Help us strengthen open government at the National Archives!

Starting today, we need your ideas, comments, and votes to help us revise the Open Government Plan of the National Archives.  Please visit the Open Government Idea Forum and take a few minutes to let us know what you think we should be doing to strengthen transparency, participation, and collaboration at the National Archives. Two … Continue reading Help us strengthen open government at the National Archives!

The Official 1940 Census Web Site…Bookmark it now!

The 1940 Census is almost here!  When it opens on April 2nd at 9:00 AM (Eastern), the place to be is the National Archives’ 1940 Census web site.  We are excited to announce that our home on the web will be:  1940Census.archives.gov We invite you to visit today to watch the video featuring National Archives' … Continue reading The Official 1940 Census Web Site…Bookmark it now!

New Digital Scanner/Copier FAQs

ARCHIVES I and ARCHIVES II research rooms will shortly be getting new self-service digital scanner/copiers and a new copy card system. What kind of scanner/copiers have been purchased?  The scanner/copiers are the Sharp Model MX-M363, modified to use platen covers in place of document feeders, which are not permitted in copying original records.  The paper … Continue reading New Digital Scanner/Copier FAQs

Yes, Wikipedians Scan

David Ferriero's recent post over on the AOTUS blog made mention of NARA's Wikipedia ExtravaSCANza in the context of a discussion of the "Yes We Scan" initiative and a broader digitization strategy. I want to take the opportunity to recap the citizen archivist scanning the National Archives has been hosting for Wikipedians in recent months. … Continue reading Yes, Wikipedians Scan

Quality is the New Normal: Implementing a Quality Focused Program in Digitization Services

January is traditionally a time of new beginnings. With the turning of the calendar page to a new year comes an opportunity to start fresh with a clean slate.  In Digitization Services (IDS), we have some ideas for where to focus our renewed energy – moving our quality efforts from a project into a program. … Continue reading Quality is the New Normal: Implementing a Quality Focused Program in Digitization Services

'Tis the Season to Participate Online!

Throughout this holiday season, we encourage you to participate in the exciting activities featured on the Citizen Archivist Dashboard, which is available starting today. Check it out and try tagging, transcription, editing articles, uploading digital scans, and participating in contests all related to the records of the National Archives. We hope that you’ll share any suggestions … Continue reading 'Tis the Season to Participate Online!

ScanPro 2000 Training Session

Today’s guest blog post comes from Rebecca Crawford of Research Services On October 25, twelve new scanning stations were installed in the Microfilm Research Room in Washington, DC. Since then many of our researchers have used the equipment; we have heard many positive reviews. If you have not used the equipment or you are interested … Continue reading ScanPro 2000 Training Session

National Archives Digitization Tools Now on GitHub

As part of our open government initiatives, the National Archives has begun to share applications developed in-house on GitHub, a social coding platform.  GitHub is a service used by software developers to share and collaborate on software development projects and many open source development projects. Over the last year and a half, our Digitization Services … Continue reading National Archives Digitization Tools Now on GitHub

The Scanners are Coming! The Scanners are Coming!

Today’s guest blog post comes from Rebecca Crawford of Research Services. The National Archives and Records Administration is pleased to announce the upcoming arrival of 12 ScanPro 2000s for the Microfilm Research Room in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The scanners will be in place by the end of October 2011. The ScanPro … Continue reading The Scanners are Coming! The Scanners are Coming!

Family Tree Friday: Were you at work? The 1940 Census employment status (Part 1)

This week's post comes from guest blogger Diane Petro, who is an Archives Technician in the Archives I Research Support Branch (RD-DC), Research Services, Archival Operations - Washington, DC.  Diane helps staff the research rooms at the National Archives Building and has also been working on reference activities relating to the upcoming 1940 Census release. … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Were you at work? The 1940 Census employment status (Part 1)