Intern Amy Manion processing the records of Detroit's Afro-American Mission. |
Intern Amy Manion processing the records of Detroit's Afro-American Mission. |
Our processing during the past year added or updated thirty-three collections (twenty-four consisting of paper documents, nine of oral history interviews) to the documents Archives researchers have access to. Below is further information on individual collections (including samples) and processing statistics.
In some categories, there were either noticeable gains from previous years or solidifying of earlier achievements. The Archives was able to reduce its records and papers processing hours per cubic foot to a new five-year low at 5.3 hours; the 2000 upward trend in the cost per cubic foot to process those documents was reversed and brought back to the 1999 level. In describing oral history interviews, the staff has established a pattern of consistantly processing the recordings at a rate of four to five hours per recorded hour. Only slightly higher than the 2000 level, this year's transcription continued to be more time and cost efficient, with each recorded hour requiring 13.7 hours of staff time.
Two major accomplishments during 2001 were the completion of the conversion of guides to HTML format for Web use and revision of the department's processing manual. The completion of HTML project, begun in 1999, was done with increased efficiency and brought the final 131 guides into this more searchable form, making descriptions of all 594 collections available in this format; this was done with increased efficiency. The online processing manual facilitates easier staff use and more consistant processing. The staff's third accomplishment is the consistent allocation of roughly a quarter of its time to processing coupled with increased efficiency over the past several years in all areas, making it possible to more effectively plan future processing.
Brief descriptions of collections processed during 2001 follow, with Web site-linked collection numbers on the left and a synopsis on the right. For the twenty-four collections consisting primarily of paper documents, the staff...
| CN# | Description |
| 10 | Expanded the collection of BGEA Board photo books to include three more recent volumes which depict BGEA crusades and other annual activities. |
| 15 | Intergrated almost 2.0 cubic feet of material into a collection of Billy Graham's personal materials, including a little correspondence and some sermon transcripts. |
| 16 | Added procedure books (each a compilation of material produced for a crusade like executive committee minutes, committee form letters, promotional material, press releases and meeting programs) from twenty-one BGEA crusades during the 1980s and 90s. |
| 17 | Incorporated crusade director Henry Holley's files from the BGEA's Mission 94 crusade in Tokyo into this crusade activities collection. |
| 24 | Added three more audio recordings (from 1974 and 1980) to this collection of press conference records. |
| 26 | Included sixty wire recordings of Billy Graham's sermons during his 1949 Los Angeles meetings. |
| 29 | More than doubled this collection of material about Billy Sunday, adding newspaper scrapbooks, photo postcards, and a booklet with the transcripts of Harry Ironside's and Homer Rodeheaver's comments at Sunday's memorial service at Moody Church in November 1935. |
| 54 | Expanded the records (films, videos, advertisements, clippings and artwork) of the Walter F. Bennett advertizing firm to include correspondence, scripts, photographs and posters. The Bennett company became the public relations firm for the BGEA in 1950, handling the Hour of Decision radio and television programs, the advertising for most of the crusades, and Billy Graham's daily newspaper column "My Answer." |
| 74 | More than tripled the size of this collection of materials about Billy Graham from non-BGEA sources, including audio tapes, films, photographs and videotapes. Among these are filmed interviews with the Grahams by Edward R. Murrow and F. Lee Bailey, and a film produced by the US government's Office of Economic Opportunity featuring a conversation between Graham and Sargeant Shriver about and tour of communities action program in North Carolina. |
| 102 | Broadened this collection of photograph records of BGEA sermons and crusade music to include thirteen new recordings. |
| 106 | Tripled the documents of and about pastor and evangelist Henry Wellington Stough by adding eighteen notebooks of his sermon notes. |
| 113 | Added fifty-one video tapes of BGEA crusade meetings between 1949 and 2000. |
| 165 | Updated the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies' (EFMA) records to include additional correspondence files on it's services to members agencies. |
| 178 | Added over fifteen cubic feet of missiologist and church growth specialist Donald McGavran's correspondence, Institute of Church Growth & School of World Missions files, lectures and sermons, and book and article manuscripts. |
| 191 | Integrated two phonograph records, some sermon transcripts and 1998 program cards into the records of the BGEA's Hour of Decision radio broadcast. |
