Basics of Encoded Archival Description Tuesday, February 21, 2023 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Free to LILRC and ESLN members, students, retired and unemployed members; $10 for non-members What is Encoded Archival Description and how does it pertain to your collection? Learn how to create or update a finding aid from a Word/Google document to EAD and get familiar with the elements. .1 CEU given Register: https://lilrc.org/event-5036000 Ask An Archivist: Archival Accessioning For Beginners Thursday, March 23, 2023 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Free to LILRC and ESLN members, students, retired and unemployed members; $10 for non-members Another workshop in a series that discusses the principles of collecting and maintaining archives. Archival accessioning is the process by which donations are examined, secured and documented. Learn the importance of these steps to make a collection accessible to the public. Recommended for individuals who are new to processing archives. .1 CEU given Register: https://lilrc.org/event-5036007
New Year and New Opportunities!
Reuniting the Vanderbilts: A Short Story About A Long Journey By Nicole Menchise It was an afternoon in late October 2021 when I took a call from Janet Soley, President of the Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve (FOC). She had recently been appointed in June of 2020 and was eager to figure out what to do with the dozens of boxes residing in the FOC office. She knew what the rest of the board knew, that these boxes had originally belonged at the Dowling College library and contained materials relating to Oakdale local history, the Vanderbilts, and the lifespan of the property formerly known as Idle Hour. What was in question was how to ethically and formally transfer the archives, and how to be responsible with the safety of the physical items. Dowling College had been having financial difficulties since 2010, perhaps much earlier depending upon who you asked. With very little notice, it was announced that Dowling College would be closing its door for good in 2016. Special Collections and Archives Librarian Diane Holiday was hired by the liquidators to box and inventory the collection before the keys were turned over to new owner NCF Capital - who originally wanted to keep the archives as part of the sale. Holiday got to work creating a staging area in a temporary storage hangar near the Dowling's defunct Brookhaven campus. "Hundreds and hundreds of boxes" were packed up between the months of January and July 2018. More complications arose from the sale of the property and Holiday found difficulty trying to find a repository for the historic materials - those donated over the years by Muriel Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Historical Society and other donors. Either an organization had no space for them, or no endowment to take on the cost of processing what amounted to sixty bankers boxes of materials including letters, documents, photographs, ledgers, albums and ephemera. Good news came when Adelphi University agreed to take the Dowling's institutional archives and St. Joseph's College in Oakdale agreed to take some of the collections relating to the hamlet's local history. The moving took place between the summer of 2017 and the summer of 2018, with some items finally ending up at the Connetquot River State Park Preserve offices. When Janet Soley began asking her fellow FOC Trustees and volunteers about the boxes, Jo-Ann Carhart , a retired librarian at the East Islip Public Library volunteered to catalog the boxes in a spreadsheet in accordance with the finding aids provided by Holiday's original inventories. It became overwhelming and she felt things weren't moving as fast as she'd like. They would need help and training. That is when I received a call and the Long Island Library Resouces Council stepped in to offer our services. An initial meeting was set to look over things and to get a real understanding of what FOC needed. Paul Rubery, Director of Curatorial Affairs, at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum had received word that the boxes at FOC contained valuable information and archives related to the Idle Hour property and William K. Vanderbilt's family and personal interests. FOC knew they had a potential home at Vanderbilt, but what was the right thing to do - how does a transfer like this happen? Two training sessions were held, dozens of emails were exchanged and a workflow was created. The FOC "history team" were deputized as "amateur archivists," and gleefully went about the work of describing the archives in great detail down to the item level. On June 17 of 2022, a deed of gift was signed, formally donating the archives to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum. Killian Taylor, the museum's archivist, commented about the acquisition: "Those collections are a fantastic look at Long Island's development...There's just so much there and [they] cover so many topics." Look for these archives to appear on the New York Heritage Digital Collections website later this year.
January/February 2023 Volume 30 Issue 1
Long island Archives
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 1
Images: Members of the FOC "history team" are invited to visit the archives at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum (previous page). This page top row: the FOC "history team" are eager students during the LILRC training with Nicole Menchise and Robert Anen; looking through some of the materials; two team members discovering the joy of processing archives. This page bottom row: Killian Taylor uploading document images to New York Heritage Digital Collections and posing next to some of the boxed items.; the collection box and its paperwork, some items rehoused and labeled; Paul Rubery is all smiles at the amount of work the history team accomplished, "above and beyond!"
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 2
The Long Ago Literary Corner Recently released and upcoming books about Long Island history
Latest offerings about L. I. History!
