Transcript To Which We Serve: Processing in the Navy Archives

TO WHICH WE SERVE:
Processing
in the Navy
Archives
NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE
COMMAND
NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE
COMMAND
Museums: 11 museums, 1 Heritage
Center, Nautilus & Constitution.
Nationwide: over 1M artifacts
Art Gallery: 30,000+ paintings, prints,
drawings, sculptures
Library: 150,000+ books
Archives: 40,000 cubic feet
Historical Services
LAWS & REGULATIONS
Federal Records Act of 1950 as
Amended
Executive Orders (12958, 13291,
13526)
Mandated by SECNAV M-5210.1
SECNAVINST 5210.8D (Records)
SECNAV 5513.16B (Declassification)
OVERVIEW
• Providing proper access to records is a primary mission
of U.S. government archivists
• Processing Challenges
– Environment
• Location
• Construction
• Light/heat/humidity
• Office/work space
– Backlog
– Staff
– Classified material
ARCHIVES
• Largest single repository of
permanent Navy records
outside of NARA
• 3 sections
• Aviation
• Ships
• Operational Archives
– Official Records
– Personal Papers
– Biographic File
– Oral History Collection
OPERATIONAL ARCHIVES
 CNO & VCNO:
Immediate Office files
 CNO: Key subordinate
offices
 Command Operations
Reports (CORs)
 NHHC business
records
OPERATIONAL ARCHIVES
Papers and memoirs
of officers, enlisted
personnel and
civilians of the U.S.
Navy
Focus on individuals
whose records
include service after
January 1, 1939
“Except for
the
northwest
third, the
land gently
sloping
upward
from the
waterfront
was
created by
landfill.”
CHALLENGE: ENVIRONMENT
CHALLENGE: ENVIRONMENT
•
Location
• Established October 2, 1799
•
Washington Navy Yard is located on the
banks of the Anacostia River
•
Initially ship building and dock yard; by
1894 became an ordnance factory &
supply depot
•
Buildings
• Building 57
• Ordnance school: 1866
•
Building 44
• Laboratory: 1890
•
Building 108
• Laboratory & Ordnance office: 1902
 Built with permeable brick
 Today permeable brick is used for
pavements & walkways. Why? Because of
its ability to absorb water and ef fectively
manage runof f
CHALLENGE: ENVIRONMENT
 Light: Accelerates deterioration; damage is cumulative &
irreversible
 Windows
 42 windows that measure 8.5’ x 8.75’ (108)
 8 windows that measure 4’ x 6.5’ (44)
 Minimal coverage; no control of UV radiation
 Lighting
 Florescent lighting through buildings
 108 florescent fixtures; no UV filtering sleeves or low—UV fluorescent tubes
 Heat & Humidity: Accelerates deterioration; chemical reactions
 Heat/humidity. From June 1-july 22. 90 readings - only 10 showed
humidity below 60%
 Fluctuations in temp & relative humidity are rule not the exception
CHALLENGE: PROCESSING
• Backlog
•
Manuscript collection:
Approximately 27,000 cubic feet
•
8,500 cubic feet are partially
processed, unprocessed or not
accessioned
•
No accurate finding aid (paper or
electronic) that can show what is
in Collection or where it is
located
CHALLENGE: PROCESSING
• Staf f
– 8 full time staff & 1 part time
contractor
– 2 FTEs assigned to processing
– Interns & Reservists
• Interns: may have archives
experience but no clearance
• Reservists: may have
clearance but no experience
• Space
– Insufficient space to house
personnel, properly process
collections, or store supplies
CHALLENGE: CLASSIFIED
MATERIAL
 Integrated throughout
collection
 Declassification review
should be done only after
preliminary processing
 No control on what gets
reviewed; declass review
conducted by contractors
 NARA will not accept
records without initial
declassification review
SOLUTIONS
Enforceable Collection Development Policy
Develop strategy to manage collection &
reduce backlog
Codify procedures
Increase staff
Provide high quality training
Modify office space
Improve environmental conditions
SOLUTION: PILOT PROJECT
 Preser vati on, Declassificati on,
Digitization and Cataloging of
Historical Documents on Microforms
 Message traffic from 1950s – 1970s
 No paper copies
 11, 000 reels of microfilm, some of
that are acetate-based, which in
combination with poor environmental
conditions resulted in vinegar
syndrome
 1,100 reels converted to silver-halide;
300 digitized
 Purchased stand-alone refrigerator
with dehumidifier to provide cold
storage for microfilm
 Unable to plug in refrigerator
because of high relative humidity
CONTACT INFORMATION
Bobbi Posner
Archivist
[email protected]
Naval History & Heritage Command
http://www.histor y.navy.mil /
" . . . a fi n e t h i n g i s t h e pre s e r vat ion o f publ i c re c o rds . Re c o rds do n ot c h a n ge, a n d
t h ey do n ot s h i f t s i de s w i t h t ra i to r s, but t h ey g ra n t to yo u, t h e pe o pl e, t h e
o ppo r t un i t y to k n ow, w h e n eve r yo u wa n t , w h i c h m e n , o n c e ba d, t h ro ug h s o m e
t ra n s forma tio n n ow c l a im to be g o o d. "
 Ae s c hines, 3 3 0 B CE