Celebrate Sunshine Week with the National Archives

Each year, Sunshine Week honors and promotes a dialogue about the importance of open government, access to information, and unnecessary secrecy—values that are central to the mission of the National Archives and Records Administration. More than 100 years ago, Justice Louis Brandeis wrote: “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. If the broad light … Continue reading Celebrate Sunshine Week with the National Archives

DEIA at NARA

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at the National Archives and Records Administration The White House recently released a government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) for the federal workforce. NARA will use this plan to develop an agency-specific DEIA Strategic Plan in spring 2022. This Strategic Plan follows President Biden’s Executive … Continue reading DEIA at NARA

Guiding Principles for Reparative Description

In keeping with the recommendations from my Task Force on Racism, NARA chartered the Reparative Description and Digitization Working Group in July of 2021. Since then, the Working Group has been reviewing guidance, standards, and processes relating to reparative archival description as well as benchmarking the work of peer institutions. Yale University Library notes that reparative … Continue reading Guiding Principles for Reparative Description

Retirement of Archivist David S. Ferriero

After 12 years as the tenth Archivist of the United States, I have decided to retire, effective mid-April 2022.   As I wrote to President Biden, it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve my country once more, this time to lead the Executive Branch agency charged with ensuring that the American people can … Continue reading Retirement of Archivist David S. Ferriero

Leadership Changes to Advance Equity

In order to advance equity and integrate the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) into our agency’s decision-making, I have created two new leadership positions at NARA, the Chief Equity Officer and the Chief Diversity Officer. The Chief Equity Officer is a newly-created position in the Senior Executive Service that will report directly … Continue reading Leadership Changes to Advance Equity

NARA and the International Council on Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration participates in the International Council on Archives (ICA) to share ideas and strategies with our peer national archives around the world, to engage with the global archival profession, and to provide support to archives in countries that are beginning to develop a stronger recordkeeping culture. We’re looking forward to … Continue reading NARA and the International Council on Archives

Fulbright-National Archives Heritage Science Fellowship

Earlier this year, the National Archives, the State Department, and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board formalized a partnership to establish the first-ever Fulbright-National Archives Heritage Science Fellowship. Together with Marie Royce, then-Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and Paul Winfree, Chair of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, I signed a memorandum of … Continue reading Fulbright-National Archives Heritage Science Fellowship

Your Experience Matters

The National Archives (NARA) provides a broad range of services to internal and external customers, including researchers, visitors, educators, genealogists, students, veterans, information technologists, federal agencies and more.  Research Room at the National Archives in Washington, DC Our records are critical to the American public, but our work to preserve and provide access to the … Continue reading Your Experience Matters

Addressing Racial Inequality

As the home of this nation’s founding documents—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—we have a special responsibility to the ideals that all people are created equal, that all people have equal protection under the law, and that there is a common good that includes us all. Although we as a … Continue reading Addressing Racial Inequality