Ken Price, the Hillegass University Professor of American Literature and co-editor of The Walt Whitman Archive at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, needs our help. Mining the records of the Office of the Attorney General here at the National Archives, Price has discovered 3000 documents in Whitman’s hand. His discovery is described in a 2011 Prologue … Continue reading Calling All Walt Whitman Fans
Yesterday we were privileged to host two special advance screenings of The Monuments Men, one especially for the staff of the National Archives. Thanks to the generosity of Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men upon which the film is based for making this possible. The film will open in … Continue reading The Monuments Men
Happy Holidays! Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 1) Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 2) Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. … Continue reading Patent of the Month: Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees
Earlier this year, Jessie Kratz was appointed Historian of the National Archives—our first! Jessie has been with the Archives nearly 15 years—most recently on staff at the Center for Legislative Archives. Over the years, many staff members have informally filled that role in various capacities and I want to thank them for recognizing the importance … Continue reading What is Past is Prologue: Appointing the first Historian of the National Archives
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) recently hosted an open meeting to discuss its recommendations to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System, focusing on declassification prioritization. PIDB continues to advocate for public discussion on the report. This meeting represented opportunities to highlight recommendations from the report, continue the conversation about the current declassification … Continue reading Declassification Prioritization
Last night I had the distinct honor of welcoming director Steven Spielberg to the National Archives and presenting him with the Foundation for the National Archives’ Records of Achievement Award for bringing our nation’s history to life on the big screen. Also joining us was previous award recipient Ken Burns, who spoke with Mr. Spielberg … Continue reading Bringing History to Life
With the opening of the “Discovery and Recovery” exhibit, I had a chance last week to thank many of the National Archives staff who made it possible. And it truly took a village to make this happen! Staff from just about every corner of the Agency contributed—preservation and conservation, security, legal, communications, exhibits, digital engagement, … Continue reading Celebrating Passion and Accomplishment
What happens when archives, libraries and museums come together? They build something amazing. The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is here, and the National Archives is proud to participate as a leading content provider in this exciting online portal and platform. The DPLA provides a single online access point for anyone, anywhere to search and access … Continue reading Congratulations to the Digital Public Library of America
The National Archives contains many archival gems. To share some of my favorites, I am starting a new feature for the blog, Patent of the Month. Eye Protector for Chickens Eye Protector for Chickens, Patent 730918, June 16, 1903. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 2) Eye Protector … Continue reading Patent of the Month
In May 2011, Dominic McDevitt-Parks joined the National Archives as our first Wikipedian-In-Residence. This put the National Archives at the forefront of many cultural institutions in partnering with the Wikimedia community. Working for the National Archives as a part-time student intern, our Wikipedian led ground-breaking efforts for the agency. His automated-upload project provided 100,000 digital … Continue reading Breaking New Ground Again
