IT Incendiary

An inventive archivist found a new way to profit from forefathers (and mothers).  Daniel Lorello, 54, an archives and records management specialist with the department's Office of Cultural Education since 1999, allegedly began listing historic documents and artifacts from the New York State Library on eBay!

Satisfaction Guaranteed! 

According to a report by Linda Rosencrance, published on Computer World today "Historic documents stolen, sold on eBay " Lorello used the library's online catalogs to pick out the items he wanted. When he received them, he would put them in a folder and walk out of the library. Then he would post ads on eBay such as this ad for selling a four-page letter to a New York general written by President John C.Calhoun in 1823.

*eBay Ad*

All in all I think this is a super letter with excellent content and one that would make a great addition to any 19th century American political autograph collection ... ... I would say the letter is in very good shape considering it is almost 185 years old. 100% satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are dissatisfied with the letter for any reason simply return it within seven days for a no questions asked refund.

Another eBay ad for a Currier & Ives lithograph depicting a "View From Fort Putnam, West Point Hudson River, N.Y. read:

Other than some age toning to the lower left corner and along the top edge, the lithograph is in excellent condition. The back of the lithograph contains no markings other than an ink stain so I did not bother to scan it. If you would like me to scan it for you let me know and I would be happy to do so.

According to Rosencrance's article this is not the first case that private citizens have been apprehended trying to privitize public archives. In a separate case, Denning McTague of Philadelphia was charged with stealing 165 Civil War-era documents from the National Archives and selling them on eBay. McTague worked as a summer intern for the archives in 2006 and smuggled the documents off the premises in a backpack. The stolen items included an 1865 order from the War Department announcing the death of President Lincoln to the troops, and a letter from J.E.B. Stuart, a Confederate cavalry commander.

What's interesting is that Lorello was never questioned about his actions by Library officials: He seems to have treated the archives as his personal property, and was just doing a little house-keeping -- for profit.

eBay's motto "America's Attic" seems particularly ironic in this context.  It currently lists 325 paper documents on the site that were written between 1900 - 1939 as "collectables".  Previous generations of owners might have given such historic documents to official archives or libraries as a means of preserving them.  But as funding for public institutions such as libraries have floundered in recent years, librarians are often limited in what they can accept, evaluate, and preserve for future generations. Often times, in smaller libraries with limited budgets, archives are sold and sometimes even discarded.

High Tech Outsourcing of America's Archives 

It appears that Lorello has merely taken outsourcing to a new level, doing away with the middleman entirely.

Using eBay as a means of "liberating" these archives and artifacts, he's added his own new chapter to the Bush Administration's blueprint for the "Ownership Society". 

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