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 3
East Meadow By Scott M. Eckers "Following World War II, East Meadow developed into a suburban paradise some 20 miles east of New York City. The hamlet's name was derived from its proximity to the colonial settlement at Hempstead and the topography of the Hempstead Plains that covered much of present-day Nassau County. East Meadow was once known for herding sheep, raising cattle, and growing potatoes—livestock frequently outnumbered the human population. Large farming estates of the Barnum, Carman-Lowden, and Fish families drove the local economy and existed alongside smaller farms and businesses that dotted the colonial-era roads. East Meadow was also home to high-society Gilded Age mansions, dangerous automobile races, stylish polo and golf clubs, and famous residents such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Joseph J. Lannin, and Alva Vanderbilt Belmont. Proximity to Mitchel Air Force Base and Roosevelt Field placed East Meadow directly under the path of important airplane firsts, such as Charles A. Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight." (Arcadia Publishing) Long Island Rail Road: Port Washington Branch By David D. Morrison, Foreword by Hank Boerner "The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the oldest railroad in the country still operating under its original name. It is the busiest railroad in North America, with 90 million annual riders on 735 trains covering 11 different branches. The Port Washington Branch carries 14 million riders annually and is the third-busiest branch on the LIRR, behind the Port Jefferson Branch (19 million riders) and the Babylon Branch (18 million riders). Port Washington Branch trains converge with the main line just east of Woodside Station. The branch has been electrified since 1913 and is double-track to a point just east of Great Neck Station. The highest bridge on the railroad is the Manhasset Viaduct, which goes over Manhasset Bay. The branch has serviced the 1939 New York World’s Fair and the 1964 New York World’s Fair as well as the stadium of the New York Mets baseball team. The Whitestone Branch, which was abandoned in 1932, diverted from the Port Washington Branch at a point a bit east of the current Mets–Willets Point station." (Arcadia Publishing)
The New York State Library invites you to take and share this Stakeholder Survey. You can find the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NYSOCEtoolkit This survey isdesigned for people who work in, volunteer for, and use museums, libraries, archives, historical and genealogical societies, and other cultural heritage/history sites. We’ll use your feedback to help these organizations create policies and practices in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion and to make the organizational and other changes necessary to serve all New Yorkers. You can also help us by sharing this survey with your colleagues, friends, family, and the people who use your organization. Our team created an 8 ½ x 11 grayscale flier that can be printed and placed on a community bulletin board or in a public space at your organization. We also created a social media graphic that can be shared with your colleagues, family, friends and the people who use your organization. You can find both of these in this folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mIRqmcdNL-Fuc1fBnBMPDEo_EEdxd5a0?usp=share_link If you have any questions about this survey or need technical assistance, please contact our lead consultant, Aria Camaione-Lind at (585) 319-6007 for voice or text, or via email at Aria@AriaStrategiesLLC.com. Again, thank you for taking and sharing this survey. Your support and feedback are so very appreciated!
The Greater Hudson Heritage Network and the New York State Council on the Arts are awarding $191,886 in conservation treatment grants to 32 organizations, including seven here on Long Island. The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation is generously providing 50% of the funding for conservation treatment projects on Nassau & Suffolk counties and New York City. Conservation Treatment Grants fund professional conservation to stabilize and preserve historical objects and works of art in New York museums, history centers, and cultural organizations. Congratulations to our regional recipients! Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council - $3,365 for the conservation of a Service flag, also called a Blue Star Mothers Flag (c.1917). As they often hung outdoors, few survive. East Hampton Historical Society - $6,014 for the textile conservation of a Sack Coat from the Civil War era, overcoat with cape from the Civil War, Silk Jacket Bodice from the late 19th century and Men’s Wool Tailcoat circa 1820-35. Friends of Rock Hall, Inc. - $5,699 for the conservation of two open-air indoor archaeological features in the foundation of Rock Hall House. Lindenhurst Historical Society - $7,500 for the conservation of two historic bicycles: a chainless bicycle (c.1900) and a velocipede (c.1882). Old Westbury Gardens - $7,450 for the conservation of a George II mahogany and needlepoint fire screen (1745). The Heckscher Museum of Art - $7,500 for the conservation of two marble sculptures “Lotus Eater” and “Sandalphon,” created by sculptor Emma Stebbins (1860). The Madoo Conservancy, Inc. - $5,600 for the conservation of wall mounted mixed media sculpture “Rin Tin Tin” created by Robert Dash (1968).
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 4
Preservation Treatment Grants Awarded to Nassau and Suffolk County Orgs!
