The mission of the Northeast Museum Services Center is to support and strengthen park management and programs that preserve and protect natural and cultural resource collections in national parks and that make those collections accessible for research, education, and public enjoyment.

We want to take this opportunity to reintroduce ourselves. The Northeast Museum Services Center, a central office comprised of museum professionals, was created to support Northeast Region park museum programs by carrying out documentation, preservation, planning, research and other projects to preserve and protect museum collections and to further the goal of making those collections accessible for research, education, and public enjoyment. The center fosters professional museum standards, acts as a clearinghouse for curatorial activities in the region, and is comprised of museum professionals skilled in various areas of museum collections management, including documentation, preservation, research, exhibition of historic objects, archival collections, and natural history specimens. The center and its projects are funded with a combination of base and project funds, most notably the Backlog Cataloging Program, the Museum Collections Preservation and Protection Program, and the Cultural Resources Preservation Program.

The Northeast Museum Services Center provides services that fall under the following categories: museum planning and research, archives and collections documentation, collections preservation and protection, professional development and training, and partnerships. The following list provides examples of the kinds of projects that the northeast Museum Services Center conducts:

• Assistance with Section 106
• Consultation and support for General Management Plans
• Consultation for Historic Resource Studies
• Coordination of the American Association of Museums accreditation of park programs
• Management of exhibit implementation
• Preparation of Collections Management Plans
• Preparation of Historic Furnishing Reports
• Research and planning for exhibits
• Research for Administrative Histories

• Documentation of historic collections through surveys, planning documents, processing, and cataloging
• Documentation of museum archives through surveys of historic archival materials, management plans, processing and cataloging, and description in finding aids
• Documentation of National Park Service cultural resource studies through surveys and cataloging into the Cultural Resources Bibliography (CRBIB)
• Documentation of National Park Service libraries through surveys and cataloging
• Documentation of National Park Service records through surveys of park resource management records, management plans, processing and cataloging, and description in finding aids

• Implementation of Collection Storage Plans through two-week "technical assistance" projects to improve the storage of museum collections
• Planning for collection storage through creation of Collection Storage Plans
• Preservation and protection of collections through creation of Collection Management Plans, Security Surveys, and disaster and emergency management plans, and through management of projects to improve storage through creation of new storage facilities, purchase of storage equipment, and so on

• Training in museum and collections management planning, procedures, techniques
• Internships
• Information network through newsletter and conferences

• Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies
• Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
• National Parks of the Northeast Region
• National Trust for Historic Preservation
• New York Bureau of Historic Sites
• Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities

The Northeast Museum Services Center is lead by a director and staffed by curators, archivists, historians, museum specialists, museum technicians, catalogers, and administrative staff. Projects are completed in conjunction with park staff by National Park Service staff within the center, by contractors, or by museum professionals working through a cooperative agreement with the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA).

Elizabeth Banks, Archivist, (617) 242-5613 ext. 12/cc:Mail: banks, liz

Liz Banks provides expertise in archives management, with a focus on the management of NPS-generated records. Ms. Banks is also the Northeast Region's CRBIB (Cultural Resources Bibliography) coordinator.

Cary Donahue, SPNEA Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 10/cc:Mail: donahue, cary

Cary Donahue will be joining the NMSC staff in January. Mr. Donahue will work primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Diane Godwin, Archivist, (617) 242-5613 ext. 35/cc:Mail: godwin, diane

Diane Godwin provides expertise in archives management and NPS museum record keeping policies. Mrs. Godwin participates primarily in projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Duncan Hay, Senior Curator/Acting Director, (617) 242-5613 ext. 17/cc: Mail: hay, duncan

Duncan Hay provides expertise in methods of preserving and protecting museum collections through proper storage, security, and fire detection and suppression systems. Mr. Hay is the coordinator of all of the center's preservation and protection projects. In addition, Mr. Hay currently is the Acting Director of the center.

Jalien Hollister, SPNEA Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 40/cc:Mail: hollister, jalien

Jalien Hollister works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Patrick Jennings, Museum Specialist, (617) 242-5613 ext. 16/cc:Mail: jennings, patrick

Patrick Jennings works primarily on projects to preserve and protect museum collections through proper storage, security, and fire detection and suppression systems.

Mark Kelly, SPNEA Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 10/cc:Mail: kelly, mark

Mark Kelly will be joining the NMSC staff in January. Mr. Kelly will work primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Jennifer Lyons, SPNEA Lead Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 36/cc:Mail: lyons, jennifer

Jennifer Lyons works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus. Ms. Lyons also functions as a project coordinator.

Lauren Malcolm, SPNEA Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 37/cc:Mail: malcolm, lauren

Lauren Malcolm works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Darby Moore, Lead Museum Technician, (617) 242-5613 ext. 19/cc:Mail: moore, darby

Darby Moore works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus. Ms. Moore also functions as a project coordinator.

Tara O’Connor, SPNEA Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 38/cc:Mail: o’connor, tara

Tara O'Connor works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Michelle Ortwein, Museum Specialist, (617) 242-5613 ext. 18/cc:Mail: ortwein, michelle

Michelle Ortwein is the coordinator of all of the center's projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

Giles Parker, Museum Specialist, (617) 242-5613 ext. 34/cc:Mail: parker, giles

Giles Parker works primarily on projects to preserve and protect museum collections through proper storage, security, and fire detection and suppression systems.

Laurel Racine, SPNEA Historic Furnishings Researcher, (617) 242-5613 ext. 15/cc:Mail: racine, laurel

Laurel Racine provides expertise in historical research. Ms. Racine works primarily on projects to

research historic furnishings and to prepare Historic Furnishings Reports.

Anthony Reed, SPNEA Lead Cataloger, (617) 242-5613 ext. 23/cc:Mail: reed, anthony

Anthony Reed works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus. Mr. Reed also functions as a project coordinator.

Ella Rothgangel, SPNEA Lead Cataloger, (802) 457-3368 (617) 242-5613 ext. 37/cc:Mail: rothgangel, ella

Ella Rothgangel works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus. Ms. Rothgangel also functions as a project coordinator.

Su-pin Tsao, SPNEA Secretary, (617) 242-5613 ext. 10/cc:Mail: tsao, su-pin

Su-pin Tsao provides general administrative support to the center.

Melissa Underhill, SPNEA Cataloging Supervisor, (617) 242-5613 ext. 24/cc:Mail: underhill, melissa

Melissa Underhill works primarily on projects to document collections of archival materials and historic objects through cataloging into the Automated National Catalog System Plus. Ms. Underhill also functions as a project coordinator and additionally is the first-line supervisor for SPNEA catalogers working with the NMSC through a cooperative agreement.

Kari Vasenden, Administrative Officer, (617) 242-5613 ext. 11/cc:Mail: vasenden, kari

Kari Vasenden is the center's Administrative Officer, and therefore is the backbone to the center's operations.

Gay Vietzke, Senior Curator/Deputy Director, (617) 242-5613 ext. 13/cc:Mail: vietzke, gay

Gay Vietzke provides expertise in the general management of museum collections. In addition to functioning as the center's Deputy Director, Ms. Vietzke also participates in a variety of projects, including documentation, planning, and research projects.

