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OHRAB |
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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board
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The
Ohio 2003 Plan
A Statement of Priorities and Preferred Approaches for
Historical Records Programs in Ohio
This
is the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board's previous
strategic plan, effective 1995-2003.
View
OHRAB's current strategic plan for 2005-2007 (PDF;
145KB).
Sections
of this statement:
MISSION
STATEMENT
The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board believes
that Ohio's historical documents represent a priceless
legacy for future generations. These documents chronicle
important historical developments and provide valuable
insight into our state and national cultures. In its
efforts to identify, preserve, and utilize the irreplaceable
documentary resources of our state and nation, the board
will work with interested national, regional, state,
and local institutions, organizations, governmental
units, and individuals.
SUMMARY
The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board is the central
body for historical records planning in the state. Board
members are appointed by the governor to three-year,
staggered, renewable terms. They represent Ohio's public
and private archives, records offices, and research
institutions. Administrative responsibility for the
board rests with the Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library
Division.
The board also acts as the state-level review body for
grant proposals submitted to the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), in accordance
with that commission's guidelines. Established by Congress
in 1934, the Commission is a fifteen-member body authorized
to undertake a wide range of activities to preserve,
publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources
relating to the history of the United States.
In December 1993, the board received a grant from the
NHPRC to develop The Ohio 2003 Draft Plan,
the board's statement of priorities and preferred approaches
for historical records programs in Ohio. During the
first year of the grant period, the board shared the
draft with interested groups throughout the state, refined
its goals and objectives, and devised an implementation
schedule. The board approved final revisions of the
draft in December 1994, and the document became The
Ohio 2003 Plan.
The plan will guide the board's actions through 2003,
the year in which Ohio celebrates its bicentennial of
statehood. It consists of four goals and thirteen objectives.
While the goals are of equal importance, the objectives
under each are in priority order. A proposed method
of achievement follows each objective, some of which
are already being implemented.
BOARD
POLICIES
Grant proposals submitted to the board must relate to
the current goals and objectives of the NHPRC and to
those outlined in this plan. The board particularly
encourages projects to identify, preserve, increase
accessibility to, and promote the use of historical
records and documentary sources. The board favors proposals
that: address unmet needs across the state; demonstrate
collaborative efforts or aim at collaborative products;
incorporate matching funds and financial support from
government, institutions, civic organizations, or other
groups; demonstrate new or innovative methods and techniques;
and are in accord with current mandated and state-supported
local government records programs.
Applicants should submit to the state coordinator a
written outline of the proposed project at least sixty
(60) days in advance of the pertinent deadline listed
in NHPRC's Program Guidelines.
Board members review applications in terms of their
technical merit and their relationship to the established
priorities of the state and the NHPRC. The board's evaluations
and recommendations are confidential. Only non-identifying
copies of the reviews will be shared with applicants.
(return to list of sections or
continue)
THE
STATE OF OHIO:
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Goal
A: To assure the preservation of Ohio's documentary
heritage through collaborative efforts.
Level-One
Objective: To strengthen the efforts of records
programs in Ohio by creating and updating the state's
strategic plan for meeting records needs, based on ongoing
state assessments, and encompassing both documentary
preservation and publication. To strengthen the ability
of the board and the efforts of the Ohio records coordinator
to carry out the mission of the board.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Establish an Ohio 2003 History Fund to safeguard historical
records throughout the state and encourage their use.
b. Assure preservation of and public access to government
records.
c. Review the state's strategic plan at the end of
each odd-numbered year.
d. Publicize board meetings and distribute an annual
report to increase awareness of board activities.
e. Meet once each year at a location outside of Columbus.
Level-Two Objective: To help organizations
in Ohio preserve records and make them accessible by
securing funds to establish and administer a program
of regrants.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Identify organizations and foundations that might
support a regrant program or provide matching funds.
b. Initiate five regrant projects:
1)
1995 - "Homefront and Battlefront: Ohioans Serve
the Nation." Improve access to important archives,
manuscript, and audiovisual collections documenting
the patriotic experiences of Ohioans during times
of war.
2) 1997 - The Ohio Local Government Records Program.
Restructure the delivery of services to meet the
needs of local governments.
3) 1999 - Private College Archives Program. Enlist
the support of the Society of Ohio Archivists and
colleges with successful programs to serve as mentors.
