A Manual for Documentation Planning in New York State
Welcome to this brief summary of A Manual for Documentation Planning in New York State. The manual presents the methodology for people and organizations that wish to undertake statewide or regional documentation planning to help ensure the creation of a more comprehensive, balanced, and equitable record of all New York’s peoples and their history. This brief synopsis will give you an overview of the main points. The full version describes each step is in more detail, provides examples of various kinds of documentation projects, and links to related documents. You may download an html version of the full manual or visit our Publications area to obtain a PDF or print copy of this 34 page publication.
This manual is one of the products resulting from an effort of the New York State Archives and the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board to develop statewide plans for the documentation of under-documented groups and topics throughout the state.
As part of this project, the State Archives:
- developed the documentation planning methodology outlined in this manual
- tested it in three areas: mental health, environmental affairs, and Latino/Hispanic history and culture.
- raised awareness of the importance of the records created or held by the test groups
- supported projects that are creating a more complete and balanced archival record.
This project was funded in part by a major grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Records holders
- archivists, librarians, administrators, and others who work with repositories
- archives, libraries, historical societies, community organizations, museums, government agencies, corporations, colleges, and universities that collect historically valuable records and make them accessible to the public for research.
Records creators (people and organizations)
- who are engaged with the topic to be documented
- who generate records in the course of their activities
Records users
- individuals who need documentation for their research
- individuals who want to ensure the survival of critical information related to the topic.
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Documentation planning:
Helps people decide what is most important to collect and why
- Sets forth priority topics, issues, trends, and events for documentation on a statewide or regional basis.
- Identifies the gaps are that need to be filled
Provides a basis for collecting decisions, focuses on filling significant gaps in the documentary record
- Provides the rationale, at statewide, regional, and local levels
- for collection policies
- for documentation projects and decisions within the projects
- for use with CEOs, trustees, or funders to persuade them to approve and support documentation and collecting efforts.
Encourages and stimulates collecting to improve the documentary record
- Existence of a statewide or regional documentation guide or plan for a topic area makes it much easier for repositories to undertake documentation of the topic
- Helps draw attention to the topic as an important focus of documentation
- Places the local documentation efforts into a statewide context
- defines its conceptual boundaries
- suggests priority areas for documentation
- identifies potential sources of information, technical assistance, and funding.
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A process of:
- research
- dialogue among stakeholders
- decision-making.
Its goals are to:
- organize the mass of possible topics for documentation within a broad topic area
- decide which are most important to document
- determine appropriate documentation approaches.
Its outcome will be a research-based set of priority topics and criteria that can guide individual repositories as they decide what exactly to collect.
A documentation planning process will attempt to answer questions such as these:
- Which topics fall within the broad topic area and which don’t? What are the boundaries of the topic?
- How should the topic be divided into subtopics?
- What are the most important subtopics, events, trends, or issues in the history of the topic over the past 100 years or so that should be documented in the historical record?
- What organizations, institutions, and individuals have been most significant in the topic area?
- What documentation of the topic already exists and what are the most important gaps that need to be filled?
- What are the most promising steps to take in documenting the topic?
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All appraisal is local and subjective.
Decisions about what to collect must be made by each repository by balancing
- its resources of staff, facilities, and money
- its mission, interests, and collecting policy
- its perceptions and understandings of the importance of the topic and the likely historical value of particular kinds of records.
The potential universe of documentation will always exceed the resources of any repository.
- the potential amount of documentation will be more than any particular repository can handle
- it will be more than all the repositories in the state can handle
- it will not be possible to define or achieve comprehensive documentation — there is no way to decide how much documentation is enough.
It is possible to make the selection of what to document more rational and efficient relative to a specific repository’s goals and resources.
- choices will be made within a context of statewide needs and priorities.
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- a general history of the topic in New York State or the region, drawn from secondary sources.
- a report on the existing documentation of the topic in New York State that shows what kinds of materials have already been collected and are already available in archives.
- a guide or a plan that explains:
- what kinds of subtopics, events, organizations, and individuals need to be documented and why
- what kinds of records are likely to be particularly valuable within the topic area
- how to go about the documentation work.
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Geographical scope:
Statewide documentation planning project
- defines the topic and establish statewide criteria for high priority documentation
- helps a statewide repository make informed decisions about what is most important for it to collect
- helps a regional or local repository decide whether a particular subtopic or issue has statewide significance or is of local or regional importance only.
Regional documentation planning project
- helps generate more explicit and detailed regional documentation plans with priorities and topics selected for documentation that reflect the specific needs and interests of the region
- serves both as a model for other regions and as a resource for the development of a statewide guide.
Topical scope:
Theme
- a broad thematic area of New York history, such as environmental affairs, health, business, religion, education, etc.
- an overall history of a region. A county historical society or a coalition of historical societies in a region might undertake such a project to develop a collecting focus for the area.
