A career-long fascination and appreciation of the work of those involved in conservation and preservation can be traced to my very first job in the MIT Humanities Library. There I learned about the special needs of vellum and leather bindings, the temperature and humidity requirements of paper, and the principle of never doing anything which … Continue reading Conservation Challenge: The Magna Carta
The coincidence of reading James E. Valle’s Rocks and Shoals: Order and Discipline in the Old Navy, 1800-1861 and the opening of the America Eats Tavern which is serving grog for the first time is the inspiration for this post. Rocks and Shoals documents punishments in the form of flogging meted out for such infractions … Continue reading Grog and Flog
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!
Having grown up on the public service side of libraries, I am always on the lookout for examples of organizations and companies who can articulate a service culture. My latest discovery is Zappos.com, founded in 1999 “…with the goal of becoming the premiere destination for online shoes.” Although I have never been a customer of … Continue reading Culture and Values
I have been fortunate to work in four institutions where the Guastavino family played a role in the construction of my buildings—first at MIT, then my library at Duke, one of my branches of the New York Public Library, and now the National Archives. Rafael Guastavino immigrated to the United States from Spain in the … Continue reading Guastavino Vaulting
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?
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates delivered this year’s Commencement Address at the U.S. Naval Academy. In it he reflected on his 46 years of public service—Air Force, CIA, White House, and Pentagon, serving under eight presidents. He states, “From this experience I have learned that real leadership is a rare and precious commodity, and … Continue reading Thoughts on Leadership
The Federal Register, often called the Government’s daily newspaper, is published by the National Archives and contains rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential documents. That includes signed legislation. And the process for these documents includes signature verification. Congress recently passed legislation to extend … Continue reading A Signature History
I grew up in the Libraries at MIT, an institution founded on the principles of practical education. The motto of MIT, Mens et Manus, captures the spirit of that philosophy--mind and hand. For a young librarian it was a great experience to provide service to a bright and engaged campus community and to serve Nobel … Continue reading Work Culture
