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NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #27; 15 JUNE 2006)
by Bruce Craig (editor)
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY (NCH)
Website at http://www.h-net.org/~nch/
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1. SOTHEBY’S TO AUCTION KING PAPERS
2. KEY REPUBLICAN QUESTIONS SMALL’S CONTINUED LEADERSHIP OF SMITHSONIAN
3. ROBERT BYRD NOW LONGEST SERVING SENATOR IN HISTORY
4. NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST WRAPS UP ANOTHER YEAR
5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE RECORDS OF CONGRESS MEETS
6. NEH ANNOUNCES $24.8 MILLION IN AWARDS
7. NHPRC ANNOUNCES THREE NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
8. BITS AND BYTES: No postings this week
9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: “Road Plans Put Stonehenge Status At Risk” 
(The Guardian) and “Archeologists Try to Save Ancient Sites” (Yahoo 
News)

1. SOTHEBY’S TO AUCTION KING PAPERS
After years of negotiating with the family of the late Rev. Martin 
Luther King as well as various institutions, Sotheby’s auction house 
now has a green light to sell the papers, manuscripts, and personal 
library of the famed Civil Rights leader. The beneficiaries – the 
financially-strapped King estate – hope to raise $15 to $30 million for 
the lot that consists of more than 10,000 individual items. The sale is 
scheduled to take place on 30 June 2006.

The collection includes nearly all of King’s papers from 1946 to 1968, 
when he was assassinated, as well as his personal library of 1,000 
volumes. Some historians consider it one of the greatest American 
archives of a major political/social figure in private hands as it 
reveals the full portrait of King. In 1999 the Library of Congress 
offered to purchase the collection for $20 million – the largest amount 
of money ever proposed to be paid for a collection by a public 
institution – but some members of Congress objected.

Sotheby expects that the collection will be sold to a major 
institution, perhaps aided by a major donor. The auction house declines 
to state what institutions have expressed an interest, but the possible 
candidates include several top universities, the Smithsonian 
Institution, and the Library of Congress. According to Sotheby’s 
spokesperson, “If our institutions can’t afford it, then something is 
intensely wrong.”

2. KEY REPUBLICAN QUESTIONS SMALL’S CONTINUED LEADERSHIP OF SMITHSONIAN
In a letter to the director of the Office and Management and Budget, 
Senate Finance Committee Chair, Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), openly asks 
the question that many privately have been whispering: “Does the 
Administration believe Secretary [Lawrence] Small is the appropriate 
steward of the Smithsonian?”

Grassley cites “Small’s involvement in the extensive fraud” reported by 
federal regulators, who are currently investigating past practices at 
Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association), an organization 
that Small headed during the period in question, as his principal cause 
for concern. Grassley’s letter also notes that the Smithsonian’s own 
inspector general is also looking into allegations of financial 
irregularities and excessive executive compensation packages in the 
Smithsonian Business Ventures Division.

In his letter, Grassley requests that the Smithsonian Board of 
Directors and not the Secretary (as has been the practice in the past) 
appoint the new inspector general. In what he characterized as “a 
fox-guarding-the-hen-house dynamic” Grassley stated, “I am concerned 
that there is an inherent conflict of interest with Secretary Small 
nominating the IG who will be responsible for continuing the ongoing 
investigations regarding his salary and the contracts he entered into 
on the Smithsonian’s behalf.”

In e-mail communications with the National Coalition for History, SI 
spokesperson Linda St. Thomas stated that the new IG “will be from 
outside [the] SI, as both Tom Blair and Deborah Ritt were...Deputy 
Secretary [Sheila Burke] is working with the Inspector General 
Association and they are helping to form a search committee for the 
replacement.”

Furthermore, in response to an e-mail question posted by Washington 
Post reporter Adriane Quinlan, St. Thomas stated that fears that Small 
would have total control of the choice of Ritt’s replacement “are 
unfounded.” The list of final candidates would be interviewed by Small 
as well as the audit and review committee of the Board of Regents. In 
addition, candidates for the position will be given the opportunity to 
meet with the members of the Board of Regents without the presence of 
the secretary. Nevertheless, Debra S. Ritt, the outgoing IG who 
resigned just last week, met with Grassley, and according to the Post, 
she told the senator that her replacement should be hired by the 
regents, as it “provides greater independence.”

