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HABS/HAER/HALS Webinar: In Pursuit of the Complete Resume of the Builder's Art

On June 13, 2012, HABS/HAER/HALS presented a webinar that addressed the role that the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and the Historic American Landscapes Survey plays in archiving and disseminating documentation produced by and for State Historic Preservation offices through submission to the collections. It discussed the value that HABS has historically placed on sites and structures at all levels of significance, national, state, and local, as was conveyed in the original HABS proposal that called for documentation that represents a "complete resume of the builder's art." By so doing HABS/HAER/HALS dispeled the myth that we accept only documentation of nationally significant sites into the collection. The webinar provided guidance for producing and submitting documentation to program standards and discussed the ways that we can include materials more commonly produced by SHPO offices. We also provided insight into the use of the collections via the internet, which averages about 50,000 visits per month, with K-through 12 grade students and educators as the fastest growing user group. What better way to make your state's historic sites known and accessible and contribute to a national understanding of the cultural heritage of the nation!

Presenters: Anne Mason, Collections Manager, HABS/HAER/HALS; Catherine Lavoie, Chief, HABS

Recording (audio and visuals) of presentation - in WMV format about 1 hour. Download then play in Window Media Player or similar player.

PDF of the powerpoint slides without audio (PDF 15 MB)