FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 15, 2010

Assembly Speaker Silver Unveils Web Site
To Help Preserve 9/11 Artifacts


Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today announced the launch of a new Web site that will help families of 9/11 victims, as well as survivors and local residents, preserve documents, photos and mementos from the tragedy.

"As we approach the nine-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, it is important that we understand how to shape the historical record and make sense of the powerful legacy these objects leave behind," Silver said. "This site will also help those who lost loved ones cope with what can be the emotionally overwhelming experience of sifting through voice recordings, videos, and personal possessions."

A project of the New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust, in collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Metropolitan New York Archivists Roundtable, the Web site, "9/11 Memory and History: What to save and how" features text and video on how to determine what to keep, what to donate and how to preserve it.

In addition, it provides useful links to outside resources that have helped people manage artifacts from other disasters and gives instruction on how to find archivists or museums that may be appropriate for specific types of mementos. For those who feel overwhelmed or at a loss for how to sort through objects, the site offers information on counseling services that can help in making these decisions.

"We are very grateful to all of the partners in the development of '9/11: Memory and History," said New York State Archivist and CEO of the Archives Partnership Trust Christine W. Ward. "We now have a resource that will enable those without formal training to preserve their most precious memories for now and for future generations."

The project was created through donations from the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation, The New York Times Company Foundation, Max W. Batzer and John J. Jerome.

Other partners participating in the project included the Psychological Services Center & 9/11 Family Center at Long Island University; the New York State Museum; the College of Staten Island; the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center; Hofstra University; and the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board.

The Web site can be accessed at www.nyshrab.org/memory