While visiting the National Archives at San Francisco this summer, the Director, Daniel Nealand, introduced me to a rare and fascinating audio recording of an Alcatraz prisoner. The recording was recovered from a 1947 SoundScriber disc within Record Group 129, Records of the Bureau of Prisons at the National Archives. The recording is twelve and … Continue reading Croutons, Pepper, and the Hole
Recently, I read an article and book by Charlene Li, an expert on social media and former analyst and vice president at Forrester Research. In the book, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, she states that greater openness in organizations is inevitable and is a consequence of the increasing use … Continue reading Leading an Open Archives
Today we celebrate the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. On this date in 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the Constitution. At the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., where the Constitution is on permanent display in the Rotunda, there is a celebration planned. … Continue reading Happy Constitution Day!
In a letter to Ebenezer Hazard on February 18, 1791, Thomas Jefferson said, ...let us save what remains; not by vaults and locks which fence them from the public eye and use in consigning them to the waste of time, but by such multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of accident. … Continue reading Was Your Ancestor a Revolutionary War Spy?
Last Wednesday, I visited the Huntington Library in California to receive the original Nuremberg Laws on behalf of the U.S. Government. The laws were signed by Adolf Hitler and issued by the Third Reich in 1935. The Nuremberg Laws will become part of the National Archives Gift Collection. http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/MEG9z_0OLyo?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1 The Nuremberg Laws were the anti-Semitic … Continue reading The Nuremberg Laws
As American combat operations in Iraq draw to a close at the end of August, here at the National Archives we are always thinking about the records. The records created to document the conflict are crucial for our understanding of our military operations. It's our history at stake. The Chief Historian for the European Theater … Continue reading The Records of War
On Saturday, July 31, I boarded a ferry headed to Angel Island to attend a commemorative event marking the 100th anniversary of the Angel Island Immigration Station. The event featured new outdoor exhibits, information booths, and performances relating to the experience of immigrants at Angel Island. I spoke about the National Archives and the Angel Island … Continue reading Immigration Records Illuminate the Story of Angel Island
I would like to congratulate the NARA volunteers of the Civil War Conservation Corps (CWCC) on reaching a significant milestone in the preparation of Civil War Widow’s Certificate pension case files for digitization. On June 2, these dedicated citizen archivists completed preparation of the 50,000th file, sending it on its way to the digital cameras … Continue reading Civil War Conservation Corps Reaches a Significant Milestone
Yesterday I welcomed members of Congress to the National Archives to celebrate the donation of the Grace Tully Collection. After almost 30 years of effort, the National Archives and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library have obtained the papers that Grace Tully collected and maintained during her time as secretary of Franklin D. Roosevelt. My … Continue reading The Grace Tully Collection of FDR Papers
On July 26, we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Federal Register Act by launching Federal Register 2.0. In a special event in the Rotunda of the National Archives, I will be joined by the Public Printer of the United States and distinguished guests from regulatory agencies and the open government community to introduce … Continue reading Coming Soon: Federal Register 2.0
