There are approximately 620 books and 12 bound atlases that require encasing. All of the books deal with the history of the area. They include biographies, works by local authors, and privately printed works. Most of the books are in fair to poor condition. Many have spine covers that have separated, slight tears in the covers or frayed covers.

Much of the materials among the scrapbooks and folders are no longer widely available. The Community Collection is made up mostly of newspaper clippings, many of them from dailies that have ceased to function. Programs from cultural events and printed announcements serve as a permanent record of such happenings. As to the Library pieces, many obscure newspaper sources also occur, but so do excerpts from past Library publications. This latter section takes in the most lasting, if not the only copies remaining of these Library notices.

The three panels to be preserved are very fragile and must be disassembled in order to save their illustrations and to permit safe handling. The panels contain 16 sheets of drawings on tracing paper, 12 photographs, and 9 pictures from magazines. All are adhered to a white coated cardbord mount with double-sided tape. This tape has darkened, staining the image. On many of the items are also paper tapes from previous mounts. The drawings are brittle and contain many tears, especially along the edges. Also there are many small losses; these are mostly in the corners. Most of the images are cockled.

Because of their large size and fragile condition and the almost total lack of storage space for objects of their dimensions (with the exception of the attic and the cellar), it was decided to take apart the panels and store the illustrations as a collection with the library.

1845 NYS Census workbooks, Town of Sandy Creek and Town of Boylston: Both contain names of heads of families, plus age and sex group statistics as well as agricultural production, acreages, animals owned, etc. Both of the volumes are 15" x 16" cloth-bound, preprinted forms with manuscript entries. The Sandy Creek volume contains 48 pages; the Boylston volume contains 16 pages of entries. The Sandy Creek volume is in fair condition, although the binding is loose and one page is largely gone. The Boylston one is in good condition, on laid paper with an intact binding. Both volumes have ingrained folds from reposing in house walls.

Rural Life Photo Collection: This collection contains approximately 2,200 items ranging from pre-Civil War ambrotypes modern prints. Sizes range from miniature tintypes, 1" x 3/4", to several portraits, approx. 30" by 26," Central to the collection is a group of about 400 glass plate negatives and 25 prints done by Dexter L. Woodward, "Amateur Photographer, " according to his handstamp. The Woodard plates are still in the original boxes as stored by DLW about 1915. A number of other identified photographers, professional and amateur, including several women are well represented. In addition the collection contains a group of 25 steroscopic local views (a one-of-a-kind set, not reproduced). Although inadequately stored in tightly packed boxes the entire collection is in good condition, showing only minor signs of deterioration, primarily surface abrasion and some slight fading.

Taken together these two collections make up an unusually complete history of a rural area. Both collections have been used to augment research at the Regional Museum on the mining and lumber industries in the area in addition to local historical and genealogical research.

The materials we propose to preserve with grant funds include 226 archival items, including 3 framed photos, 47 unframed photos, 8 framed documents (mainly letters and clippings), 132 unframed documents, 25 drawings, 6 lithographs, 5 diaries and logbooks and 15 pamphlets in the Ross Marvin Arctic collection, for a total of 1,023 pages. The diaries and logbooks are particularly significant for current research on the history of polar exploration (see Items #2-6 in Appendix). We also propose to photograph the 76 three-dimensional artifacts in this collection as part of the institutional contribution to the project so that these photographs may be included in the microfilm edition of the Marvin papers.

The Arctic collection is unique to our Society as it comprises a comprehensive collecttion of documents, photographs, and artifacts relating to one man of national importance. This comprehensive quality makes it much more exciting and interesting to researchers. The collection is compatible with the Society's policy of collecting material on local individuals. The material have been used in the past and will continue to be used for research on polar exploration.

The study proposed would provide preliminary plans and cost estimates for a climate control system for the library collections. These collections are housed in the 3,750 square foot main library (50' x 75' with 24' high ceilings) and several secondary storage and processing areas totaling an additional 2,000 square feet of space. Some 150,000 bound volumes are shelved in the library. All 90,000 photographs and 1,850 of the maps and atlases are also stored within this uncontrolled environment.

Hygrothermograph readings indicated that temperatures fluctuate from 58 degrees in the winter to 95 degrees in summer heat. Relative humidity varies from 36 percent to 98 percent. The manuscript collection is in a room served by an ordinary room air conditioner and a portable dehumidifier, which give temperature and humidity stability that is far from ideal. This room is one of the several secondary areas that will be included in the present study.

Although it has much material on Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties as well as other material on greater New York City and points beyond, the library's modern mission is to collect and preserve materials relating to the history of Brooklyn. The study proposed in this application will ultimately help provide climate control for the following irreplaceable research resources:

The Historical Project seeks to cover every facet of community and institutional development. Innovations, coping with disasters, obituaries and ceremonies are just some of what is canvassed. The most early materials are yellow and brittle, a precursor to everything else among the archives. Microfilming and deacidification is meant to preserve this legacy.

The Library receives requests for information on village history and about the Library itself quite often. High school students, collegians, historians and published authors from nearby towns have asked for data. The Library articles are wanted by library graduate school students in historical and comparative studies. So far, the Library has been hesitant in making these materials available due to the often brittle condition of these originals. Yet their value predicates their use.

