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FY2006 Annual Report

Local Records Preservation Program

Every day, Missouri local governments produce records that document the rights of citizens, the actions of the government that serves them, and the history of the community in which they live.  The mission of the Local Records Preservation Program is to assist local governments in the preservation of historical records, as well as recommend techniques for the efficient management of government records. 

To that end, Local Records staff works with local governments to:

These activities improve long-term local public records management and make records more accessible to the public.

The Local Records Program works in three functional areas. Field archivists work directly with local officials in the areas of archival practices and records management.  The grant program funds projects to preserve public records. The conservation staff provides specialized preservation advice and conservation treatment.

Local Field Archivists

A vital component of the Local Records Program is the work conducted on-site throughout the state by field archivists.  These professionals advise, educate, encourage and assist local custodians of public records in the use of sound records management and archival practices.

Archivists sort and organize local records
Archivists sort and organize records in local government offices.

The services of the Local Records archivists are available free of charge to any tax-supported government entity in Missouri.  Typically, archivists are called in when a local government official decides to improve the organization of the records; often, this is motivated by a desire for the space savings that records management can provide. Local Records archivists can provide a wide-ranging consultation that helps local government offices gain intellectual and physical control of their records. Very often, this involves sorting the records, disposing of those that are no longer needed, and recommending strategies for microfilming and storage.

Records Consultations

In FY2006 archivists consulted with the following units of local government:

Inventories and Dispositions

LR archivists identify and process local records.
LR archivists identify and process local records.

In offices overflowing with records, it is often difficult to locate documents quickly when they are requested, particularly those considered “old” or of uncertain value.  Archivists help local officials by determining the contents of their holdings, identifying those records that may be legally discarded, and producing computerized inventories of records with current, permanent, or enduring historical value, thereby allowing officials to reclaim valuable office and storage space.  Staff conducted inventory projects in the offices of the clerk in Grundy, Mercer, and Shelby counties.

Grant Program Assistance

Field archivists provided support for the Local Records grant program by conducting thirteen workshops across the state and scheduling consultation visits with applicants to review proposed projects.  They also monitored the progress of the 54 awarded grant projects throughout the state.

Preservation and Access Projects

Volunteers help organize records and create the computerized inventory
Volunteers help organize records and create the computerized inventory.

Judicial records – In the past fiscal year, Local Records archivists continued their efforts to identify, preserve and make accessible important aspects of Missouri’s history that exist in judicial records.  Working with probate and circuit court judges and clerks, as well as a cadre of dedicated volunteers, the Local Records Program appraised and processed records dating from 1805 to 2001. 

Counties with projects underway in FY2006 included Adair, Barton, Bates, Bollinger, Boone, Butler, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Cass, Cedar, Clark, Cole, Cooper, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Howard, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lincoln, Linn, Montgomery, Morgan, New Madrid, Osage, Platte, Polk, Ray, Ripley, St. Charles, Saline, Vernon, Webster, and Worth, along with the City of St. Louis. 

The availability of these records allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of how local, regional, and national issues impacted the everyday lives of Missourians and provide family historians with easy access to unique social and economic history.

StLCC stacks

St. Louis Circuit Court – In 2000, the Missouri State Archives was awarded a federal grant through the Save America's Treasures program to arrange, index, provide conservation treatment, and microfilm the earliest records (1804-1830) from the court.  The project was completed by Local Records conservators and archivists in FY2006.  The case files were processed, indexed, microfilmed and labeled, and housed in alkaline boxes.    

Local Records archivists completed the 1831-1835 cases in similar fashion.  The archivists completed work on the mechanics’ lien cases (1824-1875), which will be particularly useful in architectural, economic, social and quantitative analysis studies. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities in February 2006 awarded the Archives a $330,619 grant to preserve and provide access to more than 11,000 Civil War era cases from the St. Louis Circuit Court.  This project was identified as a “We the People” project – a special designation by the NEH for projects that significantly advance the study, teaching, and understanding of American history. It was launched in September 2006.

