NWM 13.2008
March 27, 2008
MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCY CONTACTS: End-of-Administration web snapshot
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserved a one-time snapshot of agency public web sites as they existed on or before January 20, 2001, as an archival record in the National Archives of the United States. NARA also conducted a harvest (i.e., capture) of Federal Agency public web sites in 2004 and of Congressional web sites in 2006. See http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/web-harvest-snapshot.html. After considering our other records management program priorities for FY 2008, availability of harvested web content at other "archiving" sites (e.g., www.archive.org), and the resources required for conducting and preserving a government-wide web snapshot, NARA has determined that we will not conduct a web harvest or snapshot at the end of the current Administration.
There is no NARA requirement for agencies to conduct their own web snapshot or harvest at the end of the Administration if NARA does not conduct one. Agencies are required to manage their web records, including scheduling these records and transferring to NARA any web records that have been scheduled as permanent. This requirement is discussed in detail in NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records, http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/managing-web-records-index.html.
If you have questions about NARA guidance on web records, please contact your agency's NARA appraiser. A list of the appraisal and scheduling work groups is posted on the NARA web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/appraisal/. The Records Management staff in NARA's regional offices provides assistance to records officers across the country. A complete list of NARA regional facilities may be found at http://www.archives.gov/locations/.
PAUL M. WESTER, JR.
Director
Modern Records
Programs
Web Harvest Background Information issued Tuesday, April 15, 2008
