Quipu
A knotted cord used by the Pueblo Indians to record and transmit information during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680
| A NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED
BY THE NEW MEXICO STATE RECORDS CENTER AND ARCHIVES. 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 (505) 476-7900 FAX (505) 476-7901 |
| January 2000 Access to and Preservation of New Mexico's Public Records Volume 5.0 |
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Drama and Passion in the New Mexico State Records By Melissa Salazar,
During recent strategic planning meetings, staff of the State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) identified several issues compromising the ability of the agency to satisfy its mission. While not the most pressing, the lack of public presence in the archives was a concern. In addressing this matter, several root causes were listed, including insufficient outreach and a general lack of awareness about our collections. As archivists, our primary goal is to maintain, preserve, and make available to the public the permanent records of New Mexico. We appraise, arrange, and describe records for public use. However, if the public is unaware of these records, what purpose do we serve? In response to this dilemma, I began to think of ways to educate and excite the public about who, what, where, and why we are? But how does one get past the general misunderstandings and misconceptions that exist? Just recently, in fact, a friend - an archives regular - asked how I ended up in a "nerd job." "A nerd job?" I stammered back. "Me, Melissa T. Salazar, a nerd? No, it can't be true!" Unfortunately, individuals hear the word archives or archivist and visualize bookish, unapproachable individuals, confined to dark, dusty basements filled with old, weary documents. Yes, imagine an archivist, bifocals totter at the edge of her nose, a no. 2 pencil pokes through her braided bun, as she methodically and painfully examines document after document. It sounds incredibly boring and somewhat intimidating, but to the contrary. The archives and the documents contained within are imbued with a life of their own. They embody the living past and hold lessons for the future. So how is this excitement expressed to the public? Well, the answer came while studying at the National Archives Institute. During one of the sessions, an instructor gave a spirited talk about the passion and drama of the archives. Society responds to passion and drama, she asserted, and within our collections these two elements wait to be discovered. So in capitalizing on society’s fascination with drama and passion, I decided to illustrate the passion and drama that exist within our own collections. Recently, I completed processing the Doņa Ana and Guadalupe District Court Records and the Supreme Court Law Library State Agency Collection. I concluded that the District Court Records of New Mexico exemplify passion and drama. In processing the collection, words such as seduction, tax evasion, abandonment, embezzlement, fornication, fraud, conspiracy, libel, defamation of character, assault, rape, sodomy, manslaughter, and murder leapt from the pages onto the computer screen. Intrigue lurked in every acid-free folder. Jessica Fletcher, Perry Mason, and Ben Matlock would have had a field day. The Archives and Historical Services Division houses many of New Mexico's territorial and district court records. Finding aids are available and are arranged by series: record books, docket books, and criminal and civil cases. Many records are on microfilm due to the fragility of the originals. The district court records hold great potential for researchers. They contain genealogical information, social and cultural commentaries, statistics on crime, etc. Researchers, for example, might examine violent crimes perpetrated against females in the early 1900s. In processing a 1920 assault case, I came upon an envelope filled with hair. Apparently, the victim’s hair was pulled from her head as her assailant battered her. The hair was introduced as evidence in the case (No. 5766) as exhibit A. Other crimes committed against women include abandonment, seduction, murder, and rape. Seduction was usually charged when an individual "did unlawfully and feloniously under and by means of a promise of marriage… seduce and have illicit intercourse…under and by means of such a promise of marriage." In Doņa Ana County many crimes were perpetrated against girls under the age of eighteen. In one murder case, the only eyewitness was a six-year-old girl. The youngster testified she watched as her father struck her mother with an axe. Included in this case are a transcript of the young girl’s account of the events. One might also research crimes committed by wives against their husbands. In one case, a woman is charged with poisoning her husband with strychnine. Both her children are also charged. In examining the district court records, one might conclude that tempers ran high in both Doņa Ana and Guadalupe counties at the turn of the century. The most common crime committed in both counties was assault or assault with a deadly weapon. Another crime common to both areas was the larceny of neat cattle. Perhaps this breed of bovine picked up after itself. Amazingly, however, no one was ever indicted for stealing messy cows. It should be noted that sheep and horses also were driven off regularly by rustlers, many being repeat offenders. Laborio Lucero, for example, was indicted in 1907 and in 1912 on several counts of cattle rustling and other related crimes. According to the court records, he "did, then and there unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly steal, take, lead, drive, kill, and carry away" neat cattle. In 1912, Mr. Lucero appealed the guilty decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court. For anyone researching rustling in New Mexico, the district court records are a bountiful resource. While the district court cases exemplify drama and passion, it is certainly not the only collection that contains fascinating and engaging material. The Supreme Court Law Library State Agency Collection, arranged alphabetically by State agency name, consists of interesting records created by various State agencies. The materials include biennial reports, annual reports, laws, orders, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, publications, minutes, financial records, clippings, maps, catalogs, bulletins, pamphlets, newsletters, training guides, governors’ messages and inaugurations, directories, memorandums, and correspondence issued by New Mexico State agencies from 1879-1977. The material is in a variety of formats, including books, pamphlets, loose documents, and bound volumes. The bulk of the collection consists of annual and biennial reports for individual state agencies. Publications include The New Mexico Blue Book (1882-1968 with some gaps) issued by the Secretary of State, The Enchanted News (1957-1969) issued by the Penitentiary of New Mexico, The Land of Sunshine (1906), New Mexico (1890 and 1894), and New Mexico Illustrated (1882-1883) all issued by the Bureau of Immigration. The Land of Sunshine and New Mexico include maps of New Mexico. Other maps in the collection include a game refuge map issued by the Game and Fish Department, quadrangle and road maps issued by the State Highway Department, and reconnaissance and geologic maps issued by the Institute of Mining and Technology. Management of Electronic Records By Donald Padilla,
