Research: Topics: Environment: Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Appendix B: Summary and Analysis of Documentation Resources
Project Scope
The New York State Archives conducted a survey of accessible repository holdings that dealt with the subject of environmental conservation in New York State history. The first step was to conduct a general subject search of online databases to identify holdings dispersed throughout the State and relevant collections held by non-governmental repositories outside of the State. Moreover, Web sites maintained by selected historical records repositories were also consulted. For a complete list of sites searched, see Appendix C.
Each source was searched using terms such as air, conservation, environment/al, forest/ry, land use, pollution, natural resources, wetlands, wilderness, and wildlife. Some resources, most notably RLIN and the Historical Documents Inventory, were searched with additional terms. For a complete list of terms employed, see Appendix D.
In some instances, search terms were paired with the phrase "New York" in an effort to increase the number of relevant results from the RLIN and OCLC databases. However, it soon became apparent that this strategy sometimes resulted in the omission of pertinent collections. As a result, unqualified searches employing the terms conservation, environment/al, and natural resources were undertaken.
- Distribution of Collections
- Human Activities Documented in Collections
- Topical Subjects Documented in Collections
- Regional Differences in Levels of Documentation
The search identified 493 relevant collections held by entities other than the New York State Archives, which holds 127 series of pertinent material. Of the 493 collections identified, 473 are dispersed among 133 repositories in New York State. Two of these repositories are operated by State government entities, 3 by federal government entities, 20 by local governments, and 108 by non-governmental organizations. The other 20 collections are held by 13 non-governmental repositories located in other states.
Table 1. Number of Repositories and Collections by Type of Repository (State Archives Not Included)
|
Type of Repository |
Number of Repositories |
Number of Collections |
|---|---|---|
New York State Library |
1 |
22 |
New York State government entities holding their own records |
1 |
4 |
Local government repositories |
12 |
77 |
Local government historians |
8 |
10 |
Federal government repositories in New York State |
3 |
22 |
Non-government repositories in New York State |
108 |
342 |
Non-government repositories outside of New York State |
14 |
20 |
|
Total |
147 |
493 |
Human Activities Documented in the Collections
Some aspects of the state's environmental history are far better documented than others. Table 2 highlights the various human activities documented by the collections identified in the search. Many collections document more than one activity. As a result, the sum of the figures in the "Total" column exceeds the total number of collections.
Table 2. Human Activities Documented in Collections Held by Repositories in New York State (Excluding State Archives)
|
Activity |
Collections held by State govt repositories | Collections held by federal govt repositories | Collections held by local govt repositories | Collections held by local govt historians | Collections held by non-govt repositories | Total |
|
Public policy |
5 | 10 | 77 | 2 | 88 | 181 |
|
Citizen/NGO action |
21 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 109 | 149 |
|
Business action |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 23 |
|
Research and education |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 119 |
|
Population groups |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
General (topic not specified) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 43 |
The following points should be kept in mind:
- Collections vary greatly in size. Some records series generated by state government agencies, educational institutions, and, in a few instances, citizen action groups consist of hundreds or thousands of cubic feet of records. Others consist of a single document or a small grouping of related material.
- At first glance, public policy issues appear to be quite well-documented. However, this is not the case. Local government policy initiatives and responses to federal and State policies and regulations are strikingly under-represented. The documentary universe is somewhat larger than Table 1 indicates (4 non-governmental repositories in New York State hold 5 relevant collections created by local government entities or by individual local officials, and the State Archives holds a microfilm copy of 1 pertinent collection of local government records), but the fact remains that only a handful of pertinent local government records collections have been described in electronic catalogs and other online resources. Moreover, interstate ventures such as those designed to address pollution in the Great Lakes and joint U.S.-Canadian efforts to remedy such problems are almost completely undocumented.
