ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 480 / C& RL News T he Great P lain s A rcheological Archive By R ob ert C. Myers Social Sciences Librarian/Archw e Coordinator W ichita State University The building of an archeological research facility. I n O ctober 1988 the Ablah L ibrary instituted a new archival program in G reat Plains archeology and anthropology. The author conducted a survey of m ore th a n fifty university libraries (including th e Tozzer L ibrary at the Peabody Museum), cen­ ters, and individuals throughout the country. The survey showed th a t a need existed for a research level library w hich w ould systematically collect, catalog, and circulate archeological literatu re foc­ using on the G reat Plains as a region.1 The G reat Plains Region is geographically d e­ fined as including the following states and prov­ inces: Alberta, Saskatchewan, southwestern M ani­ to b a , M o n ta n a , W y o m in g , C o lo ra d o , N ew Mexico, Texas, O k lah o m a, K ansas, N ebraska, Iow a, N orth and South D akota, Minnesota, Mis­ souri, and Illinois.2 Illinois is traditionally included by Plains archeologists because a significant p o r­ tion of the state is p a rt of w h at they refer to as the “prairie peninsula.”3 R o b e r t C. Myers, “Survey of institutions and persons collecting archeological literature from the G reat Plains.” W ichita State University, 1988. U n­ published. 2Philip Kopper, The Smithsonian Book o f North Am erican Indians: Before the C om ing o f the Euro­ peans (W ashington, D .C .: Sm ithsonian Books, 1986). 3James P. Gallagher and Robert F. Sasso, “In ­ vestigations into O neota Ridged Field A griculture on the N orthern M argin of the Prairie Peninsula,” Plains Anthropologist 32 (1987): 141-51. T h e Archive collects site reports, cu ltu ral re ­ source inventories, archeological salvage reports, conference papers, and P h.D . dissertations. Such m aterial is, at times, difficult to locate and access, and is often referred to by archeologists as the “gray literatu re” of their profession. A m ajor goal of the archive is to provide access to the gray literature of Plains archeology. By system­ atically collecting this m aterial, cataloging it into th e O C L C database, and providing interlibrary loan access, this goal should be realized. Materials In order to systematically collect m aterials, the support of state and federal agencies, plus the help of private contract archeologists, has been enlisted. T he response has been very good. The archive has been placed upon a t least tw enty distribution lists. For example, the G reat Plains Archeological Ar­ chive is the sole perm anent repository in Kansas for the Research Papers Series issued by the Office of the State Archaeologist of Iow a. A significant num ­ ber of retrospective reports and surveys have also been received. The archive has collected not only archeological reports and surveys, b u t also confer­ ence papers and back issues of archeological jo u r­ nals published by various professional and am ateur societies. Site reports have been collected in both paper and microform formats. Ethnologies and ethnographies related to the G reat Plains will be acquired, too. June 1989 / 481 C u rren tly th e archive has over 2,000 archeologi­ cal site reports an d P h .D . dissertations available for circulation and in terlib rary lending. Subscrip­ tions have been placed to journals, bulletins, and newsletters as w ell as ap p ro p riate m useum journals p u b lis h e d b y v a rio u s a r c h e o lo g ic a l s o c ie tie s th roughout th e Plains area including C an ad a. By June of 1989, the archive will have subscriptions to every state and regional professional archeological society a n d to several a m a te u r societies in th e Plains region. Access to the materials The G reat Plains Archeological Archive is located at the Ablah L ibrary at W ichita State University, W ichita, Kansas. The Library uses the NOTIS com­ puter system. Its public catalog, LUIS (Library Us­ ers Inform ation System), is accessible by telephone from anywhere in the United States and C anada. Using a personal com puter, a modem, and a soft­ w are package such as Procomm or MSKermit, a per­ son m ay search the library’s holdings by author, ti­ tle, or subject. A handout on how to use MSKermit to access LUIS is available upon request. For those who do not have access to such equipm ent, reference services are available by calling (316) 689-3584. The library’s holdings are also accessible through O C LC . Much of the m aterial received by the archive re­ quires original cataloging, thus adding to the O C LC database. Such cataloging represents improved ac­ cess to this genre of literature. Anyone w ho wishes to come to the Ablah L i­ b rary is welcome to use this m aterial. For those w ho are not affiliated w ith the university, a special borrow er card m ay be obtained. Most of the arche­ ological m aterial circulates and th a t w hich does not m ay be photocopied. O ne exception is site loca­ tio n inform ation. Site location inform ation cannot be freely circu­ lated due to the federal laws and regulations gov­ erning w ho m ay visit and w ork on the sites. Re­ quests for such inform ation will be directed to the ap p ro p riate federal or state agency. M any of the sites are currently under evaluation for placem ent on the N ational Historic Places Register; the dis­ ru p tio n of such sites and their artifacts destroys im ­ p o rta n t d ata and decreases the site’s significance.1 T h e Anasazi In d ia n complex in A rizona, U tah , Colorado, and New Mexico is a prim e example of site destruction due to illegal grave robbing and a r­ tif a c t h u n tin g by th o se w h o a re c a lle d “ p o t­ hunters” by archeologists. O ne intact artifact such as an “olla” (a round, intricately decorated, ce­ ram ic vessel) is w orth as m uch as $30,000 to private collectors. ’ Therefore, it is of critical im portance to 4P a tricia L. P ark er, “W h a t Are th e N ational R egister C r ite r ia ? ” L o ca l P reservation ( I n te r ­ agency Resources Division, N ational Park Service), M ay 1987. 5Jim Robbins, “ V iolating H isto ry ,” N ational Parks 61 (1987): 26-31. Archeological “gray literature. ” observe such federal and state regulations in order to preserve perishable inform ation and knowledge. Summary T he G reat Plains Archeological Archive was es­ tablished to serve as a centralized research collec­ tion for those involved in the study of G reat Plains archeology and anthropology. A pproxim ately sixty percent of the archive’s holdings consist of archeo­ logical gray literatu re w hich is often a problem to access. T he Ablah L ib rary ’s public com puter c a ta ­ log (LUIS) m ay be accessed by those w ho have the p ro p er hard- and softw are via telephone. LUIS m ay be used to scan the archive’s holdings. This m ay be done from anyw here in the U nited States and C anada. By facilitating access to the archeological litera­ tu re of this region, it is hoped th a t research will also be facilitated and therefore stim ulated. This is the u ltim ate goal of the G reat Plains Archeological Ar­ chive. For m ore inform ation, please call or w rite: R obert C. Myers, G reat Plains Archeological Ar­ chive, C am pus Box 68, The W ichita State U niver­ sity, W ichita, KS 67208; (316) 689-3591. ■ ■