9/26/2022

By Dr. Daniel Worthington

"On October 1, 2022, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln will enter an exciting new phase of its mission to share all known Lincoln documents online. Project editors will begin a year-long initiative to edit and publish 500 documents from March 1856 to October 1858, a pivotal period in Lincoln’s private life and public career.

As March 1856 opens, Lincoln is concentrating on his law practice and nursing his wounds after failing to get elected to the United States Senate in February 1855. Politics is never far from his mind, however, and by May, Lincoln shifts part of his focus to state and national affairs. The political correspondence and speeches of this period follow Lincoln as he participates in the creation of the Republican Party, agonizes over the Dred Scott decision and “Bleeding Kansas,” and grapples with pro-slavery ideology and growing sectional antagonism."

"The Papers of Abraham Lincoln has released all Lincoln documents up to February 1856, covering his childhood, legislative career and time in Congress. It is in the midst of editing and publishing 3,800 documents from the period when he was often campaigning for U.S. Senate seats and then the presidency. The next step in that process is releasing these 500 documents from March 1856 to October 1858.

Ultimately, the project expects to release 70,000 documents by or to Lincoln, along with thousands of supporting documents providing important context.

PAL employees can devote themselves full-time to editing and publishing this treasure trove of materials to The Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library thanks to ongoing and generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). They have been enthusiastic backers of the project’s mission to identify, image, transcribe, annotate, and publish online all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime (1809-1865)."

https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/Bl...blog-post/

Thank you for posting this, Anita.

I agree with Roger. Thanks for posting, Anita.

Does anyone have any idea what will happen to the originals after the material is digitized? Given the intrinsic historical value, I hope they will not be destroyed.

Best
Rob

(01-08-2023 02:44 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  I agree with Roger. Thanks for posting, Anita.

Does anyone have any idea what will happen to the originals after the material is digitized? Given the intrinsic historical value, I hope they will not be destroyed.

Best
Rob

While it doesn't say here that the source documents are returned, they surely are on loan and must be returned to the owners. Quite a cataloging/record keeping responsibility.

This is from a 2014 blog post. "About PAL"https://www.zeutschel.de/en/the-papers-of-abraham-lincoln-preserving-the-history-of-an-iconic-american-leader/

"Materials come mainly from repositories such as college libraries, museums, historical societies, the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Private collectors and governments around the world provide additional sources.

Since the advent of the project, PAL agents have gathered thousands of materials from 47 states and from foreign countries such as Japan, Australia, Portugal and Switzerland. Daniel W. Stowell, director and editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, notes that despite the passage of almost 150 years, “We are still finding materials hand over fist.”

About the Project
The PAL conversion project began at the Springfield, Ill. headquarters, but soon moved to NARA in College Park, Md., which held many project-relative images. In 2011, PAL migrated from Maryland to the NARA location in Washington, D.C. Funding for the project is three-sided: 40% comes from the State of Illinois through the ALPL and the University of Illinois Springfield; 25-30% is provided by federal funding; and 30-35% is generated from private funding through non-profit organizations, charitable trusts and individuals.

Anita,

My concern stems from the fact that NARA has permission to destroy original documents that they digitize. Obviously, they can't destroy another archive's property, but nothing stops them from destroying their own. Don't think it will happen? Civil War service records were microfilmed and then the paper records were all destroyed. Everton Conger's brother Seymour's records are out of focus and are forever impossible to read. How many other records suffered the same fate?

One of the "selling points" for digitization (which was said for microfilm) is that it removes space limitations. What happens when the digital process is corrupted by time or some other future unknown issue? Don't misunderstand me. I'm in favor of digitization (Tarbell's papers at Allegheny were digitized from the microfilm although the originals were kept), but I think something of such historical value needs to be kept in whatever formats assure it's survival.

Best
Rob

(01-08-2023 10:21 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Anita,

My concern stems from the fact that NARA has permission to destroy original documents that they digitize. Obviously, they can't destroy another archive's property, but nothing stops them from destroying their own. Don't think it will happen? Civil War service records were microfilmed and then the paper records were all destroyed. Everton Conger's brother Seymour's records are out of focus and are forever impossible to read. How many other records suffered the same fate?

One of the "selling points" for digitization (which was said for microfilm) is that it removes space limitations. What happens when the digital process is corrupted by time or some other future unknown issue? Don't misunderstand me. I'm in favor of digitization (Tarbell's papers at Allegheny were digitized from the microfilm although the originals were kept), but I think something of such historical value needs to be kept in whatever formats assure it's survival.
Best
Rob

Thanks Rob. I'm with you 100 percent. I haven't been following the The National Archives and Records Administration rule concerning "Federal Records Management: Digitizing Permanent Records", which includes disposal of source documents after they've been digitized to a set of NARA standards. There's a retroactive clause that can exempt poorer quality digital records from needing to be rescanned.)
The deadline for implementation was Dec. 31, 2022.

I didn't realize this also applies to Congressional records and to Presidential Libraries.

NARA 101, PART 9. Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services
https://www.archives.gov/foia/directives...101-part09

Director of Archival Operations

A. Working closely with the Presidential Libraries, White House Liaison, and the Center for Legislative Archives, ensures cohesive archival practices across Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services, including preservation, processing, description, access review, reference, and disposal. Develops archival policy for Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services and has oversight for ensuring archival policy is followed in all Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services custodial units.

B. In support of and in collaboration with the Director for Presidential Libraries and the Presidential Library Directors, plans and coordinates a comprehensive program for the acquisition, storage, preservation, processing, review, description, access to, and disposal of Presidential records, Federal records, and donated historical materials (including artifacts) in the Presidential Libraries.