Post by Diane Merkel on Nov 8, 2006 21:57:18 GMT -5
On the "Banned by the NPS" thread on the "Around the Campfire" board under "Little Big Horn Associates . . . and Other Friends," I told of a rumor I heard last month concerning access to the collection at the battlefield. I have received the following information from John Doerner, Chief Historian at the Battlefield, and I want to assure everyone that the rumor is NOT true!
John has given permission to share this with you:
To set the record straight, this is just that, a false rumor. In fact, in FY2006 as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (LIBI) Chief Historian, I processed over 517 research requests, and had nine on-site research visits to White Swan Memorial Library. Sharon Small, interim Museum Curator, assisted 11 on-site researchers in 2006, processed countless research and photograph requests, and is working with the museum collection. There was a temporary moratorium on museum research only, after Kitty Deer Nose resigned from her position as museum curator, however, interim museum curator Sharon Small helped cover the museum collection operation, keeping up on vital archival services, and research here at Little Bighorn. I was also on hand to help process photo orders, and covered all in-coming museum research requests to help avoid interruption of these important services to the public. In fact, the White Swan Library has duplicate files or microfilm of just about everything in the museum collection, including 7th Cavalry Muster Roll's/Regimental Returns, U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1876 7th Cavalry, Indian Scout & Attached Civilian Personnel files, Warriors at Little Bighorn listings, copies of pertinent National Archive Records, and hard copies of the Walter Camp Collection.
I hope that this clarifies things and you will be able to share this information with LBHA members. I am attaching copies of the LIBI Research Policies for the Library, and Museum Collection. These documents includes basic contact information, overview of both facilities and our collections, as well as NPS-LIBI Policy. Please note that all on-site research is conducted by appointment only (2 week advance notice). Email, telephone, and mail requests are welcome but please remember that the Division of History & Cultural Resource staff is limited to just myself, and Sharon Small, Museum Curator. We are also working hard to digitize the collection (including all the photographs and photographic index) and post more historical information on-line for researchers!
Sincerely,
John A. Doerner
Chief Historian
Little Bighorn Battlefield NM
The documents John refers to will always be available on the "LBH Research" page of the main website (www.lbha.org) and are Microsoft Word documents that you can print out. They are:
Museum Collection Access Policy - www.lbha.org/Research/LBBNM-CollectionAccessPolicy.doc
White Swan Library Collection Access Policy - www.lbha.org/Research/LBBNM-LibraryUsePolicy.doc
I want to thank John publicly for sharing this information and putting the rumor to rest. I am sure we are all particularly pleased to read that the collection is being digitized for on-line access. Thank you, John!
John has given permission to share this with you:
To set the record straight, this is just that, a false rumor. In fact, in FY2006 as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (LIBI) Chief Historian, I processed over 517 research requests, and had nine on-site research visits to White Swan Memorial Library. Sharon Small, interim Museum Curator, assisted 11 on-site researchers in 2006, processed countless research and photograph requests, and is working with the museum collection. There was a temporary moratorium on museum research only, after Kitty Deer Nose resigned from her position as museum curator, however, interim museum curator Sharon Small helped cover the museum collection operation, keeping up on vital archival services, and research here at Little Bighorn. I was also on hand to help process photo orders, and covered all in-coming museum research requests to help avoid interruption of these important services to the public. In fact, the White Swan Library has duplicate files or microfilm of just about everything in the museum collection, including 7th Cavalry Muster Roll's/Regimental Returns, U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1876 7th Cavalry, Indian Scout & Attached Civilian Personnel files, Warriors at Little Bighorn listings, copies of pertinent National Archive Records, and hard copies of the Walter Camp Collection.
I hope that this clarifies things and you will be able to share this information with LBHA members. I am attaching copies of the LIBI Research Policies for the Library, and Museum Collection. These documents includes basic contact information, overview of both facilities and our collections, as well as NPS-LIBI Policy. Please note that all on-site research is conducted by appointment only (2 week advance notice). Email, telephone, and mail requests are welcome but please remember that the Division of History & Cultural Resource staff is limited to just myself, and Sharon Small, Museum Curator. We are also working hard to digitize the collection (including all the photographs and photographic index) and post more historical information on-line for researchers!
Sincerely,
John A. Doerner
Chief Historian
Little Bighorn Battlefield NM
The documents John refers to will always be available on the "LBH Research" page of the main website (www.lbha.org) and are Microsoft Word documents that you can print out. They are:
Museum Collection Access Policy - www.lbha.org/Research/LBBNM-CollectionAccessPolicy.doc
White Swan Library Collection Access Policy - www.lbha.org/Research/LBBNM-LibraryUsePolicy.doc
I want to thank John publicly for sharing this information and putting the rumor to rest. I am sure we are all particularly pleased to read that the collection is being digitized for on-line access. Thank you, John!