Return of the Prodigal Inventory
The Amazing Disappearing & Reappearing
NYS Historical Documents Inventory
Describing Suffolk & Nassau Counties'
Archival & Historical Collection Holdings
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http://www.loc.gov/z3950/rlinamc.html
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n A Little Background – Introducing the NYS HDI
n What’s So Special About the Suffolk and Nassau HDI?
n Hide & Seek: Finding HDI Records – Some Search Strategies
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A Little Background – Introducing the NYS HDI
Let me take you back to the thrilling days of yesteryear, in the mid-1980's when a collaborative venture between Cornell University and the New York State Education Department hired and sent a series of circuit riding archivists across the state, to identify and describe its archives and historical collections, limited to institutions willing to open their doors to researchers. They created a statewide database of these records, the New York State Historical Documents Inventory (HDI). From this database, series of guides ("Red Books") were printed for every county or multi-county region of the state, except Nassau and Suffolk, which were also the last 2 counties to be surveyed (with some of the state’s oldest records). Perhaps, as claimed at the time, it was loss of interest by the chief sponsor, and thricefold funding shortfalls by the legislature that kept the last 2 “Red Books” from publication. Perhaps it was upstate-downstate politics that persuaded legislators to shoot state history in the foot. Perhaps some pedigrees did not care to be informed or reminded of their historic Long Island links and connections. At any rate, amid rises and plummetings of state funding, 3 successive circuit riders were hired and fired and rushed through their surveys of the L.I. region. Even so, they reported interesting, unusual, sometimes world-class finds, in both expected and out-of-the-way places. Protests and lobbying by Long Island’s archivists, librarians, and politicians seeking to have the findings for Long Island published, were turned a deaf ear. Even after roughly 20 years, the final two volumes remain unpublished. The Long Island HDI was made available on a national electronic catalog, then transferred to a much more restrictive one. Even the few aware of the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), and the fewer who subscribed to it in Suffolk, received no initial instruction on how to effectively access the Suffolk or Nassau HDI records scattered within it. And when it came, it was sketchy. Eventually, RLIN improved the method of access to its records, and reached an agreement to make their Archival MARC Catalog (AMC) records, which included the HDI, searchable via the Library of Congress website. That database, while difficult to use, can yield up searchable, viewable, printable, HDI records, valuable to research. It is located (mixed among other nation-wide research institutions’ records) at the URL above.
What’s So Special about the Suffolk and Nassau HDI?
Can something that old still be very useful? The answer is YES. It’s unlikely that most of what it describes has gone anywhere else. It describes public and some private collections, open for research, e.g., those of: municipal, town, county, regional and national historical agencies; public, school, academic libraries’ historical collections and archives, museum collections, some corporate and some private collections. It provides repository descriptions, which identify the main historical collections and archives held by each individual institution. These are sometimes broken down into one or (often many) more collection descriptions, each describing one of the particular types of collections (named in the repository description), in greater detail. Each repository or collection description normally provides the location of the collection or repository, and usually has a very extensive list of subject headings (people, places, events, things, historical periods). Once a useful subject is found (the correct form used by the database) it too can be searched, sometimes yielding some very pleasant surprises. The HDI surveyors created a logical framework around which unorganized or partly organized collections might be organized, when they found none in place. Some repositories and many of the collections listed were previously little known, or unknown, outside (sometimes even within) the holding institution. So this “RLG, RLINAMC” database (which is the best way to search for it on Google) constitutes a great research advance, for historians, local to international historical societies, local to international government agencies, teachers & students (elementary to post graduate), academic researchers, genealogists, archeologists, the curious, journalists, novelists, environmentalists, and many others.
Hide and Seek: Finding HDI Records – Some Search Strategies
After the survey was conducted, the local research team confided, at workshops, that strict space limits on each entry, time and funding constraints, kept them from including everything significant in a repository or collection. So there are fugitive items, that escaped official reporting awaiting “rediscovery” by researchers. The intent was to provide entries that identify what were felt to be the most important resources of each institution. Hundreds of repository & collection descriptions of Suffolk and Nassau County repositories did make it to the HDI, and await you, and may be searched @: http://www.loc.gov/z3950/rlinamc.html You can also get there by typing “RLINAMC, RLG” in Google and pressing the Enter button, following the most obvious link, to the above site. Once there, click on the Advanced Search Form. You'll see 3 blank spaces, for you to fill in. An identical pull-down menu screen accompanies each. Don't be intimidated by it. Limit yourself to simple concepts, or subjects. Basically you type in what you want, pick a search approach for each one (or for the same term) from the pull-down menu screens, and link the search approaches with either all "ORs" or all "ANDs" (don't mix them). OR = either/or (which broadens the search). AND = results must include every word or phrase, using every search approach that you’ve indicated (which narrows the search). If you get no results with “AND’s”, try “OR’s”. The blank boxes are for what or whom you seek (not in sentence form, but as briefly as possible, one concept, geographic place, institution, or name per blank line). You may or may not want to repeat the same word(s) or phrase each time. Each pull-down menu gives you a choice of approaches to search by: Author--Personal Name; Author--Corporate Name; Author--Conference Name; Note; Subject; Subject Name--Personal; Form/Genre; Subject Subdivision; Geographic Name; Server Choice [wild card]; or Title. Usually you'll want to pick a different approach when using the same terms. The chief problem is that the subjects and forms of names that the database uses can't be browsed in advance. You have first to find out what they are. Then you can use the official term, that RLINAMC uses (usually as a subject) and you should get the records for most or all relevant repository or collection description entries. It's trial and error, more tedious than difficult, so stick with it, and try variations on your theme, with alternate wording. There is a bonus incentive. As this is a nation-wide catalog, and includes records from research institutions outside New York State, you might find not only relevant material on L.I., but related material elsewhere around the country, as well. Serendipitous finds do often occur. Remember: Long Island historical records have had a tendency to spread out geographically, over time, and 1640-Present is plenty of time for them to have migrated. The amazing thing is that so many are still in situ, on the Island. If you need help formulating a search strategy, call in, e-mail, or drop by the library. Good hunting!
See also New York State Library’s Historical Documents Inventory site at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/hdi.htm
Mark Rothenberg, Senior Reference Specialist / Historian, Suffolk Cooperative Library System & The Patchogue-Medford Library, Celia M. Hastings Local History Room
Revised 2/17/06