Archival Series
Work Project Administration records project materials
Tuesday, December 31, 1940
A2014-017
AS/31
In the City of Portland the City Auditor's Office has historically been tasked with keeping City Records, particularly those produced by City Council. Concern for the management and preservation of the records created by Portland City government first began to emerge in the 1930’s under the leadership of City Auditor William Gibson. In 1939, the office applied for federal funding through the Work Projects Administration to “organize, index, and file the old records of the City of Portland.” Hoping to pave the way for “the future operation of an efficient Archive Division within the Office of the City Auditor,” Gibson’s project resulted in the City’s first filing plans, retention schedules, and a manual meant to guide the future management of historical city records. While no Archives Division was created as an outcome of this project, the Auditor’s Office continued to maintain council records and was responsible for all microfilming as part of national defense efforts in the 1950's. This series contains two bound volumes produced by the Auditor's Office, circa 1939-1940. The earlier volume created between 1939 and 1940, "Work Project Administration: Records Project Procedures," is a detailed project report produced for the Work Project Administration (WPA) regarding the City Auditor's Office's project to arrange, describe, and preserve historical city records in their holdings as well as create file plans and retention schedules for active records. This volume includes application materials for further funding through the WPA. The second volume, created after 1940, is the manual created as a product of this project, "How to Account for, Preserve, and dispose of Public Documents, and Records."