- Citizen action groups, particularly those located in or near the City of Ithaca, the Adirondack Park, and Nassau and Suffolk counties, initially appear to be well-documented. However, it is all but certain that vast areas of citizen action remain undocumented. Environmental groups are often local in focus and membership, and the level of documentation varies widely from region to region. Records generated by citizen groups opposed to environmental regulation and infringement of private property rights have not made their way into repositories. Those created by citizen groups that employ "direct action" to advance their goals are also absent from the documentary record. Given that radical environmental organizations, which have national followings yet are most active in the western United States, have not had a substantial presence in New York State, documenting these organizations may be a low priority.
- Records illuminating business responses to environmental concerns and regulations are scarce, as are those documenting business involvement in activities such as recycling and toxic waste clean-up. Almost all of the business records uncovered were generated by entities and individuals engaged in farming, forestry, and related industries. With a handful of exceptions, accessible records documenting recent recycling initiatives were created by state government agencies and are now held by the State Archives.
- Collections documenting research and educational activities are numerous, in large part owing to the existence of repositories affiliated with institutions that undertake these activities (e.g., Cornell University, the New York Zoological Society, the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences). The number of collections documenting efforts to educate primary and secondary school groups and the general public about environmental issues is relatively small.
- None of the collections identified in the search document how environmental issues have affected the lives of New York State's Native American, Latino/a, African-American, and Asian communities or how these population groups have responded to issues such as pollution, development of natural areas, "brownfields," and the impact of environmental regulations upon their communities. Records documenting the responses of residents of low-income neighborhoods to plans to build incinerators, industrial plants, and other controversial facilities in their neighborhoods are also absent. In short, collections documenting the rise and activities of the swelling "environmental justice" movement have yet to make their way into archival repositories.
- A substantial number of the collections identified have descriptions that do not specify who created them or what the records concern (e.g., "contains brochures, clippings, reports, and photographs on local businesses, the environment, and railroads"). Most of these collections are local history subject files maintained by public libraries and local government historians.
Topical Subjects Documented in the Collections
The New York State Archives had originally hoped to analyze the level to which topical areas such as land use, public health, life forms, and coastal areas were documented in the collections surveyed. However, almost all of the collections for which detailed descriptions were available focused upon more than one of these topics. For example, the records of organizations dedicated to protecting wildlife typically contain extensive information about land use decisions, pollution of water and air, and other issues that affect wildlife habitat. Similarly, collections concerning plans to build power plants often contain information about the potential effects of the planned facility upon land use, lakes and rivers, air quality, wildlife, and public health. Other collection descriptions were too imprecise to allow this sort of detailed analysis.
As a result, detailed analysis of the topical subjects documented in the collections is impossible. However, a few general conclusions are in order:
- Pollution-of air, water, and land-is one of the most heavily documented aspects of environmental concern. A number of factors account for this fact, chief among them the existence of a relatively large number of collections generated by citizen action groups and the of large-scale problems such as Love Canal.
- Efforts to preserve wildlife and wildlife habitat are also relatively well-documented, in large part because of the relatively large number of records documenting the work of citizen action groups.
- Records concerning the relationship between the generation and consumption of energy and environmental conditions are numerous but narrow. Most of the collections documenting energy concerns focus upon nuclear power plants on Long Island and in Westchester County, but not those in St. Lawrence or Monroe counties. A few collections concern proposed hydropower projects along the Hudson, but the subject of hydropower is strikingly under-documented. Documentation of issues surrounding coal-fired power plants and citizen utilization of electricity, heating oil, natural gas, or gasoline/diesel fuel is scant, and none of the collections document efforts to develop or use solar, air, or other renewable power sources or to induce use of "green" products such as electric cars.
- Apart from a few collections generated by medical groups state government departments, documentation about the issue of environmentally related illness is scant.
- Records concerning environmental issues centering upon the State's oceanic and, in particulr, Great Lakes coasts are conspicuously scarce.
