America in the Near East, 1819-2010: Preservation and Access Planning for the American Mission Board (ABM) Collection

FAIN: PW-51478-13

American Research Institute in Turkey, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324)
A. Kevin Reinhart (Project Director: July 2012 to July 2014)

A Foundations project to develop a plan to process and digitize ca. 262 linear feet of documents, photographs, books, and journals chronicling American missionary activity in the Ottoman Empire from 1824 to 1950.

The American Research Institute Turkey (ARIT) respectfully requests $40,000 in outright funds from the NEH to support project planning for management and dissemination of the resources of the American Board of Missions (ABM) archive and library in Istanbul. ARIT proposes to develop a comprehensive and efficient plan for the preservation, arrangement, cataloging, and digitizing of the archive of the American Board of Missions in Istanbul.

Associated Products

American Board Archives homepage (Web Resource)
Title: American Board Archives homepage
Author: American Research Institute in Turkey
Abstract: This page introduces the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, Near East Mission in Turkey and its archive. The page includes a summary description, timelines and maps as well as links to the first series of archival materials posted to date.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.dlir.org/arit-american-board-archives.html
Primary URL Description: This is the front page of the American Board of Missions Archives.

American Board Missionary Card File Names A-Z (Catalog)
Title: American Board Missionary Card File Names A-Z
Author: American Board in Turkey
Abstract: This is the full list of names included in the American Board Personnel File. It forms a comprehensive list of the personal names of key actors in the American Board organization for the duration of its activities in the Near East. It is part of the archival tools produced by the ARIT project as well as part of the digitized research archive, the American Board Personnel Card File, also included here as a public web resource.
Year: 2013
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: American Research Institute in Turkey

American Board Place Name List (Catalog)
Title: American Board Place Name List
Author: Brian Johnson, ARIT librarian
Abstract: The place name list is generated from the existing American Board Archives organizational data. The list includes the key places where the American Board established mission stations, institutions, or otherwise worked.
Year: 2013
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: American Research Institute in Turkey

American Board Archives Project Style Sheet (Catalog)
Title: American Board Archives Project Style Sheet
Author: Diane Ryan, ARIT-American Board Project Archivist
Abstract: This document establishes the naming and handling protocal for creating brief descriptions of archival materials.
Year: 2013
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: American Research Institute in Turkey

American Board Project Subject Headings (Catalog)
Title: American Board Project Subject Headings
Author: Diane Ryan, ARIT-American Board Project Archivist
Abstract: This list represents the current subject headings, based on the Library of Congress naming authorities.
Year: 2013
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: American Research Institute in Turkey

Archivist's Report (Report)
Title: Archivist's Report
Author: Diane Ryan, ARIT-American Board Project Archivist
Abstract: Interim and final reports on the work of the archivist during her four months of work, July-August 2013 and November-December 2013. The reports describe the tools developed and form the basis for planning future projects.
Date: 12/31/2013
Access Model: internal report

American Board Archive series, Near East Relief (1917-1928) (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: American Board Archive series, Near East Relief (1917-1928)
Author: American Board of Missions
Abstract: Items in this series include documents, newsletters, and pamphlets that relate to the agency Near East Relief (NER) and its efforts to provide humanitarian aid in Anatolia and surrounding regions during and after the First World War. The Near East Relief originated in 1915 as an emergency measure to aid minority populations in the wake of WW I. It raised funds and channeled aid primarily through the American Board mission stations in Turkey. Eventually the NER evolved to send aid directly from overseas.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.dlir.org/aba-official-records-1917-1928.html
Primary URL Description: Description and link to access the documents of the Near East Relief series.
Secondary URL: http://www.dlir.org/arit-aba-home.html
Secondary URL Description: Introduction to the American Board Archive digital collection
Access Model: open access

American Board Personnel Card and Photo Collection (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: American Board Personnel Card and Photo Collection
Author: American Board of Missions
Abstract: The American Board’s Near East Mission (Turkey) maintained a set of personnel files at its regional office in Istanbul, for Board employees who worked in Turkey and its surroundings. One component of this collection is a series of more than 1,800 index cards that provide basic information about each individual, such as birth and death dates, educational and employment history, and dates and places of work assignments. The card file includes both missionaries and contract workers who served the Board in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, starting with Revs. Levi Parsons and Pliny Fisk, the Board’s first appointees sent to the Middle East in 1819.
Year: 2013
Primary URL: http://www.dlir.org/archive/orc-exhibit/items/browse/collection/8
Primary URL Description: Browse or search the American Board Personnel Card File.
Secondary URL: http://www.dlir.org/abpcc-home
Secondary URL Description: Introduction to the personnel documents presented through the Istanbul Digital Library
Access Model: open access

American Board Memorial Book (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: American Board Memorial Book
Author: American Board of Missions
Abstract: In 1935, the Near East Mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions undertook preparation of a memorial book to commemorate and honor those who had served the Board in Turkey, the Middle East, and the Balkans from the early 1800s through the early twentieth century. The initial three-volume work was compiled and edited by Charles Trowbridge Riggs, Near East Mission Secretary from 1910 to 1938, and contained biographical sketches of more than six hundred missionaries. Subsequent to Mr. Riggs’ death in 1953, a fourth volume was prepared to include those members of the Mission who died prior to 1970 but were not included in the earlier volumes.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.dlir.org/archive/orc-exhibit/items/browse/collection/12
Primary URL Description: Browse or search the American Board Near East Mission Memorial Book.
Secondary URL: http://www.dlir.org/abpcc-home
Secondary URL Description: Introduction to the American Board Near East Mission Memorial Book.
Access Model: open access

Guide to the American Board Archives (Web Resource)
Title: Guide to the American Board Archives
Author: Diane Ryan, archivist
Author: Arden Alexander, archivist
Author: Antony Greenwood, ARIT Istanbul
Author: Brian Johnson, librarian
Abstract: This web page provides a guide to the Records of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, affiliates, and successors in Turkey and the Balkans. The guide includes discussion of the Archives' arrangement, scope and content, history, and conditions of access and permissions. It provides summaries of the series of documents that have been made accessible to date, along with links to those document collections. Also included are references and links to related collections. This page will be connected to the WorldCat ArchiveGrid.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://dlir.org/arit-american-board-archives-guide.html
Primary URL Description: Records of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, affiliates, and successors in Turkey and the Balkans

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