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(meteorobs) Dr. C.P. Olivier & the AMS archive

Hello all,

For your information:

In 1975, just before the death of Dr. Charles Olivier, the American Meteor
Society headquarters was moved from Dr. Olivier's home to the State
University of New York at Geneseo campus.  At that time, Dr. David Meisel
also became the AMS Executive Director, and is so today.  In 1996 Dr.
Meisel turned over the day to day operation of the society to an
all-amateur Operations Staff, and we have been making steady improvements
and modernizations since that time.  I have several prominent members of
this mailing list to thank for the progress that we have made in the last
couple of years.

With regard to Dr. Olivier's observational archive, this was a large,
rather unorganized collection of observation reports and card files kept in
his home basement.  Following his death, these were moved to the
planetarium of the Geneseo university, where the files were organized into
about 60-70 storage boxes, categorized by years.  Placed on elevated
palates, these boxes line one side of the circular planetarium -- which is
no longer used for classes or public presentations.  The recorded
observations date from about 1890 to the present, and cover a wide range of
observation types and skill levels.  

Many years ago the AMS archive was registered with the federal government
as a Small Depository Archive, and we still follow the basic guidelines
specified by that code.  To summarize these guidelines:

1.  Persons wishing access should possess either professional or amateur
astronomer credentials.  

This includes professional astronomers, graduate students, amateur
astronomers from local clubs or large organizations, and of course, AMS
members.

2.  Some legitimate reason must be shown for desiring access to the archive.

Ideally, this would be for research purposes, but a variety of other
reasons are acceptable.  Some AMS members have simply wanted to see the
historical archive containing many years of their observations.

3.  A written request needs to be submitted to the AMS.

This can be sent to:

American Meteor Society (AMS)
D.D. Meisel, Executive Director
Department of Physics and Astronomy
State University College
1 Circle
Geneseo, NY  14454-1401

4.  Site visits must be arranged in advance with the Executive Director.

Dr. Meisel is the only AMS officer (or member for that matter) in Geneseo,
and must manage access to the archive personally.  

5.  Personnel and research support is minimal.

Librarian services cannot be provided, and users of the archive must be
prepared to do their own "digging."  The several thousand reports and forms
are only roughly organized by year groups, with no central catalogue
system.  This was Dr. Olivier's system, but it certainly doesn't lend
itself to easy research now.  This archive is more a collection of various
historical observations and reports, than it is some sort of accessible,
catalogued database.

6.  Duplication of archive materials is the responsibility of the researcher.

Unfortunately, the AMS cannot afford to provide copies of archive material
to interested seekers.  Photocopying machines are provided by the
University, for 10 cents per copy.  

7.  In addition to site visits, small portions of the archive may be loaned
out to specified persons or organizations.

Such loans require permission and arrangement with the Executive Director.
The recipient must pay for secure transportation, personal bond for the
material's return, and insurance.  Loans of database material can also be
arranged through collegiate Inter-library loan.  Such loans can entail
specific blocks of time (in years), but cannot be specific to a particular
type of observation or shower.

Personal Note:  certainly the most interesting portion of the database,
that portion covering the years surrounding the 1966 Leonid outburst was
loaned out by Dr. Olivier sometime around 1970 to some institution or
person and was never returned.  This is sad, because this is the portion
(for obvious reasons) about which we have received the most requests for in
recent years.  I would dearly like to know who or what institution received
this "loan," and ask to have it returned for the rest of us to utilize.  At
this time, i don't have any clues to go on.

The new AMS staff is well aware of the potential benefits of organizing and
placing this archive into a more convenient and accessible format, and we
have already had several debates on the best ways to achieve this goal.
Such a task would be formidable and require many man-hours of work, so we
are approaching the topic thoughtfully and in logical steps.  Our first
task is to modernize the way in which we collect, organize and archive
*currently* gathered data, ironing out the kinks in that system prior to
looking toward the older data.  Like all small non-profits, we are
all-volunteer and functioning on a limited budget  -- thus, we must
approach our "paper mountain" carefully.

With specific regard to Dr. Olivier's use of telescopic meteor observations
from AAVSO, this is, frankly, the first time I have heard about it.
However, this is not surprising, as the AMS and the AAVSO share a common
parentage from the American Astronomical Society (AAS), were formed at
about the same time, and both were formed in order to allow amateur
participation in professional astronomical research.  Additionally, a good
many AMS members have also been AAVSO members, so looking for a way to link
both interests in the same activity would be a natural thing to do.  

Another potential source about the rates of sporadic telescopic meteors
might be obtained from those individuals who regularly seek for comets.  In
my own tiny "archive" of papers, I have a report written by Don Macholtz on
sporadic telescopic meteor rates through the year, received from him when
we both were members of the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA).  I do
not have this paper handy, but seem to remember the late winter rates at
something like only 0-2 per hour, with late summer rates reaching about 4-6
or so per hour.  This is also obviously dependent upon the time of night.

Take care,

     Jim



James Richardson
Tallahassee, Florida
richardson@digitalexp.com

Operations Manager / Radiometeor Project Coordinator
American Meteor Society (AMS)
http://www.serve.com/meteors/

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