The Catalog of Kentucky State Archives Holdings is now accessible to the public on the World Wide Web. Created and maintained by the Public Records Division of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, this new tool will significantly enhance access to Kentucky's public records. Historians, genealogists, students, and anyone with an interest in the Commonwealth's rich historical, political, and cultural heritage will now be able to locate these unique government resources.
The State Archives collects state and local government records of Kentucky, many dating back to statehood in 1792. The Catalog contains descriptions of more than 10,000 government record series and histories of many of the government agencies with records in the Archives. Of particular interest to scholars will be the official records of many of Kentucky's governors and records of Works Progress Administration projects in Kentucky during the 1930s. Genealogists will find descriptions of local "Courthouse" records from all 120 Kentucky counties. Other strengths include state government records from agencies such as Corrections, Education, and Human Resources.
Much like standard online library catalogs, the Catalog is easily searchable by subject, agency name, record type, title, and keyword. The descriptions and access points have been created in accordance with archival cataloging standards including the use of Library of Congress Subject Headings. The Catalog is available from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives web site (http://www.kdla.state.ky.us/ or can be accessed directly at (http://cuadra.kdla.state.ky.us/Marcat.html).
The Catalog is a direct result of the Kentucky Guide Program. For nearly twenty years, the Guide Program has sought to promote the use of Kentucky's rich archival and manuscript resources by collecting descriptive information about holdings in institutions statewide, and making that information available in the best possible fashion to the greatest number of people. Web technology now allows us to reach well beyond any level of access we could have foreseen twenty years ago.
By the end of this year the Guide Program plans to make available on the Web, a second catalog with descriptions of collections held by over 200 other Kentucky repositories. These will include historical and genealogical societies, public and special libraries, colleges and university archives, religious institutions, museums, and historic sites. This catalog will initially contain nearly 5,000 collection descriptions, but as always the Guide Program will continue to accept new submissions from interested repositories. Information about the Kentucky Guide Program can be found at (http://www.kdla.state.ky.us/arch/guidewebe.htm).
Submitted by Jane Minder
The archivists of Mount Saint Joseph had a sneak preview of what is in store for KCA members at the fall meeting. We visited the Farnsley-Moremen House in Louisville in the spring to acquaint one of our practicum students with the beginnings of an Archives and Museum. Elizabeth Imhoff is playing a big part in starting a similar project for Muhlenberg County.
Two centuries ago, 60 Catholic families left Maryland within a 10-year period, bound for the frontier state of Kentucky. On July 17-19, over 600 of their descendants from at least 35 states and South America met in Owensboro for the sixth Maryland/Kentucky Reunion. This group first met in Missouri in 1988 at a family reunion and has grown to its present numbers by meeting every other year at a different place to study their roots and the expansion of the frontier. This is truly living history.
Eighty-nine Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists met in Mundelein, Illinois, July 24-29. During the five day meeting, we explored the Historic Patrimony of the Universal Church, and how we have and will keep on preserving our cultural heritage through archival holdings. We have begun a three phase program "Catholic On-Line". The first phase period is over. Others are welcome to join us as we continue on Phase Two. When the project is completed we hope to meet the needs of school children, youth and adults who want to explore their roots on Internet. We visited the Cardinal Bernadin Archives and Records Center in Chicago and visited several ethnic churches on a "Sacred Space Motor Coach Tour". Archbishop Francesco Marchisano, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church gave the Keynote Address and spent the five days with us. Speakers included Dr. Helmut Bater, Director of Landeskirchliche Archives, Nuremberg, Germany; Jan C.M. van Haasstrecht, Archivist of the Nether-lands Reformed Church.
The next big event is the SAA meetings in Florida. During this time we will conduct our annual meeting of the Archivists for Congregations of Women Religious. One of our interests is the report on legal issues that have been studied this past year, and of course, the "Catholic On-Line" project. The sessions for Archivists of Religious Collections and Women Religious Archivists workshop will be equally interesting. Hope to see you there.
Submitted by Sr. Emma Cecilia Busam
The Records Management Project, made possible through a fund balance allocation, is pleased to announce the completion of its campus introduction to use of the State University Model Records Retention Schedule. To help change the current culture from "keep everything, forever, everywhere" to "keep only what is necessary," fifteen workshops trained vice presidents, deans, directors, office associates, and supervisors--a total of 243 employees. One of the greatest benefits to this process has been increased communication between campus offices: in many cases, several offices retained copies of the same document without a clear understanding of the appropriate office of record. Numerous publications and minutes have been transferred to the archives as awareness of the permanent collection increased; scores of cubic feet of outdated, non-permanent records have been destroyed or recycled. To ensure that the State University Model eventually prescribes retention periods for records in all departments, Western has, to date, submitted twelve Records Description and Analysis forms; as a result, six new records series have already been added to the State University Model.