The Records Management Division is currently developing a new administrative rule, Management of Electronic Records. This rule is the first major effort of the State Records Center and Archives to translate traditional records and information management concepts that have been used to provide for the preservation and disposition of visible records media (paper and microform-based document information systems) to electronic record keeping systems. The objective of this rule is to ensure that proper records and information management practices are implemented and adhered to by State government entities. The rule will ensure uniformity and facilitate the accessibility to public records of government entities and shall be a guideline for the management of electronic records created and/or maintained on personal computers and on their networks. The retention, preservation, and disposition of various components of an electronic information system (system documentation, system software, input data, output data, system data) are addressed within the rule. Hard-drive (hard-disk) record keeping. The rule proposes that records created and/or maintained on personal computer hard drives are the working copies or draft copies of official records created by and for State government. The rule further proposes that once a final draft is produced (paper, microfilm, electronic), these working or draft copies are no longer needed and are considered non-records. Definitive criteria are outlined to maintain the integrity of record drafts created and/or maintained on personal computer hard drives and to ensure their accessibility. Records created and/or maintained on a system network drive or electronic records imported from outside sources. These records placed on system network drives are meant to be shared by the users of the network. These records may be draft copies (revisions) or final draft (official copy of record) of agency documents. The rule outlines definitive criteria to ensure that records maintained on a network drive are accessible and to ensure that proper records and information management principles are followed. The storage of records on electronic media. Electronic records with a set retention may be transferred to the State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) for temporary storage in the electronic media vault until said records reach their legal retention and then destroyed. The rule sets the criteria for transferring electronic records with permanent retention into the State Archives. Safeguarding electronic records. Agencies must safeguard all electronic records to ensure that individuals do not alter, erase, or in any way change the content of public records for fraudulent purposes. In addition to safeguarding against deliberate tampering with records, agencies must guard against storage media deterioration and technological obsolescence. Hardware or software obsolescence can leave electronic records inaccessible over a period of time. Data migration is the process of moving or copying data between a variety of computer storage devices based on media capacity, access time, and frequency of user request for the media. Although data migration inherently involves altering data, it can be used successfully to retain and access records beyond the obsolescence of the software or hardware on which they are maintained. Backup of electronic records ensures the agency always has available the necessary electronic records to conduct its program requirements. Electronic mail. Electronic mail is an electronic communication tool used to transport information and/or copies of records. The informational value of these communications and of the records attached is discussed along with their retention, storage, and disposition. Audio messaging. Finally, a section is reserved for audio messaging. Audio messaging or voice mail is a telecommunications tool used to convey information and/or messages that are digitized and can be stored and subsequently retrieved in audio or visual format. The State Records Center and Archives regards the management of electronic records as crucial to the future of records and information management. Because records retention, preservation and disposition are perhaps the most evident and broadly applied components of records management, the electronic translation of these principles is critical to the future of public records. If records and information are to be successfully preserved and accessed in the next millennium, state government must make a successful transition from the management of visible records media to the management of electronic records in a high tech environment. The SRCA encourages all those who are interested in obtaining a copy of this proposed rule to contact the Records Management Division at (505) 476-4920. The SRCA also solicits your comment on the rule. Starting the New Year With Big Plans By Jo Anne Jager,
While basking in the glow of success with the first year of its strategic plan activities, the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB) is making ambitious plans for its entrada to the "twenties." As the calendar opens, responses to a call for proposals for grants to local projects will be landing on the desk of the grants administrator, Jo Anne Jager. Proposals for historical records assessment, preservation, and access projects, and for program development, training of staff, research, and even documentary edition projects, will be received until the February 1 deadline. Judging from the inquiries and requests for the application packet, the Board can anticipate very gratifying results to its promotion of the Historical Records Grants Program for this, the second round of grants. All qualified repositories are encouraged to submit their proposals before the February 1 deadline. As of January 1, 2000, sixteen re-grant projects are currently funded. Three were for assessment of or planning for archival systems, three involved re-housing existing collections, three were to improve access by creating finding aids, and four involved preservation of and access to photograph collections. Two were for microfilming, one was for conservation and one was for conducting an archival management workshop. All told, five of the seven