2003 Annual Report
The National Archives and Records Administration
Annual Report 2003
This annual report is available in two formats: HTML and PDF (1.7 MB). The HTML text appears below. Only the PDF version, however, contains the tables and charts listed under "NARA's Updated Strategic Plan Reaffirms Our Course," "Financial Operations," "Records Center Revolving Fund," and "National Archives Trust Fund and Gift Fund."
If you do not wish to view the entire report in PDF, you may choose to view three smaller files that contain only "NARA's Updated Strategic Plan Reaffirms Our Course" (184 KB), which includes data on NARA's holdings and their usage; "Financial Reports" (418 KB), which includes budget, income, and expense data; and "The Foundation for the National Archives" (181 KB).
Contents
What is the National Archives and Records Administration?
Keeping the Records of a Nation United by Words
Message from the Archivist of the United States
Telling America's Story in the National Archives Experience
Message from the President of the Foundation for the National Archives
Special Achievements
The Charters of Freedom Return to the National Archives Building
A Little Information Can Make a Big Difference
Managing the Digital Records of Government - Today & Tomorrow
Preserving the Sights and Sounds of America's Story
NARA's Updated Strategic Plan Reaffirms Our Course
(Tables available in the PDF version only [184 KB])
Financial Reports (Available in the PDF version only [418 KB])
Financial Operations
Records Center Revolving Fund
The National Archives Trust Fund and Gift Fund
The Foundation for the National Archives (Available in the PDF version only [181 KB])
What is the National Archives and Records Administration?
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is our national recordkeeper. An independent agency created by statute in 1934, NARA safeguards records of all three branches of the Federal Government. NARA's mission is to ensure that Federal officials and the American public have ready access to essential evidence - records that document the rights of citizens, the actions of government officials, and the national experience.
NARA carries out this mission through a national network of archives and records services facilities stretching from Washington, DC, to the West Coast, including Presidential libraries documenting administrations of Presidents back to Herbert Hoover. Additionally, NARA publishes the Federal Register, administers the Information Security Oversight Office, and makes grants for historical documentation through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
NARA meets thousands of information needs daily, ensuring access to records on which the entitlements of citizens, the credibility of government, and the accuracy of history depend.
Keeping the Records of a Nation United by Words
Here at the National Archives and Records Administration, we are happy to once again welcome visitors who come to see our nation's Charters of Freedom - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. For the last two years, these founding documents have been undergoing conservation work at the same time the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, was being renovated.
In this report, we not only celebrate of the return of the Charters of Freedom - the centerpiece of the new National Archives Experience - we also show you how we continue to ensure that the records we hold are preserved and available to you. For while the Charters are unquestionably the most famous records we care for, all the records we hold play a vital role in our democracy.
Without these records, we would not be able to claim our rights and entitlements. We would not be able to hold our Government officials accountable for their actions. We would not know or be able to understand our past. Without these records, we would no longer live in a democracy.
The past year has been an exciting one for the National Archives, as we have seen several of our long-term projects move from the planning phase into implementation.
Electronic records and the technology that goes with them have forever changed the way the Federal Government does business, and we are redesigning Government recordkeeping to support the business operations of Federal agencies.
Now under development, our Electronic Records Archives (ERA) will solve the problem of how to preserve the electronic records of our Government and provide access to them far into the future. ERA is a revolutionary project that will have widespread applications, for the challenge of preserving electronic records affects everyone - from Federal agencies, to state and local governments, to the academic community, to the private sector.
Every day, we strive to advance initiatives like those mentioned above and also perform the day-to-day tasks that allow us to provide ready access to the essential evidence of our Government. And in everything we do, we strive to provide top-notch service to all our customers, especially the American public.
As we celebrated the return of the Charters of Freedom to public display, historian Ken Burns keenly observed that unlike other countries, which came together because of economics, religion, race, language, geography, or conquest, our country is here because of words and ideas. He said, "We see that we are stitched together by words, that words remind us of why, against all odds, and contrary to the general impulses of human nature, we agree to cohere as a people."
America is sustained by the words, ideas, and spirit embodied within the millions of records that tell the stories of our Government and our people. And each day the National Archives and Records Administration works to preserve these records and make them accessible to anyone who wishes to examine them.
Every day we prove, over and over again, that records matter.
John W. Carlin
Archivist of the United States
Telling America's Story in the National Archives Experience
On September 17 it was my privilege to be present in the newly renovated Rotunda of the National Archives as the President, the Chief Justice, and leaders of Congress rededicated the beautiful space in which reside our nation's Charters of Freedom - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
It was a deeply moving experience as those charged with implementing the soaring ideals in these documents consecrated the Charters' home. In the presence of these documents it is hard not to sense an almost electric feeling that flows from the Charters of Freedom themselves - the high risk for a noble purpose that is the Declaration of Independence, the unprecedented creation of a democratic republic that is the Constitution, and the prescient wisdom that is the Bill of Rights, which assures the rights of the citizens above the power of the government.
The Foundation for the National Archives marked this momentous day with a black-tie dinner in the foyer of the restored Rotunda. This was the largest and most important gathering of the growing community of individuals, corporations, and foundations dedicated to telling the story of the American spirit through the documents of our history.