| 274 | Expanded sixfold the records of Prison Fellowship Ministries to include photo albums and administrative documents recording most PFM activities between 1978 and 1989. |
| 275 | Incorporated into Chuck Colson's papers his speech and article manuscripts, as well as files of his literary assistant. |
| 357 | Added a pamphlet and copies of letters from Billy Graham to Percy Crawford to the Crawford papers |
| 362 | Opened over seventeen cubic feet of Voice of Calvary Ministries administrative records, documenting John Perkins' pioneering work, and VOC's evangelism and other ministry in Jackson and rural Mississippi, primarily in the African American community. |
| 552 | Made available for the first time the papers, primarily correspondence, of Raymond and Lillian Braun, missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions in the Central African Republic between 1926 and 1972. |
| 567 | Opened an oral history with and personal papers of Wil Norton, educator, missionary, and ministry executive, documenting his childhood and education, work at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Wheaton College Graduate School, involvement in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and Evangelical Literature Overseas, and research material he gathered on Wheaton College's influence on missions. |
| 572 | Made available the papers of Phil Armstrong, co-founder of Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (now SEND International) and its general director during five decades. Although not Armstrong's administrative files as FEGC director, his papers include his correspondence, audio recordings of messages on mission themes, photographs, and materials related to his accidental death in an airplane crash while surveying mission opportunities with other colleagues in Alaska. |
| 573 | Opened the records of Detroit's Afro-American Mission, which consist of minutes, budgets, proposals, pamphlets, reports, videocassettes, and other material showing the origins of the agency and its activities, including evangelism, teaching and meeting social needs in metro-Detroit. |
| SC 112 |
Made accessible one folder telling the story of Victor Cory's participation in the 1962 Chicago Crusade, the naming of Decision magazine, and opposition of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA) to the Chicago crusade, and a critique of the BGEA's policy of working with Roman Catholic and liberal Protestant churches. . |
Among the twenty-one interviews in nine oral history collections that became available during the year were:
| 447 | Three interviews with missionary Scott Harbert, including comments about his conversion, work with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in the US and Africa Inland Mission in Kenya, and other mission-related subjects. |
| 473 | Five interviews with Latin America Mission missionary and executive Mike Berg about his early life, education, and early ministry, experience in Costa Rica in education and literature publishing, leadership of the mission, Latin American and American colleagues, indigenous leadership of ministries, evangelism in Central America, and more. |
| 478 | Two interviews with missionary Paul Buyse about his youth as a child of missionaries in the Belgian Congo, missionary training, and work with Africa Inland Mission in the Belgian Congo (later Zaire). |
| 479 | Two interviews with missionary William Stier about his work with Africa Inland Mission in Tanzania from the 1930s to the 1970s, the transition from missionary to indigenous supervision, traditional religions, and the dynamics of tribalism on missions and the church. |
| 480 | Two interviews with missionary Margaret Clapper about her work with Africa Inland Mission in the Belgian Congo (later Zaire) among the pygmies, life during Congo's independence and Simba Rebellion, and the role of women in the church and missions. |
| 494 | One interview with missionary Jeffrey Wetherill about early experience with Fellowship of Christian Atheletes, ministry with Greater Europe Mission in Ireland, and relationships between Irish Catholics and Protestants. |
| 504 | Two interviews with Samuel Kirk Mills, Christian leader from Ghana, describing his conversion, the place of drama in evangelism, and the place and influence of the church in Ghana. |
| 529 | One interview with missionary Donald White about his education, service in the Army chaplaincy in Germany, and ministry in Austria with Greater Europe Mission. |
| 531 | Three interviews with Irish journalist Mary Cagney about her conversion, relations between Irish Protestants and Catholics, the role and influence of Irish Evangelicals, and her observations and assessments of the American church. |
Written transcripts of over fifteen hours of oral history interviews on eighteen tapes were also completed and became available in the Reading Room and in many cases over the Internet through our Web page, including:
| 5 | The remaining four of seven interview tapes with Southern Presbyterian lay leader Vernon Patterson who was instrumental in bringing evangelist Mordecai Ham to Charlotte for the meetings at which Billy Graham was converted. |