Nancy Waters, Senior Curator for Research and Special Projects, (617) 242-5613 ext. 12/cc:Mail: waters, nancy

research historic furnishings and to prepare Historic Furnishings Reports.

The Northeast Museum Services Center is located in the Charlestown Navy Yard, part of Boston National Historical Park, and is administratively affiliated with the Boston Support Office in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and with Adams National Historic Site in Quincy, Massachusetts. Please contact us for more information:

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The Northeast Museum Services Center is pleased to announce that on January 18, 2000, there will be a curatorial meeting for all National Park Service museum and archival staff in the Northeast Region. The meeting will precede "Resource Stewardship: Meeting the Challenges in 2000 and Beyond," a conference sponsored by the George Wright Society, Conservation Study Institute, and the Northeast Region. The Northeast Regional Curators' Meeting will take place at the Radisson Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, located near Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Topics to be discussed during the meeting are as follows:

• The Automated National Catalog System Plus as a Collections Management System
• Curatorial Services in the Northeast Region
• New Standards for Collecting and Deaccessioning
• Professional Development and Educational Needs
• The Resource Management Plan, Reporting Requirements, and the Combined Call
• A Survey of Curatorial Needs and Desires

The Northeast Region has a long tradition of holding Curators' Conferences. Beginning in 1990, the region (then the North Atlantic Region) began holding three- to five-day annual conferences for all museum professionals. Former sites of the conference include:

• 1990 Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
• 1991 Statue of Liberty/ Ellis Island National Monuments
• 1992 Boston National Historical Park
• 1993 Morristown National Historical Park
• 1994 Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
• 1995 Manhattan Sites and Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island National Monuments (the first joint North and Mid-Atlantic Regional Curators' Conference)
• 1996 Steamtown National Historic Site.

After several years hiatus from our annual Curators' Conference, we are pleased to be able once again to hold this annual event which provides an opportunity to promote communication, cooperation, and professionalism among park curatorial staff. If you have any questions regarding the curatorial meeting, please contact Duncan Hay at (617) 242-5613 x17.

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During the Northeast Regional Curators' Meeting, the Northeast Museum Services Center will distribute a survey which, it is hoped, will shed light on the curatorial needs and desires of Northeast Region museum professionals. The survey completed by those in attendance at the Northeast Regional Curators' Meeting will be collected before the day (January 18, 2000) is over. The Northeast Museum Services Center will mail a copy of the survey to those museum staff who are unable to attend the meeting. The Northeast Museum Services Center asks that all museum staff complete the survey with as much accuracy and honesty as possible. Data drawn from the survey will be compiled and used by the center to improve services to all region parks. We thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Duncan Hay at (617) 242-5613 x17.

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The lists below show the cultural resource management projects which are funded for FY 2000 (subject to final approval). The lists were produced as part of the "Combined Call" process which takes place each year.

In addition to base funds, there are three primary fund sources for resource management projects:

1. Backlog Cataloging Program (FY 2000 allocation, pending approval: $1,022,000
2. Museum Collection Preservation and Protection Program (MCPP) (FY 2000 allocation, pending approval: $973,000)
3. Cultural Resources Preservation Program (CRPP) (FY 2000 allocation, pending approval: $2,504,000)

For information on the Backlog Cataloging Program and the Museum Collection Preservation and Protection Program, contact Duncan Hay (Acting Director, Northeast Museum Services Center) or Gay Vietzke (Senior Curator, Northeast Museum Services Center) via cc:Mail or at (617) 242-5613. Contact Bonnie Halda (CRPP fund coordinator) at (215) 597-5028 regarding the Cultural Resources Preservation Program.

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by D.E.W. Godwin

Every year parks are required to complete the Collection Management Report (CMR). While this may seem like a dreaded annual paper work exercise, all Northeast Region museum staff should know the importance of the report.

When the Collection Management Report is prepared, the completed form does not simply sit in a file unnoticed. In fact, data from all National Park Services sites are compiled and used to provide statistics on the various aspects of NPS museum collections, including how many and what type of objects we care for, how many objects are not documented in the NPS catalog system, how many people (both in-house and out) conduct research in our collections, how many objects are lent to other organizations, and so on. These statistics have been and will continue to be used to demonstrate the needs of NPS museum collections, such as the need to eliminate our backlog of uncataloged museum objects. In part because of the Chief Curator's ability to present Congress with statistics showing the incredible volume of uncataloged objects with the National Park Service (which she has been able to do because of data in the Collection Management Report), beginning in 1987 Congress began appropriating special funds to eliminate the National Park Service's backlog. This fund source is commonly known as the Backlog Cataloging Program. Every year, the Backlog Cataloging Program funds are distributed among the regions of the National Park Service. Then, within the Northeast Region, we conduct a "Combined Call" process to obtain project statements from parks stating the need for Backlog Cataloging Program funds to eliminate backlogs of uncataloged museum collections. (Please see above for a list of the Backlog Cataloging Program project funded for FY 2000, pending final approval). If the data in the Collection Management Reports do not accurately reflect the size of the backlog of uncataloged collections, the Northeast Region will not obtain the appropriate portion of the Backlog Cataloging Program funds, nor will individual parks receive needed funds.

This spring, data in the Collection Management Reports will be used to reevaluate how Backlog Cataloging Program funds are distributed among all the National Park Service regions. It is vital that the data be as accurate as possible. Because the Collection Management Report is created in the Automated National Catalog System Plus (ANCS+), most of the data in the report are pulled automatically from data already within ANCS+, such as in the Collections Management Module where catalog records are created. However, if there are inaccuracies in the data and/or if a park has catalog records which were created prior to the use of an electronic catalog database, park staff must manually make adjustments to the figures within the Collections Management Report. Park staff should review the data in the Collection Management Report and make appropriate revisions to ensure the numbers are as accurate as possible.

One area of the Collection Management Report to which I want to bring special attention is the section in which the archival materials at a park are documented. Archival collections have traditionally been underreported, due in part to the fact that National Park Service did not systematically start surveying its archival materials (including NPS-generated records) until the last decade. This fact accounts, in part, for the incredible jump in the size of the National Park Service's backlog over the years. It is not so much that parks have obtained more historic objects, archival collections, natural history collections, and archeological artifacts through donation, field collection, purchase, or transfer -- though that has occurred, of course. The growth of the backlog, particularly in the Northeast Region, can more appropriately be attributed to the systematic effort over the last decade to survey all documentary records in parks, including NPS-generated materials as well as the historic archival documents and collections more traditionally thought of as "archives." Our mind set has adjusted (and continues to be adjusted) to include all documentary materials in the Collection Management Report. The adjustment is justified, for, as it states in NPS-28, the Cultural Resources Management Guidelines, "all types of documentary records . . . contribute substantially to the understanding, interpretation, and management of other park resources (cultural and natural)" and therefore should be accessioned and cataloged into our museum collections (after evaluation against the Scope of Collection Statements).

