AOTUS: Collector in Chief

Round Two of US-Canadian Rivalry On the 15th of June in 1859,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:49:00 -0400

Affidavit of Lyman A. Cutlar Regarding Pig Shooting, September 7, 1859

Round Two of US-Canadian Rivalry

On the 15th of June in 1859, Lyman Cutlar, an American recently settled on San Juan Island, shot a pig which ” … having been at several times a great annoyance and that morning destroyed a portion of his garden … ”

The pig belonged to the British Hudson Bay Company who demanded compensation in the amount of $100. The astonished Cutlar valued the pig at less than $10. While not the shot heard round the world, it did mark the beginning of the Pig War-a border dispute between the United States and Canada.

An early commemoration of the anniversary of The Pig War was the excuse for the staff of the National Archives in Washington and our friends across the street at the Canadian Embassy to once again test public opinion-this time on bacon. This year celebrity judges tied on the bacon vote but the popular vote (20.5 to 4.5) put the United States over the top.

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog

Open Government Appreciations This week the American Society of...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:41:24 -0400

Open Government Appreciations

This week the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) honored the National Archives with its two highest awards. The President’s Award for Distinguished Public Service was awarded to Miriam Nisbet, Director of our Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). And the Director’s Award for Superior Public Service was awarded to the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). PIDB is an advisory board created by Congress to promote access to national security decisions and activities. Our Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) Director serves as the PIDB Executive Secretary and ISOO staff support the work of the board.

Thanks to Miriam, PIDB, and the staffs of OGIS and ISOO for your excellence.

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog.

Happy Public Service Recognition Week! Yesterday we celebrated...

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:21:00 -0400

Happy Public Service Recognition Week!

Yesterday we celebrated the accomplishments of National Archives staff across the country in our annual Archivist’s Awards ceremony.

We created a little internal fanfare yesterday by recognizing staff for protecting and recovering stolen records, for outstanding service and support of our nation’s veterans, for achievement in engaging our citizens, for developing the Presidential Memorandum and Directive on Managing Government Records, for efforts to increase National Declassification Center production, to name just a few of awards tied closely to our Transformation pillars.

We also celebrated long term service milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years!

For me, every week is Public Service Recognition Week and I take great pride every day in the work that my staff does. Each member of the National Archives staff plays a vital role in fulfilling our mission of collecting, protecting, and making access happen. Congratulations to each one of you!

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog

You Are What You Search In early December 2009 Google announced...

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:04:19 -0400

You Are What You Search

In early December 2009 Google announced on their blog titled “Personalized Search for Everyone” that they would be using 57 “signals” derived from your previous searching behavior in order to predict the sites you were most likely to choose in your search. Netflix, Yahoo, Facebook, and YouTube, to mention just a few, use similar predictive Internet filters based on who you are, past searching behavior, and limiting hits to what fits your profile.

Don’t believe it? Test it yourself, as I did last week with two colleagues. Pick a topic and do a Google search. Ask a couple of other people to do the same search. Compare your results.

Eri Pariser in his book, The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You, describes the result as “invisible autopropoganda-indoctrinating us with our own ideas, amplifying our desires for things that are familiar and leaving us oblivious to the dangers lurking in the dark territory of the unknown.” A space outside our own comfort zone where there is less room for those chance encounters that bring insight and learning.

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog.

George W. Bush Presidential Center Dedication Today the National...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:03:28 -0400

Bush Library exterior, evening. Photo courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Center

David Ferriero (far left) participates in the groundbreaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Center (photo by Eric Draper)

George W. Bush Presidential Center Dedication

Today the National Archives and Records Administration will dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The facility will open to the public on May 1.

The Bush Library is the 13^th of NARA’s federally owned Presidential libraries, whose holdings span eight decades of American history. It also increases our presence in Texas, where we already operate the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, George H.W. Bush’s library in College Station, and our regional archives and records center in Fort Worth.

We look forward to developing partnerships with the George W. Bush Presidential Center and with SMU to present joint programming, share our expertise, draw on our holdings, and bring together SMU’s academic departments and the library. These kinds of partnerships at the 12 other Presidential libraries have enriched the learning experience for students and scholars.

The new Bush Library holds 70 million pages of textual records, 40,000 artifacts (mainly gifts to the Bushes), four million photographs, and 80 terabytes of electronic information – including 200 million emails of about five pages each, or one billion pages.

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog.

Our Presidents: Our thoughts are with the people of Boston. The fire at the JFK...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:11:43 -0400

Our Presidents: Our thoughts are with the people of Boston. The fire at the JFK...:

ourpresidents:

Our thoughts are with the people of Boston.

The fire at the JFK Library Building is out. It appears to have started in the mechanical room of the new wing of the building. All staff and visitors are accounted for and safe.

