Town Board wants historical records to get with the times

By JEFF MORRIS 

The Bedford Town Historian’s Office will be getting a digital and organizational upgrade.

A contract approved by the Town Board on Jan. 6 calls for Lynn Ryan to be brought in as a consultant “to evaluate and update the systems and processes at the Bedford Town Historian’s offices.”

Ryan retired in 2024 after 28 years at the Bedford Historical Society, where she had been executive director since 2001. Upon her retirement, she was presented with a proclamation by the Town Board, declaring Sept. 28, 2024, as “Lynn Ryan Day,” and lauding her leadership of historical society, where she was said to have “driven extensive renovation projects, launched beloved educational programs, enhanced the Bedford Museum by creating special exhibits and events to showcase history” and “worked tirelessly to memorialize, digitize and promote Bedford’s recorded history.”

The proclamation also identified Ryan as the founding member of the Bedford Village Business Association, where she “served as President and a guiding force for many years,” and as a member of the Advisory Board of the Bedford Playhouse.

While the office of the town historian is a part of town government, the Historical Society is a private entity that is separate from the town. BHS is a nonprofit, educational organization committed to preserving historic town properties, focused mainly on Bedford Village and the original Village Green. It owns and maintains 10 historic properties, including the Court House and General Store.

On the other hand, the town historian, John Stockbridge, is responsible to all of Bedford, and is described on the town website as the keeper of oral and written historical documents for the town. The primary focus of the town historian is described as lying within property studies and genealogical inquiries. 

“Numerous resources are available to research genealogies and historic sites, tracing back to the town’s foundation in 1680,” says the description. The office also intersects with Ryan’s former organization: “Additionally,” says the description, “part of the role of the Town Historian is to hold partial governance over town preservation efforts, contributing to the Historic Building Preservation Commission, Friends of Bedford Burial Grounds, and The Bedford Historical Society.”

Current conditions

The proposal that was placed before the board was for the consultant to “evaluate and update systems to acquire, maintain, and use Bedford Historical Records,” and it goes into detail about deficiencies that currently exist. The proposal describes the Town Historian’s Office as maintaining “almost exclusively paper archives to answer research requests. Some digital content is available but there is no process for commingling data except within the personal knowledge base of the Town Historian and his assistant.” 

According to the description, “there is no central digital file system where completed research projects are stored and no database to search for information — names, properties, or important events.” It goes on to say that all records are stored in multiple paper files within four areas of filing cabinets. 

“There exists a paper ‘inventory’ but it is printed and its digital location is unknown,” says the proposal. “There is a library of books, research volumes, and other printed materials but it is not completely catalogued so searching it for a particular volume is time-consuming, at best.” 

The proposal further states that additions to the library “have not been catalogued in some time and not all books are in the same location. Many of the original historic documents and records are not stored in conservation materials and will deteriorate unless re-housed in archive-safe materials.”

The historian’s office is on the top floor of the Town House. One of the areas under scrutiny in the proposal is the building’s attic; it says, “Items stored in the attic storage area may or may not be affected by the lack of climate control but in general attics are not the best location for storing anything on paper. There are also a number of framed documents and maps which should be either hung or unframed and stored or digitized.”

According to the history of BHS posted on their website, Ryan apparently has experience with this type of work. It says, “In 2008 we refreshed the museum exhibits at the Court House and digitized and stored our collections in accordance with accepted museum practices.”

Goals

The contract presents four project goals: to determine what records and resources are available in the town historian’s library/offices and how these are used for research in various areas; to research and determine how existing digitized town records can be assimilated with historical records; to research and evaluate current methods for collecting historical records, accessing existing Bedford data that will become part of the historical records, and answering requests; formulate best practices methods for ongoing collection of records in conjunction with town officials and town historians so the process is smooth and well understood by each department; and to develop a process for answering, tracking and filing research requests to completion.

Steps toward the completion of the contract goals are specified, beginning with meeting with the town historian and his assistant, and with the town clerk, to review the current situation and existing digital and printed records, and make an assessment of best practices and software. Among the steps enumerated, Ryan is to conduct a physical inventory, evaluate record-keeping criteria, determine needs for physical storage, and make recommendations.

The deliverables

The results of the contract are to include a written, searchable digital inventory of records, their locations, and recommendations for digitizing and rehousing of the materials. Also expected is a template for digital file storage on the town historian’s desktop or wherever the town prefers, and, “if time permits and files are available,” existing digital records will be included. Ryan is also expected to provide written procedures for acquiring, maintaining, and using Bedford historical records through the town historian’s Library & Research Center.

It is estimated that it will take 75 hours to complete the project, at an hourly rate of $100 and with an April 1, 2026, deadline.

The board approved the proposed contract. Supervisor Ellen Calves said there are “a lot of documents in the historian’s office” along with boxes of historical records, reports and artifacts “we would like to categorize,” and hoped that once this engagement is completed, they can then have interns and staff working on implementing the outcome “over time.”