Monday, February 27, 2012

A Threat to New York Records - Your Help Needed

[Editor's note: Once again, your access to records as a genealogist and family historian is being threatened. Please read the following information below - your help is needed!]

The following letter is of utmost importance for anyone who wants to access archives in New York City. Please read this and then go to http://www.nycarchivists.org/doris_petition and digitally "sign" the petition.

* * *

At the behest of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York City Council has proposed legislation that would eliminate the autonomy of New York City's Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), the agency that is responsible for the records and archival documents produced by past and present City governments. The proposed legislation (Int. 486-2011) would place the currently independent agency within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).

If passed, this legislation would significantly downgrade the authority of DORIS within City government and potentially put at risk its ability to preserve, protect and make accessible the intellectual legacy of one of the world's greatest cities. A full position statement on the proposed legislation is available on the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York's website at http://www.nycarchivists.org.

Please add your name to the sign-on letter to oppose the proposed legislation, and advocate for the preservation of DORIS as an autonomous records agency, with the financial support and professional respect it deserves. The sign-on letter is located at http://www.nycarchivists.org/doris_petition. Every signature matters. Help New York City, as an international cultural and financial leader, and the place with the greatest variety and highest density of archives in the world, set the standard for how a democratic government preserves and makes accessible its documentary heritage.

Sincerely,

The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...