Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. To commemorate this anniversary, this month’s patent is Andrew Higgins’s landing boat. It is dated February 15, 1944, less than four months before D-Day. LCVPs--or Higgins boats, as they are now commonly known --transported troops from the 1st Infantry onto Omaha Beach. They could each carry … Continue reading Patent of the Month: Higgins boats
This month we celebrate the one year anniversary of the launch of Founders Online – a tool for seamless searching across the papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. In the past year, the site has received over 400,000 visits. An example of the power of the … Continue reading One Year of Founders Online
The photograph was taken at Soldier Field, Chicago, in July of 1967. The Navy’s Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes provided the manpower to create The Living Flag. In the upper right corner of the blue field, wearing a blue plastic bag over whitehat, stands recruit David S. Ferriero! Remembering boot camp on this Memorial Day weekend. … Continue reading Happy Memorial Day!
It gives me great joy to be able to share the treasures of the National Archives with kids and their families. In January, we held the first-ever National Archives Sleepover in the Rotunda. It was a great way to create a meaningful experience for families, while giving us the opportunity to explain the important role … Continue reading Sleepover at the National Archives
Despite the challenges of the past year--sequestration, the government shutdown, and other obstacles we have had to face-- the staff of the National Archives has consistently risen to the occasion and has done some extraordinary work. Staff receive awards at the 2014 Archivist's Awards Ceremony at the National Archives in College Park For me, … Continue reading Public Service Recognition Week and the Archivist’s Awards
I recently attended the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ public hearing on broadband access, hosted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC. I was joined by colleagues from Federal agencies, universities, museums and libraries to examine the need for high speed broadband access in America’s libraries, and how this access … Continue reading Making Access Happen by Expanding Broadband
The Managing Government Records Directive (OMB M12-18) charges the National Archives and Records Administration to lead the efforts to modernize records management in the Federal Government. The Directive focuses on two main goals: agencies will require electronic recordkeeping by managing all their email in an accessible electronic format by the end of 2016 and managing … Continue reading Modernizing Records Management
Commencement Season is fast approaching and I am honored to have been selected to deliver the address at North Carolina State University in May. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember who my commencement speaker was or what he or she had to say! During my years at MIT and Duke, Commencement was … Continue reading Creating The Best Commencement Speech Ever
In the video below, Jennifer Pahlka, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, invites you to make a difference and serve your country by applying to become a Presidential Innovation Fellow. This is the third round of the Presidential Innovation Fellows. Projects from the first two rounds included: making government data more openly available, programs to assist … Continue reading Help Us Innovate!
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
