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State Archive of Rome – IMAGO II Project

Online maps and images of early real property maps and other documents
of Rome. The Imago II Project in 1997-2000 scanned original documents in
the State Archive of Rome. Among the series available are: Alessandrino
Cadastre, Urban Roman Cadastre, a selection of the Gregoriano Cadastre
including the 600 most important towns of Papal State, the cartography
of the old rural Cadastre, Roman parchments, abstracts (“regesti”). Also
includes alphabetic registers of roman notaries, ancient registers of
the Tesorerie provinciali, and some precious items as the illuminated
manuscript of Liber Regulae. 5,000 digital color images of maps and
manuscripts, 25,000 of ancient maps and parchments, 100,000 greyscale
images cadastre and notarial registers. Images in jpeg format have been
masterized in about 500 CD-R while copies of images, in a MrSID format,
are on the website. Most explanatory pages in Italian. Requires one-time
free and simple registration.

[INFOMINE Alert Service]

Ohio Memory Celebrates Ohio History

In March 2003 Ohio celebrates 200 years of statehood. In celebration of the Bicentennial, the Ohio Memory Project has been working to create the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook, available at: http://www.ohiomemory.org

Nearly 20,000 images are now available, representing 2200 collections from archives, museums, historical societies, and libraries throughout Ohio.
Materials include photographs, documents, natural history specimens, prehistoric artifacts and three-dimensional objects from 320 cultural institutions. The collections document important milestones in Ohio’s history, such as the signing of the Treaty of Greenville and the Wright Brothers’ first flight, and document the lives of Ohioans such as Thomas Edison and Annie Oakley. Other collections, such as prehistoric artifacts, handmade quilts and family letters offer glimpses into the everyday lives of
past generations of Ohioans. Ohio Memory acts as a single point of access to diverse collections, bringing together items such as the 1803 Constitution (Ohio Historical Society) and the table upon which it was signed (Ross County Historical Society).

Users can search or browse by institution name, resource type, title, subject, creator, or place. A noteworthy feature of the Ohio Memory web site is “My Scrapbook,” which allows users to store favorite items and add captions or notes, and then share with others. Featured scrapbooks on women’s history, Ohio Presidents and Business and Labor are available at: http://www.ohiomemory.org/featured.html

Administered by the Ohio Historical Society, project partners include the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN), State Library of Ohio through an Institute of Museum and Library Services LSTA grant, the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, OhioLINK, Ohio Library Council, and INFOhio.

[aus diglib-l]

Ad fontes

Dear friends in North America,
You folks don’t need this anymore, but here’s a great website to pass on to students or other scholars on their way to their first
archival visit in the Old World. It’s a prize-winning programmed
learning project giving one practice in the use of an archive and the interpretation of sources:
http://www.adfontes.unizh.ch/
Greetings,
Steve Buckwalter
(H-German)
I can highly recommend this Swiss resource on the Stiftsarchiv Einsiedeln, but it is only in German!

The Saddam Papers

Saddam soon will be history, writes Martin Kramer in his Weblog about the Middle East. It’s important that the United States collect and preserve as much of it as possible. I refer to the vast archives of the various arms of the Iraqi regime: the presidency of the republic, the Baath Party, the Republican Guard, the intelligence and security organizations, the ministries of foreign affairs and information, and more. If the United States establishes a military authority to run the country, it should do what the Western allies did in occupied Germany: collect and collate the archives of the enemy.

A German State in Texas?

NEW BRAUNFELS — The German nobles who helped finance early German settlements in Texas had a secret plan to establish a foothold and then break free of the Republic of Texas, according to a German prince […]. Prince Johannes von Sachsen-Altenburg, Duke of Saxony, discovered the plan to create a German state in Texas among documents in family archives in Germany, Russia and France.
(MySanAntonio)

ERPANET Workshop Bern: Long-term Preservation of Databases

It will be held 9-11 April. The schedule can be found here.
The workshop will cover the entire process of database preservation: selection, appraisal, preservation, description, and access. Technical solutions will occupy an important place in the workshop and archival requirements will also be addressed.

Archives and Copyright (US)

Excerpt of an answer to a question about copyright in archival practice (from the Archives Listserv):
Some suggestions:
Michael Les Benedict, “Historians and the Continuing
Controversy over Fair Use of Unpublished Manuscript
Materials,” The American Historical Review, 91 (1986),
859-881.
Kenneth D. Crews, “Fair Use of Unpublished Works:
Burdens of Proof and the Integrity of Copyright,”
Arizona State Law Journal, 31 (1999), 2-93 (the notes
in this article are very useful)
Tomas A. Lipinski, ed., Libraries, Museums, and
Archives: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges in the
New Information Era (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press,
2002). There is an article by Crews, and several
others that might be helpful.