Event
- a particular event or issue whose complexity or ramifications are so extensive that a documentation planning process is necessary to make sense of the subject and make documentation decisions. The World Trade Center catastrophe of 2001 is a good example.
Population group
- defined by ethnicity or culture (Latino, Korean, etc.).
- selected by age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, social class, etc.
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Stakeholder participation is at the heart of this documentation planning method.
A planning project involves making critical, possibly controversial decisions about what topics, organizations, activities, and individuals are the most important to document. Such decisions need to rest on a broad and reliable knowledge base, and the decision-making process needs to be viewed as fair by stakeholder communities.
Carefully select people knowledgeable about and active in the topic area.
- They can provide valuable information, varied perspectives, and oversight of the project as it develops
- They lend credibility to the process and the outcome
- They can become the core of an active, committed constituency for ongoing documentation.
Who are the stakeholders?
Records creators: People active in the field who have detailed, day-to-day knowledge of
- the topic area
- the issues and challenges faced
- the kinds of records created in the course of their work
- the other players with whom they interact (colleagues, clients, customers, suppliers, etc.).
Subject experts
- scholars and other analysts who study the field
- leaders in the field or others who have broad and detailed knowledge of the topic as a whole.
Records holders: Archivists, librarians, and others who work with repositories that collect historical records who understand
- the documentation process
- the ways archives process the records they receive
- the opportunities and the constraints faced by repositories.
Records users: Regular and knowledgeable researchers that are likely to make use of the collections.
Stakeholders need to be involved in the project from the beginning, and ideally they should participate in all its stages. Stakeholders can be involved in several ways:
- as individual consultants or advisors
- as one-time participants in meetings or conferences
- as members of ongoing project advisory groups.
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Although the steps outlined below follow a logical sequence, they do not necessarily take place in strict chronological order. Several may run concurrently, and the results of "earlier" steps may be revised on the basis of information gathered in "later" ones
Step 1. Define documentation topic and determine its parameters.
- Conduct preliminary research on existing definitions and parameters.
- Begin to identify key stakeholders and potential members of advisory group; establish group when ready
- Draft definition of the documentation topic and its parameters — the boundaries of the topic.
- Consult with subject experts, researchers, and records creators to develop and validate definition.
- Draft and distribute news release announcing the project.
Step 2. Conduct background research to determine documentary universe.
- Identify significant developments, trends, events, functions, legislation, individuals, and organizations within defined parameters.
- Prepare an historical overview of topic from secondary sources
- Develop a conceptual framework of the structure of the topic
- Prepare a preliminary inventory of existing documentation
- Consult with subject experts, researchers, and records creators on how to organize and subdivide the topic.
- Identify key records creators and endangered collections
Step 3. Develop list of topics to document and criteria for prioritizing them.
- Develop a list of topics and subtopics that need to be documented, in consultation with stakeholders.
- Define criteria and method for prioritizing topics and subtopics.
- Consult with subject experts, researchers, and records creators to refine and validate topics list and criteria .
Step 4. Assess existing documentation in relation to priorities.
- Compare existing documentation with priority topics and subtopics to identify documentation needs
Step 5. Identify and prioritize actions needed to address documentation needs.
- Identify potential partners in action — records creators, experts, repositories, and sponsors.
- Determine the steps in the documentary process.
- Act immediately to save selected important and endangered records.
- Plan short- and long-term actions to address gaps in the documentary record.
Step 6. Prepare and distribute documentation plan or guide.
- Draft documentation plan or guide: Suggested table of contents.
- Review with key stakeholders for final comments.
- Publish the plan or guide — Distribute and publicize it widely.
- Actively pursue implementation strategies.
- Review and revise the guide or plan periodically
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The historical record we find in New York at the beginning of the twenty-first century is vast and varied, but it has huge gaps waiting to be filled. And they won’t be filled if we don’t notice they are there and make a concerted effort to fill them.
Documentation planning is the key. It can
- Bring people together across the state to agree on the priority areas for documentation
- Identify the areas where the documentary record is weak
- Guide records creators and repositories to respond strategically to commonly understood needs.
The result can be a documentary record that reflects the full depth and breadth of New York’s history, now and in the future.
This manual is designed to guide documentation planning for topics across the spectrum of New York history.
We encourage organizations, individuals, and groups to make use of this tool. Adapt it and apply it to planning for the statewide or regional documentation of other population groups, other topics. The State Archives is eager to help with advice, encouragement, access to resources, and funding through its Documentary Heritage Program.
We welcome your inquiries, comments, and suggestions. For further information on how you can be part of the documentation planning effort, or if you have questions about the manual, please contact:
The New York State Historical Records Advisory Board
Or
The New York State Archives
Suite 9D46 Cultural Education Center
Albany, New York 12230
Email SHRAB: shrab@mail.nysed.gov
Email Archives: dhs@mail.nysed.gov
Telephone: 518.474.6926
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