Free NARA Documents on Footnote.com

Are you looking for documents by the Continental Congress, court records related to the Amistad, details on the assassination of President Lincoln, or FBI investigative case files from World War I?  You now have ready access to documents like these, which capture important American ideals and events that have shaped our country.  More than 20 … Continue reading Free NARA Documents on Footnote.com

Question: What are your favorite biographical resources, online or in print?

What are your favorite sources for looking up biographies? Do you have a favorite site online, or do you swear by a particular print source? We're in the very early stages of planning a wiki for the National Archives and have recently been considering including a biography section on the site. Our tentative plan is … Continue reading Question: What are your favorite biographical resources, online or in print?

Question: What is your favorite history-, library-, or archives-related blog?

What is your favorite history-, library-, or archives-related blog? With the vast array of personal, professional, academic and commercial blogs available to readers today, it can be difficult trying to find just the right one to suit your needs. While it might be fun, who has the time to skim through 308,026 blogs? (That's the … Continue reading Question: What is your favorite history-, library-, or archives-related blog?

Question: If you could personalize your experience of NARA’s research Web pages and online catalog with a customized user account, what features would it include and how would they help you?

If you could personalize your experience of NARA’s research Web pages and online catalog with a customized user account, what features would it include and how would they help you? Our latest ARC update included a new feature called “My List,” which allows users to temporarily collect, print and email descriptions. These lists can be … Continue reading Question: If you could personalize your experience of NARA’s research Web pages and online catalog with a customized user account, what features would it include and how would they help you?

Virginia Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records Online

Digitized and indexed marriage records from the Virginia Field Office of the Freedmen's Bureau are available online via FamilySearch. FamilySearch digitized the microfilm and, in collaboration with the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, coordinated volunteers who indexed the materials. The Virginia records are part of the pilot phase of the project to … Continue reading Virginia Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records Online

Question: Should we allow the public to tag descriptions in our online catalog? Why or why not?

NARA is in the very early phases of designing its next generation online catalog.  Should we allow the public to tag catalog descriptions?  Why or why not? Our current online catalog, the Archival Research Catalog (ARC), does not allow for tagging.  Staff archivists can add subject terms from our authority list of approved subject headings (based on … Continue reading Question: Should we allow the public to tag descriptions in our online catalog? Why or why not?

Welcome to Our New Blog

Welcome to NARAtions, a blog about online public access to the records of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).   (Yes, we know the proper spelling of narration contains two r's, but we couldn't resist the pun!) We hope to hear from NARA researchers and anyone interested in the Archives on topics related to online access … Continue reading Welcome to Our New Blog