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Manuscripts & Archives Exploration (Thursday, Sept. 17)

Your assignment before we meet via Zoom for your class session on Thursday, September 17th

1. ASAP, before the end of the day on Friday, Sept. 11: Using the Archives at Yale database, find AND REQUEST at least 1 box from 2 different archival collections that you’re interested in exploring before the Thursday, Sept. 17 class Zoom session.

You can use the links for specific collections in the last post on this Tumblr blog, (those links will take you to the specific finding aids in Archives at Yale), or you can do some creative keyword searching in Archives at Yale to find materials of interest in other collections.

Contact Bill Landis by email (bill.landis@yale.edu) if you’re having any problems creating a Yale Special Collections account or requesting collection material in Archives at Yale.

Remember, all of this stuff is housed in Hamden at the Library Shelving Facility and takes at least 24 hours to be delivered to Sterling Memorial Library. THERE ARE NO WEEKEND DELIVERIES - anything ordered on Friday will be delivered late on Monday afternoon.

2. Once you’ve requested the boxes, make a reservation for a seat in the Manuscripts and Archives reading room (in Sterling Memorial Library, open 10 AM-4 PM, Monday through Friday) for early next week, but at least 1 business day after you’re requested your boxes. Give yourself enough time to explore the boxes you’ve requested. 

3. During the class session on Thursday, Sept. 17, be prepared to talk with your classmates about the materials you were looking at. Think about the following questions and be prepared to include them in your presentation about the collection materials you explored.

Who “created” the archival collection? The materials you looked at in the collection? When and where were the materials created? Can you find any information about how the collection ended up at Yale?

What is going on in the documents you explored? What is the context for them?

Whose perspective(s) comes through in the document(s)? Whose doesn’t?

Michel-Rolph Trouillot (in Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, Beacon Press, 1995, page 26) argues that “silences enter the process of historical production at four crucial moments: 1. the moment of fact creation (the making of sources), 2. the moment of fact assembly (the making of archives), 3. the moment of fact retrieval (the making of narratives), and 4. the moment of retrospective significance (the making of history in the final instance).”

What kinds of silences (in the making of either the sources or archives) do you see in the materials you explored?

What can you know based on the sources you have in front of you? What do you not know?

What questions do the sources raise that could lead you to further research?

How does what you found in the collection relate to what you thought would be there, based on the finding aid?

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Finding Archives at Yale and Beyond

Archives at Yale: Archival collections are typically the organic accumulation of materials created, accumulated, maintained, and used by a person, family, or organization over the course of their active lifetime. Finding aids are guides to the contents of archival collections. They are critical tools to help you survey the content of sometimes quite large collections (the Natural Resources Defense Council Records, for example, comprise 1,052 boxes of materials created between 1935 and 2015) so you know which boxes you want to see.

Finding aids for over 8,000 archival collections from across all of Yale’s special collections and museums are available online and are keyword searchable in the database Archives at Yale. It is important to remember, though, that a finding aid is an archivist’s bird’s-eye-view description of the contents of a collection, and not the full text of the contents themselves! When you find a box containing things you’re interested in exploring, you can request it directly from a link in the online finding aid. Archives and special collections materials do not circulate, so you can’t check them out - you’ll have to make an appointment to visit the reading room of the owning special collection in order to consult the material.

Many of Yale’s archival collections are stored offsite at the Library Shelving Facility in Hamden, where they can be maintained in temperature and humidity conditions ideal for their long-term preservation. Allow at least 48 hours between your request for an archival collection box and your scheduled date to visit the relevant special collection reading room to use it.

Finding Archives Beyond Yale: Apart from classic strategies like combing footnotes to see where the archival collections used as sources for great secondary literature on your topic, and resorting to good old Google searching, the following two resources are very helpful in tracking down archival collections that may be held in repositories beyond Yale. Both are better on archives in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries than they are on archives elsewhere, so just keep that in mind. You can always consult with subject and area studies specialists in the Yale library if you have questions about finding archival and print sources for your research.

ArchiveGrid: A search platform for finding archival collections throughout the U.S. and Canada, and also some coverage of U.K. and European archives.

WorldCat: A global library network’s platform consisting of records for millions of items. It can be used to find primary and/or secondary source materials that can, in turn, be requested via Interlibrary Loan for use at Yale. WorldCat is an especially good place to look for publications of organizations in which you may be interested. Note that doing an Advanced Search allows you to use the Format field to limit your search to just “Archival material”.

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Some Manuscripts & Archives Collections of Potential Interest

The following is a list, by no means comprehensive, of archival collections relating to environmental history that are held in Manuscripts and Archives. See the “Finding Archives” post on this tumblr blog for more information about how to search for other archival collections at Yale.

Click on collection titles below to link to the online finding aid for each collection.

Henry Solon Graves Papers (MS 249): Correspondence, writings, diaries, notes, photographs, and other papers relating to the personal life and professional career of Henry Solon Graves. The collection documents Graves' academic and administrative career, his professional writings and activities, and his service during World War I as a forestry engineer in France.

