennessee—were in attendance.

The conference featured sessions on collec-tions management, digitization, records manage-ment, and reference, along with the directors’meeting. In the records management session,ADAH state records archivist Richard Wang led adiscussion of electronic records, e-mail, out-reach/training for government employees, recordcenter operations, privacy/confidentiality concerns,and functional appraisal. Collections staff focusedon dealing with confidential information and disas-ter planning; reference staff discussed providingonline assistance and digitization partnerships withAncestry.com. The digitization group explored theuses of ContentDM. SARC archivists will con-tinue their exchange of information until the asso-ciation meets next year in Florida.

If you are interested in reviewing sessionnotes and conclusions from the SARC meeting,please contact Tom Turley at (334)353-4607, orTom.Turley@archives.alabama.gov.

Looking for information aboutAlabama heritage and culture?

If you are interested in Alabama heritageand culture or have records, photo-graphs, posters, or other valuable pieces

of Alabama history that you would like to sharewith others, check out AlabamaMosaic at http://www.alabamamosaic.org. Images, text, and soundabout Alabama arts, education, industry, history,literature, and more are available for viewing.

Initiated under a grant from the Institute forMuseum and Library Services (IMLS), and nowadministered by the Network of Alabama Aca-demic Libraries (NAAL), AlabamaMosaic is anonline repository of digital materials on Alabama'shistory, culture, places, and people. Its purpose isto make unique historical treasures from Ala-bama’s archives, libraries, museums, historicalsocieties, and other repositories electronicallyaccessible to Alabama residents and to students,researchers, and the general public in other statesand countries.

Currently, 25 organizations have contribu-ted digital copies of their treasures to the onlinedigital collection. Several contributors run theirown digital collections, which they link to the Ala-bamaMosaic server. Other contributors rely on theAlabamaMosaic server to house their materials.

Whatever your level of expertise, if youhave valuable historical collections to contribute toAlabamaMosaic, the members of the collaborativewill work with you to get your materials online. Ifyou have a small collection of valuable materialsyou would like to contribute to AlabamaMosaic,please contact any of the individuals listed athttp://www.alabamamosaic.org/contact.php.

5 State and Local Records News September 2008

Records commissions planningannual awards program

At its meeting on July 30, the StateRecords Commission approved theGovernment Records Division’s

plan for an annual awards program. Each year, thisprogram will recognize state, county, or municipalagencies; publicly supported colleges and univer-sities; or local historical entities that have madespecial accomplishments in records managementor preservation. If, as expected, the Local Govern-ment Records Commission approves the programin October, awards for 2008 will be announced inApril 2009.

Awards. The awards will consist of Gov-ernor’s Certificates of Appreciation, presented bythe commissions. Information on award recipientswill be published in State and Local RecordsNews, on the ADAH website, in press releasesdistributed by the Alabama Press Association, andin publicity resources available to the recipients.

Criteria. Nominations are encouraged torecognize meritorious work “above and beyond thecall of duty.” The mere fulfillment of routine ar-chival or records management responsibilities willnot qualify for an award. Special considerationwill be given to innovations, contributions, or ac-complishments that will have a lasting impact onan agency’s records program, or that create bene-fits that extend beyond the agency itself. Here areexamples of qualified activities:# State agencies, colleges, and universities

must be fully compliant in RDA develop-ment, implementation, and reporting. Theymust also have in place a centralized rec-ords liaison structure and a fully developedarchives or records management program.

# Local agencies must be fully compliantwith their RDAs and use them frequentlyfor records preservation and destruction.They assist ADAH staff in updating andimproving the RDAs during their biennialrevisions.

# Agencies can show increased initiative,innovation, or commitment of resourcesand manpower to archival or records man-agement programs. For example, they canhire additional staff; develop records cen-ters, archives, or electronic records pro-grams; create publications or trainingmaterials; extend their archival or recordsmanagement programs (in the case of loca-lities) to other agencies in the county ormunicipality; or provide training to otherstate or local government employees.

