This 4th of July, the National Archives celebrated the 235th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence with its traditional Fourth of July program in Washington, DC. The celebration included patriotic music, a dramatic reading of the Declaration by historical reenactors, and of course, the National Archives float in the Independence Day Parade!Historical … Continue reading Fireworks, Floats, and Food!
The Nation’s Report Card, recently released by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, doesn’t have good news about our student’s academic achievement in American history. Just 13% of high school seniors, 18% of eighth-graders, and 22% of fourth-graders ranked at the proficient level. “These results tell us that, as a country, we … Continue reading How Our Students Are Doing
As someone who likes to cook and collects cookbooks for inspiration, I am high on the latest exhibit to open here at the National Archives. AOTUS welcomes the press at the "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?" exhibit preview at the National Archives. “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” takes a look at the Government’s role in food, a … Continue reading What’s Cooking?
I enjoyed speaking with federal records managers on Wednesday at the National Archives’ Records Administration Conference (RACO). The records managers’ role in government is an essential part of our mission of preserving the records of the past and the present for study and use in the future. When I spoke to this same group last … Continue reading RACO and The Archivist Achievement Awards
According to Alexa.com, the internet traffic ranking company, there are only six websites that internet users worldwide visit more often than Wikipedia: Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo!, Blogger.com, and Baidu.com (the leading Chinese language search engine). In the States, it ranks sixth behind Amazon.com. Over the past few years, the National Archives has worked with many … Continue reading GLAMorous
At the National Archives, we’re always trying to think of new ways to make our historical records more accessible to the public. We have only a small fraction of our 10 billion records online, so it’s clear we’ve got to get creative. It’s vital that we learn how other institutions address this challenge. One approach … Continue reading Crowdsourcing and Citizen Archivist Program
In my 40 years on University campuses, I have participated in many commencement exercises and sat through too many commencement addresses! The best ones are brief, inspiring, and leave you something to think about. On Friday I heard such a speech. I was honored to be part of the exercises at Long Island University. The … Continue reading Commencement Season
On Sunday, I was honored to provide the keynote address for the Next Century Convocation at MIT, the institution which launched my career and shaped my worldview. I shared my thoughts on MIT’s striking founding vision and how pervasive its influence has been over the last 150 years, even in unexpected places. MIT's motto is … Continue reading Mens et Manus: Reaching for the Future
I'm a big fan of Wikipedia. It's often the first place I go for information. According to a recent Pew Internet report, I'm also not alone. Forty-two percent of all Americans also turn to Wikipedia for information online. Every month, almost 80 million people visit Wikipedia and more than 91,000 active contributors have worked on … Continue reading Celebrating 10 Years of Wikipedia
On Tuesday, January 17, 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the American people, where he warned of the growing power of the "military-industrial complex." On Friday, January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his inaugural address to the American people, where he charged, "...ask not what your country can do for … Continue reading 50 Years Ago…
