John and Charles Gordon, a Father and Son in the 49th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment

"Oh yes, I knew John Gordon, and his daddy too." - a comrade of John and Charles Gordon John Gordon, later in life. National Archives ID 122162774 During the early nineteenth century, the tobacco industry in the Upper South declined as the cotton industry in the Deep South grew. To meet the growing demand for … Continue reading John and Charles Gordon, a Father and Son in the 49th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment

Innovation Hub Celebrates 300,000th Page Uploaded to Catalog

Today's post comes from Catherine Brandsen, National Archives Innovation Hub Coordinator Earlier this month, the Innovation Hub uploaded its 300,000th page for inclusion in the National Archives Catalog. Amazingly, this milestone took less than three years to achieve. Digitization opens up access to our records. Of the 13 billion paper records in the National Archives, … Continue reading Innovation Hub Celebrates 300,000th Page Uploaded to Catalog

Hands-on Research with THATClass and the National Archives

Today’s post comes from Dina Herbert, Innovation Hub Coordinator. Dina recently chatted with Patrick Cronin and Thomas Neville about THATClass, their project-based archival education program for Washington, DC students. Tell me about THATClass.  What do students learn by participating in THATClass that they wouldn’t necessarily get from their regular school year lessons? THATClass (The Humanities … Continue reading Hands-on Research with THATClass and the National Archives

“BEWARE: It’s Addicting!” Citizen Scanning in the Innovation Hub

Today’s post comes from Dina Herbert, Innovation Hub Coordinator at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I recently met Cindy Norton at the Innovation Hub in Washington, DC when she arrived to scan Civil War pension files. Once she started, she never stopped! We now see Cindy a few times a month; she even celebrated … Continue reading “BEWARE: It’s Addicting!” Citizen Scanning in the Innovation Hub

Introducing the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit

Today is an important day for participation and innovation in the federal government. The White House officially launched the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit, a tool that provides information and resources to help federal agencies use the power of public participation to help solve scientific and societal problems. The launch of this toolkit solidifies the … Continue reading Introducing the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit

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