Today NARA is releasing the entirety of our digital preservation framework for public comment. This digital preservation framework consists of our approach to determining risks faced by electronic files, and our plans for preserving different types of file formats. The public is encouraged to join the discussion, September 16 through November 1, 2019, on GitHub. … Continue reading Digital Preservation Framework Released for Public Comment
On October 19, 2017 the FOIA Advisory Committee will meet in the William G. McGowan Theater. The three subcommittees will each present their ideas to the full Committee and the public for how to improve the administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and improve FOIA processes. As I blogged about last June, the … Continue reading An Update on the FOIA Advisory Committee
The new administration has required agencies to create strategic plans covering 2018-2022. Our updated Strategic Plan was circulated for public comment over the past couple of months. We asked for input and you gave it. You can see the history of comments on our GitHub page. With updates informed by those comments, we provided OMB … Continue reading Bold Updates to Our Strategic Plan
Free and equal access to government records is essential to this country’s democracy. Citizens have the right to see, examine, and learn from the records that guarantee their rights, document government actions, and tell the story of the nation. As Archivist of the United States, it is my job to make sure we identify, save, … Continue reading Meeting the Government’s Email Challenge
On November 26, 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law Public Law No: 113-187, the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014. This new law modernizes records management by focusing more directly on electronic records, and complements efforts by the National Archives to implement the President’s 2011 Memorandum on Managing Government Records. Key points … Continue reading It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!
The Managing Government Records Directive (OMB M12-18) charges the National Archives and Records Administration to lead the efforts to modernize records management in the Federal Government. The Directive focuses on two main goals: agencies will require electronic recordkeeping by managing all their email in an accessible electronic format by the end of 2016 and managing … Continue reading Modernizing Records Management
On Tuesday of this week I had a chance to visit the construction site of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. Some 700 workers were onsite at the time, inside and outside, to bring this latest addition to the National Archives in on schedule … Continue reading A New Presidential Library
Writing in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck quotes Kit Anderson, past president of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (check out their website! www.nsgcd.org): “Digital clutter doesn’t beget mice or interfere with walking around the house. But it’s more insidious because no one else is going to insist that you get help.” It is an … Continue reading Digital Hoarding
Today, the President issued a memorandum to heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on Managing Government Records. This marks the start of an executive branch-wide effort to reform records management policies and practices. I strongly support this Presidential initiative, which sends a very clear message to Federal agencies about the importance of managing electronic records. … Continue reading Record Keeping Memo