categories of projects that the Board wished to encourage were attempted. The remaining two, research and documentary publication, have not been top priorities but support is available for those, too. NMHRAB members agree there is still much work to be done to identify significant records, to locate fugitive records, and to share record collections information among repositories and the public they serve. By promoting both the Historical Records Grant Program and the training sessions in concert, the Board’s strategy for improving the historical records environment was well received. As of November 30, registrants for Board-sponsored training sessions numbered 139. In addition, the four Archival Holdings Maintenance workshops sponsored by New Mexico Preservation Alliance, with its NMHRAB grant, registered 134, and turned some away. The exposure was broad and effective. By November 1, when the call for proposals for the second round of grants was issued, over 150 application packets had already been distributed through the combined publicity efforts. In the year ahead the Board will focus its attention on initiating Native American records assessment programs, documenting regional and statewide history, adopting an inclusive statement of need to promote support for historical records improvement, and advocating the teaching of New Mexico history from its many diverse perspectives. With so much more work to do, NMHRAB must find ways to bring managerial and financial support to the function of historical records care for the years to come. For more information about support for records and archives management in your repository, contact Jo Anne Jager at the State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe. Changing the Rules on Filing Rules in State Government By L. Elaine Olah,
The State Record Center and Archives proposes repealing existing regulations and replacing them with new rules governing the filing of regulations by state agencies. The regulations are intended to provide a consistent system for identifying and formatting rules created and promulgated by state agencies. An electronic database of current rules was envisioned to improve access to applicable rules on any given topic. This database is the New Mexico Administrative Code or NMAC. When style and format changes were implemented to allow for NMAC’s creation we thought that we (the records center) could be more flexible in allowing agencies to number and format their rules close to existing schemes. We now know that this flexibility prevented appropriate organization of rule material to facilitate retrieval in the NMAC database. This practice makes knowing what you are looking at within a rule is often difficult. It makes training of agency staff charged with formatting rule material difficult – there are simply too many contingencies. Finally, it makes rule review by records center staff difficult. The changes we have made in the proposed rules are aimed at addressing these difficulties. The code that is currently produced is not easily accessible and it is not accurate. The credibility that results from an accurate and up-to-date code is another objective of the proposed changes to the code and facilitates widespread use by agencies and the public. Agencies’ reported concerns with some of the provisions of the existing regulation. The most notable is the history note and the requirement to provide an electronic version of formally published material incorporated in a rule. These concerns are also addressed with the changes in the proposed rule. Changes to the New Mexico Administrative Code regulation include the bulk of substantive changes to the regulations. These changes:
The result of the proposed changes to the rule will mean that some rules will require restructuring. This may entail moving a part out of its existing chapter (chapters must be added to achieve the kind of grouping of related parts that agencies attempted through the use of sub-parts and sub-sub parts) or a reassignment of a part number to accommodate additional rules in a chapter. We hope to minimize the this type of movement. Renumbering (application of title, chapter, part, section, etc. designations) and reformatting (the application of the style requirements) will be the biggest change for most existing rules. Where title, chapter, parts and sections may not change, how they are presented in the rule may - although this change should be minor. The proposed changes to the New Mexico Register and Emergency Rule regulations were not as extensive as those to the NM Administrative Code. The changes in these two rules are intended to clarify responsibilities of the records center and filing agencies. The State Record Center and Archives held its public hearing on December 20, 1999 to consider adoption of proposed revisions to its rules governing the filing of regulations by state agencies. The hearing followed three public meetings with state agencies to discuss the proposed changes. In order to allow adequate opportunity for affected parties to comment on the proposed rules, the comment period will be extended until January 14, 2000. The final adoption of the rules will be postponed until February 2000. Proposed rules and supplemental information, including detailed list of changes to existing regulations can be accessed at http://www.state.nm.us/cpr. The rules are in "pdf" format and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to access them. A Word 97 version of the rule(s) or other information can be sent to you by submitting an e-mail request to: rules@rain.state.nm.us. A paper version can also be provided by contacting the State Rules Division at (505) 476-7907. Additional information will be posted on the Commission’s web-site throughout the rule-making process so that interested parties can follow our progress towards finalizing the rules. Please address comments and questions to: L. Elaine Olah, State Records Administrator
Phone: (505) 476-7902 E-mail: eolah@rain.state.nm.us
Upcoming Training Offered by the By Paula Flores
Preserving New Mexico’s Historical Record Workshop:
Records and Information Management Training Sessions:
NMAC Training Sessions:
History of
New Mexico Course to be By Robert J. Torrez, State
Historian
The New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) will offer State employees and the general public the opportunity to attend a course in the History of New Mexico. The course provides a survey of the broad spectrum of the state’s long and colorful history. It is open to all State employees, and may be of special interest to those who work in tourism related positions. The course is also open to the general public on a space available basis. There are no costs or fees to register or attend. The course instructor is Robert J. Torrez, State Historian. The schedule for 2000 is as follows:
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