To Which We Serve:

Processing in the Navy Archives

TO WHICH WE SERVE:

NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE COMMAND

Museums: 11 museums, 1 Heritage Center, Nautilus & Constitution. Nationwide: over 1M artifacts

Art Gallery: 30,000+ paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures

Library: 150,000+ booksArchives: 40,000 cubic feetHistorical Services

NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE COMMAND

Federal Records Act of 1950 as Amended

Executive Orders (12958, 13291, 13526)

Mandated by SECNAV M-5210.1SECNAVINST 5210.8D (Records)SECNAV 5513.16B (Declassification)

LAWS & REGULATIONS

• Providing proper access to records is a primary mission of U.S. government archivists

• Processing Challenges – Environment• Location• Construction• Light/heat/humidity• Office/work space

– Backlog– Staff– Classified material

OVERVIEW

• Largest single repository of permanent Navy records outside of NARA

• 3 sections• Aviation• Ships• Operational Archives– Official Records– Personal Papers– Biographic File– Oral History Collection

ARCHIVES

CNO & VCNO: Immediate Office files

CNO: Key subordinate offices

Command Operations Reports (CORs)

NHHC business records

OPERATIONAL ARCHIVES

Papers and memoirs of officers, enlisted personnel and civilians of the U.S. Navy

Focus on individuals whose records include service after January 1, 1939

OPERATIONAL ARCHIVES

“Except for the northwest third, the land gently sloping upward from the waterfront was created by landfill.”

CHALLENGE: ENVIRONMENT

• Location• Established October 2, 1799

• Washington Navy Yard is located on the banks of the Anacostia River

• Initially ship building and dock yard; by 1894 became an ordnance factory & supply depot

• Buildings• Building 57

• Ordnance school: 1866

• Building 44• Laboratory: 1890

• Building 108• Laboratory & Ordnance office: 1902

Built with permeable brick Today permeable brick is used for

pavements & walkways. Why? Because of its ability to absorb water and effectively manage runoff


Light: Accelerates deterioration; damage is cumulative & irreversible

Windows 42 windows that measure 8.5’ x 8.75’ (108) 8 windows that measure 4’ x 6.5’ (44) Minimal coverage; no control of UV radiation

Lighting Florescent lighting through buildings

108 florescent fixtures; no UV filtering sleeves or low—UV fluorescent tubes

Heat & Humidity: Accelerates deterioration; chemical reactions Heat/humidity. From June 1-july 22. 90 readings - only 10 showed

humidity below 60% Fluctuations in temp & relative humidity are rule not the exception


• Backlog

• Manuscript collection: Approximately 27,000 cubic feet

• 8,500 cubic feet are partially processed, unprocessed or not accessioned

• No accurate finding aid (paper orelectronic) that can show what is in Collection or where it is located

CHALLENGE: PROCESSING

• Staff– 8 full time staff & 1 part time

contractor– 2 FTEs assigned to processing– Interns & Reservists

• Interns: may have archives experience but no clearance

• Reservists: may have clearance but no experience

• Space– Insufficient space to house

personnel, properly process collections, or store supplies

CHALLENGE: PROCESSING

Integrated throughout collection

Declassification review should be done only after preliminary processing

No control on what gets reviewed; declass review conducted by contractors

NARA will not accept records without initial declassification review

CHALLENGE: CLASSIFIED MATERIAL

Enforceable Collection Development PolicyDevelop strategy to manage collection &

reduce backlogCodify procedures Increase staffProvide high quality trainingModify office spaceImprove environmental conditions

SOLUTIONS

Preservation, Declassification, Digitization and Cataloging of Historical Documents on Microforms

Message traffic from 1950s – 1970s No paper copies 11, 000 reels of microfilm, some of

that are acetate-based, which in combination with poor environmental conditions resulted in vinegar syndrome

1,100 reels converted to silver-halide; 300 digitized

Purchased stand-alone refrigerator with dehumidifier to provide cold storage for microfilm Unable to plug in refrigerator

because of high relative humidity

SOLUTION: PILOT PROJECT

Bobbi [email protected]

Naval History & Heritage Commandhttp://www.history.navy.mil/

"...a fine thing is the preservation of public records. Records do not change, and they do not shift sides with traitors, but they grant to you, the people, the opportunity to

know, when ever you want, which men, once bad, through some transformation now claim to be good."

Aeschines, 330 BCE

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