Terms and Conditions for Using Ourdocuments.gov
Ourdocuments.gov is maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Policies governing this web site are determined by NARA. Questions about ourdocuments.gov policy should be directed to NARA’s Web Program Manager at either webprogram@nara.gov or the Policy and Communications Staff, NARA, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740.
Privacy Statement
Thank you for visiting Ourdocuments.gov. We protect your privacy while you
visit us online.
Children's Privacy
The National Archives and Records Administration is concerned about protecting
children's privacy. We do not collect personally identifiable information from
children.
Personal Information
You do not have to provide any personal information to visit this Web site.
If you provide us information about yourself via e-mail or a web form, your information will be used only for the purposes described at the point of collection, such as to send information or products to you, or to respond to your questions or comments. If you provide contact information, NARA staff or its contractors may contact you to clarify your comment or question, or to learn about your level of customer satisfaction with our services.
- We do not sell any personal information to third parties.
- We may transfer personal information to a third party only in the following cases:
- To a bank or United States Department of the Treasury account, which must receive payment for a transaction that you initiated;
- To a company that is contracted to assist us with specific services, including electronic commerce or donations, and which agrees not to sell or use personal information for other purposes;
- To legal authorities if we suspect that you are attempting to change or otherwise damage this web site, or you are using it in violation of Federal or local laws;
- To the Foundation for the National Archives, a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization that supports the programs and activities of NARA, when you use our online services to make a donation; or
- To Congress or a court in response to a subpoena.
E-mail Information
Please do not send us sensitive information, such as your credit card or social security numbers, via e-mail. It is possible that during transmission of your e-mail this information may be intercepted by a third party. We can not guarantee its safety while in transit.
We use return e-mail addresses to answer the e-mail we receive. We would share your e-mail with another federal government agency only if your inquiry related to that agency or if we were required to do so by law.
Cookies
"Cookies" are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of a session ("session cookies"), or saved on a user's hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that user, the next time the user logs on to a Web site ("persistent cookies").
- The National Archives web site and its component sites do not use persistent cookies.
- One or more of the Agency's component sites may use session cookies to provide streamlined navigation throughout their sites and for statistical analysis. These session cookies are deleted from the component's server soon after your session ends and are not collected or saved. You can set up your Web browser to inform you when cookies are set or to prevent cookies from being set. You can still use our Web site if you do not accept the cookies, but you may be unable to use certain cookie-dependent features.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
If you visit our site to read or download information, we collect and store the following information about your visit:
- The name of the Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you are connecting from a university's domain) and the IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you are using the Internet) from which you access our site;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
- The date and time you access our site;
- The Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site; and
- The pages you visit and the information you request.
This information is primarily collected for statistical analysis and technical improvements to the site. The National Archives uses software programs to create summary statistics, which may be used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. In certain circumstances, however, we may take additional steps to identify you based on this information and we may share this information, including your identity, with other government agencies.
- Although questions, comments, and other communications that we receive generally are not retained as permanent records, please note that it is possible that any mail – electronic or paper – that we or any other Federal agency receive could become part of the permanent record of the agency, if the mail is part of materials that are scheduled for permanent retention.
Use of Plugins
The first time that you use an area of our site that requires animation software, such as "Flash" or "Shockwave," you may see an invitation to go to the software manufacturer's web site so you may download software needed to view the animation on our web site. This prompt occurs because we can tell whether your browser has the needed capabilities provided by these plug-ins. We do not use "cookies" to do this, nor do we read anything on your computer other than your browser's capabilities. We do not endorse or guaranty anything about the product that you may download from a manufacturer's web site. If you choose to visit the manufacturer's web site to obtain the plug-in, please carefully review their policies for details about personal privacy and use of their software.
Disclaimer of Endorsement
- Reference to specific commercial businesses, products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, on any web site administered by NARA does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or by NARA. Recognition of commercial businesses, institutions, and organizations mentioned on any web site administered by NARA that relate, for example, to our development initiatives and partnerships does not imply endorsement by the Government.
- We provide links from our web pages to external web sites because they provide information that may interest our customers. This is provided as a convenience only. External links do not constitute an endorsement by the Government of the opinions, products, or services presented on the external site, or of any sites linked to it. NARA is not responsible for the legality or accuracy of information on externally linked sites, or for any costs incurred while using externally linked sites.
Copyright, Restrictions, and Permissions Notice
- Generally, materials produced by Federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. However, not all materials appearing on this web site are in the public domain. Some materials have been donated or obtained from individuals or organizations and may be subject to restrictions on use, where cited. Please note that because we cannot guaranty the status of specific items, you use materials found in our holdings at your own risk.
- Images on our web site which are in the public domain may be used without permission. If you use images from NARA’s holdings, we ask that you credit NARA as the source. Please note that some images on our site have been obtained from other organizations. Permission to use these images should be obtained directly from those organizations.
- Certain individuals depicted may claim rights in their likenesses and images. Use of photographs or other materials found on Ourdocuments.gov may be subject to these claims. Anyone who intends to use these materials commercially should contact the individuals depicted or their representatives.
- The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. This law provides that under certain conditions libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction of materials. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If you use a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," you may be liable for copyright infringement.
Virus Protection
We believe that all files that we develop and/or post on our web servers are virus-free. When you request a file for download from our site, it is possible, though unlikely, that the data may contract a virus and become corrupted before it reaches your computer. The National Archives and Records Administration is not responsible for files that may become corrupted as the data travels the Internet.
Security
For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this Government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to appropriate law enforcement officials. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this server are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.