NARA and Obama Foundation Sign a Digitization Memorandum of Understanding

by dferriero, posted in Collaboration, Leadership, NARA Records, Open Government

This week, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Barack Obama Foundation agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the plan to digitize all of the unclassified textual Presidential records of the Obama administration. The Foundation will select the vendor, with NARA approval, and oversee the contract.

President Barack Obama Works at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, 10/11/2013. National Archives Identifier 118818001

The digitization plan was first outlined in May 2017, and this MOU is the first agreement coming out of the Letter of Intent signed in September 2018.

Approximately 30 million pages of unclassified Presidential records at the Obama Library will be scanned, and the scanned images and associated metadata will become part of the Electronic Records Archives.

Because the records are governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA), the archival staff of the Obama Library will review the material before their release. The records will then be made digitally available to the public through the National Archives Catalog and the Obama Library website.

Last September we signed a Letter of Intent with the Obama Foundation and, as promised, have continued to work toward an agreement for the digitization of the unclassified textual records of the Barack Obama administration. I am pleased with the progress that this MOU represents and look forward to further progress as NARA and the Obama Foundation partner on this exciting new model.

For information about the records of the Obama administration, visit www.obamalibrary.gov.

7 thoughts on “NARA and Obama Foundation Sign a Digitization Memorandum of Understanding”

  1. Unless something is done to record the World War II records of Record Group 18, future researchers of World War II Aerial Combat will not have an opportunity to research unit histories. I have personal copies of over 4,000 pages obtained from NARA with literally thousands of additional pages that may soon not be able to be scanned.

    3. My brother used to say that Barack is calm on the field and knows the ball well and is not afraid of throwing the ball.

    4. My brother used to say that Barack is calm on the field and knows the ball well and is not afraid of throwing the ball.

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