22835: Burnham: National Archives (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: thor burnham <thorald_mb@hotmail.com>

Dear Bob:

I spent nearly 8 months in the national archives in 2003. They are in much
better condition now than they were 5 or 10 years ago, based on what I was
told and what I saw.

Like most arms of the government, they suffer from a severe shortage of
funds, which becomes apparent when one sees the stacks of documents which
have yet to be organized and the state of the building, although some
renovations had taken place before I arrived.

There is marked improvement, however, and the group that works there
presently are committed and professional, and passionate about their work.
They press on despite the obstacles and have managed to restore and maintain
a good portion of the archive.

Of course, storing documents in a climate such as Haiti's is no easy task,
and far too much of the archival material has been lost due to neglect and
those greedy bugs that eat paper.

As for the issue of document theft, I had a conversation with a Haitian
author who has access to more resources than most, and has spent a
considerable sum trying to purchase as many as possible. He admits that
there is a market for the documents and that he has been duped numerous
times.

That being said, if anyone knows where I can get my hands on nineteenth
century judicial records, do tell.

best,
Thor Burnham