Fire investigators are investigating. We have no specific information…

todaysdocument: Jackie Robinson broke the color line in Major...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:05:41 -0400

Jackie Robinson in his Brooklyn Dodgers Uniform, 1950, Records of the U.S. Information Agency (National Archives Identifier 6802718)

General Court Martial Orders Number 130, Headquarters XXII Corps, 08/23/1944, Records of the Army Staff (National Archives Identifier 2641509)

Letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower of May 13, 1958, 05/13/1958 ARC Identifier 186627

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Former National Baseball League player, Jackie Robinson with his son.], 08/28/1963, Records of the U.S. Information Agency (National Archives Identifier 542024)

todaysdocument:

Jackie Robinson broke the color line in Major League Baseball when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. This decision would not only integrate baseball, but would help the country work to achieve equal rights for all. Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., once commented to baseball pitcher Don Newcombe, “Don, you and Jackie will never know how easy you made my job, through what you went through on the baseball field.”

Before becoming famous, Lt. Jack R. Robinson was court-martialed at Camp Hood, Texas, because he refused to move to the back of the bus after being told to do so by a bus driver and disobeying an order from a superior officer. Robinson was acquitted of all charges and received an honorable discharge, but this was not the only experience he would have in fighting discrimination.

After retiring from baseball, Robinson turned much of his attention to civil rights issues. He wrote to several Presidents about the cause, and even attended the March on Washington.

Many of these milestone events from Robinson’s life are documented in primary sources from the National Archives.

via The Rest of 42’s Story: Jackie Robinson as Civil Rights Activist

preservearchives: Senior paper conservator, Anne Witty, works...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:25:59 -0400

preservearchives:

Senior paper conservator, Anne Witty, works on records from NARA’s Field Offices across the U.S. The records may need treatment for a variety of reasons, including researcher access, exhibits and loans, or to prepare records for digitization. The Field Offices hold an amazing range of records and Anne has treated presidential pardons, Titanic records, lighthouse drawings, a Charlie Chaplin poster, and maps of the Sutter Ranch (of Gold Rush fame), just to name a few. Check out images of a Sutter Ranch map during treatment and a few of Anne’s favorite tools.

Rapturous Research In a recent op-ed piece by Sean Pidgeon, he...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:37:00 -0400

Rapturous Research

In a recent op-ed piece by Sean Pidgeon, he defines research rapture:

“A state of enthusiasm or exaltation arising from the exhaustive study of a topic or period of history; the delightful but dangerous condition of becoming repeatedly sidetracked in following intriguing threads of information, or constantly searching for one more elusive fact.”

Pidgeon’s column triggered many rapture memories from my days as a research librarian. The opportunity and challenge of engaging in the research or faculty and students over the years has been one of the joys of my professional life. Some of my favorites: the archaeologist tracing the history of turpentine from the Middle East to Europe by analysis of Renaissance painting paint fragments; an Abigail Adams quote from a letter to her husband inscribed on the fireplace mantle in the East Room of the White House; details of Pablo Neruda’s life; details of a Congolese form of voodoo practices in Cuba; and, who said “We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities, Yogi Berra or Pogo?

In each case, except the last, the search for an answer resulted in lots of sidetracks and lots of new related information—some for the researcher, but all for me!

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog.

todaysdocument: Franklin Roosevelt established the Jackson Hole...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:11:08 -0400

[Jackson Lake in foreground, with Teton Range in background, view looking southwest from north end of the lake.], Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming., 1933 - 1942. Ansel Adams. ARC Identifier 519909

View from Togwotee Pass. Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1871 ARC Identifier 517202

Teton range and Jackson Lake, Wyoming, 1872 ARC Identifier 517661

todaysdocument:

Franklin Roosevelt established the Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming 70 years ago today on March 15, 1943. It would later be combined with the Grand Teton National Park in 1950.

Presidential Proclamation 2578 of March 15, 1943, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishing Jackson Hole National Monument.: 03/15/1943

via The Nation Archives at Kansas City on Twitter

todaysdocument: Check out the exhibit in person if you can —...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:33:06 -0400

todaysdocument:

Check out the exhibit in person if you can — having stared at many of these photos on a screen for years, seeing the full size prints is a whole new experience!

npr:

(via 16 Photographs That Capture the Best and Worst of 1970s America

A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade — one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion

Photo credit: National Archives

preservearchives: How did we detect the forged date on the...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:32:46 -0400

preservearchives:

How did we detect the forged date on the Lincoln Pardon? How did we conserve records from a WW II shipwreck? How will you preserve your family archives? Learn the answers and (much) more at Preservation EXPOsed! Join Preservation Programs for this free event on Thursday, March 14th from 11 am to 2 pm at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Browse display booths and talk with our knowledgeable staff. Attend free lectures on special preservation projects. Make an appointment for a consultation on your favorite family treasure. For more information, see http://www.archives.gov/preservation/exposed-2013.html

todaysdocument: March 8 is International Women’s Day, and this...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:10:36 -0500

todaysdocument:

March 8 is International Women’s Day, and this March also marks the 100th Anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington DC. Be sure to check out one of the latest boards on Pinterest, “A National Policy of Nagging,” documenting some of the struggles of early suffragists:

A National Policy of Nagging

Suffragists faced a difficult road in their march towards equality. Even women opposed giving women the right to vote. One letter from Alice H. Wadsworth, President of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, calls it “an endorsement of nagging as a national policy.” March 3 marks 100 years since suffragists marched on Washington. In honor of this event, the 19th Amendment will be on display from March 1 to March 8, 2013.

