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The  Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, dedicated to preserving the Mohawk’s dynamic, influential culture, was awarded Strategic Planning Assistance in 2019 and became the first Federally Recognized Tribe to receive DHPSNY services. Then, in 2020, they were awarded a DHPSNY Archival Needs Assessment, which examined their archival program holistically through an external lens. In this interview, we caught up with Gail McDonald, Akwesasne Heritage Complex Project Developer, to learn about their DHPSNY experience and busy year-to-date. This is the unabridged version of the article…

Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY) is Introducing DHPSNY Webinars in Spanish

Connected by subject matter, the webinars “Finding Aid Basics: An Introduction to DACS” (April 26, 2017) and “Finding Aids: Tools and Tips for Basic Description” (August 25, 2021) are able to be viewed with Neutral US Spanish subtitle translations. These webinars are available for free on DHPSNYs…

Whether your relocation project requires moving objects within your building, to temporary storage, or to a new institution; moving collections can be a big undertaking for institutions. In this presentation, Maria Holden, Retired, spoke about a project from 2017, where a team from the New York State Archives moved roughly 1500 cubic feet of civil court records from the New York County Clerk's Office in New York City to the New York State Archives in Albany. The collection included 1,100 boxes of records, around 900 volumes that were not in boxes, and about 500 rolls of microfilm to be…

Dear Collecting Institution, 

The New York State Archives and New York State Library are asking for your feedback regarding the programs and services offered through the Documentary Heritage & Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY) program. 

DHPSNY, a joint program of the New York State Archives and New York State Library, provides free planning and assessment services along with educational programs to collecting institutions such as archives, historical societies, museums…

To ensure equity and diversity in all areas of our work, it is important to implement equitable recruitment and hiring processes. Many cultural heritage organizations have successfully integrated new steps into their recruitment and hiring processes, and this work is ongoing. Recently, several professional organizations have provided new resources to aid in undertaking these steps.

This summer, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) human resources department shared some of the equitable hiring practices they are…

Effective preservation planning is key in ensuring time and resources are budgeted adequately in support of the collections. A Preservation Plan is an essential institutional document that helps collecting institutions thoughtfully and carefully chart a course for the preservation of their collections. 

In Preservation Planning: A Primer, participants will be introduced to preservation planning and will learn the steps necessary for writing one for their institution. Topics addressed will include:  

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The Metropolitan New York Library Council, known as METRO, has recently announced a second cycle of the Equity in Action grant program. While eligibility is open only to METRO member institutions, or an institution that partners with a METRO member, DHPSNY thought it was important to highlight this work as an active example of direct financial support for “digital [cultural heritage] projects that focus on anti-racist practices and marginalized communities.” METRO serves a network of libraries,…

We're excited to announce a new Planning & Assessment Services class from our second application round of 2021! We look forward to beginning virtual site visits for the following institutions in the coming months. The next deadline to submit applications is Friday, November 5, 2021.

Click here to read the full press release.

Archival Needs Assessments

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In our most recent live webinar presentation, Christine Persche, Archivist, Storm King Art Center, shared insight and lessons learned from the implementation of cold storage solutions. This presentation covered obtaining funding, purchasing equipment, packaging collections, and figuring out how to monitor temperatures.

Click here to view the recording.

Click here to download the slideshow.

Join us on…