The New York State Archives has launched Document Showcase, a quarterly feature on the organization's Web site that will highlight iconic records by investigating specific historical topics.

A timely feature on the issue of child labor is the first showcase.

Different submissions each quarter will feature a display of three to five hand-picked historical records on a selected topic. It will provide background information on those records, a link to educational activities for classroom use and other related information.

All learning activities are being developed by classroom teachers and are based on the state's seventh- and eighth-grade social studies core curriculum.

Among the historical records included in the first edition of the showcase are:

• Letters for and against child labor from Gov. Herbert Lehman's subject and correspondence files;
• Records of the Factory Investigating Commission, created after the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911.

To access the exhibit, go to www.archives.nysed.gov and select Document Showcase under News and Events.