What may qualify as the briefest display of historic documents in Western civilization opens and closes in Pittsburgh's City Hall today.

Unless you've been locked in a cell at Guantanamo for the past seven years, you know this week is the 250th anniversary of the naming of our bodacious 'Burgh by Gen. John Forbes, a brilliant military strategist.

Soon after the French abandoned the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne at the Point, Forbes and his British troops seized possession of it on Nov. 25. Two days later, Forbes wrote to William Pitt the Elder in England, saying he had named the city in his honor.

Today, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., you can see a dozen documents that tell the story of the city's founding and its early governments.

You'll have to come to the City-County Building's fifth floor to look at the books, map and documents outside of Pittsburgh City Council's chambers, where three budget hearings are scheduled.

You'll see the first piece of legislation that incorporated the city of Pittsburgh in 1816, a hand-drawn map of the Strip District and an ordinance book from 1911, the first year the city had an appointed council.

At one time, the city had a bicameral legislative system.

"We had something different than what we have today. I wanted to highlight those books. They're old. They're very neat looking. They tell a story about a different way to govern," said David Grinnell, the Heinz History Center archivist who organized the display.

He embraced the project with enthusiasm.

"It's been fun. The people in the city clerk's office have been so nice."

But the display is short-lived partly because he must guard the documents.

"It's a security issue," he said.

There's another reason we are being short-changed with this briefer-than-Brigadoon display of the city's valuable records, even though the Allegheny Conference on Community Development has anticipated this anniversary since 2000 and celebrated it for the past year.

It's because archives are often the stepchild of every public institution, including libraries, and don't always receive the necessary funding or care to preserve them for future generations. In 2001, I wrote a series of stories documenting the deplorable deterioration of the city and county's public records. Apparently, nothing has changed.

The documents are fragile, said Selena Schmidt, chief of staff for Councilman Doug Shields. The leather bindings are falling apart, the corners of the pages are breaking off and some pages are coming loose. Meanwhile, she has to answer calls from city residents who, understandably, want their streets to be salted.

She worries about these historic public records, which anyone has a right to examine at the city clerk's office during regular business hours. But who knew? And would you know what to ask for?

"It's been a concern of mine since I got here. We have so many documents. Which do we do first? What are the priorities?" she said.

If these particular dozen items are worthy of display, then they are worthy of conservation. Let's make them the top priority.

Perhaps the talented people at Preservation Technologies in Cranberry, who have done work for the Library of Congress, would volunteer to do this work free. That would be a super anniversary present for the city and its residents.

If we want Pittsburgh residents to appreciate their history, these documents should be on display every day of the year in a specially built exhibit case, not just for a few hours as a third of us shop, clean and cook for Thanksgiving, another third pack to leave town and a third group visits St. Paul Cathedral to pay respects during the noon funeral of Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll.

Civic leaders who wish to do right by local citizens don't have to look far. The model for solving this problem is right in Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh's Oakland campus. On the ground floor, visitors can stand at a display case and marvel over a hand-drawn, colored print taken from John James Audubon's "The Birds of America."

The display, which changes every few weeks, is possible because Pitt took apart its copy of Audubon's book so it could preserve and exhibit the famous naturalist's work.

How much money and political will does it take to build a ventilated display case with glass that filters out damaging ultraviolet rays from fluorescent light? How much money does it take to conserve our history? Ask Mayor Luke Ravenstahl or City Council members Doug Shields and Patrick Dowd.

I'll pledge $100 of my pay if they can establish a fund to begin paying for the conservation of these priceless mementos from the city's scrapbook.

And I respectfully suggest that the well-paid corporate elite of this town who serve on the board of directors of the Allegheny Conference look deep into their pocketbooks, hearts and consciences and spare a few bucks for preservation, too.