Links
to state laws and regulations on the sales of public records
CoSA-SAA-NAGARA
Statement Regarding the Sale of Historical Public Records through Online
Auctions
Council of State Historical Records Coordinators
National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators
Society of American Archivists
February 2004
PDF
version of statement
Historical records of government agencies document
actions taken by governments from the local level to the national in
conducting the public’s business. They represent the essential
information by which all citizens may understand the consequences of
decisions made by public agencies. They allow the governed to hold those
who govern accountable. To that end, these documents should remain where
they are available for public inspection.
As documents of all types have become increasingly
collectible, the number of official government records appearing for
sale through online venues such as eBay has grown. Their disappearance
into private hands deprives the public of access to important historical
details concerning the development of property rights, taxation, judicial
actions, and community growth, as well as the enduring impact of human
beings upon their surrounding environments.
To protect the integrity of the public record and
to ensure continuing public access to necessary historical documents,
we respectfully request eBay’s assistance in alerting its users
to the ramifications of the sale of historical public records. We propose
that notices be posted on its site at appropriate locations identifying
the legal issues involving public records and directing potential buyers
and sellers to a Web site created and maintained by the Council of State
Historical Records Coordinators (COSHRC). This Web site will provide
links to definitions of public records, to laws that govern their disposition
and to state and federal agencies that have responsibility for them.
It will help eBay customers to distinguish the kinds of records that
should not be handled by private parties and will provide them with
access to expert advice to answer questions about public documents.
The on-going loss of portions of our documentary heritage
risks nothing less than erasing part of our national memory. As representatives
of those professions charged with protecting that documentary heritage,
we look forward to working with eBay through this or other appropriate
action to help preserve and provide broad public access to America’s
historical public records.
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Notes for consideration:
1. The Web site will need to provide a series
of specific definitions of official public records within the federal,
state and local contexts in order to fulfill its stated role of helping
the buyer and seller recognize what to avoid. NARA’s “Personal
Papers of Executive Branch Officials” (Management Guide Series,
1992) offers the following basic statement: Federal records are “all
documentary materials, regardless of physical form, that are made or
received by an agency of the U. S. Government under Federal law or in
connection with the transaction of public business, and preserved or
appropriate for preservation as evidence of agency activities or because
of the value of the information they contain.” (page 4) The pamphlet
then goes on to offer various qualifications. Other definitions will
vary from state to state and should appear on each state’s specific
site.
2. The site should offer direct links not only
to the relevant parts of NARA and federal legislation but also to as
many state archives/historical records commissions or related bodies
as possible, especially in those states that have specific guidelines
about the disposition of public records.
3. The state Web sites should also include examples
of documents illegally sold to serve as illustrative case studies.