There are still some parks, however, which report a count of, for example, "forty" archival items. Compare that number to the over a million archival items now reported at many parks in the region. Why the difference? There are two reasons there is such a difference in the way parks are recording the number of archival items: 1) not all parks are counting all documentary materials -- both historic archival collections and NPS-generated records -- and 2) not all parks are counting archival materials in the same way. I want to encourage all parks to please conduct a survey (or obtain assistance to do so) of all of their documentary materials, if this has not already been done, and report the figures in the Collection Management Report. In order to obtain accurate numbers, it is important to understand how to "count archives." The following are some guidelines:

• Standard and oversize letter and legal size archives boxes are 5.0" long.
• Standard and oversize half-size letter and legal archives boxes are 2.5" long.
• Standard Record Center (RC) cartons are 12" x 15" and are measured to be 12" long for the purposes of calculating linear feet, the theory being that an RC carton will be stored with the short side facing out from the shelf.
• Flat boxes (or "oversize boxes") are measured along their longest side, the theory being that that is the longest potential shelf space the boxes will occupy.
• Non-standard boxes, such as custom designed containers, are measured along their longest side, the theory being that that is the longest potential shelf space the boxes will occupy.
• Index card boxes are measured along their short sides, the theory being that that is how they will rest on the shelf.

• Container Measurements for Uncataloged Collections: When "counting archives" for collections which have not been cataloged, follow the guidelines outlined above; however, open containers to see what actually is contained inside. For example, a standard letter size box measures 5.0", but if it is only half full, the count should only be for 2.5". The theory is that all boxes within a cataloged collection should be full and therefore the containers can be counted without ever opening a box to see what is inside. The contents of an uncataloged collection are not known and therefore containers should be opened. In addition, many files within an uncataloged collections are in non-archival containers, such as file drawers. It is necessary to carry a tape measure and actually measure the total number of inches of materials. Be sure to document these measurements in a report.

• Food for Thought: One problem with the system is that the CMR data compiled for the entire National Park Service (so I've been told) is converted to linear feet (by dividing the total number of archival items by 1,600). If collections of textual files are recorded in linear feet, but collections of photographs, architectural drawings, and other such items are recorded by counting the actual number of items, and the counts for all those types of collections are added together and then divided by 1,600 to figure out supposedly how many linear feet of archives there are in the NPS, we will not have a completely accurate picture of the amount of archives in the NPS. It might be more accurate to record in the CMR the item counts for photograph, architectural drawing, and other such collections under "History" instead of "Archives." Or, it would be more accurate for our combined count to list both linear feet of textual files as well as item counts of photograph, architectural drawing, and other such collections. However, we do not live in such a world at the moment, so I advise you to continue to record the item counts for photograph, architectural drawing, and other such collections as outlined above, so that we are consistent with the rest of the NPS. I hope the system will be modified in the future so we have a more accurate picture of how many and what types of archival materials we have.

I encourage all of you to take a look at your Collection Management Report and make adjustments -- particularly in your count of archival materials -- as appropriate. Conduct a survey of your documentary materials if necessary. Please refer to the Museum Handbook, Part II: Museum Records which provides instruction on what kind of data to enter into the CMR form and the Automated National Catalog System Plus User Manual for instructions on how to complete the Collection Management Report using the Automated National Catalog System Plus. In addition, for assistance with the Collection Management Report or with how to conduct an archival survey please contact staff at the Northeast Museum Services Center, (617) 242-5613.

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by Laurel Racine

In 1929, newly elected President Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry built Rapidan Camp, a warm-weather retreat, in Madison County, Virginia. Today the camp on the Rapidan River in the Blue Mountains is part of Shenandoah National Park. At its largest, the camp contained thirteen buildings including public spaces, work spaces, and sleeping quarters. The buildings were designed by the Hoovers' friend, architect James Yardley Rippin of New York. A detachment of the United States Marines constructed the buildings and several large pieces of wooden furniture. The Hoovers used the camp from 1929 to 1932 as a recreational retreat and secluded meeting site away from the hot summer weather and frequent interruptions of Washington, DC. In 1932, the Hoovers placed the camp in a trust which held the property until it became a part of Shenandoah National Park in 1935. The Hoovers intended for the camp to be used by future U.S. presidents or by Shenandoah National Park. The camp buildings' infrequent use (Hoover's successor Franklin Delano Roosevelt found the uneven terrain too difficult to navigate), exposure to weather, remote location, and temporary construction made their maintenance difficult after 1932. By 1958, after a long period of disuse and a ten-year stint as a Boy Scout camp, Rapidan Camp was in a state of serious disrepair. Within a year, Shenandoah National Park razed all but three of the original Hoover-era buildings. The three remaining buildings were repaired, renovated, and refurnished in the early 1960s and then again in the early 1970s. Until the mid-1990s, the camp was used as VIP lodging for the president, Cabinet members, and congressmen.

In 1998, with the intention of restoring and interpreting Rapidan Camp for the visiting public, Shenandoah National Park Cultural Resource Specialist Reed Engle applied for and received funds from the Cultural Resources Preservation Program to carry out a project titled "Create Camp Hoover Historic Furnishings Study, Catalog Hoover Objects, and Hold Training on NPS Documentation Policies." This article will focus on the creation of the Historic Furnishings Report for "The Brown House," the Hoovers' private quarters containing a sun porch, two living areas, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms.

The project began in May 1998 when Mr. Engle and a team from the Northeast Museum Services Center (NMSC) cataloged the furnishings remaining at the camp. These furnishings were designated as three separate accessions:

• furnishings from the 1929-1932 Hoover era
• furnishings purchased in the early 1960s
• furnishings purchased in the early 1970s.

Most helpful in making this determination was an extant floor plan from the 1970s detailing not only each furnishing's location, but its date of purchase.

Once cataloging was complete, the research phase of the project began. I was hired by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) to work through a cooperative agreement

with the Northeast Museum Services Center on research projects such as the one being discussed in this article. I began by conducting research in the following repositories:

• the Shenandoah National Park archives
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
• Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace
• Madison County Courthouse
• Madison County Library
• Marine Corps History Center.

As one would expect, the most fruitful institution was the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library which required two research trips by Mr. Engle and me. The Presidential Library contains Herbert Hoover's papers; Lou Henry Hoover's papers; and papers and oral history transcripts of the Hoovers' secretaries, physician, friends, and other associates. These collections of papers contain receipts, inventories, and moving lists concerning the furnishings the Hoovers purchased for and later removed from the camp. In addition, the correspondence and oral histories illuminate daily life at Rapidan Camp. The collections at both the Presidential Library and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace contain photographs of the interiors and exteriors of the cabins. These photographs are the most important pieces of evidence revealing the type, number, arrangement, and use of furnishings in The Brown House (see illustration, below). Period editions of the Madison County Eagle provided further historical information and context for the camp. Resources at Shenandoah National Park supplied information about the later incarnations of Rapidan Camp when it was used as a Boy Scout camp and VIP lodging.

The result of this research is a fully-illustrated historic furnishings report containing historical data and an implementation plan. The historical data provide a detailed treatment of the camp's construction, ownership, occupancy, and use. Included in the information on the Hoover occupancy are brief biographies of the Hoovers and their key staff members; a description of the wide range of camp activities which included fishing, meeting, horseshoe pitching, horseback riding, and (of course!) dining; and a discussion of the camp's visitors. The section "Evidence of Room Use and Furnishings" examines each room of The Brown House individually and details their known development over the camp's history.

