We posted the first version of our social media strategy today on Archives.gov. Our overall approach is to engage our staff, the government community, and researchers and citizen archivists so we can be a more open agency while accomplish NARA's mission more effectively. We express our core values and strategies for social media in three … Continue reading Our Social Media Strategy
"What Are You Working On, Mitch Yockelson?"
Ever wonder what exciting new projects the many employees at NARA are working on? The “What are You Working On?” blog feature aims to introduce a variety of NARA employees and highlight some of the exciting projects we are working on around the agency. Check for this blog series on Wednesdays! This week, we introduce … Continue reading "What Are You Working On, Mitch Yockelson?"
National Archives Contributes to Improved Digital Records Preservation and Access System
Yesterday, The National Archives (TNA) of the United Kingdom and NARA issued simultaneious press releases about the development and release of a significantly expanded PRONOM registry, which supports digital preservation. The announcement highlights the successful partnership between TNA and NARA’s Center for Advanced Systems and Technologies (NCAST) research partners, at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Army Research Lab.
NARA Coast to Coast: Henry T. Elrod, U.S. Marine Corps Fighting Squadron 211
The following post is by guest blogger Corey Stewart of the Archival Programs Division at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Thanks Corey! Photograph, Capt. Henry T. Elrod, February 1, 1940 Just hours after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched an attack on Wake Island, December 8, 1941. The initial enemy bombing runs … Continue reading NARA Coast to Coast: Henry T. Elrod, U.S. Marine Corps Fighting Squadron 211
So, What Have We Been Doing in Reference?
We are just finishing up performance appraisals at NARA - that annual event where employees and supervisors get together and discuss how the employee has done in the past year to meet his or her “critical elements.” Critical elements are the duties and responsibilities each one of us has to support NARA’s goals and objectives. … Continue reading So, What Have We Been Doing in Reference?
Family Tree Friday: Post Office Records, Continued
Last time I talked about the records of appointment of postmasters. This time, I want to talk about a different type of post office record – one that doesn’t provide a lot of family history information, but can provide a great deal of information about the community. Reports of Site Locations provide, as the series … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Post Office Records, Continued
Family Tree Friday: World War II Records at College Park
Continuing the theme of my last post, which introduced alternate ways to research 20th century military service (to compensate for the personnel files lost in the 1973 file at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis), this time we'll look at two essential series of unit records relating to World War II. By far … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: World War II Records at College Park
"What Are You Working On, Robin Riat?"
Ever wonder what exciting new projects the many employees at NARA are working on? The “What are You Working On?” blog feature aims to introduce a variety of NARA employees and highlight some of the exciting projects we are working on around the agency. Check for this blog series on Wednesdays! This week, we introduce … Continue reading "What Are You Working On, Robin Riat?"
Do you speak Volkswriter? MultiMate? Visicalc? Making Steps Toward a Universal File Format Reader
All file formats become obsolete over time. There are tens of thousands of formats in use today. How will we make sense of information stored in these formats over time? This week's Tech Tuesday entry talks about one line of research that is attempting to address this issue - the Data Format Descriptive Language (DFDL).
WiFi @ Archives I and II
Good news for DC-area NARA users- as of today, wireless internet is available to registered researchers at A1 and A2! This means that researchers with laptops and other WiFi-enabled devices will be able to access the online catalog, Ancestry.com, Footnote.com and other great sites via the free wireless connection in public areas of the Archives … Continue reading WiFi @ Archives I and II