By Robin Waldman Today I had the pleasure of attending a program in the National Archives' William G. McGowan Theater called Are You In? Citizen Archivists, Crowdsourcing and Open Government that outlined some great projects that involve the public with making records available online. AOTUS Ferriero opened the program with remarks that described how President Obama's Open Government mandate … Continue reading YOU, the People: Citizen Archivists and Digital Engagement
Category: Archival Projects
Posts about projects undertaken by NARA staff and descriptions of the work we do.
The Navy Deck Logs
Today's post is written by Carrie Jones, Student Employee at the National Archives in College Park, MD. I have been with NARA for a year as a student and since I started, I have been working on the team that has been processing and consolidating the Navy deck logs in RG 24, Records of the … Continue reading The Navy Deck Logs
Processing Records of the American Red Cross
By Jason Clingerman In March we begin processing the collection of American Red Cross records donated to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 2009. This was made possible due to the closing of the American Red Cross’ Hazel Braugh Records Center and Archives in Lorton, Virginia. These records will be incorporated into NARA’s already existing … Continue reading Processing Records of the American Red Cross
Consumption Comes Back
Today’s post is written by archives technician Ingi House. Going through records, sometimes it’s a surprise what you can find right off the bat: a cool name, a weird event, or even an interesting story. But what lies underneath the obvious is sometimes even better. All you need is a spark to start your mind turning … Continue reading Consumption Comes Back
If I Was in Charge…
By Denise Henderson We want to hear from our researchers! Here’s your chance to tell us what record groups you would like to see us working on…if you were in charge! In the last few years, the archivists working in the Textual Archives Services Division at Archives II have been involved in several large-scale processing projects. … Continue reading If I Was in Charge…
NARA and Ancestry.com: The Digitization Partnership Project, an introduction
Today’s post is written by archives technician Kate Sohasky. What exactly is it that you do? This is the question I was repeatedly met with during my first weeks of training at the National Archives. This is the question I continue to be met with when I speak with other NARA employees. Allow me to introduce us … Continue reading NARA and Ancestry.com: The Digitization Partnership Project, an introduction
U.S. Information Agency (USIA) Research Report Document Files Consolidated
Today’s post is written by Tom McAnear, a processing archivist who works with civilian textual records. The Research Report document files from the Office of Research and Media Reaction in Record Group 306 (Records of the U.S. Information Agency) are important for researching both foreign and domestic opinion about key events, important issues, and the actions … Continue reading U.S. Information Agency (USIA) Research Report Document Files Consolidated
So…what’s accessioning?
Today's post is written by Sarah Farinholt and Meghan Ryan who work on the Accessioning team. Ever wonder how documents get to the National Archives? Before federal records become part of the National Archives holdings, they must be accessioned. Accessioning is the process by which the National Archives takes legal and physical custody of records – it … Continue reading So…what’s accessioning?
What we have to offer
By Jason Clingerman The Textual Archives staff here at Archives II is constantly working on new and exciting projects. However, until social media came along we had no way of sharing our work with the public except for perhaps a Prologue article, a “Descriptions Created or Updated Since” search on our Archival Research Catalog (ARC), … Continue reading What we have to offer
Of paper cuts and daydreams
By Robin Waldman Welcome to our newest venture, where we, members of the Textual Archives staff, will share our reference and processing experiences with you. Did you ever wonder how our records come to be processed, or what steps are involved? Did you ever ponder all the places a piece of paper has been before that … Continue reading Of paper cuts and daydreams