Yesterday we talked about some major projects, supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, documenting the contributions of African Americans to the American Story. While the history of Emancipation and the collected papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., are vital to understanding of our democracy, history, and culture, there are many other chapters: … Continue reading Celebrating Black History Month: Hidden Gems
Every day, we celebrate the remarkable contributions of African Americans to the American Story. The National Archives contains millions of records related to the interactions of African Americans with the Federal government—from the Emancipation Proclamation to the millions of historical records ranging from the Census to military service. The National Archives grant program, our National … Continue reading Celebrating Black History Month
As the University Librarian at Duke one of my favorite duties was talking people into donating their personal collections to the University Library. My staff had great intelligence about who we should go after to strengthen the collections, so I was always armed with rationale(s) for the fit at Duke. The passing of Robin Chandler … Continue reading Remembering Robin Chandler Duke
In celebration of the New York Academy of Medicine’s #ColorOurCollections campaign this week, many museums, libraries, and archives hopped on the adult coloring bandwagon and created coloring books to share on Twitter. We’ve been participating by posting various images throughout the week for people to color, from Rosie the Riveter to the Faulkner murals. Now … Continue reading #ColorOurCollections
Much of the Eastern Seaboard is bracing for a major snow/ice event this weekend. Are you prepared? Looking for indoor activities? Even if you can’t make it out to the research rooms, you can still do something fun and good for the country from the comfort of your own home as you tag and transcribe … Continue reading Cabin Fever Remedies
I am pleased to announce a new pilot project from the Office of Innovation at the National Archives called the “History Hub.” This new platform may be thought of as an external collaboration network, a place where subject matter experts from the National Archives can engage with researchers and the public, to share information, work … Continue reading Launch and Learn: Our New History Hub Pilot Project
The Presidential Rank Award Program was created to recognize “sustained extraordinary accomplishment” by career senior executives in the Federal Government. In a highly competitive process, executives nominated by their agency heads are evaluated by citizen panels and designated by the President of the United States. Recipients are deemed to be strong leaders, professionals, or scientists … Continue reading Releasing All We Can, Protecting What We Must
Receipt for fruit cake, March 1918. National Archives Identifier: 6233802 / Local Identifier: HST-BWT_5_3_03_01 This is a receipt for a fruit cake purchased by Bess Wallace at the Jones Store, a Kansas City, Missouri Department store, to send to her fiancé, Harry S. Truman, who was stationed in France with the United States Army 129th … Continue reading Happy Holidays from AOTUS!
At the end of the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fled political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. Between 1975 and 1979, some 300,000 of these refugees were admitted to the United States through Presidential action. The law at the time restricted refugee admissions, and many members of Congress wanted … Continue reading Making Room for Those in Danger
Last week, A’Lelia Bundles, the Chair and President of the National Archives Foundation, and I presented the 2015 National Archives Foundation Records of Achievement Award to Taylor Branch, an American author and Pulitzer Prize winner. This award recognizes Branch’s lifelong work chronicling the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the history of the … Continue reading 2015 Records of Achievement Award
