A Symposium:  The September 11, 2001 World Trade Center Attacks Documentation Efforts—Five Years On

 

March 29, 2007 – 9 am to 4:30 pm

SPCS Woolworth Conference Center, 15 Barclay St., New York City

Cost: $15 includes box lunch on site and morning beverages

 

In the weeks, months and years following the attacks on the World Trade Center a number of projects were initiated to document the events and the reaction to them.   The National Historical Publications and Records Commission provided funding to the New York State Archives and the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board (NYSHRAB) to help these efforts along.  A substantial number of grass-roots efforts are also under way through other funding sources.

 

It is more than five years since these efforts began.  The challenges of documenting the attacks include capturing records created in a wide variety of media, addressing the preservation of these records, and providing access to them while addressing concerns over privacy and civil liberties. There is a need for archivists, historians, curators and local government historians to review these documentation efforts in conversation with representatives from the family/survivor community, first responders and other federal, state and local government agencies to ensure that the historical record is equitable and correspondingly broad.

 

On March 29, these groups will convene for a daylong symposium to review documentation efforts to date and to determine the course for future documentation activities.  The symposium will begin with a keynote address by Dr. James Young, who served on the jury for World Trade Center Memorial and is writing a book about his experiences.   Six representative projects from the federal, state and local government will be presented, as well as projects from Hofstra, the College of Staten Island and the Voices of September 11th. 

 

After lunch, participants will break out into small groups to discuss what has worked so far, what needs improvement, what else needs to be done and what resources are needed to carry this work on.  Following the individual sessions, the group will reconvene to discuss their findings and develop a strategy for further work. 

 

This symposium is suitable for professional archivists, conservators, record managers, historians, and those with collections related to the event, as well as persons affected by the event directly or indirectly.

Seating is limited to 100.

 

To register, contact Laura Zelasnic ([log in to unmask]) at the New York State Archives.   Please provide your name (and anyone you are bringing with you), your preference for the box lunch (No preference, vegetarian, or any other dietary information) and any special accommodations needed.   Payment for the lunch will be accepted on the day of the symposium.   Checks should be payable to the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York.    Directions to the conference center will be provided with confirmation of your registration.

Laura Zelasnic
Assistant Archivist
Documentary Heritage Program
New York State Archives
(518) 402-5077