William Kent Family Papers (MS 309): Correspondence, writings, topical files, biographical files, scrapbooks, and other material relating to William Kent's businesses, political activities, and family, including his activities as a municipal reformer in Chicago and Northern California and his interests in conservation, recreation, and public control of water power.

Whaling Logs Collection (MS 540): Collection of eleven logs of whalers mostly sailing from New London and Norwich, Connecticut. Also two from Massachusetts (New Bedford and Provincetown) and one from Sag Harbor, Long Island. Also in the collection are newspaper clippings relating to whaling vessels.

Austin Foster Hawes Papers (MS 637): Correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, photographs, and newspaper clippings, which document Austin Hawes's student life, his career as state forester of Connecticut, his controversial retirement from that position, and his travels in Central and South America. Correspondents include Henry Graves and Gifford Pinchot.

Paul Bigelow Sears Papers (MS 663): Correspondence; writings; topical research files; minutes, agendas, and other organizational papers and teaching files documenting Sear's career as an educator, conservationist, author, and spokesman for the environment.

Asa Fish Papers (MS 963): Letters from family, friends, and business associates of Asa Fish chiefly relating to ocean going trade, whaling,and sealing around the Cape of Good Hope and marine insurance.

Peter B. Cooper Papers (MS 1649): Correspondence, notes, and background material which document Peter Cooper's legal work to preserve the quality of the environment in the New Haven area and on Long Island Sound.

Coalition to Stop Trident Records (MS 1696): Administrative records, correspondence, publications, subject files, and photographs documenting the history, structure, philosophies, and activities of the Coalition to Stop Trident as well as other groups working to stop the production and deployment of Trident submarines and missiles in Connecticut and New England. There are also subject files that place the local activities of these Connecticut groups into the context of the national and international disarmament movement.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Records (MS 1965):  The records of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an American environmental action organization founded in 1970, consist of correspondence; legal files; meeting minutes; press clippings; technical reports; photographs; and publications, including annual reports, magazines, and newsletters; documenting NRDC's administration and programs. Note that while much of the NRDC records are open for research, some Accessions include material that is restricted until a specified future date (the restriction is based on stipulations in the deed of gift signed between NRDC and Yale). You’ll find any restrictions noted in each Accession-level record in Archives at Yale, in a note with the heading “Conditions Governing Access.” Make sure you pay attention to this note as you browse the contents of each Accession.

School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, Records (RU 41): Class materials and student papers from courses taught at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (School of Forestry prior to 1972) by Edward A. Bowers, Herman H. Chapman, B. E. Fernow, Henry Solon Graves, Gifford Pinchot, and Charles A. Walker. Also included are clippings, biographical notes, letters, publications, and photographs concerning the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and its faculty..

School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, Photographs of Events, Activities, and Individuals (RU 748): Photographs and glass negatives documenting student life and activities at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (called the School of Forestry prior to 1972), including classroom activities, field trips, summer camps, and alumni events.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh Papers (MS 326): Primarily the materials in Series IV. Conservation, 1945-1975. From the Series description: “ The materials in this section document Lindbergh’s intense commitment to conservation and provide a vivid picture of developments in the international conservation field during the 1960s and early 1970s. Lindbergh’s correspondence with conservation leaders and political figures in many countries and with such important organizations as the Citizens Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, The Oceanic Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund illuminates the objectives, successes, and failures of the conservation movement in its political and economic contexts.”

Russell E. Train Correspondence with Charles A. Lindbergh Regarding Conservation Issues (MS 1951): Correspondence of Russell E. Train with Charles A. Lindbergh and others regarding efforts to ban whaling of certain species and other political concerns relating to the World Wildlife Fund, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and other conservation efforts. Newspaper clippings and Train's privately published memoir are included in the collection.

John Dennett Guthrie Papers (MS 1121): Materials document half a century of forestry and conservation organization and activity in America. The collection is especially rich in materials concerning the formation and work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); other organizations represented include the United States Forest Service, the Society of American Foresters, the American Forestry Association, and the Yale Forest School.

Ward Shepard Papers (MS 746): Correspondence, writings and a few essays by others on ecology, Indians, and Darwinism. The main portion of the correspondence (1943-1958) is with John Collier on the subject of Shepard's last book, The Living Whole. His writings reflect interests in the environment and related scientific subjects, and the papers include both published and unpublished works.

Francis Griffith Newlands Papers (MS 371): Correspondence, speeches, reports, scrapbooks, and other material documenting the political career of Francis G. Newlands. The papers highlight Nevada Democratic and Silver Party politics and focus on Newlands's legislative programs on transportation, particularly railroads and inland waterways, interstate commerce, irrigation, flood control, land reclamation, currency and silver, conservation and forests, and tariffs.

James Lippincott Goodwin Papers (MS 243): Correspondence, business records, maps and records of various forest conservation organizations in Connecticut and North Carolina, where James Goodwin carried on his lumbering operations. His activities in the conservation associations and as field secretary of the Connecticut State Park Forest Commission is documented in correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings and records of plantings carried on by the organizations.