3. ROBERT BYRD NOW LONGEST SERVING SENATOR IN HISTORY
On 12 June 2006, the 88 year-old Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) marked 
his 17,327th day in the Senate thereby becoming the longest-serving 
senator in American history. Byrd, who has long held the record for the 
most Senate votes cast as well as for holding more leadership positions 
than any other senator in history, now also pulls ahead of the late 
South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who, until Monday, held the 
record as the “longest serving senator.”

How long Byrd will hold the record is a matter of controversy. Both 
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Daniel Inouye (D-HI) are younger 
than Byrd, and both have both served in excess of 43 years in the 
Senate. However, Joseph Biden (D-DE), whose career in the Senate began 
only a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday – the minimum age that the 
Constitution sets for a U.S. senator – could exceed them all, possibly 
by decades, should he serve as long as Byrd.

The Senate marked the occasion by appropriate tributes to Byrd, a 
champion for the funding of American history related programs. Senators 
gushed as the good senator struggled to maintain his composure; 
ultimately he exited the chamber without speaking.

This year Byrd is seeking his ninth term as senator from West Virginia, 
and, according to some, he faces his toughest re-election campaign in 
years – against millionaire GOP businessman John Raese. Raese, who is a 
relative political novice, has the strong support of the Republican 
Party, which is expected to pour money raised outside of the state into 
the campaign against Byrd, an outspoken critic of the Bush 
administration’s handling of the war in Iraq.

Because of his age (and frankly only because of his age) Byrd is 
considered vulnerable, but should he be defeated, the state of West 
Virginia stands to lose literally billions of dollars of federal monies 
which Byrd, because of his seniority standing in the Senate and 
position as Ranking Minority Member of the powerful Senate 
Appropriations Committee, has been and is able to deliver. Raese, by 
contrast, as a Senator novice, would most likely be assigned a spot as 
a member of some other, far less influential, committee.

Should Byrd be defeated, history would lose its most vocal and most 
important spokesman and appropriator for American history programs. For 
example, the Education Department’s “Teaching American History” 
initiative, which to date has received over a half-billion dollars, 
owes its funding directly to Byrd’s commitment and support. Byrd’s 
future is in the hands of West Virginia voters.

4. NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST WRAPS UP ANOTHER YEAR
National History Day, which in actuality is a year-long nonprofit 
education program dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of 
history in our nation’s school system, wrapped up its annual 
competition at the University of Maryland campus.

Each year, dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia 
documentaries, and research papers based on an annual theme are 
evaluated at local, state, and national conventions. Kicking off this 
year’s event that focused on the theme “Taking a Stand: People, Ideas, 
Events” were speeches by Linda Hunt, author of “Bold Spirit: Helga 
Estby’s Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America” and Fred H. Cate, a 
NHD alumnus and now professor at the Indiana University School of Law 
in Bloomington. Two days of judging followed with finalists making 
presentations the next day. The winners were announced during the gala 
awards ceremony. Students received cash awards as well as gold, silver, 
and bronze medals, and certificates that recognized individual 
achievements.

Among the winners announced is the first annual The History Channel 
Award for Outstanding Contribution in History Education – a $5,000 
award sponsored by The History Channel, that is presented an individual 
who has made an outstanding contribution to history education through 
service to the National History Day Program. The winner is James 
Barstow, a social studies teacher at the Science Focus Program in 
Lincoln. Nebraska.

NHD also has announced a new series of products specifically targeting 
NHD participants. Included is a manual called “A Guide to Historical 
Research Through the National History Day Program.” There are also 
individual guides on such subjects as how to make a historical 
documentary, how to develop a historical paper, how to create a 
historical exhibit, and a guide to on how to create a historical 
performance. Each guide is was written by an expert in the field and is 
priced under $40 – ordering details may be found at the NHD webpage at 
http://www.nhd.org/shop .

