hen I first came to work at the Na- tional Archives back in the late 1960s , I asked about the organi- zational unit known cryptically as the " NHPC . " " What kind of an organization is it ? " I asked , " Oh , that's a funny little office down the hall , " I was informed . It was later that I learned that the initials stood for the National

Washington University . These universities re- lieve the federal government of the responsibil- ity for the overhead costs of these projects- space , equipment , supplies , telephones , and even paper clips . Through grant funds the govern- ment provides a small amount of support to cover salaries . Overall , however , the burden has been shifted from the federal government to the pri-

Prologue in Perspective

" That Funny Little Office Down the Hall "

By Frank G. Burke

Historical Publications Commission , a low - key grant program for documentary publication projects .

A lot has changed since that day . The com- mission has become a multi - faceted program committed to preserving and making available permanently valuable documents as well as pub- lishing the papers of notable Americans . Even the name of the commission has been changed to reflect its new responsibilities for records . The National Historical Publications and Records Commission , as it is now named , has an im- pressive record in the number of publications issued , archival institutions aided , innovative preservation and automation projects com- pleted , and organizations assisted in their fund- raising efforts .

In 1984 the commission quietly celebrated its fiftieth year . But the anniversary was oversha- dowed by the celebration of the fiftieth anni- versary of the National Archives and the approach of its newly won independence . The NHPRC and its programs deserve some special attention , therefore . Indeed they deserve considerable praise .

NHPRC publications projects are excellent ex- amples of federalism at work : states and private organizations sharing some of the burdens once borne by the federal government alone . Three major projects related to our understanding of the constitutional system are evidence of this federalism . The Ratification of the Constitution Project and the First Federal Elections Project are based at the University of Wisconsin . The First Federal Congress Project is based at George

vate sector .

Federalism is also an important part of less visible publication projects . The National Ar- chives has the legal responsibility for preserving and making available documentary sources of value to citizens and government researchers . One method of accomplishing these goals is to reproduce the originals in microform and in book editions . The Archives has had a major micro- form program for more than forty years , but cannot meet the demand for more and more records . Book editions have been too expensive for the Archives to compile and publish .

This is where the NHPRC and private pub- lishers have helped . With the aid of small federal subsidies , university presses have published and distributed hundreds of bound volumes of the papers of notable historical figures who served in the federal government . With small federal subsidies , the academic community has been willing to do what the federal government should be doing itself ! Through federalism , thousands of public libraries across the nation can make fundamental documents of American history available to the citizenry .

The National Historical Publications and Rec- ords Commission has another program , as in- dicated in its name . What has the records program been doing , and how does it relate to the mission of the National Archives ?

Although much assistance has been given to a wide variety of records projects in archives , universities , museums , and cultural institutions since 1975 , a pattern that is emerging is one of significant assistance to governments at the state

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4 SPRING 1986