4) 2001 - Ohio Urban Records Initiative. Assure
accessible documentation of ethnicity, religious
and cultural life, industrial development, and government
in Ohio's cities.
5) 2003 - Celebrating Two Hundred Years of Statehood.
Commemorate Ohio's bicentennial by making fundamental
documents and other vital records accessible through
online networks and other appropriate electronic
formats.
Level-Three Objective: To collaborate
with the Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA) and others
to assess statewide needs and expand upon continuing
education programs to ensure development of skills needed
by the staff of Ohio repositories to effectively preserve
modern records.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Encourage SOA to continue with and expand upon its
Archives 101 workshop.
b. Coordinate themes of SOA's annual Archives Week
program with board activities.
c. Work with the Inter-University Council, the Ohio
College Association, and the two-year and community
college groups on electronic records management and,
in conjunction with OCLC or OhioLINK, on archival
description efforts.
d. Work with the Ohio Historical Society's Local History
Office and the affiliated Ohio Association of Historical
Societies and Museums, the State Library of Ohio,
the Ohio Genealogical Society, Ohio chapters of the
Association of Records Managers and Administrators
and of the American Society for Information Science,
the Ohio Academy of History, the Ohio Library Council,
the Academic Library Association of Ohio, and the
Ohio Preservation Council to determine unmet archival
educational needs.
e. Promote expanded offerings for archival, library
science, and public history courses that meet newer
educational standards and expectations, and encourage
the development of at least one Master of Archival
Studies program in Ohio.
f. Encourage training for users of archival materials
by supporting research methodology workshops at archival
facilities around the state.
Level-Four Objective: To collaborate with
the Ohio Network of American History Research Centers
and other interested parties to promote archival and
records management programming by and among state and
local governments.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Promote the unification of the State Archives and
Records Management program.
b. Encourage the development of new guidelines for
storage of and access to public records in non-network
repositories.
c. Make archival and records management handbooks
and manuals available online.
Goal
B: To assure citizens of Ohio an accessible documentation
of both common and diverse elements of their historical
experience.
Level-One
Objective: To encourage projects which document
the formation and development of the state, and other
historical subjects of both statewide and national significance.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Support projects related to the bicentennial of Ohio
statehood.
b. Work with interested parties to develop projects
focusing on topics including, but not limited to,
Ohio women, minority groups, agriculture, and 20th-century
social history--particularly records of Ohioans' involvement
in the civil rights movement, World Wars I and II,
the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict.
Level-Two Objective: To work with interested
parties to ensure the preservation of electronic records
and to identify and reformat important government records.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Support the Ohio Historical Society's Ohio Electronic
Government Records Initiative, which will produce
an electronic records strategy for state agencies
and local governments.
b. Endorse the Ohio Historical Society's Access Through
Automation project, which will catalog 4,000 State
Archives records series and make them accessible to
the public through OhioLINK and other appropriate
lectronic networks by September 1999.
c. Support initiatives like "A Cooperative Approach
to Electronic Records and Information Management at
Colleges and Universities in Ohio," submitted by Raimund
Goerler of the Ohio State University and funded by
NHPRC. The project will result in a practical guide
to electronic records at colleges and universities.
Level-Three Objective: To assist documentary
projects on Ohio history that will improve history education
and help researchers pursue significant lines of inquiry.
To encourage teachers, students, scholars, and the public
to use historical documents.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Collaborate with the Ohio Board of Education, the
State Library of Ohio, and major historical societies
in Ohio to produce CD-ROM and facsimile editions of
Ohio history materials.
b. Encourage scholars, textbook authors and documentary
editors to address feminism, abolitionism, labor reform,
minority groups, the Civil War, and statehood, and
especially encourage inclusion of facsimile or CD-ROM
packages of photographs, documents, and related materials.
c. Scan Timeline magazine for distribution
to schools on CD- ROM.
d. Support the Ohio Historical Society's Civil War
Guide Project, which aims to increase accessibility
to historical collections related to the Civil War.
e. Through the Ohio Historical Society's Local History
Office, the Society of Ohio Archivists and other organizations,
encourage NHPRC grant applications from historical
organizations, colleges and universities throughout
the state.
f. Collaborate with History Day organizers and the
Ohio-based National Council for History Education
to promote awareness and use of historical documents.
