Jessica Hinkson (formerly Desmarais)
ILS 597 – S70
January 3, 2012
Analytical Paper on Archives:
National Archives at Boston
Overview: National Archives
Established in 1934 by President Roosevelt, the National Archives of the United States
make available holdings dating from 1775 and offer a wide swath of significant historic
documents, including slave ship manifests and journals of expeditions, photographs of farmers
and scans of Indian treaties, and millions of maps, charts, photos, data sets, and reels of film
(NARA, 2007). The National Archives are the repository of the roughly 2%-5% of federal
records deemed worthy of retaining indefinitely and having continuing value, as determined by
executed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA, 2011f). They select and
preserve materials, “…because they are important to the workings of Government, have longterm research worth, or provide information of value to citizens (NARA, 2007).”
Given the longevity and importance of the institution’s mission, the National Archives
are an ideal example of what archives might aspire to. This institution moves beyond the basic
archival mission as detailed in Hunter’s book, to merely identify records and papers, preserve
them, and make them available to patrons: the Archives and its branches strive to fully
understand and serve the evolving information needs and preferences of its patrons.
Core Functions of the National Archives
NARA considers itself “the nation’s record keeper”, keeping and making available
records that reflect the very establishment of our nation as we know it, including the Declaration
of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights – but they also hold records of its
citizens, including naturalization and military records (NARA, 2007). There are 14 branches of
the Archives, each tasked with protecting and providing access, education, and assistance to the
public. NARA also runs a records management program for Government agencies, and 17
Federal Records Centers provide additional service related to storage, access, and disposition
(NARA, 2007).
National Archives and Records Administration – Northeast Region
The Northeast Region is served by The National Archives at Boston located in Waltham,
MA. This branch serves Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
and Vermont and features free access two public research areas to use and obtain assistance with
accessing original documents and online and microfilmed materials. They also sponsor
educational programs to educate the public about archives, history, and genealogy, partner with
historical and educational institutions, and host and train educators, interns, and volunteers
interested in learning more about archives and history (NARA, 2011b).
Joan Gearin is an archivist with the Northeast Region. She provided further background
and detail on the branch, offering that the Waltham institution employs about 8 FTEs including
archivists and technicians, with dozens of additional volunteers and interns. The Northeast
Region serves as a government warehouse, and they acquire, accession, and preserve what is
dictated by law and required by the NARA. Ownership of the records is negotiated by the
National Archives and then transferred to the branch as required. Archivists employed by
NARA have typically completed an archivist program of some kind, and Joan studied the archive
program through Simmons’ library school.
Security and preservation of original records are prime areas of focus at the Archives.
Visitors are greeted by a security guard, who requires sign-in and searches bags. Coats are hung
and bags stowed in lockers, though visitors may retain recording devices to aid in their research.
Visitors are given a reference sheet detailing other instructions and policies, reminding patrons
that phone calls are not permitted but you may take photos of the records, research is self-serve,
and that staff and volunteers are available to assist when able. Patrons conduct their own
research using the 14 computers in one of the two research rooms in Waltham, but are prohibited
from accessing the repositories, located behind heavy key-coded doors.
In order to stay abreast of modern developments related to preservation, NARA staff may
take advantage of preservation-related support services through two organizational units, the
Document Conservation Laboratory and the Special Media Preservation Laboratory (NARA,
2011e). The Archives also convenes an Advisory Committee on Preservation and an annual
Preservation Conference, where branch archivists may learn about promising and successful
practices to best meet this critical aspect of the agency’s mission (NARA, 2011e).
Access and Outreach
Joan Gearin and I spoke primarily about how the records are organized within the
Northeast Region branch, and what services are most sought out. This region uses 83 record
groups and provides guides both on-site and online to assist users with navigating them. Users
are pointed to subject access lists to locate groups of resources (not items, which is standard for
archives but a teaching point for visitors expecting a more library-like experience), numerical list
of record groups for researchers who know the number of interest, or alphabetical lists of record
groups when the agency or keyword is known. Visitors may also search the ARC, Archival
Research Catalog, which may also be used at online or on-site. Currently 68% of the National
Archives’ record groups are described in the ARC with more added each week (NARA, 2011a).
Users search at the series level to find photos, letters, and other records of interest. Joan and
others tasked with assisting researchers at the facility guide patrons through the process of
locating the series of interest, then drilling town to the appropriate file and on to the individual
item. Further, Joan notes that with over 32,000 square feet of physical records in the Waltham
facility alone, most records are not digitized if they are not born digital. They receive and begin
the process of accessioning records 20-30 years following the resolution of their useful lives at
their home agency, following the federal records retention schedule. According to Joan, the
most recent items being acquired are dated around 1995. An Online Public Access Prototype is
also being developed and deployed, with the goal of users being able to search across multiple
National Archives resources at once (NARA, 2011d).
Although thousands of feet of original records are available in the Northeast Region of
the National Archives alone, it is abundantly clear that most visitors come to the facility seeking
genealogy-related information. Two displays in the research room are dedicated to pamphlets
and finding aids to help patrons learn about these resources and guide them through their own
research. Indeed, the home page set for the research room guides users to three genealogyrelated database links out of the four listed (NARA, 2011c). Joan confirmed that the majority of
reference requests involve assistance with genealogy database use and record-finding.
Conclusions
Following my visit to the Northeast Region branch of the National Archives and review
of their websites, it is clear that the National Archives strive to and succeed in meeting their
ultimate mission of safeguarding the records of our government, and ensuring that people can
discover and use the documents. Not only is access freely available when visiting the
organization on-site, but their online resources are expanding by the day and organization of
those resource classes are also clearly marked with subject guides and personal assistance easily
accessible.
References
Hunter, G. S. (2003). Developing and maintaining practical archives: A how-to-do-it
manual. (2nd Ed.) New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011a) ARC Guide for Educators and Students.
Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/education/
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011b). The National Archives at Boston,
General information leaflet 46. [Pamphlet]
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011c). NARA’s Northeast Region (Boston).
Retrieved from http://nara.gov/research_rooms/northeast/boston/index.html
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011d). Online Public Access. Retrieved from
http://www.archives.gov/research/search/
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011e). Preservation Programs at the National
Archives. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/preservation/internal/
National Archives and Records Administration. (2011f). What is the National Archives?
Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/about/
National Archives and Records Administration. (2007). About the National Archives of the
United States. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/publications/general-infoleaflets/1-about-archives.html