Based on the available historical data, the 1929 to 1932 Hoover occupancy is without question the most significant period of the camp's history. The existence of documentary evidence, photographic evidence, and original furniture allows for the reconstruction of a historic furnished interior in The Brown House. More specifically, the interior of the cabin will be refurnished to reflect the "mature Hoover period" when the structure was fully built and furnished instead of the early period in 1929 when the building continued to evolve and contained furniture borrowed from the former presidential yacht, the USS Mayflower.

The implementation plan details how the historical data will be put into practice through furnishing and interpreting The Brown House. It includes an operating plan; interpretive objectives; an interpretive outline; lists of furnishings from the collection or which need to be purchased; and furnishings plans illustrating the placement of each object. As with all stages of the project, Shenandoah National Park staff members offered valuable information, commentary, and resources to inform all sections of the plan.

The historic furnishings report for Rapidan Camp's The Brown House is a compilation of illustrations, historical data, and bibliographic information. It also is a document of Shenandoah National Park's current decisions, as well as a guide for its future activities at Rapidan Camp. It serves as an informational resource for interpreters meeting the public and a basis upon which future administrators can make decisions regarding research, implementation, and use.

The next step in the treatment of The Brown House's interior is to purchase period, reproduction, and replacement objects to satisfy the requirements of the implementation plan. Mr. Engle has secured funds through the fee demonstration program to support the refurnishing of The Brown House with the assistance of the Northeast Museum Services Center. The expected completion date for the project is spring of 2002. At that time visitors will be able to walk, horseback ride, or take a minibus ride to Rapidan Camp. There they can enjoy a ranger-led tour of the furnished Brown House and a self-guided tour of the restored grounds.

If you have any questions about Shenadoah National Park, please contact Reed Engle, Cultural Resources Specialist, via cc:Mail or at (540) 999-3495. If you would like information about the process of creating a historic furnishings report, please call the Northeast Museum Services Center at (617) 242-5613 and ask for Nancy Waters at extension 12 or Laurel Racine at extension 15.

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Lowell National Historical Park announces the release of the Finding Aid for the Proprietors of the Locks & Canals Corporation Records, 1813-1962 (bulk dates 1890-1940), which describes records created and maintained by the Proprietors of the Locks & Canals Corporation (PLC) in Lowell, Massachusetts. These records consist of correspondence, legal documents, photographs, charts, graphs, maps, tables, reports, newspaper clippings and other technical and administrative materials related to the extended business dealings of the Proprietors of the Locks & Canals Corporation. The current draft of this finding aid was completed in December 1999 and is the result of a cataloging project carried out during 1999 by Jalien Hollister and me at the Northeast Museum Services Center in partnership with the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

The Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation– which remains to this day a viable entity in a much diminished capacity – was chartered in 1792 by a group of merchants and shipowners from Newburyport, Massachusetts, who were interested in improving the navigability of the Merrimack river and thereby boosting commerce at Newburyport by constructing the Pawtucket Canal around the rapids at East Chelmsford. By 1803, however, construction of the Middlesex Canal linking the Merrimack to Boston had diverted shipping to Boston, curtailing trade to Newburyport. The Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation was revived with the establishment of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company at East Chelmsford in 1821. Many of those involved in the new textile enterprise also had interest in the older company. In 1825, the Proprietors of Locks & Canal's charter was amended to allow the corporation to own real estate, water rights and mill privileges. Consequently, the corporation became a primary instrument of the economic and social development of Lowell, Massachusetts, as the community was named in 1826.

Soon after, the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation transferred a portion of its land and water rights to the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, followed in the next few years by the Appleton and the Lowell companies, then the Suffolk, Tremont and Lawrence companies. The Boott followed in 1835 and the Massachusetts in 1839, each company following similar terms of purchased land and leased waterpower. Moreover, the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation manufactured and maintained the equipment and materials needed by the mills, and provided roads and housing for employees, as well as any necessary improvements to the facilities. By the 1870s, the 10,000 horsepower canal system powered eleven corporations which employed about 15,000 people and produced over 3.6 million yards of cloth per week.

Throughout the early twentieth century, the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation went on to build and improve upon new mills, canals and machinery, and continued to maintain its control over the land and water rights to the properties that would make Lowell a premier textile manufacturing center. Moreover, the engineers and designers associated with the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation were at the forefront of the growing hydropower technology boom. Following World War I, the Lowell Industrial Development Company (L.I.D.C.) was formed to purchase the rights and assets of former Lowell textile mills as they liquidated. Facing liquidation themselves, the owners of the L.I.D.C. in turn sold that ownership to the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation in the early 1950s.

In the mid-twentieth century, the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation underwent another change of ownership when a group of Lowell investors acquired the corporation with a group of other assets that included – among other companies – Boott Hydropower. As one of the oldest existing corporations in Massachusetts, the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation still exists, selling water and still maintaining the Pawtucket Canal.

From the time of their creation and active use by the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation to their physical relocation to Lowell National Historical Park's collections area, the records of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation remained with the corporation at their offices. The records were purchased by the park and portions of the collection were physically transferred to Lowell National Historical Park on two occasions, in 1989 and in 1997. In 1998, the curator at Lowell National Historical Park applied for and received funding from the Backlog Cataloging Program to catalog a portion of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation Records. The funds were obligated to a cooperative agreement between the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and the Northeast Museum Services Center so that the work would be carried out by SPNEA catalogers. During the last year, staff of the Northeast Museum Services Center have processed and cataloged a portion of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation Records. Their work has been funded by the appropriated Backlog Cataloging Program funds, as well as by park funds which provided for supplies, transportation of the collection to Boston for processing, and staff time.

The cataloging project began in the summer of 1999, when two series within the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation Records were identified for processing. The Directors' Records and the General Files (files maintained by the corporation's administration for the purposes of reference and record-keeping) were brought to the Charlestown, Massachusetts, headquarters of the Northeast Museum Services Center for processing. Other series in the collection still to be processed include drawings and plans (index available), photographs, flowage records, deeds, and notebooks. The catalogers conducted a survey of the collection in order to document the existing conditions and to develop a plan for how to process the papers. The remainder of this article describes the content of Series I Directors' Records and Series II. General Files, as well as how the series were processed and cataloged by the Northeast Museum Services Center staff.

The first series is a collection of minutes of the meetings held by the corporation. The initial four volumes in this series ("Directors' Records," 1813-1877) are original manuscript bound volumes. The following 7 volumes ("Locks & Canals Directors' Records," 1792-1941) are also bound volumes, although these are typed transcriptions of minutes from the meetings of the Directors and, starting in 1921, the Executive Committee of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation. Finally, there is one volume of minutes from the annual and special meetings of the corporation, 1876-1940. The records were rehoused in acid-free containers.

