Early in October, staffers from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History went through the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York’s Zucotti Park collecting hand-made posters and other material to build up a record of the embryonic movement in case the protesters end up in the history books — and not just in jail for unlawful assembly and messing up public spaces.

As the Occupy protest widened to other cities, so did the museum’s search. But museum officials declined to go into detail about what was being collected and from where.

Valeska M. Hilbig, deputy director of public affairs, referred to a museum statement that puts the initiative in the context of similar recent efforts. “The protests are still ongoing, and things are still unfolding,” Ms. Hilbig told The Washington Times. “Historians like to take the long view and see how things play out. They wouldn’t feel comfortable to discuss it until they have had a chance to get the historic perspective.”