NHPRC Regrant Progress Report July 2005 - December 2005

NHPRC Circuit Rider Archivist Regrant Grant No. 2005-016
Grant Period January 2005 - September 2007
Interim Narrative Report for July - December 2005

Background

The Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB) sought and obtained a $125,624 grant from NHPRC to:

• Provide the services of an on-site professional archivist and regrants to Georgia repositories and local governments to improve their archival programs.
• Demonstrate how the services of a traveling professional archivist can benefit small repositories and local governments thus making grant programs more effective.
• Stimulate the development of a master's level program to educate professional archivists.

Due to a delay in hiring the Circuit Rider Archivist, GHRAB sought and obtained a grant extension from NHPRC to September 30, 2007.

Circuit Rider Archivist Activities

The Circuit Rider Archivist, Randall Gooden, began work on July 1, 2005. Following a week of orientation with staff of the Georgia Archives on issues of policy, government records retention and disposal, preservation, and Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board programs, Gooden contacted Circuit Rider Grant recipients by e-mail or letter and set preliminary weeks within which his visits would be made. Specific dates and times would be set approximately four weeks in advance of the visits.

During the month of July, Gooden, along with preservation manager Christine Wiseman, assisted assistant director for public services Anne Smith in revising two tools which would be used by the Circuit Rider Archivist. These included the resource manual "Preferred Practices for Historical Repositories" and a survey, "Self-Assessment for Historical Repositories". A survey for local governments also was prepared by staff of the Georgia Archives State and Local Government Services.

Circuit Rider visits began in August 2005. Common elements of each visit included an interview with the applicant about policies which were in place, current archival or records management practices, disaster preparedness, and specific topics of interest indicated by the organization's Circuit Rider Archivist Consultation Grant Application. The Circuit Rider Archivist also toured the facility in order to make a general assessment of storage facilities and preservation, arrangement and description practices, and the host's level of understanding of archival standards. These tours provided opportunities for questions and comment from both the host and the Circuit Rider Archivist.

The archivist acquainted organizations with resources available on the Internet dealing with preservation and conservation, disaster preparedness, records management, archival supplies, and microfilming as needed by each organization and suggested other agencies and organizations which might be of help to the applicant. At the end of each visit, Gooden made preliminary, verbal recommendations, including, where appropriate, guidance toward possible funding sources, that provided general assistance beyond the issues that had been presented in the organization's application.

Each set of recommendations was tailored to the level of knowledge, manpower, and budget of the organization. Gooden followed the visits with final, written reports, which were reviewed by the director of the Georgia Archives, the deputy director, the assistant director for Records and Information Management Services, the state and local government services manager, the assistant director for public services, the deputy coordinator of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board, and the preservation manager before release.

It often was found that organizations had not had a true grasp of their needs when they had applied for Circuit Rider Archivist visits, but during the visits, they revised their goals, based upon guidance from the archivist and a realization of their actual needs. During several visits, the Circuit Rider Archivist was introduced to other historical agencies or government officers besides the applicants and was able to render assistance to them as well.

Visits with historical repositories specifically included discussions of elements in "Preferred Practices for Historical Repositories". The Circuit Rider Archivist gauged whether each organization was in a position to continue work beyond policy-setting and the depth to which professional practices could be applied, given the organization's resources. These organizations were steered toward support groups which could assist in other aspects of their operations. For instance, many organizations with historical repositories also operated museums, and the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries was suggested as a resource. Other organizations needed assistance with programming, and the Georgia Humanities Council was suggested as a resource.

In the case of local governments, the Circuit Rider Archivist assessed whether they had adopted a records management plan under Georgia law and were adhering to established records retention schedules. If courts were involved, Gooden ascertained whether they were using retention schedules set by the Georgia Supreme Court's Administrative Office of the Courts. In each case, he encouraged the adoption of management plans where none existed and the use of retention schedules as a means of freeing space for vital records and of relieving demands for preserving and accessing obsolete records. The Circuit Rider Archivist provided information from the Georgia Archives related to local government records management.

The Circuit Rider Archivist completed 46 visits to applicant organizations between August 1 and December 31, 2005. Visits outside the local Atlanta area were curtailed in September as part of the efforts by the state government to conserve fuel in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Visits included 15 local historical societies, nine court systems, seven county governments, five local history museums, three public library systems, three city governments, two school systems, one college library, and one state agency facility. One of these visits was a joint application from a local historical society and county government. Another was a joint application by a superior court and probate court. A visit to the City of Savannah, which was originally scheduled, was made by the assistant director of the Records and Information Management Service, Andrew Taylor, in lieu of the Circuit Rider Archivist. In turn, Gooden accompanied Taylor on an unscheduled visit to the Columbus Consolidated Government's records center. Gooden also paid a courtesy call on the Clayton State University Archives, which had applied for a visit but had not been awarded one by GHRAB.

Gooden conducted visits with an eye on whether organizations could benefit from Historical Records Project Grants from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. In 32 cases, he was able to suggest possible grant projects to organizations which he visited. In other cases, Gooden offered supplemental funding up to $250 from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board to organizations which had a need for archival preservation and storage materials. The possibility of $400 in supplemental funds existed with approval from the director of the Georgia Archives and chair of the GHRAB.