# Agencies must demonstrate compliancewith best practices in the fields of archivalpreservation and/or records management.Nominations. Nominations for an award

may be made by individuals, the agency itself,ADAH staff, or members of the State or LocalGovernment Records Commission. To documentrelevant activities, each nomination should includesupporting materials, such as narratives, news clip-pings, photographs, publications, or other recogni-tions of accomplishment. Nominations must besubmitted to ADAH each year before December 1.Government Records Division staff will review thenominations; the appropriate commission will se-lect the winner(s) at its January meeting. The StateRecords Commission will present no more thanone award annually, the Local Government Rec-ords Commission no more than two. If there areno qualified state or local nominees in a givenyear, the commission(s) will not issue an award.Meetings at which awards are made—like allrecords commission meetings—are open to thepublic.

Detailed award guidelines and nominationforms can be found at: http://archives.alabama.gov/awardsform.pdf). If you have questions, con-tact the ADAH Government Records Division at(334)242-4452, or records@archives.alabama. gov.

6 State and Local Records News September 2008

IMLS sponsors archivalcontinuing education grants

The Institute for Museum and LibraryServices (IMLS), a federal fundingagency, has granted Louisiana State

University $280,000 to spearhead a three-yeareffort to establish a sustainable program of con-tinuing education for archivists in the states ofLouisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Elizabeth H.Dow, who heads the archives track in LSU’sSchool of Library and Information Science, willserve as principal investigator.

In the proposal to IMLS, Dow argued thatin the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ala-bama—the Mid-Gulf Coast South—historicalrepositories of all sizes depend in part, and in somecases completely, upon the work of staff who havelittle or no formal training in the proper manage-ment of archival materials. For the sake of itshistorical records, the Mid-Gulf Coast South,which has no regional organization of archivists,requires an organization dedicated to addressing itsneed for continuing education in the managementof historical documents.

The project began in July 2008 and will runthrough June 2011. During its first 18 months, theproject will focus on arranging for and offeringcontinuing education (CE) opportunities in allthree states. During the second half of the grantperiod, it will continue to offer CE opportunitiesbut will focus on developing the organizational andfinancial structures of an organization that willcontinue to offer these CE opportunities after grantfunding has ended.

Initially, Dow and Laura McLemore, Headof Archives and Special Collections at LSU-Shreveport, will represent Louisiana on a steeringcommittee that will establish schedules and pro-cedures. Julia Marks Young, Director of theArchives and Records Services Division of theMississippi Department of Archives and History inJackson; and Jennifer W. Ford, Head of SpecialCollections at the J.D. Williams Library of the

University of Mississippi, will represent Missis-sippi. Tracey Berezansky, Assistant Director forGovernment Records at the Alabama Departmentof Archives and History; and Martin Olliff, Direc-tor of the Archives of Wiregrass History andCulture and Assistant Professor of History at TroyState University-Dothan, will represent Alabama.Within the first year, the steering committee willask the three states’ professional organizations toprovide another representative to the steeringcommittee.

The project will start by using the growingnumber of free Web-based educational materials asits workshop materials. It will bring local practi-tioners together with an experienced professionalto work through these Web-based materials ingroups. The professional—“The Mentor in theRoom”—will answer questions, clarify concepts,and generally offer support as the participants workthrough online units. Ideally, no participant willneed to travel more than an hour from home, so thementor and classmates can become a supportivelocal network.

These CE opportunities will cost so littlethat repositories or individual workers can affordto take them on a regular basis, but they will not befree. The grant pays for the extraordinary costs ofcreating this project, which include support for theorganizational meetings, publicity materials, admi-nistrative assistance, etc.; but it does not includefunds for the cost of providing the CE oppor-tunities. The steering committee will develop apricing structure based on the actual cost of presen-tation, estimated in the proposal to IMLS as from$20 to $50 per participant.

The need for continuing education is notunique to the Mid-Gulf Coast region. If success-ful, this project will develop a model that couldvery well apply to any region with similar needs.