| 285 | Seven tapes of four interviews with Torrey Johnson, a pastor who was a key leader in the founding of Youth for Christ, which had a widespread impact on American Evangelicalism. Johnson discusses Wheaton College, the founding of the National Association of Evangelicals, the beginnings of Youth for Christ and his involvement in Chicago and then as YFC international director, and recollections of various Evangelical and Fundamentalist leaders. |
| 402 | Three tapes of an interview with missionary Debbie Dortzbach about her Christian development, kidnaping by rebels in Ethiopia in the mid-1970s, missions in Kenya and East Africa, medical missions and community development work, and other mission-related subjects. |
| 446 | First two tapes of interviews with evangelist Jack Wyrtzen describing his early life and development, early ministry, and recollections of Evangelical figures like Paul Rader, Percy Crawford and Billy Graham. |
| 514 | Two tapes of an interview with former Wheaton College president Hudson Armerding especially discussing the 1970 campus revival, but also his early life, his father (Carl Armerding), his leadership of Wheaton College, and understanding and place of revival. |
| Records/Papers Collections | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| New & updated | 18 collections | 13 collections | 9 collections | 9 collections | 24 collections | |
| Size (cubic feet) | 311.1 cubic ft. | 152.1 cubic ft. | 87.8 cubic ft. | 273.5 cubic ft. | 159.3 cubic ft. | |
| Hours spent processing | 1764.75 hrs. | 899 hrs. | 824.75 hrs. | 2156 hrs. | 838.5 hrs. | |
| Processing hrs. per cubic foot | 5.7 hrs. | 5.9 hrs. | 9.4 hrs. | 7.9 hrs. | 5.3 hrs. | |
| Labor & materials cost | $51,432.95 | $23,075.52 | $14,134.65 | $51,604.97 | $25,336.19 | |
| Cost per cubic foot | $165.35 | $151.71 | $160.99 | $188.86 | $159.10 | |
| Oral history collections | ||||||
| Finished oral history collections | 21 collections | 4 collections | 5 collections | 13 collections | 9 collections | |
| Hours of interviews | 82.7 hrs. | 12.3 hrs. | 24.0 hrs. | 31.6 hrs. | 31.8 hrs. | |
| Hours processing interviews | 331.0 hrs. | 25.75 hrs. | 114.0 hrs. | 159.25 hrs. | 142.0 hrs. | |
| Processing hours per interview hour | 4.0 hrs. | 2.1 hrs. | 4.75 hrs. | 5.0 hrs. | 4.5 hrs. | |
| Labor & materials cost | $8,784.83 | $1,069.89 | $3,432.19 | $5,112.49 | $4,228.00 | |
| Cost per hour of interview | $106.23 | $86.98 | $143.01 | $161.79 | $133.17 | |
| Transcribing Oral History Interviews | ||||||
| Tapes transcribed | 7 tapes | 14 tapes | 12 tapes | 14 tapes | 18 tapes | |
| Hours of interview transcribed | 6.1 hrs. | 13.0 hrs. | 11.1 hrs. | 12.3 hrs. | 15.4 hrs. | |
| Hours spent transcribing | 117.25 hrs. | 215.5 hrs. | 206.25 hrs. | 146.25 hrs. | 209.75 hrs. | |
| Processing hours per interview hour | 19.2 hrs. | 16.6 hrs. | 18.6 hrs. | 11.9 hrs. | 13.7 hrs. | |
| Labor & materials cost | $2,155.45 | $3,855.08 | $3,766.45 | $2,667.63 | $4,001.54 | |
| Cost per hour of interview | $353.35 | $296.54 | $336.72 | $217.23 | $260.69 | |
| Changing existing guides | ||||||
| Guides corrected | 58 guides | 39 guides | 48 guides | 16 guides | 46 guides | |
| Hours spent on guide changes | 104.75 hrs. | 30 hrs. | 31.5 hrs. | 48.25 hrs. | 28.5 hrs. | |
| Labor & materials cost | $1,984.66 | $564.24 | $676.85 | $704.45 | $538.09 | |
| Total pages | 448 pages | 189 pages | 285 pages | 132 pages | 148 pages | |
| Cost per page | $4.43 | $2.99 | $2.37 | $5.34 | $3.64 | |
| Web versions of guides & transcripts | ||||||
| Gopher versions of guides & transcripts (HTML) | 240 guides | 302 guides | ||||
| Guides converted to HTML | 8 guides | 293 guides | 173 guides | |||
| Hours spent on guides/trans to Web | 110.75 hrs. | 123.25 hrs. | 18.0 hrs. | 451.25 hrs. | 131.5 hrs. | |
| Time per guide | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 3.0 hrs. | 1.54 hrs. | 46 minutes | |
| Cost for all guides | $1,972.41 | $2,271.50 | $576.40 | $9,052.71 | $2,956.14 | |
| Cost per guide | $8.22 | $7.52 | $96.07 | $30.90 | $17.09 | |
| Administration hours | ||||||
| Administration hours | 184.25 hrs. | 130.25 hrs. | 347.75 hrs. | 152.75 hours | 307.5 hours | |
| Labor costs & materials | $5,175.75 | $3,884.42 | $7,545.29 | $4,797.29 | $9,432.14 | |
| Summary | ||||||
| Processing hours for finished collections | 2,702 hrs. | 1,423.75 hrs. | 1,542.25 hrs. | 3,113.75 hrs. | 1,657.75 hours | |
| Total 2000 processing hours | 2,241.75 hrs. | 2,069.25 hrs. | 2,258.25 hrs. | 1,723.75 hours | 2,036.75 hours | |
| $ per processing hour for collections | $27.40 | $24.39 | $19.54 | $23.75 | $27.98 | |
| Processing % of total year's hours | 28.1% | 25.2% | 27.5% | 23.6% | 25.7% | |
NOTE: The cost analysis figures include labor (staff and student time), materials and supplies, and storage costs. Several collections were processed during more than one year, and the figures above are for completed projects only; therefore, they include hours from previous years, but do not include processing still ongoing at the end of 2001. Microfilm was added to one already described collection; this time was incorporated under the administrative section.