As the flowers are peeking through the ground and the robins are bopping around the North Country,
it’s time to mark those calendars for another annual rite of the season. The three spring regional
roundtables hosted by the Northern New York Library Network will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2009.
The Clinton-Essex Counties Roundtable will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Northern New York
American Canadian Genealogy Society, Keeseville Civic Center, 1802 Main St., Keeseville. The topic will be "Community
Scholars Training: Interviewing & Oral History" and will be presented by Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY)
Executive Director Jill Breit.
Ms. Breit will share examples of successful oral history projects and demonstrate the many ways interviews can be
used for different outcomes. She will focus on how to organize an oral history project, the basics of an oral history
interview, the importance of field notes and follow-up interviews, recorders and other equipment for collecting oral
history. There will be a tour of NNY American Canadian Genealogy Society Library and the Anderson Falls Heritage
Society. Lunch will be provided at a cost of $5.00, payable at the roundtable.
The Franklin-St. Lawrence Counties Roundtable will be held from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Potsdam Public
Museum, Park Street, Potsdam. The topic will be "Solicitation, Care & Handling of Donated Records."
The discussion will focus on how to acquire historical documents and what type of work on them is appropriate: in-
house versus what should be sent out for professional restoration. Examples of how to store and encapsulate historical
records will be shown. Participants are asked to bring questions and ideas. There will be a tour of the Potsdam
Museum, and lunch is on your own.
The Jefferson-Lewis-Oswego Counties Roundtable will be held from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Town of
Champion Municipal building, 10 North St., West Carthage. The topic will be "Historical Documents: How to Locate Them
in Your Community, Cataloging, Storage and Access."
Take part in an exchange on historical documents, how to locate them, the need for preservation for future
generations, what to do with them once donated, and providing access for research. Participants are asked to bring
samples of deeds of gifts and accession paperwork to share and discuss. Lunch is on your own.
The Roundtables are provide free of charge to the public on behalf of the NNY Library Network and Documentary
Heritage Program. To register for a Roundtable contact the NNYLN or sign up
on-line.
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The Northern New York Library Network and Documentary Heritage Program continue to provide free on-site
consultations to libraries and archival institutions.
During the site visit a qualified consultant goes through a collection or department of interest to the repository,
writes a report, and then reviews the recommendations with the institution’s personnel. These are only suggested
modifications, and not subject to mandated follow-up. No institution is too large or small to participate in the on-
site program.
A follow-up site visit was made to the Constable Hall Association in Constableville on July 30, 2008. The initial
review was conducted in 2005.
The consultant recommended the Association create a Collections Committee; review its current forms, and create a
temporary loan agreement form; consider storage options for its collection; use acid-free materials; and look into
using PastPerfect for its object collection.
A site visit was made to the Norfolk Town Historical Museum on August 26, 2008.
The consultant suggested a long-range plan be written; the Museum’s website should state that finding aids to the
collection exist; volunteers should be familiar with the archival security policy and be willing to enforce it; and it
should consider participation in Archives Month (held in October each year).
A site-review was held at the Ogdensburg Public Library on November 18, 2008.
It was recommended by the consultant that finding aids be created; items in the collection be preserved by using
acid-free materials, and photocopying any newsprint onto acid-free paper; and DHP classes should be attended whenever
possible.
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To be considered for an on-site consultation, fill out the
registration form and return it to the NNYLN.
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"Managing Your Historical Photographs" was hosted by the NNYLN in Watertown on March 16 with presenter Ray
LaFever, Coordinator of Archival Advisory Services for the NYS Archives; and in Plattsburgh on May 17, 2009
with presenter Ann Marie Przybyla, Manager of the Records Service Development unit of the NYS Archives in
Albany.
Both classes were well attended, and participants had the following to say:
- "I am just starting as an historical archivist. This is very valuable to me."
- "I was pleased to see we are doing all the right things to preserve and index out photos!"
- "These types of classes are great!"
- "Fantastic variety of marvelous information!!"
- "(I will be) less intimidated about getting to work with more preservation activities at my library."
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This image is from St. Lawrence University’s A.L. Jameson Glass Plate Negative Collection.
It is called "At the Shipyard" on the St. Lawrence River, October 8, 1898. This photo may be found
on the New York Heritage website.
The Northern New York Library Network continues to provide leadership in increasing access to research
resources through its regional digitization initiatives.
Most recently, 83 issues of Clarkson University’s "Clarksonian" yearbooks were added to the North Country Digital
History site (history.nnyln.org). The collection dates 1924/1925 to 2008. New issues will be added on an on-going
basis.
There are now over 40 newspapers consisting of more than 1,348,000 pages on the Northern New York Historical
Newspapers site (news.nnyln.net).
The "St. Lawrence Republican," 1833-1916; "St. Lawrence Gazette," 1827-1830; "Northern Light," 1831-1833; and "St.
Lawrence American," 1856-1857 are new additions to the St. Lawrence County section.
The "Cape Vincent Eagle," 1872-1951 is new to the Jefferson County listing.
"Brushton Facts and Fallacies," 1899-1954, and the "Malone Palladium," 1849-1909 have been added to the Franklin
County section.
The New York Heritage site (www.newyorkheritage.org) is also new in the research field. The site connects more than
116 digital collections from around the state, contributed by libraries, archives, museums and other cultural
institutions.
The public is able to search across all items simultaneously. This project provides free, online access to images
of cultural and historical significance in New York State.
All of these sites may be found from the NNYLN’s home page at www.nnyln.org
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The New York Archives Conference (NYAC) will host its 2009 Annual Conference at LeMoyne College in
Syracuse on June 3-5, 2009.
The conference program will include a day of workshops, a plenary speaker, a number of conference sessions of
diverse content and interest, a Thursday evening reception, Friday luncheon, and tour offerings. On-campus housing
will be available at an inexpensive price for those wishing that option.
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The Adirondack History Center Museum / Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown co-sponsored a
cemetery conservation workshop with the Adirondack Architectural Heritage this past fall.
History Center Archivist/Curator Jenifer Kuba took some photos of the event at the Elizabethtown Riverside
Cemetery.
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