The National Archives Strategic Plan for FY 2018-2022 contains a goal to “Maximize NARA’s Value to the Nation.” One of the performance measures of this goal is to collaborate with external platforms and organizations to use NARA’s digitized holdings, or data sets, from the Catalog as a primary source. In fulfilling our mission to drive … Continue reading Maximizing NARA’s Value to the Nation: Wide Scale Use of NARA’s Data
Twice each year, I have the delightful task of giving grants to projects across the country to make access to historical records happen. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which I chair, funds archivists, records managers, and documentary editors to preserve and make public collections vital to our cultural heritage. At the end … Continue reading Supporting Public Access to Historical Records
Every four years, when it is a Presidential election year, the National Archives and Records Administration readies itself for one of its lesser-known duties: preparing for a Presidential transition. NARA is one of a handful of agencies that are designated as having special transition responsibilities because of our government-wide responsibilities relating to Presidential and Federal … Continue reading National Archives’ Role in a Presidential Transition
The National Archives launched a new web-based finding aid featuring digitized historical photographs from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) records in Record Group 75. For the first time, you can explore digital copies of over 18,000 photographs through an engaging and easy to use interactive experience: the Bureau of Indian Affairs Photographs Finding Aid. … Continue reading A New Way to Explore Bureau of Indian Affairs Photographs
As our nation continues to struggle with issues of racial inequality, we are called upon to think about our own roles in making improvements as an agency, both for our employees and our customers. This summer, National Archives employees throughout the agency engaged in a dialogue on race and our roles in making improvements as … Continue reading Examining and Addressing Racism
Our recently released social media strategy focuses on creating engaging digital content, while expanding digital storytelling to make records increasingly available and relevant with online audiences. The National Archives GIPHY channel does just that: combining our staff’s knowledge of new and emerging technologies with the rich content of the Archives showcases our holdings in fun … Continue reading Animated Archives: Meeting People Where They Are
Thanks to the generous donation from an anonymous donor, NARA collaborated with our digitization partner to launch the Indigenous Digital Archive’s Treaties Portal on Indigenous People’s Day, October 12, 2020. This website provides public access to digital copies of NARA’s series of ratified Indian Treaties. We worked with Dr. Anna Naruta-Moya and her team at … Continue reading National Archives and Museum of Indian Arts & Culture Share New Online Education Tool Expanding Access to Treaties between the U.S. and Native Nations
The National Archives and Records Administration released a new, streamlined social media strategy this week, with a focus on creating more engaging digital content and increasing participation by staff in the spectrum of online platforms. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2021 and spanning the coming five years, the National Archives aims to expand digital storytelling and … Continue reading Five-Year Social Media Strategy Released
The Electoral College is how we refer to the process by which the United States elects the President, even though that term does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. In this process, the States (which includes the District of Columbia just for this process) elect the President and Vice President. The Constitution of the United … Continue reading The Electoral College: It’s a Process, Not a Place
“I come from the very heart of America.” – Dwight Eisenhower, June 12, 1945 At a time when the world fought to overcome tyranny, he helped lead the course to victory as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. When our nation needed a leader, he upheld the torch of liberty as our 34th president. As … Continue reading Meet Ike
