NPRC--Best Way to Obtain Morning Reports for an Entire Division?

Hey everybody!

Hoping someone can help.

The descendants group I belong to has started to get a ton of requests through our Facebook page and website from people looking for info on their fathers/grandfathers' service with the 17th Airborne, and our long term plan is to be able to help these people research their vets. Rather than just tell them "you need to request your vet's unit Morning Reports through the NPRC", we would love to be able to own copies of all the MRs and to do a little digging, when asked.

For example, there is an online archive for most all of the 80th Infantry Division's component unit Morning Reports, and I'd LOVE to put together something similar, over time. From their website it looks like that 80th ID group is in possession of the actual microfiche reels the reports were stored on, and I've sent an email to the guy asking how he got them. In the meantime...

My main question is this:
What is the quickest, cheapest way to obtain as many Morning Reports as possible from the NPRC?

I know their procedure is that you have to make an appointment to physically show up in St. Louis, tell them in advance what records you want to look at, and then they charge $0.60 per page for each copy of the microfiche you make. If you want Morning Reports for one solider who served with one unit that system is fine, but what about when you want ALL the Morning Reports for an entire Division?

Do any of you know if "bulk rates" can be arranged? Can we bring our own digital microfiche scanner and avoid the copying fees? I will of course be calling the NPRC, but I was hoping someone here might have the info and save me the headache of navigating the bureaucratic morass until I absolutely have to.

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?

Thanks!
Adam

 

Unfortunately, the NPRC is not as researcher-friendly as it was in the past.

There are no bulk rates (this is the USG not WalMart) and I doubt that you would be able to bring your own scanner.

A colleague of mine was there for a week last year to fill in the gaps he needed for all of the MRs for a single regiment and spent over $2k and does not yet have the complete set he desires.

Bottom line: it is going to cost a fortune to acquire all of the MRs for the 17th AB.


Dave

 

I see on your website that you have many records from the NARA II, College Park. Although I did not find any General Orders. Is this an oversight?

Dave

 

Hi Dave!

Thanks for the replies. I kind of figured that the NPRC wouldn't be the most helpful or "agile" of organizations, and I think you're probably going to be proven right. I called the Archival Research Room, got their "go away" voicemail message and then sent an email with a few questions. I am waiting for a response.

In a perfect world their microfilm readers have USB ports so you can hook up a computer and digitize the MRs automatically, but I'm guessing since your friend spent all that money, that's not an option. Ah well, a boy can dream.

As to the General Orders, it's not an oversight, but I'm not sure what all we've gotten from College Park yet (we made two trips but I wasn't on them). I know more trips are planned and that we definitely hope to procure them eventually, but I'm not sure we've tried to, as of yet.

Our efforts are becoming more and more organized, so the next trip we take to College Park we'll have a better sense of what we are after. Up to now it's really been kind of random. I'm trying to streamline the process a bit. Right now I'm working on re-doing the whole website, and better organizing all of the records we DO have.

Adam