5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE RECORDS OF CONGRESS MEETS
The Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress met on 12 June in the 
U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. The central task before the 
committee was to conduct a technical review of the fourth Report of the 
Advisory Committee that is to be issued in December 2006.

Chairperson of the committee Karen L. Hass, Clerk of the House and 
Vice-Chair Emily J. Reynolds, Secretary of the Senate both made brief 
introductory remarks highlighting the accomplishments and developments 
relating to records and record-keeping in their respective chambers. 
Among the news items, Reynolds announced that Senate Historian Richard 
Baker’s book “200 Notable Days” – a compilation of Baker’s essays on 
the institution of the Senate – will soon be published. Members 
strained to hear the words of Archivist of the United States Allen 
Weinstein who addressed the group without aid of a microphone. The 
archivist briefed the committee on the recent much-publicized federal 
agency reclassification effort, the anticipated FY 2007 budget for 
NARA, recent Nazi War Crimes records releases, and the upcoming sale of 
the King Papers.

Following the committee’s formal review of the draft fourth report to 
Congress on the activities of the advisory committee, Karen Paul gave a 
detailed report of the May meeting of the Association of Centers for 
the Study of Congress. Among other things Paul stated that former 
Alabama Congressman Glen Browder, who addressed the association on the 
topic “What I learned About My Own Collection as I Processed It,” 
suggested the need for an advocacy group comprised of former members of 
Congress who would talk to present and former House/Senate members and 
convince them of the need for them to make arrangements to preserve and 
donate their official records and private papers to appropriate 
institutions. Paul stated that Browder agreed to head such an advocacy 
group.

Following NARA’s Center for Legislative Archives’ head Richard Hunt’s 
short report, the committee heard from IT Staff Director for the House 
Ways and Means Committee Ted Clark. Clark made a long and detailed 
presentation of a knowledge (records) management system for the control 
and preservation of members’ office records and papers. The new system, 
was developed by Clark and his associates as a pilot program for the 
office of Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) and has apparently captured the 
interest of the Congressional Management Foundation as a potential 
model records management system for Congressional offices. If adopted 
by a Congressional office, the system would serve the interests of 
present office managers as well as historians and political scientists 
as the system not only preserves records but because of its digital 
nature, also captures and processes office functions.

6. NEH ANNOUNCES $24.8 MILLION IN AWARDS
On 8 June 2006, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 
announced that 171 successful applicants will receive a total of $24.8 
million in grants and offers of matching funds for projects designed to 
advance humanities research and prepare scholarly editions, provide 
high quality public programming on television and in libraries, support 
projects in U.S. history and culture offered by state humanities 
councils, preserve and stabilize significant humanities collections, 
and support long-term plans for strengthening humanities programming at 
cultural institutions. A total of fifty-four of the successful grants 
are designated as "We the People" projects, a special recognition by 
the NEH for model projects that advance the study, teaching, and 
understanding of American history and culture.

“The humanities convey important stories of our world, and today’s NEH 
grant recipients are deeply engaged in advancing those stories through 
scholarly research, increased efforts to preserve our cultural 
heritage, and new public programs that engage our minds and broaden our 
understanding of human history,” said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. “NEH 
supports projects that are rigorous, wide-ranging, and substantial in 
their examination and illumination of the great events and great ideas 
of the past in our own nation and throughout the world.”

In this award cycle, scholars and institutions in 43 states and the 
District of Columbia received support from the NEH for a wide variety 
of awards made as NEH Challenge Grants, Federal/State Partnership 
Awards, Preservation and Access, Public Programs Awards, and Research 
Awards. A complete state-by-state listing of grants and offers is 
available in three Adobe PDF files on the NEH website at 
http://www.humanities.gov .

7. NHPRC ANNOUNCES THREE NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
During its May 2006 meeting, the National Historical Publications and 
Records Commission (NHPRC) approved three grant opportunities for the 
next round of applications. Applications are being accepted against a 2 
October 2006 deadline for an “Archives Leadership Institute”; 
“Digitizing Historical Records” projects; and “Historical Documentary 
Editing Fellowships.”