Goal C: To achieve progress in the
preservation and use of original source material in Ohio.
Level-One
Objective: Through OhioLINK, or similar online
networks, improve access to historical records in Ohio.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Create a broad-based working group of representatives
from the State Library of Ohio, the Ohio Library Council,
the Academic Library Association of Ohio, the Society
of Ohio Archivists, the Ohio Association of Historical
Societies and Museums, and other appropriate organizations
to develop a list of priority collections.
b. Support the Cincinnati Historical Society's project
to electronically link the catalogs of the Cincinnati
Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society, and
the Western Reserve Historical Society.
c. Support the Ohio Historical Society's Access Through
Automation project, which will replace the Archives/Library's
printed material card catalog with an online system
accessible to visiting researchers and remote location
patrons through OhioLINK and other appropriate networks.
d. Enhance the bibliographic records for historical
records with content notes.
Level-Two Objective: To implement To
Outwit Time: Preserving Materials in Ohio's Libraries
and Archives.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Concentrate on the first four suggested actions:
Action
#1: Establish a source of funds to be used specifically
to address preservation needs of Ohio repositories.
Action #2: Establish an office to plan, implement
and coordinate a statewide preservation action agenda.
Action #3: Identify collections contained in Ohio
repositories that are of extreme importance and
that raise preservation concerns.
Action #4: Create and maintain a directory of technical
skills, services, personnel resources, physical
structures, and technologies available to ensure
proper care of collections in Ohio. Based on this
data, identify areas where new resources are required
to implement this agenda.
Goal
D: To generate public support for an accessible historical
record.
Level-One
Objective: To prepare and distribute a biennial
"State of the Ohio Record" report to identify needs,
establish priorities, and gauge progress.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Model this report after the "State of the American
Record" report published by the NHPRC, which addresses
potential public concerns about whether those responsible
for historical records are preserving endangered records;
processing, describing and making historical records
available to users; and encouraging records use by
researchers, teachers and students.
b. Suggest areas where improvement is possible.
c. Distribute this report widely.
Level-Two Objective: To increase financial
support for documentary preservation and publication
from private foundations, corporate donors, host institutions,
state and local governments, and other organizations
that might be persuaded by the availability of NHPRC
funds to contribute more of their own.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Foster contacts between archivists and foundations.
b. Urge applicants to provide matching funds for NHPRC
grants.
c. Secure support for archives in conjunction with
the bicentennial.
d. Encourage the Society of Ohio Archivists to develop
a "response team" to assist organizations interested
in establishing an archives.
Level-Three Objective: To increase support
for records work from a broad community of beneficiary
parties--archivists, documentary editors, historians,
patriotic organizations, state and local government
officials, lawyers, jurists, educators, journalists,
genealogists, local historians, historic preservationists,
museum curators, and others with the responsibility
for historical records or with the need to use them.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Identify major beneficiary groups in Ohio, such as:
Daughters of the American Revolution
Sons of the American Revolution
Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Ohio
Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Ohio Valley Civil War Round Table
Cuyahoga Valley Civil War Round Table
Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A.
Veterans of World War II
Vietnam Veterans of America
Veterans of Foreign Wars
American Legion
Ohio Newspaper Association
Common Cause of Ohio
Ohio Bar Association
Ohio Township Association
Ohio Clerk of Courts Association
County Commissioners Association of Ohio
Ohio chapters of the Association of Records Managers
and Administrators
Ohio chapters of the American Society for Information
Science
Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums
Ohio Historic Preservation Office
Academic Library Association of Ohio
Ohio Library Council
Ohio Arts Council
Ohio Council for the Social Studies
Ohio Humanities Council
Ohio Preservation Council
Society of Ohio Archivists
Ohio Academy of History
National History Day, Ohio Chapter
Ohio Genealogical Society
Inter-University Council
Ohio College Association
b. Create suitable reports, video tapes, or other
materials with which to approach these organizations.
Level-Four Objective: To increase even
more broadly the attention of the general public to
the benefits of historical documentation through Archives
Week and other public awareness activities.
Method of Achievement:
a.
Encourage the Society of Ohio Archivists to perpetuate
the Archives Week program.
b. Identify public relations opportunities such as
travelling exhibits, commemorations, and talk shows.
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