About the Documentary Heritage Program
The DHP is a statewide program designed to locate, organize, and make available the records critical to ensuring the survival of New York State’s heritage. The DHP is administered by the New York State Archives, State Education Department and locally is a program of the Rochester Regional Library Council. The DHP provides regional services and a statewide competitive grants program. The RRLC DHP serves Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
Oral History Collections in the Region
In 2001, the RRLC Local History Committee and Historical Records Advisory Committee published a "Guide to Local History and Archives Collections in the Genesee Valley." A new guide is in the making for the related, but specialized Oral History Collections in the region. RRLC Regional Archivist, Preston Pierce is distributing a survey form to libraries, museums, archives, churches and other institutions asking for basic information on the contents of oral history collections, their locations, and access to them. The survey and guide are designed to make oral history collections more readily available to both scholars and the general public. The guide, when completed, will be open ended and published electronically. That will ensure periodic updating of the guide and save resources. Anyone wanting a hard copy of the guide will be able to download it from the RRLC website.
Oral history is often thought to be a new endeavor. In fact, it has been around since ancient times. Residents of nearly every part of the world have practiced oral history. What is different today is the recognition that the practice of oral history has many community benefits. It gives voice to those who are often forgotten. It provides information and insight from informants whose knowledge might otherwise be lost. Oral history also affirms the significance of the lives of many who are interviewed. 
With new technologies for recording, transcribing, indexing, and archiving oral history interviews, they take on even more long-lasting significance. Oral history in all its variants has truly become an integral part of our lasting historical and social record. For that reason, several new oral history projects have been introduced across the region. Attendance at oral history training workshops had confirmed the wide and sincere interest in the process. Now it is time to make the oral history collections of the five-county RRLC service area more readily accessible.
Questions? Contact RRLC Regional Archivist Preston Pierce, ppierce@rrlc.org.
PRIMARY SOURCES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
A workshop on "Primary Sources in Teaching and Learning" has been developed by DHP Regional Archivist, Dr. Preston Pierce. It can be scheduled for college classes, museum educator's meetings, teacher in-service programs, and other appropriate audiences. The workshop duration is 50-90 minutes as appropriate. Contact the Regional Archivist by phone at 223-7570 or email (ppierce@rrlc.org) for more information and scheduling requests.
ARCHIVES-TO-GO
“Archives-to-Go” is a service offered by the Regional Archivist at the Rochester Regional Library Council.
RRLC Regional Archivist, Dr. Preston Pierce, will bring several workshops and briefings to schools, libraries, museums and other organizations throughout the five-county region served by RRLC (Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming).
Workshops and briefings include “Oral History: Collecting, Processing, Archiving;” “Primary Sources for Teachers, Museum Educators and Mentors;” “Archives in Learning and the Classroom;” “Establishing a Small Archive;” and “What is an Archive, and why are they important?”
Workshops and briefings can be scheduled at your school, historical society, library, museum, church or community group. For more information, or to schedule a program, call RRLC at (585) 223-7570. The Regional Archivist can be reached by email at ppierce@rrlc.org.
Dr. Pierce holds masters degrees in history and library science. He received his doctorate in curriculum and instruction (social science) from the University of Rochester. He is certified as a Social Studies Teacher and as a School Media Specialist and now teaches US History at Finger Lakes Community College.
Archives-To-Go is an initiative of the RRLC and is funded by the Documentary Heritage Program, a statewide program of the New York State Archives, State Education Department.
The RRLC is a not-for-profit organization whose members include more than 450 public, school, college, medical, museum, corporate, and other types of libraries in the greater Rochester area. RRLC connects libraries in ways that ensure people in our community have access to the high-quality, trustworthy information they need for education, work, school, and health.
Registration for DHP Workshops
To register online please go to http://www.rrlc.org and click on "register for courses".
RRLC Registration Tutorial: For help in registering for programs online, go to the RRLC website, www.rrlc.org, click on "Continuing Education", the RRLC Registration Tutorial is listed under Online Tutorials.
DHP Grants
The DHP competitive grants program concentrates on identifying, collecting and making available historical records relating to under-documented groups and topics, especially in twentieth-century New York. The DHP annually awards a total of $100,000 for grant projects. Applications are due December 1. For more information contact your Regional Archivist or visit http://www.archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtml
Archival Advisory Services
Through the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program, RRLC has on staff a part-time Regional Archivist to assist area libraries and historical records repositories. Services provided by the Regional Archivist include:
- Site visits: The Regional Archivist is available to
- Meet with your organization's governing body to discuss program needs
- Make presentations to your membership
- Review and assess your historical records collections and program policies.
- Networking opportunities: RRLC and the DHP sponsor several special interest groups that provide opportunities for people to network and receive information on topics of interest. These groups include:
- Archives in Learning Forum
- College Archivists Forum
- Local History Forum
- Religious Archivists and Historians Forum
- Training: The DHP organizes and offers technical workshops on a variety of archives-related topics including:
- Establishing a Small Archive.
- Basics of Oral History
- Archives in Learning and the Classroom
- Primary Sources for Teachers, Museum Educators and Mentors.
- What is an Archive?
- Publications: The local DHP produces a number of archives-related publications and has others available from New York State Archives. These include:
For a copy of the RRLC Documentary Heritage Program brochure click here.
DHP Goals in the Rochester Region
Regional goals support statewide priorities to
- Identify individuals and organizations that create or maintain records documenting aspects of this region's past, including post-World War II materials.
- Provide technical advice and assistance to records creators or collectors, to strengthen their efforts to preserve collections.
- Support existing repositories and networks to facilitate cooperative efforts
- Encourage activities that will raise public awareness about the DHP and historical records
- Help secure resources for historical records programs
- Direct efforts toward increasing attention to underdocumented topics in the region such as new population groups and regional economic changes of the twentieth century.
RRLC DHP Mailing List Update Form
If you wish to receive notices via email or mail about upcoming Documentary Heritage Program activities, please complete the RRLC DHP Mailing List Update Form. Please complete the form even if you are already on the DHP mailing list.
Conservation/Preservation
Questions regarding the Documentary Heritage Program for the Rochester Region should be directed to Preston Pierce, ppierce@rrlc.org.
Preston Pierce, Regional Archivist
Documentary Heritage Program
Rochester Regional Library Council
390 Packett's Landing
(585) 223-7570
ppierce@rrlc.org