The second series is a collection of subject files maintained by the corporation's administration. These files were used by the corporation for reference and record-keeping. Within these files, subject strengths include the administrative organization of the corporation, design and research of various aspects of hydropower technology, waterway and meteorological data for the New England region, commercial and industrial history of Lowell and the broader textile industries, and, to a lesser degree, the professional careers of some of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation' more significant characters.

The General Files were maintained in numerical order according to a number system devised by the corporation, a system which was preserved in processing. Documentation of this order exists in numerous indexes within the collection. A database index of the General Files was created by park staff from some of the historical indexes and proved useful for arrangement purposes. Folder title names followed the file names set forth in that database. The General Files numerical order is based on, primarily, a four-digit number and title (file "1027 Engineering Instruments, 1895-1947", for example) expanded variously by decimals (file "1006.1 Nashua Yard, 1947-1955"), letters (file "1004-D Newmarket Mfg. Co., 1933-1954") and combinations thereof (file "1012.04B Merrymeeting Lake Dam Construction, 1921-1924"). While the numbering convention employed by the corporation is of logical construction, it does not always functionally perform as such. Subjects are often grouped near one another, but - given the complex administrative workings of the corporation's holdings - there are occasional overlaps and breaches. Additionally, some of the file numbers listed in the corporation's indexes are known to be absent, either files created and no longer existing, or file numbers created as "space holders" but never utilized. (Appendix B of the finding aid is a list of missing files.) Conversely, some items exist in the collection that are nowhere in the indexes. These instances are rare and, when encountered in processing, a folder title was created based on the file's contents and bracketed to indicate an artificial title created in processing.

The General Files routinely used by the corporation's administrative offices were stored in folders and post-bound volumes during their active use, and bound into volumes for storage in the library once they became less used. In processing, the bound volumes of General Files were re-integrated with the folders and post-bound volumes. The records were rehoused in acid-free containers and photocopies of the original containers were made onto acid-free paper and placed at the front of the new folders to preserve any data on them.

Items of particular interest to researchers include:

• information regarding the Lowell Industrial Development Company (L.I.D.C.) (boxes 17-20)
• individual letters from Uriah Boyden to Kirk Boott (1836), to James B. Francis and to P. T. Jackson (both 1840) (box 34, folder 1)
• information about land acquired or owned by the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation (box 52, folders 5 and 6)
• the history of water wheels and engineers (box 52, folders 8 and 9)
• draft and illustrations for The American Mixed Flow Turbine and Its Setting (1922) (box 53, folders 2-4)
• materials on Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation dealings with the City of Lowell (boxes 64-66)
• information regarding the contents and disposition of materials in the PLC library (box 66, folder 6)
• information on floods affecting the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation (boxes 68 and 69)
• a 1921 inventory of materials belonging to the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation, including mill equipment and office supplies (box 90, folder 2)
• a group of files dealing largely but not exclusively with financial matters is notable for its relatively large mass (taxes, boxes 77-79; insurance, box 80; reports to the treasurer of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation, boxes 81-83; tax list statements to assessors, boxes 83-85; and real estate, boxes 85-88)

The Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation General Files also contain a number of photographs. Many of these photographs were taken by the company for its own record-keeping and research, prints of which were often glued to paper and placed in post-bound folders. Any photographs found while processing (whether company-generated or not) were placed in mylar sleeves and acid-free envelopes. Descriptive indexes to these photographs exist within the General Files. There is some duplication of photographs within the collection; additionally, prints of many of these can be found in other portions of the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation collection held at Lowell National Historical Park, as well as at the Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation collection held at UMASS-Lowell's Center for Lowell History.

Any oversize material (larger than the 8½" x 14" folders) was removed to more appropriately-sized containers, either 23" x 30" print folders, 36"x 48" map folders or rolled storage boxes. All of the oversize items are intellectually associated with the letter- and legal-size materials but are too large to be stored in standard legal-size folders and boxes. Separation sheets, which describe the item and indicate both the original and subsequent locations, were left in the original location as well as with the oversize item in its new location. Oversize materials are stored in three small flat boxes, 39 large print boxes, 25 map folders and two rolled storage boxes.

On behalf of Jalien Hollister and myself, I would like to express our gratitude toward the staff of the Lowell National Historical Park for their assistance in carrying out this work. In particular, thanks must go to Museum Specialist Dan Walsh. Additionally, many staff at the Northeast Museum Services Center were of vital help in either the technical or intellectual ordering of these portions of the collection. Special appreciation goes to Duncan Hay, Liz Banks, Michelle Ortwein and Melissa Underhill for their guidance and supervision.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the site's archival collections, please contact Lowell National Historical Park at (508) 970-5000, or check out their website at http://www.nhp.gov/lowe. If you would like more information about the cataloging program in the Northeast Region, please call the Northeast Museum Services Center at (617) 242-5613 and request Michelle Ortwein, extension 18.

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Beginning in January 1999, the Northeast Museum Services Center (NMSC) duty stationed Museum Specialist Giles Parker in Richmond, VA, through a flexible workplace arrangement to provide technical assistance for the southern portion of the Northeast Region. The project-funded position was foreseen by the NMSC as a new approach in a continued effort to provide timely and cost effective assistance to the region.

During FY1999 and the beginning of FY2000, the experiment was a success with Mr. Parker providing assistance to several southern parks while continuing to support the entire region. The following parks were able to utilize Mr. Parker for officially funded projects:

• Richmond National Battlefield Park: to recatalog the entire museum collection with funds from the Cultural Resources Preservation Program
• Gettysburg National Military Park: to rehouse the paper-based museum collections with park base funds

In addition, general technical assistance on a limited basis was provided to:

• Colonial National Historic Site: to move museum collections
• George Washington Birthplace National Monument: to prepare a preliminary Collection Storage Plan with Museum Collections Preservation Program funds.

Upcoming projects for Mr. Parker include:

• Hampton National Historic Site: to create an environmental assessment with Museum Collections Preservation Program funds
• Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Site: to participate in a Collection Management Plan
• George Washington Birthplace National Monument: to prepare a Collection Storage Plan with Museum Collections Preservation Program funds
• Gettysburg National Military Park: to move the museum collection with park base funds

General technical assistance to the parks will also continue. For more information, please contact Giles Parker via cc:Mail or by calling the Northeast Museum Services Center at (617) 242-5613.

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by Elizabeth Banks

Much of the work and mission of the National Park Service and each park/center/region involves the preservation of cultural and natural resources. A direct result of this preservation work is the creation of substantial, detailed records which document research, preservation, and restoration work spanning many years. These materials are referred to as "resource management records." Park resource management records provide solid documentation of past work and support current and future management decisions. In addition, park records can shed light on situations where seemingly routine tasks require the assessment of the impact on park resources. For example, the installation of utilities must be accomplished with respect for the park’s natural and cultural resources. Just as important is the long-term management of the files created for the project. Maintenance staff, archeologists, landscape architects, architectural conservators, park planners and other staff/contractors will need to reference these records for current and future park management. If files are lost, future work may be delayed, increase in cost and/or damage park resources unnecessarily.