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 5
Accessing Archives with Robert Anen Making Moves with the Melvilles at Three Villages Historical Society Hello again everyone and welcome to 2023! Just before the year started, I wrapped up my final partnership for 2022 with the Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) and I have to say this was another truly transformational experience thanks to the Accessing Archives Pilot Project. The project started as a pilot last year but as we move into 2023 we are shedding the word “pilot”. I began working with TVHS on October 24th and completed my work on December 16th. Like with every project I work on, I began with the original goal of the project which was to focus on the collections located in what TVHS deemed their art closet. That focus shifted quickly when we realized that the issues I could help solve were bigger than just the art closet. It turned out that accessing both the art closet and the collections room which houses many interesting and incredible historical collections and artifacts was nearly impossible. Since the project is called “Accessing Archives”, the logical first step was now clear. We needed to make sure staff could access these spaces where these archival collections were stored. Once these spaces were made accessible to staff, I then focused on more granular work. Another overarching issue to solve was intellectual control and a common problem in all historical organizations like this one. I took steps to help address this by adding shelf numbers to the shelves in the art closet and collections room and then augmenting an existing spreadsheet and then correcting collection locations in that spreadsheet. In a perfect world, all this information regarding collection would be located in an asset management system such as Past Perfect. That work is ongoing at TVHS but for now the spreadsheet is an excellent substitute. Along with addressing the issue of intellectual control, many wonderful re-discoveries were made in the collection spaces once the spaces were accessible again. I use the word “re-discover” in cases like this since other people knew about the existence of these materials but it has been quite a while since someone has seen them and/or worked with them. These re-discoveries include two incredible oral history collections of audio cassettes tapes. The larger oral history collection spans roughly fifty years and began as early as 1972 and continued into the early 2000s. It captured some legendary local residents like Kate Strong. The other oral history collection which is equally important is Glenda Dickerson’s Eel Catching in Setauket Project. These were previously thought to be missing but that was only because the collection spaces were inaccessible. I completed a full inventory of those oral history collections and digitized twenty six of those tapes and they will be uploaded to New York Heritage in the coming months. I also focused a significant amount of my time on the Melville Family Papers, a major collection at TVHS that most likely represents 10-15% of the processed collections there. It should also be mentioned that before I begin working with any partner, we both sign an agreement that stipulates that part of the work we do either gets uploaded to New York Heritage in the form of digitized photographs and/or recordings or in case where nothing get digitized we upload a finding aid of one of their collections to the Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative (Empire ADC). I can happily report that both were accomplished during my time with TVHS. The finding aid for the Melville Family Papers along with six audio recordings from that collection that includes interviews with Ward Melville, Dorothy Melville, and some Melville associates, recordings from Ward Melville's 50th anniversary celebration working for Thom McAn (sic) from October 14th, 1959, and a Long Island Historical Society Centennial Banquet from 1964 where Ward Melville explains the murals in the Woodhull auditorium. These recordings are now available on both New York Heritage and Empire ADC. The recordings can be found here and the finding aid can be found here. This will give the collection a whole new life and brings it into the 21st century. Last but certainly not least was the awesome re-discovery of the Melville home movie collection. This was merely a result of me opening any box I got my hands on. The home movies date from 1931-1946 and capture Melville family life and activities in the Three Village area as well as a vacation in Bermuda in 1934. These films will also see the light one day and I’ll keep you posted when they do.
Robert with Jeff Schnee, TVHS President and Director Mari Irizarry
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 - p. 6
Long Island Archives - January/February 2023 Editor: Nicole Menchise, Digitization and Archives Coordinator LILRC - 627 N. Sunrise Service Rd., Bellport, NY 11713, www.lilrc.org.
Dear Colleague, We invite you to judge the Long Island History Day Competition to be held in person at Hofstra University on Sunday, March 26, 2023! The 2023 theme is: "Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.” Check out this video. As a judge, you will: Attend a judge orientation the day of the event. Work with a judge team of two or three to review projects and interview students. Select the strongest projects to advance to the next level of competition. Provide written feedback about each project you view. Judges in Website and Paper categories will view and evaluate the entries and make preliminary rankings before the contest (as usual). They will interview the students and finalize rankings at the contest(as usual). All judges will evaluate entries electronically using the online judging portal Zfairs No more paper evaluations Students will be required to attend in person. NEW THIS YEAR: Judges in Documentary, Performance, and Exhibit will receive and review the required paperwork (process paper and annotated bibliography) before the contest. Judges will view entries, interview the students, and finalize rankings at the contest. Four (4) CTLE Credit Hours will be granted to teachers who need the hours. Credits will be provided by Niagara Frontier Council for the Social Studies (NFCSS). Please click here to register for the 2023 LIHD competition. A link to the Zfairs registration system will follow, enabling you to receive the entries. For more information about Long Island History Day, please visit this page. Thank you for considering judging in 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Allison or Susan. Stay safe and well! Sincerely, Allison Sobel Susan Glaser Regional Coordinator LIHD Advisor & Judge Coordinator LIHD asobellihd@gmail.com sglaser22@gmail.com NOTE 1: Orientation is mandatory and begins at 8 AM on March 26. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.