Managing Records: Documentary Heritage Program

What is the Documentary Heritage Program?

The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) was established by law in 1988. It is a statewide program designed to locate, organize, and make available the state's historical records that are critical to ensuring the survival of New York's documentary heritage.

Who does the DHP serve?

Any organization that holds historical records and makes them publicly accessible may use the DHP's regional services and apply for a DHP grant. Such organizations include not-for-profit archives, libraries, historical societies, museums, and similar institutions within New York State. The DHP also works with various community organizations to help them ensure that their history is saved for future generations.


What are the DHP's priorities?

The DHP competitive grants program will concentrate on identifying, collecting, and making available historical records relating to underdocumented groups in 20th and 21st century New York. Many of the records from this period are in serious danger of being lost or neglected, yet they document major change in local communities, the State, and the Nation.
DHP Top Priority Areas include:

• New population groups, that is, ethnic and racial groups that have immigrated to New York State or have moved within the state in search of more stable economic, political, and/or social conditions. These population groups include, but are not limited to people of African, Latino/a, Native American, European, or Asian/Pacific-Islander descent who have immigrated to rural or urban New York State or have moved within the state in search of more stable economic, political, and/or social conditions. Also included are people whose members have long been in New York but who have emerged and coalesced as active communities during this period, for example, the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community.
• The impact of economic change, deindustrialization, and revitalization, that is the movement of businesses or industries out of a region or the state, changes in other parts of the economy such as agriculture, and the growth and development of new industries and economic alternatives.
• World Trade Center--Attack, Response, Recovery: Projects would focus on the documentation challenges related to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
• Education: Projects would focus on development, implementation, and assessment of educational policy related to K-12 public and private education.

Two secondary priority areas for documentation are:

• Mental Health Programs: Projects would focus on organizations and programs that assist with the prevention and treatment of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health.
• Environmental affairs: Projects would focus on businesses, industries, non-governmental organizations, community organizations, individuals, or ethnic groups whose focus centers on the use, management, and development of natural resources, on environmental conservation or preservation, and/or on the impacts of environmental conditions on human life.

What regional services does the DHP provide?

Nine regional archivists, working through the 3Rs library systems or through historical service agencies, are responsible for:

• Coordinating historical records training workshops
• Working with regional organizations, businesses, ethnic and racial groups, libraries, archives and museums to ensure the identification of, permanent care for, and availability of historical records for previously underdocumented groups and topics particularly in the two priority areas noted above;
• Raising public awareness of the importance of historical records, especially for underdocumented groups and topics;
• Working with repositories and organizations regionally to seek local, state, and federal funding for projects to support historical records programming, and
• Providing advice to historical records repositories to strengthen their programs.

The nine regional service providers have web pages with further information about their DHP services and other services they offer:

• Capital District (Capital District Library Resources Council): http://www.cdlc.org/Programs_And_Services/dhp/dhp.shtml
• Central New York (Central New York Library Resources Council): http://www.clrc.org/dhp2006/index.php
• Hudson Valley (Lower Hudson Conference): http://www.greaterhudson.org/Programs/DHP/dhp.html
• Long Island (Long Island Library Resources Council): http://www.lilrc.org/progsvce/dhp.php
• Metropolitan New York (Metropolitan New York Library Council-METRO): http://www.metro.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=106
• Northern New York (Northern New York Library Network): http://www.nnyln.org/archivalprograms.html
• Rochester (Rochester Regional Library Council): http://www.rrlc.org/DHP/tabid/423/Default.aspx
• South Central New York (Upstate History Alliance): http://www.upstatehistory.org/index.html
• Western New York (Western New York Library Resources Council): http://www.wnylrc.org/index.asp?orgid=77&sID=&storyID=27

What statewide services does the DHP provide?

The DHP office of the State Archives is responsible for:

• Offering competitive grants for projects that address the DHP priorities;
• Providing statewide coordination of regional services and documentation projects;
• Encouraging development of finding aids and access to information about historical records holdings;
• Developing workshop curricula and publications on historical records techniques and issues;
• Encouraging coordinated efforts to seek federal and private funding.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT YOUR REGION'S DHP ARCHIVIST
Or contact:
Archival Services
New York State Archives
9C71 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
518-474-6926
fax: 518-473-4941
email: dhs@mail.nysed.gov