Regional Differences in the Level of Documentation
The level of documentation also varies greatly from region to region. The overwhelming majority of collections identified in the search are held by repositories located close to the site of their creation. There are a few exceptions. Several collections concerning the Adirondacks are held by the New York State Library in Albany, and Cornell University's Rare Books and Manuscripts Division holds a handful of collections generated by Capital District citizen action groups. Moreover, several of the collections held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library concern policies crafted in Albany concerning the Adirondack Park and other parts of the state. These exceptions nevertheless underscore the general rule
Owing to the close correlation between the site of creation and the location of the holding repository, there was no systematic effort to identify each collection's geographical focus. Instead, the search team tallied the total number of collections held by each type of repository in different regions of the State. The boundaries that determine the State's nine 3R's library systems were used to justify the regions.
Table 3. Regional Distribution of Repositories and Collections (Excluding State Archives)
| Region |
Local Govt |
State govt |
Federal govt |
Non-govt |
Total |
|
| Repos-itories | Histor-ians | |||||
| Long Island Library Council (Nassau, Suffolk) | 2 reps. 5 colls. |
2 reps. 2 colls. |
0 repositories 0 collections |
1 repository 3 collections |
22 repositories 51 collections |
27 repositories 61 collections |
| METRO (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Westchester) | 5 reps. 54 colls. |
0 reps. 0 colls. |
1 repository 4 collections |
1 repository 5 collections |
35 repositories 98 collections |
42 repositories 161 collections |
| Southeastern New York Library Resources Council (Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster) | 1 rep. 2 colls. |
2 rep. 2 colls. |
0 repositories 0 collections |
1 repository 10 collections |
13 repositories 22 collections |
17 repositories 36 collections |
| Capital District Library Council (Albany, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington) | 1 rep.
2 colls. |
0 reps.
0 colls. |
1 repository
22 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
7 repositories
10 collections 1 repository desc. |
9 repositories
34 collections 1 repository-level desc. |
| North County RRR Council (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, St. Lawrence) | 1 rep.
3 colls. |
1 rep.
1 coll. |
0 repositories
0 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
9 repositories
33 collections |
11 repositories 37 collections |
| Central Library Resources Council (Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga) | 1 rep.
1 coll. |
0 reps.
0 colls. |
0 repositories
0 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
5 repositories
38 collections |
6 repositories
39 collections |
| South Central Region (Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Yates) | 0 reps.
0 colls. |
0 reps.
0 colls. |
0 repositories
0 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
6 repositories
67 collections |
6 repositories
67 collections |
| Rochester Regional Library Council (Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming) | 1 rep.
10 colls. |
2 reps.
2 colls. |
0 repositories
0 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
4 repositories
4 collections |
7 repositories
16 collections |
| Western New York Library Resources Council (Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genessee, Niagara, Orleans) | 0 reps.
0 colls. |
1 rep.
3 coll. |
0 repositories
0 collections |
0 repositories
0 collections |
8 repositories
19 collections |
9 repositories
22 collections |
| Total | 12 reps.
78 colls, |
8 reps.
10 colls. |
2 repositories
22 collections |
3 repositories
18 collections |
108 repositories
342 collections 1 repository-level desc. |
133 repositories
473 collections 1 repository-level desc. |
As Table 3 indicates, relevant collections are most likely to be found in repositories located on Long Island or in the New York City metropolitan area and the lower Hudson River valley. The western part of the State, which is home to the state's second- and third-largest cities, is strikingly underrepresented: only 38 collections document the environmental history of these cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas.
It should be kept in mind that the collecting policies of a single large repository can make a region appear better-documented than it actually is. SUNY Stony Brook, which actively collects records documenting environmental issues, possesses 23 of the 61 collections held by repositories served by the Long Island Library Resources Council. The State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry maintains 31 of the 34 collections held by repositories served by the Central Library Resources Council, and most of these collections document the college's own history. The presence of Cornell University in the South Central region can also lead one to make erroneous conclusions about the level of documentation. Cornell University Library's Division of Rare Books and Manuscripts holds 57 pertinent collections, many of which were generated by university offices or by individuals associated with the university. Records concerning environmental issues, policy, citizen and business action, and research and education in many counties in the South Central Region (Allegany, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, and Schuyler) are scarce.