Provost Marshal records – Archivists continued indexing the Missouri portion of the War Department Collection of Confederate Records. (Originals are housed at the National Archives.) The collection contains thousands of pages of documents detailing the way the provost marshals affected the lives of Missouri citizens who came into contact with the Union Army in the months and years after the Civil War ended.  To date, 220 out of 300 rolls of microfilm housed in the Missouri State Archives have been indexed, and the database is available on the Archives website.

Grants

The Local Records Grant Program, which began in 1992, awards funds to local governments based on competitive applications for eligible records management and document preservation projects.  Recipients may receive up to 70% of the total project cost in grant funds.  A local funding match of at least 30% is required.  The Missouri Historical Records Advisory Board (MHRAB) establishes policy and reviews proposals.  In FY2006, the MHRAB recommended $373,246 in grants to support 54 projects in 45 counties.

Myers giving workshop
In an effort to help local governments develop successful grant proposals, LR archivists conduct workshops throughout the state to explain the grant guidelines.

The following entities received Local Records grants in FY2006:

The largest grant award, $30,110, was for the conversion of land records now stored on deteriorating aperture cards in a Recorder's office to a more durable format.  The smallest award was for $556 to support personnel, microfilming and a microfilm reader.  The average award was $6,912.  Additional information about the grant program is posted at the website.

Conservation

Lconservation lab

While Local Records field archivists attempt to forestall damage to public records by assisting in the implementation of sound records practices, sometimes the damage has already been done. Conservators rescue documents that, due to aging or poor storage conditions, have suffered damage and are in need of repair. The Local Records Program manages the state's only publicly-funded conservation lab for treatment of paper records. The professional conservators provide chemical and physical treatments to repair and preserve unique, historically important documents in the State Archives holdings and in local and state government offices.  

before-treatment shot

after-treatment shot

Conservators provided full treatment to a plat book from Holt County. The image on the left was taken before treatment. After conservators cleaned, washed, and mended the document, the drawing was more stable and attractive, as shown in the after-treatment on the right.

Treatment Projects — The typical course of treatment involves evaluation of condition, surface-cleaning, removal of tape and other old “mends,” washing, mending with Japanese paper and wheat paste, encapsulation, and (sometimes) construction of a customized box. In FY2006, conservators treated a variety of significant records, including the following:

The conservators treated hundreds of documents in four large-scale projects.

Hempe doing tape removal in fume hood

tape removal close-up

Tape removal requires considerable time in the conservation lab. On average,
it requires about an hour of work to remove one inch of tape and its stains.

Consultation and Reference Services — The conservation staff provides technical preservation information to the State Archives, state and local government offices, and citizens. Providing information about disaster planning and recovery is common. Other issues included basic care and storage of all types of media (paper, books, scrapbooks, newspapers, textiles, and many others), building design and renovation, specifications for archival supplies, environmental control, disaster recovery, framing, repair, microfilming, digitization, and referral to other specialists.

Microfilming

Records microfilmed by the Local Records Program are stored in the Archives' secure microfilm vault.
Records microfilmed by the Local Records Program are
stored in the Archives' secure microfilm vault.

Microfilm can serve as a reliable, long-lived replacement for deteriorating paper records.  When produced and stored according to national standards, microfilm can survive for 500 years. 

Local Records staff developed a significant revision of the Guidelines for Microfilming Public Records. It specifies the standards that all grant funded projects must meet, and it serves as a de facto guide for many localities and state agencies.  The Guidelines reflect national standards as well as the advent of technologies that facilitate the migration from film to digital media.  The Guidelines are available on the Archives webpage.

Local Records also developed the “Statement on Acceptance of Microfilm Created from Digital Sources,” which specifies the criteria that microfilm created by digital sources (such as the ArchiveWriter) must meet in order to qualify for storage in the Archives' secure film vault.

Resources

Local Records Inventory Database

The Local Records online database continues to support research in Missouri history, as well as provide direction for genealogical research.  Records from courthouse and municipal offices, dating from the 19th century and including the judicial system, document the interactions of government and citizens.  While originally created for a specific administrative or legal use, the documents now contribute to our understanding of persons, events, themes, and institutions.

