Many institutions in lower Manhattan were directly affected by the tragedy.  Many businesses and government offices are grieving for lost staff, and others are trying to recover essential business information and archival records.

Documenting how your organization responded to the tragedy can help staff come to terms with the events of September 11, 2001.  It can also provide information needed for future disaster planning and ensure that an important aspect of your organization's history is preserved for future staff and the public at large.

This Web page suggests how you can document your institution's response to the tragedy and provides resources that may be helpful to you.  Additional information about identifying and preserving important material is available.

DOCUMENTING YOUR INSTITUTION'S RESPONSE TO THE TRAGEDY

• If your organization is mourning lost staff, invite surviving staff and family members to write or record their recollections of them and to contribute copies of photographs or videotapes to your institution's files.  Have staff write brief descriptions of each photograph or tape (e.g., names of all depicted, approximate date of photograph, and reason the photograph or tape was created).
  
  
• Collect material that documents staff activities during and immediately after the tragedy.  Articles that appear in local newspapers or staff newsletters should be saved.   Information mounted on your organization's Web site or Intranet can be printed out and saved or stored electronically.  Internal correspondence relating to the tragedy (including e-mail) should also be preserved.
  
  
• Invite staff to record their recollections of the tragedy.   Accounts can be written or recorded on audio or video tape.
  
  
• Preserve paper, electronic, and photographic records documenting your organization's efforts to salvage or secure compensation for lost records, equipment, and facilities.
  
  
• If your organization doesn't have a formal archival program, consider creating one. An archival program can help your organization meet its legal obligations, prevent staff from duplicating past efforts, and aid in your business or fundraising activities.
  
  

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RESOURCES THAT MAY BE HELPFUL

Documenting Community Organizations

• Overview of why and how organizations should preserve their important records
  
• Bibliography of additional reading
  
• List of organizations that can provide advice and grants

• From the Central New York Library Resource Council's Documentary Heritage Committee

Documenting Small Businesses

• Overview of why and how organizations should preserve their important records
  
• Bibliography of additional reading
  
• List of organizations that can provide advice and grants

• From the Central New York Library Resource Council's Documentary Heritage Committee

Oral History Workshop on the Web

• Accessible online guide to conducting, processing and preserving oral history interviews.
  
• From Baylor University's Oral History Research Institute