With the burgeoning of family history research, these materials are in daily use. The are in varying stages of disintegration, and some are completely beyond repair. Since the New York State Education Department has mandated that local history research be included in classroom studies, our local history material is being decimated by youthful users. We especially need multiple microfilm copies of the local publications for them and, for the more serious researchers, the city scrapbooks.

The panels to be preserved are good examples of an artist's efforts to get to know his subject prior to the construction of his masterpiece. The panels were asembled by James Black, a sculptor, to study the face of the poet before making the two busts, Phe Poet as a Young Man and The Poet as an Old Man. The busts, along with the panels, were given to the Association by the artist during the 1950s. Busts and panels together form an ideal exhibit or public display showing how an artist created his product.

Much of the material is one of a kind and preservation of it is vital to researchers today as well as researchers of tomorrow. The Town is willing to spend the funds to buy acid free paper/page protectors/acid free albums, etc. and provide the necessary labor but as a small town we do not have the financial ability for all expenditures. Up to this date we have been fortunate to have been able to preserve the collection by storage but as the interest in the collection increases, there must be some protection. The loss of much of the material would be a tremendous loss of this town's history. The Town has an interesting informative history. Located on the Canadian border much of its history was destroyed by the creation of the Seaway and Power projects in the 1960s. The only evidence we have is the documents, pictures, etc. Vital records are coming of an age where if we don't do something to preserve them, they won't be available for researchers in years to come.

The atlases to be preserved form a distinct and important grouping of research material with special significance for the interpretation of the history and natural science of Staten Island. Each atlas contains from 20-50 printed plates showing property boundaries, bodies of water, roads, buildings, owner and occupant. The plates were hand-tinted in colors to represent building materials. Changes in property use or ownership were made by hand with patches individually applied to pages by insurance company staff. Thus each atlas plate is a unique document.

The information can be used to trace the ownership of particular tracts of land and/or buildings, changes in the use of property, and demolition or construction of buildings. This information is not usually available elsewhere. Often information based on insurance atlases can be used to corroborate evidence found in other sources such as business directories, correspondence, deeds, newspapers, etc.

Due to the extensive land development on Staten Island during the past 5-10 years, historic land use requests have increased. Some specific reasons for the increase are:

As a result the atlases are receiving heavy use by archaeologists, environmentalists, preservationists, and urban planners, in addition to private individuals and historians. Often these researchers are preparing material for environmental impact statements, City Planning Reports, or public hearings.

To determine which atlases were in the most urgent need of preservation, a condition survey was undertaken by the staff from the Historical Society. (See Appendix A which includes survey worksheets on the atlases to be treated). In addition a bibliographic search was used to ascertain which atlases were held by other regional institutions (refer to chart). With one exception only atlases unavailable elsewhere are being considered for treatment. The exception is the 1894 Lefevre Atlas, also owned by the XX University. Since both copies of this particular atlas are extremely brittle and the University has no current plans for preservation of their volume, the Society has made preservation of its volume a priority.

The Ross Marvin Arctic collection documents the participation of a young Elmiran as science officer on the ship Roosevelt under Robert Peary's command in the unsuccessful polar attempt of 1906-07 and that of the following year, deemed successful at that time. Recently, Peary's achievement has been the subject of revisionist research which suggests that the explorer did not actually reach the North Pole in 1908-09 as he claimed. The most recent of these controversies centers on Dennis Rawlins' reported discovery of discrepancies in astronomical calculations in Peary's diary (see Items #2, 3, 5 in Appendix). Equally ardent defenders of Peary's claim performed calculations on the same data to demonstrate that the Admiral could have and did reach the Pole in 1909.

Ross Marvin's notes, observations, and calculations, especially the ship logs and weather observations in his diaries, bear on this controversy. While commanding a supporting party during the 1909 expedition, Marvin drowned. However, his records were salvaged, and they document conditions on and near the ship during the period when Peary was making his last "Polar dash."

The records also contain data concerning at least three other controversies about the expedition: the question of the crew's mental condition and fitness to judge the success of their efforts, the issue of sexuality in the context of Peary and his crew's relationships with the Eskimos, and the question of whether Ross Marvin died a natural death (likely) or was murdered (unlikely).

The Marvin collection integrates well in our collection management policy of accessioning local materials, since Marvin was a native Elmiran. The collection is thus significant to local researchers studying Marvin, but it also has national and international value because of the Peary controversy. The Marvin collection is currently used by researchers 10-15 times a year, and much of the material is too fragile to withstand this kind of use. As mentioned above, two items from this important collection have been treated through NYSCA funding. In ongoing conservation activities, the Society is targeting treatment of whole collections which receive high-demand usage.

One of the reasons priority has been placed on the Ross Marvin collection is that parts of it, including the artifacts, are to be featured in an exhibition is 1990-91. The Society has applied for a grant to research and implement the exhibition. Staff has worked with academic historians and archaeologists on the proposed exhibition. Research is in progress, and the staff has negotiated with major U.S. and Canadian institutions regarding the loan of material for the proposed exhibit. Significant Arctic collections exist at the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History; and Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine.

The society has also placed priority on its progressive, computerized collection management system. "Timeless Collections," with which we will be able to integrate our work on the Marvin collection and the proposed exhibit. As the Society develops and optical disc system for the program, we will videotape all artifacts and photographs from the collection so that we will be able to share with the public not only the printed material from the Marvin collection but also the visual images as well.

Last modified on January 20, 2000/djr
For questions or comments contact Barbara Lilley
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp/rvalue.htm