An ongoing difficulty in managing park records is the current NPS Records Management Guideline, NPS-19. In Appendix A, the file codes, and Appendix B, the Records Disposition Schedule, there is little guidance to assist in selecting an acceptable file code or understanding the long-term use of some records. A task force of Washington Office, park and center staff, with assistance from National Archives staff, has been working (off & on) for the past two and one half years to revise/completely overhaul NPS-19. The goal is to have a filing system that more accurately reflects how the NPS creates and uses resource management records and emphasizes what files should be there when needed.

For the routine administrative records that all federal agencies create, such as personnel and fiscal records, the new draft NPS-19 references the federal government's General Records Schedule (GRS), which is established and revised by the National Archives for all federal agencies to use in records management. There is no reason for the National Park Service to determine different retention schedules for these temporary records from what has already been established by the National Archives and from what is used by other federal agencies. Specific GRS sections are referenced throughout the new draft NPS-19. Records of temporary value must be kept for specified amounts of time (scheduled in the GRS), usually for legal and fiscal support. (Please note that the General Records Schedule does not cover research and resource management records as these are permanent records and they are specific to the NPS.)

In contrast to the decision to adopt the General Records Schedule for routine administrative records, the task force provided more detailed descriptions of the cultural and natural resource management records created by the National Park Service. The focus is now on the records directly related to the National Park Service mission (i.e., the preservation of cultural and natural resources in order to make them available for public use) and less on routine administrative records. At the same time, more guidance is provided to highlight the preservation of routine records that document resources. The emphasis has shifted from the type of record (e.g., contract, purchase order, annual report, etc.) to whether the record relates to park natural or cultural resources (e.g., records produced during the creation of a General Management Plan, photographs of storm damage, contract for reproduction of historic textile, location of utilities, etc.). The term "Records Retention Schedule" is used to emphasize the preservation of mission-related records as well as the responsible management of temporary records. This replaces the term "Records Disposition Schedule" which many interpreted as "disposal."

Another obstacle to using the current NPS-19 is the fragmentation of the guidance, with important information found in the main body of the text and separated out in Appendices A and B. If not used together, many staff chose a file code from Appendix A with no knowledge of its permanent or temporary designation listed in Appendix B. The result of this is that many important files have been destroyed because staff used a file code with a temporary retention designation (e.g., 3 months, 2 years, 7 years, etc.). Conversely, records of little value have sometimes been saved because of inaccurate filing under a permanent designated code. The new draft NPS-19 combines all information on the same page: type of records, function/significance, retention schedule, filing category (code), an explanation of what records to file in that category, as well as guidance on what not to file in that category and suggestions on alternate filing locations. Files are grouped by categories, types of projects, or subjects rather than the current selection of subject file codes. Thus records for a project will be filed together and should stay together to more accurately document how the work was accomplished, what problems were encountered, discoveries made, solutions developed and the impact on the resources.

For example, currently contract records are retained for six years and three months after final payment (the established retention schedule for contract records). This reflects the legal/fiscal value of these records only, not the long-term historical and park management value. However, many contracts document research and preservation work on park resources. A copy filed in the resource project files will receive a permanent retention designation and be available for future park management. The project file should be kept intact to accurately preserve the history of the park. The copy of the contract needed by the contracting office staff will be destroyed according to the temporary retention schedule for that copy (six years and three months after final payment).

The new draft NPS-19 Records Retention Schedule is available via e:mail if you wish to review and comment. Contact Liz Banks or Betsy Chittenden to request a copy. Let us know what you like and your suggestions for improvements. The current NPS-19 is available on the NPS web page on an NPS computer: http://www.nps./refdesk/RecMgmt.html. The new Handbook and Director’s Order 19 are also being completely rewritten, currently in rough draft and available for review via email. All of these draft documents must be extensively reviewed by the National Archives staff prior to final approval by the Archivist of the United States. Only after that is complete will a new NPS-19 be ready for use.

For older park files, a different NPS file code system was used before 1953 or 1954. This was a Dewey Decimal subject classification system using numbers only. A copy of the older file system is available by contacting the Northeast Museum Services Center at (617) 242-5613. For NPS records pre-dating the early 1950s, this is the framework for their original order. Maintaining files in their original order preserves their integrity and supports an understanding of the history of the park/office from the perspective of the staff who made those earlier decisions. Obtaining the older list will assist in the effort to maintain files in their original order.

For more information please contact Elizabeth Banks at the Northeast Museum Services Center (617) 242-5613 extension 14 or at liz_banks@nps.gov.

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Don't forget that January is the deadline for submission of catalog records to the National Catalog. Please refer to the Automated National Catalog System Plus User manual for instructions. In addition, please contact staff at the Northeast Museum Services Center, (617) 242-5613 for assistance.

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The Northeast Museum Services Center is pleased to announce the upcoming "Management of NPS Museum Collections: Policy and Documentation" course to be held April 10-14, 2000. The course is for museum technicians, archives staff, curators, and anyone else who is responsible for the accessioning, cataloging, and management of museum collections. The course is the equivalent of the first week of the old Curatorial Methods training course which used to be held at the Mather Training Center in Harpers Ferry, WV. Topics to be discussed include scope of collections; accessioning; handling objects; cataloging history, archives, archeology, and natural history; the Automated National Catalog System Plus; the Collection Management Report; and inventorying. Please keep an eye out for the course announcement. Contact Diane Godwin at the Northeast Museum Services Center, (617) 242-5613 x35 for more information.

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Many staff changes occurred in the Northeast Region since the last publication of the MSQ in December 1997. Here are the personnel changes since December 1997, as far as we can recollect:

• EDIS: Roger Durham is the supervisory museum curator at Edison National Historic Site and Joan Harris (formerly of Statue of Liberty National Monument and Manhattan Sites) is the collections manager.

• FRLA: T. Michele Clark (formerly of Longfellow National Historic Site) is the archives specialist at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.

• LONG: Janice Hodson is the curator at Longfellow National Historic Site and Anita Israel is the archives specialist (both formerly of the Northeast Museum Services Center).

• MAVA: Patricia (Patty) West is the curator at Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.

• MORR: David Vecchioli is the archivist at Morristown National Historical Park.

• NMSC:

• ROVA: Frank Futral is a museum curator at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites.

• SAGA: Henry Duffy is the curator at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site. Martha Knapp is now museum technician.

• SAHI: Victoria T. Kalemaris is a museum aid at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.

• SARA: Rebecca (Becky) Hammell is the curator at Saratoga National Historical Park.

• STEA: Patrick (Pat) McKnight (formerly of the Museum Management Program) is the historian/archivist at Steamtown National Historic Site.

• STLI: George Tselos (formerly of Edison National Historic Site) is now the archivist at Statue of Liberty National Monument.

• WEFA: Hope Kocian is the museum technician at Weir Farm National Historic Site.

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Last issue's acronym was ORCA, which stands for Oregan Caves National Monument. ORCA, located in -- you guessed it -- Oregan, consists of 487 acres of cave passages and formations created over many thousands of years from marble bedrock. The site was transferred to the National Park Service from the U.S. Forest Service in 1933.

By the way, did anyone notice that we accidentally repeated ORCA, which previously appeared as a "guess the acronym" in November 1993? It is understandable if no one noticed -- 1993 is so long ago it seems like it was almost a century ago, or maybe even a millenium ago.

