On July 26, we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Federal Register Act by launching Federal Register 2.0. In a special event in the Rotunda of the National Archives, I will be joined by the Public Printer of the United States and distinguished guests from regulatory agencies and the open government community to introduce … Continue reading Coming Soon: Federal Register 2.0
I celebrated Independence Day in the most spectacular way. I wasn't really prepared for how amazing the day would be. I felt proud and honored to be the Archivist of the United States. I was truly moved by the enthusiasm of the crowds lined up along Constitution Avenue to cheer as our float went by, … Continue reading Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
On June 16, I joined Carl Malamud and members of the International Amateur Scanning League (IASL) in the Still Picture Research Room at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. I was lending my support to their newest citizen archivist project -- scanning and making available online approximately 15,000 State Department photographs of diplomatic events … Continue reading Citizen Archivists Making an Impact at the National Archives
This past Wednesday, the National Archives hosted a public forum to discuss how the National Declassification Center (NDC) should prioritize the declassification of records. The forum was an active and lively discussion. We heard many suggestions and comments from members of the public on a draft prioritization plan. I was joined on stage by Sheryl … Continue reading Releasing All We Can, Protecting What We Must
Everyone brings their special dish to a potluck. It's what makes a potluck so terrific. We make dishes we know well and are likely to be enjoyed by the crowd. My signature potluck dish is a killer potato salad! Potlucks bring together the culinary expertise of the group in the same way that crowdsourcing leverages … Continue reading Aristotle and Potlucks
At the National Archives and Records Administration, we care for our nation's most beloved documents. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights are our most well known national treasures, but in the stacks there are many others, some of them not yet discovered. At a researcher meeting … Continue reading Citizen Archivist Discovers National Treasure in the Stacks
One of my favorite strategic planning quotes is from Wayne Gretzky. He said, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." A recent Morgan Stanley report on Internet trends, gives us a lot of data on where the puck will be and the direction in which we should … Continue reading The Future is in the Palm of our Hands
At the National Archives and Records Administration, our unique role as the nation's records keeper is critical to the success of the President's open government initiative. Our work serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. I think … Continue reading Pork and Fort Sumter: New Ways of Relating to our Documents
Recently, NASA launched an online project called "Be A Martian." At first glance, this website is a highly sophisticated public education tool that creates an online experience to connect the public with NASA's mission. On closer inspection, this is also an important crowdsourcing project. The public is invited to participate as "citizen scientists" by aligning Mars … Continue reading Cultivating Citizen Archivists
The Pew Research Center recently published a report, “The Impact of the Internet on Institutions in the Future,” in which it found that 72 percent of experts agreed with the statement: By 2020, innovative forms of online cooperation will result in significantly more efficient and responsive governments, business, non-profits, and other mainstream institutions. That optimism … Continue reading No Small Change
