Making Space for History: Focused Approaches to Collecting Human Space Flight Archival Records

Matthew M Peek, Associate Director University of Houston, Clear Lake Archives and Special Collections

Abstract:
The archival records that document human space flight history and the history of National Aeronautics and Space Administration are composed of a complex mixture of issues related unique and difficult formats to preserve, numerous duplicates, and non-original materials that American society is convinced are worth preserving. NASA personnel and NASA contractors were known for widely duplicating, sharing, and throwing away original human space flight program records. The duplication and multiple versioning of such records during such things as the Apollo Program development makes it difficult for archives to identify which records are most worth collecting and preserving.

NASA’s own cultural history produced an environment that what was important to preserve was what could be termed “air show collectibles”—signed astronaut photographs, mission patches, matchbooks, mission emblem stickers, collectible NASA posters, NASA equipment and pieces of flight vehicles, and other common three-dimensional artifacts. Such items, plus awards and certificates, were seen by NASA personnel as more important to preserve than original historical records of actual aerospace programs.

The University of Houston-Clear Lake Archives and Special Collections in coastal Houston, Texas became a custodian of the NASA Johnson Space Center History Collection on renewable loan from NASA and the National Archives in 2001, to which it provides access for researchers and NASA-connected personnel. Our partnership with JSC resulted in the UHCL Archives forming its own Human Space Flight Collection, focused on collecting records from former JSC personnel and contractors to help document the history of JSC within the Bay Area of Texas. This collection is now one of the largest human space flight collections outside of a federal agency archives in the U.S.

Since 2022, the UHCL Archives has had to refocus and narrow its collecting of human space flight materials, due to a lack of collections storage space and high demand for donations from former JSC personnel. A more purposeful collection policy was created to help solve the issue of large amounts of non-unique historic materials in its processed and unprocessed archival collections. After reviewing its holdings, talking with former NASA personnel and engineers, working with dozens of international researchers to learn what information is most in demand, the UHCL Archives created a general collecting approach to limiting the archival records formats we focus on collecting. The change came from a recognition that from the 1950s to 2000s, NASA and NASA contractors produced developmental information for space programs and projects in about ten specific records formats.

Focusing collecting these specific archival formats has helped the UHCL Archives eliminate preservation concerns for its whole archival holdings caused by accepting donations full of space history-themed common historical materials, like full newspaper issues. This paper will examine the results this new collecting approach, including better donor relations, better expenditure of staff time for managing collections, increased storage for more archival collections, and better support for researchers. The paper will also explore the future of preserving NASA JSC archival materials in the face of recent major security concerns brought by numerous federal records scandals.

Bio:
An Ohio native, Matthew M. Peek holds a B.A. in History. He has a dual M.A. in American History and Public History (archival studies) from Wright State University. He is a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.

Peek has worked as an archivist numerous cultural heritage and non-profit organizations, including the Kentucky Historical Society; Montana Historical Society; and Airstream, Inc. From 2014 to 2022, he served as Military Collection Archivist for the State Archives of North Carolina. Since March 2022, Peek has served as Associate Director of the University of Houston-Clear Lake Archives and Special Collections.