For the “Archives Leadership Institute,” the commission seeks proposals 
 from organizations to design and implement an Archives Leadership 
Institute to provide executive leadership training for archivists and 
records managers, as well as sharpening skills in nonprofit management 
and areas of particular concern in archives. The Institute is 
envisioned as comparable to the Museum Leadership Institute run by the 
Getty Institute; the Seminar in Historical Administration sponsored by 
the American Association of State and Local History, the American 
Association of Museums, Colonial Williamsburg, Indiana Historical 
Society, the National Park Service, and the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation; and the Frye Leadership Institute's for Higher Education 
Professionals; and the NHPRC-sponsored Institute for the Editing of 
Historical Documents.
The Archival Leadership Institute seeks to bring to tomorrow's leaders 
the insights and understanding necessary for increasing public use and 
appreciation of archives. One award, for a period of up to three years 
beginning in January 2007, will be made, with the expectation that at 
least two institutes will take place during that period. The total 
available funds are up to $250,000, and cost sharing may be waived. The 
commission anticipates that the developer of an effective institute 
will have an ongoing relationship with the commission in future years. 
The full announcement is available at: 
http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/leadership.html

For its “Digitizing Historical Records” initiative, the commission 
seeks proposals to test and implement cost-effective methods to scan 
historical record collections and make digital versions freely 
available on the Internet. The key aspect to this pilot program is to 
demonstrate how entire archival collections can be digitized and 
uploaded to the Web, thereby making materials more quickly and readily 
available to the public.

Projects must focus on digitizing archival components that consist of 
nationally-significant materials. Archival components may be entire 
collections or series. The selected materials should already be 
processed so that projects can use existing information to create 
metadata for the digitized collection. The selected materials should 
include enough records to test the feasibility and value of 
disseminating large quantities of historical sources based on standard 
archival methods of description and arrangement (most likely using 
existing Encoded Archival Description finding aids). Goals of these 
projects are to produce entire collections or series useable online as 
digital images and descriptions of methods and practices that other 
institutions can use to reproduce the results.

The commission intends to allocate one to three awards of up to a total 
of $150,000 each. Each project may be up to three years in duration. 
The commission will provide up to 50 percent of the total project 
costs, which grantees must match through cost sharing. The full 
announcement is available at: 
http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/digitizing.html

Finally, the commission is re-instituting its Historical Documentary 
Editing Fellowships in FY 2007. Only current and active NHPRC-supported 
publications projects are eligible to apply, and the projects 
themselves will be responsible for screening and hiring their own 
fellows through the NHPRC grant funds. Applicants should demonstrate 
the capability to provide strong post-graduate training in documentary 
editing, including document collection, accessioning, and control; 
selection; transcription; annotation; proofreading; indexing; and 
project management.

The commission provides this funding to ensure that recent History 
Ph.D.s or advanced graduate students have exposure to historical 
editing techniques and careers. The host institution may use a limited 
amount of funds to cover costs of recruiting a fellow and giving the 
fellow limited travel and educational opportunities. Awards are for one 
year grants of $55,000 each, with no cost sharing requirements. 
Depending on the quality of proposals and availability of funding, the 
commission expects to fund one to two fellowship projects, each with a 
single fellow. The full announcement is available at: 
http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/editing.html . All 
announcements are also available via the NHPRC website at: 
http://www.grants.gov .

8. BITS AND BYTES
Due to space constraints, no postings this week.

9. ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
Two postings this week: In “Road Plans Put Stonehenge Status At Risk” 
(The Guardian; 14 June 2006), the British newspaper report that 
Stonehenge risks being stripped of its world heritage site status 
because of government proposal to ease traffic congestion at the 
monument. For the article go to: 
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1796829,00.html.

The second posting, “Archeologists Try to Save Ancient Sites” (Yahoo 
News; 9 June 2006), discusses a preservation problem a little closer to 
home. Government funded archeologists are making a concerted effort to 
survey ancient sites in Utah before looters get to them first. For the 
article that also discusses the efforts of various governmental 
agencies to celebrate the centennial of the Antiquities Act go to: 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060609/ap_on_sc/antiquities_act_2.

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