I can add an important online resource which has disappeared from the net but is still in the Google cache: Peter Hirtle, Unpublished materials, new technologies, and copyright: facilitating scholarly use.

H-Museum News Digest

The mailing list H-MUSEUM offers a very useful weekly news digest – very interesting not only for museum professionals. From the latest US&UK-issue I give an excerpt concerning archival topics.
— February, 21
Top historian slams Vatican on archives
Israel-based Holocaust historian Robert Wistrich this week criticised the
Vatican for failing to open all its archives relating to the Second World
War conduct of Pope Pius XII, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to Nazi genocide
(Jewish Chronicle)
http://www.jchron.co.uk/

Historian says leaders must avoid sanitising story of communal life
The biographer of the late Sir Sidney Hamburger revealed that the communal leader had once tried to destroy papers showing what he deemed to be the less desirable aspects of Manchester Jewry
(Jewish Chronicle)
http://www.jchron.co.uk

The GDR in German Archives: A New Reference Guide

The German Historical Institute in Washington D.C. has just published its new up to date reference guide ‘The GDR in German Archives’. Featuring central, state, church and specialized archives as well as information on major research institutions and libraries, this publication provides a helpful first orientation and overview on sources pertaining to the history of the Soviet Zone of Occupation and the German Democratic Republic. (Download as PDF file)

Archives in Germany: An Introductory Guide to Institutions and Sources

This reference guide serves as an introduction to the German archival system and is intended as a basic orientation for a complicated field. As a basic reference tool, the guide is divided into seven main parts: state archives; church archives; business and economic archives; media archives; parliamentary, party, and association archives; university archives; and other archives. […] Each entry contains contact information, including address, phone, fax, e-mail and Web sites where applicable, business hours, names of contacts, and a brief description of holdings and further references. Very helpful for foreign visitors!

Florida State Library and State Archives

The Florida State Genealogical Society, an umbrella organization of more than 80 societies in the state, strongly opposes Gov. Jeb Bush?s budget proposal to dismantle the State Library of Florida and the State Archives and move the contents to other state departments. We feel that other departments, such as the Department of Environmental Protection, are not qualified to oversee and preserve the historical and archival materials. Beginning of the statement of the Genealogical Society (visit the website for more actual information). Genealogical researchers in Florida fear that Gov. Bush’s proposal would:
1.Dismantle a popular and priceless library collection […]
2.Breakup our one-stop genealogical research complex that contains the State Library, State Archives, and State Museum, all next to each
other. […]
7.Threaten the State Archives’ Florida Memory Project that makes available online many of the state’s historical and genealogical records, including more than 90,000 photographs, pension application files, Spanish land grants, and Call and Brevard Family Papers.

The Society of Florida Archivists is part of a coalition to oppose Governor Bush’s proposed budget regarding the dismantling of the Florida State Library and Archives. You can read the news at the Listserv of the Society’s mailing list.
Press’ Articles from Florida are linked in a Florida Weblog.
Residents outside the U.S. can also sign the Online Petition for saving the State Library.
Please show your solidarity!
NB: An update can be found here.

Online-Publication on Archival Appraisal

The Proceedings of the DLM-EXPERTS’ MEETING IN TAMPERE, FINLAND, November 11-12, 1999 are online.
PRINCIPLES OF APPRAISAL AND THEIR APPLICATION IN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT
– European models and concepts (2000)
Contents:
Hans Hofmann: Presentation of the goals and achievements of the DLM-Forum
Jari Lybeck: a project of the Finnish National Archives and its international context
Raimo Pohjola: Appraisal and disposal of electronic records
Mats Burell: Appraisal and information theory
Eljas Orrman: Structural complexity of electronic records as a factor guiding decisions on permanent retention
Peter Horsman: Appraisal and disposal as a function of records management systems
Theo Thomassen: Teaching the appraisal and disposal of electronic records
Angelika Menne-Haritz:
Appraisal and disposal of electronic records and the principle of provenance: appraisal for access – not for oblivion
Jaana Kilkki: Electronic records management systems of defence administration in Finland
Martti Favorin: Integrated information system in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Scotland’s Written Legacy

The Scottish Archive Network is a free online collection of digital texts from Scotland. It includes an index of wills and testaments of Scots who died between1500 and 1875. The Scottish Archive Network is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). Our key aim is to open up Scotland’s rich archival heritage to everyone. [Thanks to Peter Suber, FOS News]

An Archivist’s Weblog from Canada: Ten Thousand Year Blog

The Ten Thousand Year Blog is written by David Mattison. He writes about his weblog (born 2001): Electronic records and digital preservation catch your fancy? If you’re an archivist or historian or just plain anyone worried about the digital future, The Ten Thousand Year Blog is for you. The title is inspired by physicist and speculative fiction author Gregory Benford’s DEEP TIME: HOW HUMANITY COMMUNICATES ACROSS MILLENNIA (1999).