In other work, Gooden made a report to the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board in October. He also met monthly with the director of the Georgia Archives, David Carmicheal. He also successfully proposed a panel discussion on the Circuit Rider Archivist program to be held at the joint meeting of the Council of State Archivists/National Association of Government Archivists and Records Administrators/Society of American Archivists in 2006. Participants in the discussion will be Gooden, Elizabeth Barr, assistant coordinator of the GHRAB, Judge Stiles Estes of the Meriwether County Probate Court, Louise Garrett, clerk of the Meriwether County Superior Court, and Charles Arp, member of the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board and records manager for the Battelle Institute. About 95 percent of Gooden's time was spent on Circuit Rider Archivist activities from July 1 to December 31, 2005.

Historical Records Project Grants / CRA Regrants

The next grant cycle for Historical Records Project Grants will be held March 2006 in conjunction with the NHPRC CRA Regrant. The grant application deadline was moved from September 1, 2005, to March 1, 2006, due to the delay in hiring the CRA. The new deadline was publicized by email announcements to statewide professional associations in June and October 2005 and through informational flyers distributed at the SGA Annual Meeting and the Georgia Records Association Fall Conference. Another email announcement will be sent out in January 2006.

These announcements were important not only because of the change in application deadline but also to announce that digitization projects would not be eligible this grant cycle. A large number of Georgia organizations are interested in digitization. Both the CRA and Archives staff have encouraged local organizations to review other aspects of their program that might be strengthened through activities such as records inventory, processing collections, developing policies and procedures, etc.

In order to apply for a Historical Records Project Grant, organizations were required to request and receive a site visit by either the CRA or Archives staff. In September 2005, this requirement was waived after the Governor's Office issued a restriction on all "unnecessary travel" due to fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Katrina. The State Archivist deemed that all of the CRA visits and several staff visits were "necessary" to continue the regrant project. When reviewing grant applications, GHRAB will take into consideration that some applicants will not have had the benefit of a site visit.

All prospective grant applicants have been encouraged to submit a draft application by the deadline of February 15, 2006, in order to receive feedback and advice on how to strengthen their proposal.

Clayton State University Activities

About five percent of the Circuit Rider Archivist's time during this reporting period was devoted to work at Clayton State University. In mid-August, Gooden spent a week in faculty orientation. He also met with Dr. Gene Hatfield, chair of the Department of Social Sciences, to discuss plans to begin drafting a proposal for a master's degree program in archival studies at Clayton State. Gooden has conducted preliminary research on such a program, including review of Society of American Archivists guidelines for graduate programs in archival studies and the gathering of background information about other archival studies programs across the nation.

Gooden further made plans and arrangements for teaching the course Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice in the spring 2006 semester. This included selection of course readings, writing a syllabus, and coordinating with the university library on reserve readings and other resource material. Gooden initiated communication with enrollees in the course.

Gooden fostered contacts with the Clayton State University community through participation in meetings and events of the university and School of Arts and Sciences and Department of Social Sciences.

In September, Gooden submitted a proposal for presentation of a paper, entitled "Moonshine, Mercy and Murder in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia: A Case Study of the Relationship between Archivists and Researchers," at the Appalachian Studies Conference in March 2006. The paper was accepted as part of the program.

Budget

Below is a summary of project costs during the calendar year 2005.

Salaries and Fringe Benefits

GHRAB and CSU jointly covered the salary for the Circuit Rider Archivist - GHRAB paid $46,000 as salary as in-kind match and Clayton State paid $10,000 as salary and $16,800 as fringe benefits as cash match. GHRAB and Clayton State paid out these amounts in a single lump sum in January 2005 in order to commit these funds and to set up the salary as part of the Clayton State University payroll system. The salary will actually cover the period of July 2005 through June 2006. The Georgia Archives and Clayton State staff contributed $27,612 as in-kind staff time on the project.

Travel Costs

The Circuit Rider's travel expenses were paid as follows: grant funds covered meals and the cost of using the Department of Administrative Services Motor Pool; cash match covered meals and lodging; in-kind match covered use of the Archives car or van when they were available for the circuit rider's use.

Travel costs were significantly less than projected for two reasons: 1) they covered six months of travel rather than twelve months and 2) lodging needs for overnight visits were over-estimated. The archivist was able to visit several organizations in a region with only one or two overnight stays. This will result in a total of approximately $1,000 contributed by local organizations as cash match for lodging over the two-year grant period rather than the projected $8,800. GHRAB plans to make up some of this shortfall in cash match by including the local organizations' cash match on regrant projects next year; this match was not included in the original budget.

The archivist did encounter some reluctance from local organizations when they were asked to cover lodging expenses. However, they ended up paying these expenses when they were necessary for the Circuit Rider visit.

Supplies and Services

Actual supply costs were much lower than expected and the only supplies purchased were several Georgia maps for $63. The project incurred no printing or postage costs because the program announcements and grant forms were handled electronically via the GHRAB website. The telephone usage was $325 rather than the projected $650 because it represented six months rather than twelve months.

Other Costs

The project incurred no costs for grants because the grant cycle was moved from September 2005 to March 2006.

Activities for the Next Six Months

During the next six months, grant activities will include:

• Complete the remaining ten circuit rider archivist visits.
• Review and approve Historical Records Project Grant applications. (This will include providing assistance to CRA organizations in the application process, if needed, as well as providing feedback on all draft applications.)
• Review and approve requests for archival supply grants.
• Schedule follow up evaluation visits to local organizations.
• Teach the course Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice at Clayton State.
• Begin drafting a proposal for a master's degree program in archival studies at Clayton State.