The Role of the National Archives in the Presidential Transition

by dferriero, posted in Collaboration, Leadership, NARA Records, Open Government, Participation, Records Management, Special Events, Transparency

With this week’s election, we Americans determined the next chapter in our country’s history. I am proud to have exercised my vote and I hope you did the same. As private citizens we participated in an act of living democracy. Today, we do the same as Federal employees dedicated to preparing our agency for a … Continue reading The Role of the National Archives in the Presidential Transition

Check Us Out!

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, NARA Records, Open Government, Participation, Social Media, Special Events, Technology

The National Archives provides many “entrances” to our content. We have facilities located across the country to bring our records to you and you may find our records where you go to on the web, including Wikipedia, Facebook, Instagram, and many more.  We know that nearly one third of you come to our website via … Continue reading Check Us Out!

Launching the Beta Program for our Remembering WWI App

by dferriero, posted in Collaboration, NARA Records, Participation, Special Events, Technology

Today we’re launching the public beta program for the Remembering WWI iPad app, which puts newly digitized primary source materials into the hands of teachers and museum professionals nationwide. The app is a product of a two-year collaboration among the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the National WWI Museum, and others, … Continue reading Launching the Beta Program for our Remembering WWI App

We want to hear from you! NARA’s Open Government Plan 2016-2018

by dferriero, posted in Collaboration, Leadership, Open Government, Participation, Technology, Transparency

I am proud to announce the publication of our fourth Open Government Plan. To get started, check out the Executive Summary, which provides an overview of the commitments the agency is making to make the National Archives and the Federal government more open over the next two years. We want to hear from you! This … Continue reading We want to hear from you! NARA’s Open Government Plan 2016-2018

Sharing the Excitement about Open Government

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, Open Government, Participation, Special Events

This week I had an opportunity to address the World Library and Information Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) on the work we have been doing here at the National Archives in support of the Administration’s Open Government Initiative.  Thirty two hundred librarians, archivists, and other information professionals from 145 … Continue reading Sharing the Excitement about Open Government

Getting Our House in Order: Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, Open Government, Special Events

Yesterday, I had the privilege to speak to my colleagues in the archival profession at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Council of State Archivists and the Society for American Archivists in Atlanta, Georgia, about an important topic to me and an ongoing focus for us at the National Archives: diversity and inclusion.     … Continue reading Getting Our House in Order: Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

Information Security Oversight Office Releases its Annual Report to the President

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, Open Government, Transparency

Today, our Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) released online its Report to the President for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. This annual report covers government agencies’ security classification activities, shares cost estimates for these activities, and provides an update on the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) program. This annual report was mandated by Executive Order 13526, Classified … Continue reading Information Security Oversight Office Releases its Annual Report to the President

Records Management Self-Assessment

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, Open Government, Records Management

I am pleased to announce that the 2015 Records Management-Self Assessment (RMSA) report is now available. Laurence Brewer, Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, said, "This is our seventh RMSA, and we are very pleased to see real progress being made by agencies. We expect this improvement to continue, especially as agencies continue to … Continue reading Records Management Self-Assessment

FOIA Improvement and the FOIA Advisory Committee

by dferriero, posted in Leadership, Open Government, Transparency

On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed the bipartisan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Improvement Act of 2016 into law. This law locks into place many of the Administration’s FOIA policies and initiatives and solidifies the role of the National Archives’ Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in resolving FOIA disputes between agencies and requesters … Continue reading FOIA Improvement and the FOIA Advisory Committee

95%: Describing the National Archives’ Holdings

by dferriero, posted in NARA Records, Technology

The National Archives Catalog has reached a milestone: we now have 95% of our holdings completely described at the series level in our online catalog. This is a monumental achievement. Why? Because the National Archives holds over 13 billion pages of records, and we are adding hundreds of millions of pages to that total every … Continue reading 95%: Describing the National Archives’ Holdings