What is the purpose of the "guess the acronym" column, the reader may ask. It all started with the very first issue of the MSQ when we realized that an acronym within the newsletter seemed unintelligible because the acronym was for a park outside of the region. The idea is that we present an acronym for a park outside of the Northeast Region so we can familiarize ourselves with parks in other regions.

This issue's acronym:

ABLI

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The Museum Services Quarterly is a newsletter and project status report distributed four times a year by the Northeast Museum Services Center, in January, April, July, and October. The MSQ is looking for: Articles or Article Ideas, Park News, Staff News, Web News, and/or Questions and Comments. If you have any or all of the above, please contact Diane Godwin via cc:Mail at Godwin, Diane. Or by mail to:

National Park Service, Northeast Museum Services Center, Charlestown Navy Yard, Bldg. I, Charlestown, MA 02129-4543, Phone: (617) 242-5613, Fax: (617) 242-1833. Also, please visit our web site within the Boston Support Office website: <http://www.nps.gov/boso/Stewardship.htm>.

Please submit all articles for the April newsletter by March 10, 2000.

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This project status report documents which were funded in FY 1999 and FY 2000 (pending approval). Cultural resources management projects are funded out of base funds and by three additional fund sources: 1) Backlog Cataloging Program, 2) Museum Collection Preservation and Protection Program (MCPP), and 3) Cultural Resources Preservation Program (CRPP). All projects funded out of the Backlog Cataloging Program and the Museum Collection Preservation and Protection Program (MCPP) are listed; however, only those Cultural Resources Preservation Program projects carried out and/or coordinated by the Northeast Museum Services Center are included. A list of all the cultural resource management projects funded with FY 2000 Backlog Cataloging, CRPP, and MCPP funds is provided in Vol. 6, No. 1 of the Museum Services Quarterly.

For information on specific projects, please contact the individual listed under each project. For general information on the Backlog Cataloging Program and the Museum Collection Preservation and Protection Program, contact Duncan Hay (Acting Director, Northeast Museum Services Center) or Gay Vietzke (Senior Curator, Northeast Museum Services Center) via cc:Mail or at (617) 242-5613. Contact Bonnie Halda (CRPP fund coordinator) at (215) 597-5028 regarding the Cultural Resources Preservation Program.

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• Catalog photographs (5,000 items).

• Install fire suppression system for collections storage building, Phase 1 of 2.

• Install fire suppression system for collections storage building, Phase 2 of 2.

• Move Proctor Collection from the University of Massachusetts to Acadia National Park.

• Rehouse museum collection.

• Catalog history objects in Old House (5,000 items).

• Conserve historic books.

• Prepare Historic Furnishing Reports/Interpretive Exhibition Plan for the birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

• Purchase museum storage equipment.

• Catalog archeology from 1962 dig, FY 1999 phase (6,400 items).

• Catalog archeology from 1962 dig, FY 2000 phase (6,400 items).

• Prepare a Collections Management Plan.

• Automate manual museum records (approx. 3,000 catalog cards).

• Catalog architectural drawings (Boston Naval Shipyard), FY 1999 phase (4,500 items).

• Catalog architectural drawings (Boston Naval Shipyard), FY 2000 phase (4,615 items).

• Catalog architectural drawings (USS Cassin Young) (4,500 items).

• Catalog archives (Department of Defense/Defense Property Disposal Office Records), FY 1999 phase (35.0 lf or approx. 56,000 items).

• Catalog archives (Department of Defense/Defense Property Disposal Office Records), FY 2000 phase (34.2 lf or approx. 55,200 items).

• Catalog archives (Department of Defense/Boston Naval Shipyard/Public Works Department Records), FY 1999 phase (42.0 lf or approx. 67,200 items).

• Catalog archives (Department of Defense/Boston Naval Shipyard/Public Works Department Records), FY 2000 phase (42.0 lf or approx. 67,200 items).

• Catalog history objects (1,000 items).

• Conserve architectural drawings.

• Implement exhibit at Old South Meeting House.

• Improve collections storage area by blocking skylights.

• Produce Historic Resource Study for Charlestown Navy Yard.

• Purchase and install dust covers.

• Conduct a two-week site visit to provide technical assistance to rehouse architectural drawings.

• Conduct a two-week site visit to provide technical assistance to rehouse collection.

• Rehouse museum collection.

• Survey the condition of the Washington dining tent.

• Develop design plan for the Washington dining tent.

• Catalog archeology at New Jersey State Museum (32,000 items).

• Upgrade museum storage facility, FY 1999 phase.

• Upgrade museum storage facility, FY 2000 phase.

• Catalog archives, FY 1999 phase (62.5 lf or approx. 1000,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 2000 phase (62.5 lf or approx. 100,000 items).

• Catalog Edison library, FY 1999 phase (7,500 items).

• Catalog Edison library, FY 2000 phase (7,500 items).

• Catalog history objects, FY 1999 phase (1,000 items).

• Catalog history objects, FY 2000 phase (1,000 items).

• Catalog sound recordings, FY 1999 phase (5,000 items).

• Catalog sound recordings, FY 2000 phase (5,000 items).

• Design security system for laboratory, FY 1999 phase.

• Design security system for laboratory, FY 2000 phase.

• Preserve and make available sound recordings.

• Catalog history objects (2,000 items).

• Prepare Collection Condition Survey.

• Prepare a Historic Furnishings Plan for the show barn.

• Prepare a Collection Condition Survey.

• Catalog objects (2,200 history objects; 1,800 natural history specimens).

• Catalog archives, FY 1998 phase (37.5 lf or approx. 60,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 1999 phase (37.5 lf or approx. 60,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 2000 (37.5 lf or approx. 60,000 items).

• Enter data into the Automated National Catalog System Plus.

• Preserve archives.

• Rehouse Olmsted archives, FY 1999 phase (10,000 plans and drawings and 31.25 or approx. 50,000 associated documents).

• Rehouse Olmsted archives, FY 2000 phase (10,000 plans and drawings and 31.25 or approx. 50,000 associated documents).

• Upgrade HVAC system in vault.

• Upgrade museum storage/reference/research space.

• Catalog oversize archival documents (2,500 items).

• Carry out fire suppression Title II.

• Catalog archives (13.0 lf or approx. 20,800 items).

• Prepare a Collection Storage Plan.

• Catalog archives, FY 1997 phase (23.9 lf or approx. 38,250 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 1998 phase (16.5 lf or approx. 26,332 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 1999 phase(37.5 lf or approx. 60,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 2000 phase (65.6 lf or approx. 105,000 items).

• Catalog archeology, FY 1999 phase (Brian Farm archeology) (4,200 items).

• Catalog archeology, FY 2000 phase (8,800 items).

• Prepare a Collection Condition Survey for bound manuscripts and pamphlets.

• Rehouse archival collection.

• Rehouse collections.

• Survey and identify diacetat and nitrate negatives.

• Catalog archeology, FY 1999 phase (15,000 items).

• Catalog archeology, FY 2000 phase (15,000 items).

• Conduct a climate control study for the mansion, FY 1999 phase.

