Tagging Missions in the National Archives Catalog
Tagging is a fun and easy way for you to help make National Archives records found more easily online. By adding keywords, terms, and labels to a record, you can do your part to help the next person discover that record. For more information about tagging National Archives records, follow “Tag It Tuesdays,” a weekly feature on the NARAtions Blog.
Getting Started
What’s a good tag? Any keywords or labels that are meaningful to you, as well as names you find in the record. Simply type what you see. To get started:
- Create a username and password in the National Archives Catalog.
- Login to the system.
- Start a tagging mission or create your own mission by doing a keyword search for your favorite topics.
For questions about tagging in the National Archives Catalog, check out the Frequently Asked Questions and Tagging Policy.
Records Related to the Titanic
Tag 15 records related to the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912.
Difficulty: Beginner
Possible Tags: “Titanic,” “lifeboat,” “survivor,” “sinking,” “April 15, 1912,” and names of individuals
World War II Posters
More than 2800 images of World War II posters, including “Buy War Bonds,” “Ideas for Victory,” “ Produce for Victory” and “Silence Means Security.”
Difficulty: Beginner
Possible Tags: “poster,” “World War II,” text from poster, description of images, colors found on poster, themes represented
Photos of the Civil Rights March in Washington, DC
These 88 images from the U.S. Information Agency depict the August 28, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Difficulty: Beginner
Possible Tags: “civil rights,” “1960s,” “black and white,” names of individuals in photos, words to describe the scene
Photographs of Lewis Hine
These 483 photographs were taken by photographer Lewis Hine from 1908 to 1912 for the National Child Labor Committee.
Difficulty: Beginner
Possible Tags: “children,” “child labor,” “harsh working conditions,” “black and white,” words to describe the scene and individuals depicted
Films of the United States Information Agency
From the United States Information Agency (USIA), these 200 films include smaller segments of larger films from the 1940s - 1990s.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Possible Tags: “black and white film,” “color film,” names of individuals in film, qualities of the soundtrack, words to describe scenes, themes represented
Lighthouses
This mission is to tag more than 1,800 items, including photographs, architectural drawings, and other records relating to lighthouses. This mission includes the records of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Interior.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Possible Tags: “drawing,” architectural details depicted, written names and companies on item
19th Century Photographs of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Montana
These 1,106 photographs taken by William Henry Jackson, a photographer accompanying the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories directed by Ferdinand V. Hayden from 1869-1878.
Difficulty: Advanced
Possible Tags: “black and white,” words to describe the scene, including geological features
The Seized Correspondence of Rose O’Neal Greenhow
These letters were seized on August 23, 1861 at the time of arrest of Mrs. Rose O’Neal Greenhow as a spy for the Confederacy! Some of the letters may be difficult to tag because they are fragments that were found in a stove in which Mrs. Greenhow had presumably tried to burn them.
Difficulty: Advanced
Possible Tags: “handwritten,” “letters,” any names, events, location names found within the letters
Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii, 1898
The petition was signed by 21,269 of 39,000 Hawaiian people to stop the move to annex Hawaii. However, on July 7, 1898, the Hawaiian Islands were annexed to the United States by a joint resolution of Congress because of the strategic value of the Hawaiian islands as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval installation during Spanish-American War.
Difficulty: Advanced
Possible Tags: names of individuals found in the petition
National Archives Tagging Missions in Flickr
The Mission: We need your help tagging National Archives images in Flickr. With every tag you contribute, you are doing your part to help the next person discover that record.
To get started, you’ll need to create an account in Flickr to add tags.
DOCUMERICA Photos by Boyd Norton
There are 425 photos in this set from Documerica photographer Boyd Norton. As a nature photographer, many of his photos from 1972 and 1973 come from the many National Parks in the southwest region of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. He also photographed several solar energy projects in that region during 1973-1975.
Difficulty: Beginner
DOCUMERICA Photos by Erik Calonius
There are 180 photos in this set from DOCUMERICA photographer Erik Calonius. His assignments included Washington, D.C., New York City, and in rural Ohio. He captured images of the impacts of noise and water pollution, urban blight in large cities, and the ravages of strip mining in the American countryside.
Difficulty: Beginner
DOCUMERICA Photos by Marc St. Gil
There are 276 images in this set from DOCUMERICA photographer Marc St. Gil. His assignment was to document the water and air pollution crisis in and around Houston, Texas. St. Gil also captured striking images of rural life in the 1970s in the Houston and San Antonio areas.
Difficulty: Beginner
DOCUMERICA Photos by Frank Lodge
There are 40 images in this set from DOCUMERICA photographer Frank Lodge. He took these photographs while covering the First Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in October 1973. The exhibition featured newly introduced electric cars.
Difficulty: Beginner
DOCUMERICA Photos by Charles Steinhacker
There are 101 photos in this set from DOCUMERICA photographer Charles Steinhacker. His assignment took him to Maine in June 1973 and while there here photographed evidence of water pollution from textile and paper mills along the Androscoggin River.
Difficulty: Beginner