Processing in the Navy
Archives

NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE
COMMAND

NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE
COMMAND
 Museums: 11 museums, 1 Heritage
Center, Nautilus & Constitution.
Nationwide: over 1M artifacts
 Art Gallery: 30,000+ paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures
 Library: 150,000+ books
 Archives: 40,000 cubic feet
 Historical Services

 Federal Records Act of 1950 as
Amended
 Executive Orders (12958, 13291,
13526)
 Mandated by SECNAV M-5210.1
 SECNAVINST 5210.8D (Records)
 SECNAV 5513.16B (Declassification)

• Providing proper access to records is a primary mission of U.S. government archivists
• Processing Challenges
– Environment
• Location
• Construction
• Light/heat/humidity
• Office/work space
– Backlog
– Staff
– Classified material

• Largest single repository of permanent Navy records outside of NARA
• 3 sections
• Aviation
• Ships
• Operational Archives
– Official Records
– Personal Papers
– Biographic File
– Oral History Collection

 CNO & VCNO:
Immediate Office files
 CNO: Key subordinate offices
 Command Operations
Reports (CORs)
 NHHC business records

 Papers and memoirs of officers, enlisted personnel and civilians of the U.S.
Navy
 Focus on individuals whose records include service after
January 1, 1939

“Except for the northwest third, the land gently sloping upward from the waterfront was created by landfill.”

• L o c a t i o n
• Established October 2, 1799
• Washington Navy Yard is located on the banks of the Anacostia River
• Initially ship building and dock yard; by
1894 became an ordnance factory & supply depot
• Buildings
• Building 57
• Ordnance school: 1866
• Building 44
• Laboratory: 1890
• Building 108
• Laboratory & Ordnance office: 1902
 B u i l t w i t h p e r m e a b l e b r i c k
 Today permeable brick is used for pavements & walkways. Why? Because of its ability to absorb water and effectively manage runoff

 Light: Accelerates deterioration; damage is cumulative & irreversible
 Windows
 42 windows that measure 8.5’ x 8.75’ (108)
 8 windows that measure 4’ x 6.5’ (44)
 Minimal coverage; no control of UV radiation
 Lighting
 Florescent lighting through buildings
 108 florescent fixtures; no UV filtering sleeves or low—UV fluorescent tubes
 Heat & Humidity: Accelerates deterioration; chemical reactions
 Heat/humidity. From June 1-july 22. 90 readings - only 10 showed humidity below 60%
 Fluctuations in temp & relative humidity are rule not the exception

• Backlog
• Manuscript collection:
Approximately 27,000 cubic feet
• 8,500 cubic feet are partially processed, unprocessed or not accessioned
• No accurate finding aid (paper or electronic) that can show what is in Collection or where it is located

• Staff
– 8 full time staff & 1 part time contractor
– 2 FTEs assigned to processing
– Interns & Reservists
• Interns: may have archives experience but no clearance
• Reservists: may have clearance but no experience
• Space
– Insufficient space to house personnel, properly process collections, or store supplies

 Integrated throughout collection
 Declassification review should be done only after preliminary processing
 No control on what gets reviewed; declass review conducted by contractors
 NARA will not accept records without initial declassification review

 Enforceable Collection Development Policy
 Develop strategy to manage collection & reduce backlog
 Codify procedures
 Increase staff
 Provide high quality training
 Modify office space
 Improve environmental conditions

SOLUTION: PILOT PROJECT
 Preser vation, Declassification,
Digitization and Cataloging of
Historical Documents on Microforms
 Message traffic from 1950s – 1970s
 No paper copies
 11, 000 reels of microfilm, some of that are acetate-based, which in combination with poor environmental conditions resulted in vinegar syndrome
 1,100 reels converted to silver-halide;
300 digitized
 Purchased stand-alone refrigerator with dehumidifier to provide cold storage for microfilm
 Unable to plug in refrigerator because of high relative humidity

Bobbi Posner
Archivist
Barbara.posner@navy.mil
Naval History & Heritage Command http://www.history.navy.mil /
"...a fine thing is the preser vation of public records. Records do not change, and they do not shif t sides with traitor s, but they grant to you, the people, the oppor tunity to know, when ever you want, which men, once bad, through some transformation now claim to be good."
 Aeschines, 330 BCE