As the 88 campus offices seek to destroy inactive records and identify appropriate records series titles, the University Archivist's phone and e-mail remains very busy. Our State Records Analyst, Diana Moses, has proven a most valuable ally in interpretation of the existing model and in the process of adding appropriate records series numbers.
Although very pleased with the work accomplished in 21 months, the true success of this project requires continued training of new employees, encouragement to those administrators and office associates implementing appropriate destruction of outdated records, and constant processing, reference and care of the permanent collection which documents the history and evolution of our University.
Submitted by Sue Lynn Stone
The Kentucky Historical Society has undergone a great many changes in the past few months. Our director, Dr. James C. Klotter, retired from the Society, our History Center is well on the way to being completed, and we have contracted with Endeavor and Multi-Mimsy to acquire software for the Library, Special Collections, and the Museum. Upcoming events at KHS include the 2nd Annual Kentucky Festival of Folklife, September 17-20, our annual meeting in November, closure of the Library and Special Collections to the public the first of next year, and preparation for the move of our collections.
As noted above, Dr. Klotter retired from his position as Director in August. He is currently teaching at Georgetown College and retains the position of State Historian. Although the Society misses him, we are pleased about the new opportunities for research, writing, and teaching that await him at Georgetown.
However, the continuing story about our new History Center is drawing to a close. The building is up, and finish work is well underway. The Museum staff should be able to get into the building this month to begin building our new, 20,000 sq. ft. permanent exhibit, and early next year the Library and Special Collections should be able to move our collections, in anticipation of our opening in the Spring. We have chosen finishes, furnishings, and furniture and are anxiously waiting to see the finished results.
Last month the Society contracted with Endeavor to supply the software for one component of our automation system. The other com-ponent, Multi-Mimsy, will be used by the Society's museums. We are excited about working with these companies and look forward to having automated databases that will serve our patron's needs, as we move into the next millennium together.
On September 17-20 the Society will be holding its 2nd Annual Kentucky Festival of Folklife. Much time and energy has gone into making this festival even bigger and better than last year's success. Please come and enjoy good music, good food, and folklife presentations and demonstrations of trades, crafts, and cultures. If you need directions please look at our Website at http://www.kyhistory.org/ or call (502)-564-0472.
Submitted by Lynne Hollingsworth
Kentucky hosts Southeastern Archives and Records Conference. Almost fifty people from seven states attended the annual Southeastern Archives and Records Conference (SARC) at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, May 10-12. SARC, hosted this year by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, is an annual meeting for the state archival programs of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, which allows staff to share information about various programs and service areas. Several affinity groups met to discuss particular interests, such as web page administration, archival and records managment software, cooperative initiatives, and appraisal. The next SARC meeting, which rotates among participating states, will be held at the new facility of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia.
Genealogical Society of Utah volunteers process records for microfilming. Four volunteers from the Genealogical Society of Utah began working with the Public Records Division on May 14, and will be here for approximately one year. The volunteers are preparing judicial records for microfilming, and creating new electronic indexes to those records. Their initial projects involve case files from Madison and Lincoln counties, which contain records dating from the late 1780s. Cases dated through 1865 will be filmed. There are several hundred cubic feet of records for these two counties, but the volunteers have made excellent progress and will move on to records from other counties as time allows.
Annual Kentucky Archives Institute Held. "Archival, Genealogical, and Historical Information on the Internet" was the theme of the 14th annual Kentucky Archives Institute held on July 10 at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Among the day's headliners was Roseann Hogan, author of Kentucky Ancestry, who spoke on "Using the Internet for Genealogical Research," and Nancy Trice, state coordinator for the KyGen Web Project. KDLA staff members Jane Minder and Barbara Teague offered presentations on KDLA's online catalog of archival materials and on using KDLA's home page on the Internet. The Institute concluded with an hour of free time on the Internet, with staff instruction for participants. The 14th annual Institute was sponsored by the Friends of Kentucky Public Archives, Inc., and by KDLA.
HVAC upgrade may cause limited service. The state Finance and Administration Cabinet has committed funding for a project to retrofit KDLA's HVAC system. Although the contractor and start date are unknown, we anticipate that most of the work will take place in the late fall and winter months. The HVAC retrofit will affect the archival storage area and will very likely close the Archives Research Room for a number of days. Staff are currently making preparations for moving shelving and records from the archival storage area, in order to minimize service interruptions. KDLA staff will work with hired moving crews to move about 5,000 cubic feet of material off-site to the adjunct State Records Center. This move may cause possible disruptions in service and availability of certain records or staff. Since the dates of this work are uncertain, we suggest that customers call KDLA or check the KDLA web site prior to any visit, in order to avoid disappointment if records are unavailable.
