Reflections on Collection Security

Last week I had an opportunity to address the Preservation Section meeting of the Society of American Archivists.  The theme of the meeting was holdings protection—balancing access to holdings with safeguarding them.  And two of our Holdings Protection staff, Larry Evangelista and Richard Dine participated in a panel discussion reporting on what we have accomplished … Continue reading Reflections on Collection Security

Cue the Locusts!

It has been quite a week.  Tuesday afternoon an earthquake rattled many of our facilities around the Northeast.  Little known fault lines named Lakeside and Spotsylvania near Mineral, VA, the epicenter, made themselves known over several days with at least seven aftershocks. The Washington National Regions Records Center in Suitland, MD was the hardest hit … Continue reading Cue the Locusts!

The Wisdom of the Crowd

On June 15th we launched our tagging feature on the Online Public Access (OPA) prototype in another “citizen archivist” venture. Convinced that our users know a lot about the records we are stewarding, this is an opportunity to contribute that knowledge. As you search the catalog, you are invited to tag any archival description, person, … Continue reading The Wisdom of the Crowd

Balancing Access and Protection

Last Thursday, a Federal grand jury indicted Barry Landau and Jason Savedoff “…for conspiring to steal historical documents from museums in Maryland and New York, and selling them for profit.”  On Friday they were arraigned in Baltimore’s U.S. District Court and immediately arrested by FBI and NARA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Special Agents. … Continue reading Balancing Access and Protection