• Conduct a climate control study for the mansion, FY 2000 phase.

• Design a fire suppression system for the mansion, FY 1999 phase.

• Design a fire suppression system for the mansion, FY 2000 phase.

• Prepare a Collection Condition Survey for textiles.

• Purchase museum storage equipment

• Upgrade the intrusion detection system for storage.

• Catalog archeological archives (10.0 lf or approx. 16,000 items).

• Conduct a two-week site visit to provide technical assistance to rehouse collections.

• Catalog archives and objects, FY 1997 phase (4,000 objects and archival items).

• Catalog archives and objects, FY 1998 phase ( 4,250 objects and archival items).

• Catalog archeology (20,000 items).

• Catalog archives (Independence Hall Records) (39.4 lf or approx. 63,000 items).

• Prepare a Collection Condition Survey for the Bishop White and Todd house furniture.

• Prepare a Collection Management Plan.

• Prepare a Historic Resource Study.

• Prepare a Historic Resource Study.

• Catalog archives, FY 1998 phase (14.4 lf or approx. 23,026 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 1999 phase (28.8 lf or approx. 46,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 2000 phase (28.8 lf or approx. 46,000 items).

• Catalog photographs (10,000 items).

• Catalog archives (Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation Records) (100.0 lf or approx. 160,000 items).

• Catalog photographs (Proprietors of Locks & Canals Corporation collection) (3,000 items).

• Upgrade the security and fire protection systems for the Boott Cotton Mills.

• Catalog objects and archives (45,396 objects and archival items).

• Prepare Collection Condition Survey.

• Prepare a Historic Furnishings Report.

• Catalog archives (General Grant National Memorial Records), FY 1998 phase (12.5 lf or approx. 20,000 items).

• Catalog archives (General Grant National Memorial Records), FY 2000 phase (23.5 lf or approx. 37,600 items).

• Catalog history objects, FY 1999 phase (approx. 1,056 items).

• Install ultraviolet window filters in the mansion, Belvedere, and Bungalow.

• Inventory and catalog history objects, FY 1997 phase (approx. 6,000 items).

• Prepare a Special History Study.

• Rehouse textiles/costumes.

• Catalog archeology, FY 1999 phase (20,000 items).

• Catalog archeology, FY 2000 phase (20,000 items).

• Design/install a fire suppression system for Job Brooks.

• Install fire suppression/detection system in Wayside.

• Revise/update the Collection Management Plan.

• Catalog objects and archives (200 objects at Antietam National Battlefield, 290 objects at Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, 100 objects and 1,120 archival items at Ford’s Theater National Historic Site, 300 objects at Monocacy National Battlefield, and 190 objects at Prince William Forest Park).

• Prepare a Collection Management Plan.

• Create conservation surveys of archeological collections at Jamestown National Historic Site, Yorktown National Historic Site, and Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.

• Provide conservation technical assistance.

• Catalog into the CRBIB( Cultural Resources Bibliography), FY 1998 phase (the Cultural Resources Management Studies Collection at the Northeast Museum Services Center and the Philadelphia Support Office).

• Catalog into the CRBIB( Cultural Resources Bibliography), FY 1999 phase (the Cultural Resources Management Studies Collection at the Valley Forge Archeology Center).

• Catalog into the CRBIB (Cultural Resources Bibliography), FY 2000 phase (the Cultural Resources Management Studies Collections for Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, at the Northeast Cultural Resources Center, and at the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation).

• Provide technical assistance to Northeast Region parks in FY 2000.

• Improve management of OCLP records.

• Complete Richmond NBP and Maggie L. Walker NHS cataloging.

• Catalog archives (33.0 lf or approx. 20,800 items).

• Construct museum storage facility.

• Purchase museum equipment.

• Catalog archives (3,500 maps and architectural drawings).

• Construct collection storage facility, FY 1999 phase.

• Construct collection storage facility, FY 2000 phase.

• Prepare a Historic Furnishing Plan.

• Catalog archives, FY 1998 phase (27.5 lf or approx. 44,000 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 1999 phase (25.5 lf or approx. 40,750 items).

• Catalog archives, FY 2000 phase (25.0 lf or approx. 40,000 items).

• Expand curatorial/archival storage.

• Prepare a Historic Furnishings Report and exhibit plan for Rapidan Camp.

• Prepare a Historic Furnishings Report for Massanutten Lodge.

• Catalog photographs, FY 1997 phase (7,000 items).

• Catalog photographs, FY 1998 phase (7,000 items).

• Catalog photographs, FY 2000 phase ,000 items).

• Purchase museum storage equipment.

• Catalog archives (38.5 lf or approx. 61,600 items).

• Catalog archives (Statue of Liberty archives) (40.0 lf or approx. 64,000 items).

• Catalog Liberty Island prehistoric archeology, FY 1999 phase (1,000 items).

• Catalog Liberty Island prehistoric archeology, FY 2000 phase (1,000 items).

• Organize and rehouse resource management photos.

• Prepare training video "Disaster Preparedness for Museum Collections."

• Hold training on IPM (Integrated Pest Management).

• Hold training on "Management of NPS Museum Collections: Policy and Documentation." Collections."

• Catalog objects and archives (approx. 3,500 items).

• Prepare Collection Condition Survey for Zane Grey Collection.

• Prepare Special History Study/Interpretation Plan for Zane Grey House.

• Catalog archives (8.8 lf or approx. 14,000 items).

• Prepare a Collection Management Plan.

• Prepare a General Management Plan.

• Catalog oral history collection (92 items).

• Catalog Roosevelt Vanderbilt National Historic Sites photographs (8,000 items).

• Prepare Historic Resource Study for Vanderbilt Mansion.

• Purchase museum storage equipment.

• Prepare a Historic Resource Study.

• Assess historic furnished interiors, FY 1999 phase.

• Assess historic furnished interiors, FY 2000 phase.

• Prepare historic interior guidelines and guidelines for significance of park collections.

Elizabeth Banks, Archivist

ext. 14/cc:Mail: banks, liz

Cary Donahue, SPNEA Cataloger

ext. 10/cc:Mail: donahue, cary

Diane Godwin, Archivist

ext. 35/cc:Mail: godwin, diane

Duncan Hay, Senior Curator/Acting Director

ext. 17/cc: Mail: hay, duncan

Jalien Hollister, SPNEA Cataloger

ext. 20/cc:Mail: hollister, jalien

Patrick Jennings, Museum Specialist

ext. 21/cc:Mail: jennings, patrick

Mark Kelly, SPNEA Cataloger

ext. 10/cc:Mail: kelly, mark

Jennifer Lyons, SPNEA Lead Cataloger

ext. 36/cc:Mail: lyons, jennifer

Lauren Malcolm, SPNEA Cataloger

ext. 37/cc:Mail: malcolm, lauren

Darby Moore, Lead Museum Technician

ext. 19/cc:Mail: moore, darby

Tara O’Connor, SPNEA Cataloger

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The mission of the Northeast Museum Services Center is to support and strengthen park management and programs that preserve and protect natural and cultural resource collections in national parks and that make those collections accessible for research, education, and public enjoyment.