Artwork, silver, books, religious objects, antiquities, archival documents, and carvings. These are just a few of the types of cultural property that were stolen, looted, seized, forcibly sold, or otherwise lost to the Nazis beginning in the 1930s and continuing through World War II. After the war, documents about this cultural property were scattered across … Continue reading Together, We Can Turn Lost into Found
In a February blog post I cited Wayne Gretzky as a strategic thinker—skating to where he thought the puck would be. On Friday night, a young emerging forward on the San Jose Sharks squad, Benn Ferriero, delivered an equally great after game quote. In the first game of the Western Conference Semifinal Series against the … Continue reading More Hockey Wisdom
This week I was in Kansas City visiting two of our three facilities in the area. The limestone caves at Lenexa hold both temporary and permanent records of Federal agencies in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska including the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, the growing collection of records of … Continue reading The One Who Got Away
Iodite of potassium, sulphate of iron, nitrate of silver, rice starch, ferro cyanite of potassium, and even lemon juice. These are some of the ingredients necessary to reproduce the secret writing techniques described in the six documents declassified by the CIA last week as part of the work of the National Declassification Center (NDC). The … Continue reading Spies and Secret Writing
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
A test of a nation's commitment to transparency and self-government comes in how it explains to succeeding generations the more difficult or controversial moments of the past. Watergate is one such moment in our nation's history -- and a topic that is now more fully explored at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. Last week, … Continue reading Understanding Watergate
You may think that the National Archives is an unlikely place to learn the secrets of Michael Jackson's dance moves -- but you're wrong! Within Record Group 241, Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, patent 5,255,452 gives us the secrets behind one move in particular -- Michael's "lean" as done in the music video, … Continue reading How to be a “Smooth Criminal”
At the National Archives, leadership is shown throughout the agency by staff at all levels -- senior executives, supervisors, specialists, technicians, students, and volunteers. Our leaders are important to fulfilling our mission on a daily basis, and crucial to the transformative changes we've set in motion at the National Archives. For our agency, it's important … Continue reading Thinking About Leadership
This week, public interest groups, media organizations, government agencies, and citizens celebrate Sunshine Week and the Annual Freedom of Information Day. As part of Sunshine Week the White House has launched a new "Good Government" portal as a resource for citizens. At public events and congressional hearings this week, leadership of the National Archives -- … Continue reading Sunshine Week 2011
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
