Grass Roots and Records

[Kathleen DeLaney <kdelaney@acsu.buffalo.edu>]

Yesterday, Howard Fox posted a message in which he mentioned that
"I really think that the grassroots organizations forget what a
great resource their local libraries are to 'get the word out' to
the public."

I am a project archivist at the University at Buffalo.  One of our
largest special collections came to us directly from a grass roots
organization...a group called the Ecumenical Task Force of the Love
Canal. This group formed as a result of the need of the Love Canal
community of Niagara Falls, New York to have someone listen and
act upon their crisis. At the time (1978) the municipal, state and
federal governments did not have the agencies or programs in place
to deal with the devastating human toll of an environmental crisis.

The records kept by the ETF over close to 20 years, provide a
valuable insight into the day-to-day crisis of the Love Canal
events, as well as valuable historic perspective on the environmental
movement.

The ETF's gift of their Love Canal Archives (approximately 100
linear feet, created a world class special collection for the
University at Buffalo. Since their original gift, we have added
more documentation provided by individuals associated with them.
We also have been able to take in subsequent deposits of other
groups associated with Love Canal.  Among the most sought after
resources by researchers using this collection are the non-government
responses to the Love Canal crisis. The mix of "grey literature"
in this unique collection allows researchers (and these range from
young students to post-doc to ordinary citizens) an opportunity to
interpret from a wide range of materials.

Currently, I am conducting an adjunct project related to Love Canal
for the City of Niagara Falls Public Library.  In locating and
documenting records created during the disaster (primarily ca.
1978-1982).  we hope to create a comprehensive finding aid of
records. Of particular interest are the records not currently
catalogued in any repository.Eventually we do hope this will be
accessible via the web. However, it also will be catalogued in OCLC
making it available to all library patrons.

As this project progresses, I am receiving leads from members of
local and regional grass roots movements. We also are entertaining
questions related to further collection of materials.

The public interest in historic documents related to environmental
issues makes serious collection of these grass roots organizations
extremely valuable and valid.

It also points to the need to provide funding for the preservation
and conservation of historic documents. Not every can nor should
it be digitized or "put on the web." However, it is important that
these records be able to be accessed...without funding for surveys
and inventories to say nothing of processing...many of these valuable
documents do not stand a chance. And the public will never know
they even let them slip through their hands.

Cheers,

Kathleen