Libraries and history/archives organizations are attempting to salvage as many of the historic artifacts as possible from New Orleans and other areas. Obviously, efforts to save human lives and care for survivors are first priority. But history professionals say that private resources offered to salvage irreplacable artifacts have been blocked by — you guessed it — government red tape.
Pull quote, from the man whose document-rescue firm isn't allowed inside NOLA:
"These records are a historic treasure trove (that) would go to the Vatican or Smithsonian and be under armed guards and in vaults," Bruno said. "This is extremely frustrating."
Snip from an update from the National Coalition for History, a non-profit group providing news to history-related professionals:
In New Orleans, aerial photos indicate that the French Quarter is
relatively dry and intact. Locations such as the Caf du Monde,
Preservation Hall, and St. Louis Cathedral appear to have survived the
brunt of the storm. Museum directors have also determined that the New
Orleans Museum of Art, home to one of the most important collections in the
south, has also been spared from severe damage.However, other sections of the city were not so fortunate. Virtually
everything in the Latin Quarter and the Garden District suffered some
damage. Preliminary reports indicate that the New Orleans Public Library
was hit hard and its archive of city records, which are housed in the
basement of the building, probably experienced flooding. At the New
Orleans Notarial Archives, which hold some 40 million pages of signed acts
compiled by notaries of new Orleans over three centuries, initial efforts
to save historical documents were unsuccessful.A Swedish document salvage
firm, hired by the archives to freeze-dry records to remove the moisture
from them, was turned away by uniformed personnel as they attempted to
enter the city. There are a considerable number of freezer trucks
available as soon as they are allowed to access areas currently closed.
Snip from a New Orleans Times-Picayune story about Munters, the Swedish firm hired to salvage the city's historic documents — authorities still won't let them in to the city.
The trucks were headed to the Civil District Courthouse on Poydras Street, where many of the city's real estate documents are housed, and to the Amoco building at 1340 Poydras St., which houses historic documents such as a letter from Jean Lafitte to Washington demanding for his expenditures during the Battle of New Orleans.
Eddy Pokluda, head of national sales for Munters in Dallas, said the company tried to get one person in to make an assessment of the damage but was turned away, even though days earlier they had arranged with New Orleans Police Department to have an escort into the city.
"I don't think people realize the importance of these records. It's imperative we get in there and see if these can be saved," Pokluda said. "These records are a historic treasure trove (that) would go to the Vatican or Smithsonian and be under armed guards and in vaults," Bruno said. "This is extremely frustrating."
"Of course, the most important thing is the people and the bodies, but now we're really considered about the records," he said.
Most governments have digitized their real estate records, and Bruno was just about to hire a firm to transfer many of the documents in the archive to the computer.
But at the Notorial Archives, most abstractors still do hand searches of the
12 million stored documents."We're still in the horse-and-buggy days," Bruno said.
But then, a small piece of good news. In an email to a librarian's newsgroup, NOLA Public Library archivist Irene Wainwright says:
New Orleans Public Library is delighted to be able to announce that the New Orleans City Archives, which we hold, is relatively safe. Although the majority of our records (as well as the 19th and early 20th century records of the Orleans Parish civil and criminal courts) are housed in the basement of the Main Library, some 18 feet below sea level, the basement remained essentially dry.
Wayne Everard , our archvivist, and I were able to get access to the building yesterday, along with another NOPL staff member and a representative of Munters. We discovered that the basement sustained NO FLOODING, although there is a very small amount of water in one area, possibly caused by sewer backup. This water caused no direct damage to records themselves.
The Main Library itself (across the plaza from city hall, about 4 blocks from the Dome) came through almost unscathed. Several windows blew out in the area of our Technology Center causing quite a bit of damage there, but the damage is confined to that closed in room. There is also evidence of very minimal roof leakage on the first floor — most of it missing the books.
On the whole, however, the Main Library is in excellent shape. Earlier reports that vandals had entered the building are incorrect. Our branch run van was looted and we believe another van was stolen from the parking lot, but it is clear that no one got into the building, either to vandalize or to shelter there.
The NOPL system itself has been hit hard — probably about half of our
11 branch libraries are under water. But these we can (and will) rebuild.
The fact that the archives have survived leaves us almost delerious with relief.We are working now to arrange for Munters to stabilize the Main Library building until we can all return and begin the rebuilding process.
We posted this news earlier to the ssacares site, where we will post additional information as it becomes available as well as photographs we took of the Library and the surrounding area.
Thank you all for your expressions of concern and offers of assistance. We are unbelievably lucky, and I think I now believe in miracles….
Irene Wainwright
Assistant Archivist, Louisiana Division / City Archives, New Orleans Public Library
(Thanks, Ned Sublette)
Reader comment: Adri says,
The American Library Association (ALA) has several links on their website concerning libraries in the Katrina hit region. It contains info on library relief funds, news articles concerning libraries/librarians impacted, as well resources on preserving/saving materials. Link
Reader comment: Jenn says,
Saw your post about the NOLA libraries and thought you would want to know about a Google group set up to support biologists affected by Hurricane Katrina (Link). Also, the American Society for Plant Taxonomists has created an Herbarium Emergency fund (Link) to collect donations for the herbarium of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory – a lot of their specimens have been completely destroyed.