Friends Annual Symposium to be held. KDLA and the Friends of Kentucky Public Archives will sponsor the tenth annual Public Archives Symposium on November 20, 1998 at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. The featured speaker this year will be Dr. Tracy Campbell, author of Short of the Glory: The Fall and Redemption of Edward F. Prichard, Jr., to be published in October by University Press of Kentucky. Dr. Campbell, of Mars Hill College, spoke at the symposium several years ago on his book about the Black Patch War, The Politics of Despair: Power and Resistance in the Tobacco Wars. Watch the KDLA web site and your mailbox for further information on this program.
Submitted by Barbara Teague
The Oral History Association invites applications for three awards to be presented in 1999 that will recognize outstanding work in the field. Awards will be given for a book that uses oral history to advance an important historical interpretation or addresses significant theoretical or methodological issues; for a completed nonprint media project that addresses a significant historical subject or theme and exemplifies excellence in oral history methodology; and to a precollegiate educator who has made outstanding use of oral history in the classroom. In all cases, awards will be given for work published or completed between April 1, 1997, and March 30, 1999.
Awards are honorific and will be announced at the Association's annual meeting, to be held October 6-8, 1999, in Anchorage, Alaska. The Association welcomes entries and nominations from all who practice oral history, including academic scholars and educators, public history institutions and practitioners, independent professio-nals, libraries and archives, community-based groups and individuals, and others.
For guidelines and submission information, write Oral History Association, Baylor University, P.O. Box 97234, Waco, TX 76798-7234; e-mail, OHA_Support@Baylor, or see the OHA home page: http://www.baylor,edu/~%20OHA/. Deadline for receipt of all nomination materials is April 1, 1999.
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Mary Margaret Bell at UofL is serving as our web master, and she has done an outstanding job at creating our web page. Check it out! |
Ever wonder why the bureaucratic process is often referred to as "red tape." Douglas B. Smith in his book Ever Wonder Why proffers this explanation:
The term "red tape" was made famous in the 19th century by Thomas Carlyle, who charged the English government with "red tapism." He was referring to the government's practice in those days of binding official papers in red ribbon. Since matters going through government channels were slowed down by the tying and untying of stacks of these bound documents, the entire process became known unaffectionately, as "going through red tape."
Paschala Noonan has written a new book about the Dominican order in Kentucky entitled Signadou: History of the Kentucky Dominican Sisters. It is published by Brookville Books of Manhasset, New York, and is available by sending $25 to Eleanor F. Tierney; 1900 Bashford Manor Lane A-17; Louisville, KY 40218.
KCA member, Sister Mary Florence Wolff, 87, died of cardiovascular causes March 19 at Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx, Kentucky. Born in St. Louis, Sister Wolff entered the Loretto congregation in 1936, making her final vows in 1942. She received a bachelor's degree from then-Webster College and a master's from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
During her lifetime, Sister Wolff was elected the first executive secretary for the Conference of Major Superiors of Women, 1960-1963, and was elected by her peers to serve as assistant general from 1952 to 1964. Sister Wolff taught at high schools in Mobile, Alabama, and Kansas City, Missouri, and taught and worked as an administrator at colleges in Denver, Colorado, and Nerinx, Kentucky.
She also served as provincial of the Denver Province of the Sisters of Loretto from 1964-1970 and as director of personnel services, Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Denver, from 1970-1973.
Sister Wolff donated her body to the University of Louisville Medical School in Louisville.
Submitted by Sr. Aurelia Ottersbach
Standing atop a gentle rise overlooking the Ohio River, the Farnsley-Moremen House is the centerpiece of an 150+ acre tract of land known as Riverside. Believed to be built somewhere between 1835 and 1839, the house is a splendid example of a classic two-story, brick "I" house with a Greek Revival, full-height portico and a decorative cornice. As testament to the importance of the river to the 19th century homes built along this water-way, the front door opens to the Ohio.
Indeed, Farnsley-Moremen Landing is a tribute to the area's upper middle class farm families who dominated the county's economy for a century from 1830-1930. T wo such families in southwest Jefferson County, the Farnsleys and the Moremens, brought Riverside to life by cultivating its fields, trading on its river and building a very liveable homeplace which still stands today. Gabriel Farnsley and Ebenezer Williams purchased 200 acres from the estate of Ebenezer Christopher in 1826. Williams sold out to Farnsley in 1828. Farnsley, who died in 1848, and is credited with building the house.
Jonathan Jeffrey
Editor
The Kentucky Archivist
Kentucky Library, WKU
Bowling Green, KY 42101