Since its inception, the Local Records Program has completed computerized inventories for over 460 offices, giving local officials intellectual control of their records and the ability to plan for preservation and security of public information, while protecting the public interests of access and use.  This enormous database is available to local governments and the public.  This database is updated periodically as additional inventories are completed (e.g., significant work was begun in Grundy and Mercer counties).  During FY2006, the Local Records Inventory Database registered 63,995 web page searches.

Records Center Planning

 Each year, more localities begin exploring the creation or modification of space for records storage and preservation of their permanent records.  Often, local officials launch such explorations because of the shortage of space in the courthouse.  To provide basic guidance and a starting point for planning and discussions, the conservation staff developed an online resource, Preservation Concerns in Planning a Records Center.  In FY2006 Local Records staff consulted with Cape Girardeau, Greene, Howell, Jackson, Jasper, and Ray counties, and St. Louis City officials to advise in ongoing developments.

Retention Schedules

Local government agencies and historical organizations may cooperate to preserve historical documents.
Local government agencies and historical organizations
may cooperate to preserve historical documents.

Missouri state law (RSMo chapter 109) governs the retention and destruction schedules of public documents.  Local Records staff analyzes records series produced by local governments based on their current and long-term administrative, fiscal, legal and historical values and submits detailed appraisals in the form of draft records retention schedules to the Local Records Board for review and promulgation.  In FY2006, staff prepared the new County Clerk – Education schedule (Missouri’s pre-consolidation school records), additions to the Zoo schedule, and revisions to a half-dozen other entities.  The schedules for county and municipal governments and minor political subdivisions are available online.


Outreach Activities

To ensure that local governments continue to receive up-to-date information regarding the management and care of their records, archivists and conservators of the Local Records program provide programs on a variety of records topics at annual statewide training conferences of executive and judicial governments, and regional city and county clerks’ organizations.

Conservators provide training for staff and volunteers, and teach hands-on workshops in care and repair of documents.
Conservators provide training for staff and volunteers, and
teach hands-on workshops in care and repair of documents.

Local Records archivists conducted programs highlighting our efforts to bring historical resources to the public at the following national and statewide programs: City Clerks and Finance Officers Training Institute, Missouri Association of School Business Officials, Missouri County Collectors, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, and Police Clerks Association.  They also spoke at regional meetings of the Western Court Clerks Association, West Central County Clerks Association, East Central Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers, Central City Clerks Association, Springfield Area Archivists, an NEH-funded Civil War Teachers Institute, Missouri Southern State University, and Central Missouri State University.

Volunteers and Interns

Ray Co. volunteers

Local Records field archivists, in cooperation with local public officials, attracted dozens of volunteers to cooperate in preserving historic executive and judicial records.  Several projects were advanced thanks to the work of citizens in Adair, Bollinger, Butler, Callaway, Cass, Christian, Cooper, DeKalb, Douglas, Gasconade, Greene, Howard, Jasper, Johnson, Lawrence, Morgan, Osage, Polk, Ray, Saline, Webster, and Vernon counties and St. Louis City.  These volunteers contributed a total of 3,788 hours in FY2006.

Each year, the Local Records Program offers students in publicly funded colleges and universities the opportunity to explore career possibilities in the archives and records management fields.  In FY2006, students from Missouri Southern University, Southeast Missouri State University, and Missouri State University worked under the supervision of field archivists to process and index historical documents in local government archives in Cape Girardeau, Greene, and Jasper counties.

Local Records Board

The Local Records Board serves as the coordinating board to establish retention schedules for all local governments.  The Board derives its authority from RSMo 109.230 and 109.255.

Members of the Missouri Local Records Board - FY06

Dennis C. Black
St. Charles Historical Society

Kathy Jones
City Clerk
Shelbyville

Marlene Castle
Jefferson County Recorder

Parrie L. May
City Register
St. Louis City

Dan Colgan, Superintendent
St. Joseph Public Schools 

Ron Mosbaugh
Jasper County Clerk

Ann Copeland
New Madrid County Recorder

Barbara O’Connor
Cameron City Clerk

Melinda Gumm
Circuit Court Clerk 
Cedar County              

Judy Richardson
Cedar County  
Deputy City Clerk

Virginia Habjan
Public Administrator
Vernon County

Tom Vansaghi
Metropolitan Community Colleges
Kansas City

Mike Helper
Sullivan County Clerk