(Ed. note: corrected 19th Amendment exhibit end date to March 8.)

US National Archives Exhibits: HITCHHIKER WITH HIS DOG, “TRIPPER”, ON U.S. 66. U.S. 66 CROSSES THE...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:05:17 -0500

US National Archives Exhibits: HITCHHIKER WITH HIS DOG, “TRIPPER”, ON U.S. 66. U.S. 66 CROSSES THE...:

usnatarchivesexhibits:

HITCHHIKER WITH HIS DOG, “TRIPPER”, ON U.S. 66. U.S. 66 CROSSES THE COLORADO RIVER AT TOPOCK, 05/1972

Item from Records of the Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )

Bad fashion, odd fads, and disco dance music sum up the 1970s for many Americans. We contrast those years to the…

congressarchives: Today we commemorate the 1933 passing of the...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:28:36 -0500

congressarchives:

Today we commemorate the 1933 passing of the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution with National Lame Duck Day. Before the 20th Amendment was ratified, members elected to Congress in November did not convene under the new Congress until March (not until the following December in some cases, a full 13 months from their election). Departing members continued to serve for 4+ months after the election, and were referred to as lame ducks.

In this 1915 cartoon by Clifford Berryman, the lame ducks are defeated Democrats heading to the White House hoping to secure political appointments from President Woodrow Wilson.

The Post-Season Parade, 3/5/1915, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC1693335)

As a Navy veteran I have a particular fondness for U.S. Navy...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:01:29 -0500

As a Navy veteran I have a particular fondness for U.S. Navy records, especially deck logs. From my first days here at the National Archives when I discovered that we had the actual deck logs from the USS Constitution including her service during the War of 1812 to the day I was handed a deck log of the USS Sanctuary, AH-17 , covering my time aboard that hospital ship in Viet Nam I have been hooked on this record series!

So, it was a real treat to learn that NOAA had approached us in April of 2011 with the idea of digitally imaging the logs of Navy and Coast Guard Revenue Cutter vessels as part of their work with OldWeather.org to document weather conditions in the North Pacific Arctic region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In a wonderful crowd sourcing venture, volunteers working with OldWeather.org transcribe handwritten weather observations as well as log entries on vessel movement and activities. It is a win-win cross agency collaboration—NOAA gets the weather data and NARA gets the digital images for posting.

Read the full post on the AOTUS blog.

todaysdocument: Welcome to the Union, Alaska! Presidential...

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:44:11 -0500

todaysdocument:

Welcome to the Union, Alaska!

Presidential Proclamation 3269 of January 3, 1959, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower admitting the State of Alaska into the Union., 01/03/1959

Did you miss our Alaskan photoset from last year’s anniversary?

Newsies selling at the Hudson Tunnel Station, Jersey City. Boy...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:46:59 -0500

Newsies selling at the Hudson Tunnel Station, Jersey City. Boy on left is Patrick Drohan, 12 years old. Next to him is Stanley Fazurowski, 9 years old. Largest boy is 13 years old. Jersey City, N.J., 12/21/1909

From the series National Child Labor Committee Photographs taken by Lewis Hine

preservearchives: Before preparing the Emancipation...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:00:34 -0500

preservearchives:

Before preparing the Emancipation Proclamation for exhibition on its 150th anniversary, a senior conservator examines the signature page with a binocular microscope. The Fifth Page clearly shows darkening of the paper from excessive light exposure. Emancipation Proclamation, RG 11, ARC # 299998.

todaysdocument: Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine Patent, missing...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:39:01 -0500

todaysdocument:

Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine Patent, missing from the National Archives

December 17 is the anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic first flight in 1903. For most, it’s a day to celebrate a pivotal milestone in aviation history. But here at the National Archives and at other archives, libraries, and museums it’s a reminder of the threat that cultural institutions face on a daily basis. The patent for the Wright Flyer is missing—presumed stolen—last seen in 1979, and it’s not the only item missing.

When such records are stolen —sometimes for resale on web auction sites— our shared history is lost and our ability to maintain accountability in our government is lessened. Together, with your help, we can return our cultural heritage to its rightful place.

For More Information:

Help the National Archives Recover Lost & Stolen Documents

US National Archives Archival Recovery Team on Facebook

via the AOTUS Blog: The Impact of Theft