We celebrated accomplishments, including the funding of the detailed restoration of the Rotunda murals painted by Barry Faulkner and the opening of the Foundation-managed Archives Shop. We also anticipated what is to come as the National Archives Experience continues to take shape.
Before the Charters were removed from public display in July of 2001 for conservation work and the renovation of the National Archives Building, almost one million people a year came to see these founding documents of our democracy. And while many stood in awe as they stared at the signatures of our Founding Fathers, they often left without an appreciation for the countless records tucked away behind the marble walls of the Rotunda - records that tell the stories of America.
This realization led to the development of the National Archives Experience, which is designed to highlight records of America's story. This permanent exhibition will allow visitors, both in person and online, to discover and share the spirit embodied in documents as diverse as the Emancipation Proclamation, Thomas Edison's patent application for the light bulb, census data, and film archives.
Our Founding Fathers had the foresight to create charters that were flexible and relevant for future societies. Those who followed had the courage to stand up for those ideals on battlefields like Gettysburg and the beaches of Normandy, at the portal of Ellis Island, or in the streets of Selma.
September 17 was indeed was a momentous day for the National Archives, the Foundation for the National Archives, and all who believe in the importance of our national records. The Charters of Freedom are home-safe, secure, and accessible to all.
Now our challenge is to build a tribute to the Americans who have left their stories in records. I hope you will join us in this important endeavor.
Tom Wheeler
President of the Foundation for the National Archives
The Charters of Freedom Return to the National Archives Building
When the Rotunda of the National Archives Building reopened in September 2003, it was a historic moment, not just for the National Archives but for the nation.
The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights - known collectively as the Charters of Freedom - returned to public display in 2003, in new state-of-the-art encasements, in a remodeled Rotunda, in a stately building undergoing a full renovation.
A rededication ceremony on September 17 featured the President of the United States, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the United States, and other Government leaders and supporters of the National Archives.
"In this Rotunda are the most cherished material possessions of a great and good nation," President George W. Bush said. "By this rededication, we show our deep respect for the first principles of our republic, and our lasting gratitude to those first citizens of the United States of America."
The next day, the Rotunda reopened to the public, and visitors from near and far once again lined up to view the documents that set forth the case for American independence, established the framework for a new democratic government, and spelled out the rights and freedoms of individuals.
Throughout that first weekend, as visitors streamed through the Rotunda, celebratory activities took place in nearby space and outside on the Grand Staircase facing the National Mall. At night, sound and light shows lit up the building in red, white, and blue.
It was a joyful "homecoming" for the nation's most precious documents.
*
The rededication of the Rotunda was both an end and a beginning.
The reopening concluded our work on the Charters of Freedom. In July 2001, these parchments were transferred to our Document Conservation Laboratory, where they were carefully removed from their half-century-old encasements. Our conservators then painstakingly examined each letter under a microscope, looking for the tiniest flakes of loose ink and reattaching them. They also cleaned and mended old tears and removed surface dirt.
"The work of handling the fragile parchment and preparing it for these new encasements had to be difficult," President Bush remarked. "I do know there's little margin for error."
Finally, the Charters were placed in new state-of-the-art encasements made by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Meanwhile, we redesigned the Rotunda so the Charters could be better viewed by children and individuals in wheelchairs. And, for the first time, we placed all four pages of the Constitution on permanent display.
We also opened a new exhibition to accompany the Charters, "A New World Is at Hand," which chronicles the creation of the Charters and illustrates how they have determined the course of our history and continue to shape the future.
But this was also a beginning.
The reopening marked the launch of the National Archives Experience, an innovative and powerful permanent exhibition that will take visitors on a journey from the Charters into the wider world of records that set the course of American history and celebrate the spirit of America.
The renovation of the National Archives Building and the creation of the National Archives Experience are the result of two important partnerships: one with the White House and the Congress, the other with the Foundation for the National Archives.
Congress appropriated $110 million for a comprehensive National Archives Building renovation, which is continuing even with the reopening of the Rotunda. We are especially grateful to Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Byron Dorgan and Representatives Jim Kolbe and Steny Hoyer for their help in securing this funding.
The renovation is far-reaching: upgrading all systems and complying with Federal accessibility standards; improving the safety and security for the records, staff, and visitors; and modernizing the office space for staff and the research areas for visitors.
Federal appropriations also funded the work on the Charters and the redesign of the Rotunda as well as the infrastructure for the National Archives Experience, for which the Foundation is our close and indispensable partner.
In the Rotunda, the Foundation underwrote the restoration of the magnificent Barry Faulkner murals above the Charters, which depict the presentations of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The Foundation also opened the Archives Shop, a retail store on the street level of the National Archives Building that features reproductions of documents, books about American history, National Archives - branded souvenirs and apparel, and other items.
With a $5-million grant given by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Inc., to the Foundation, we are constructing a new 294-seat theater in the building. By day, the William G. McGowan Theater will show a film on the relationship of records and democracy; by night, it will host debates on public policy and show documentary films, many from our holdings.
The Foundation is also making possible other elements of the National Archives Experience, including the Public Vaults, a permanent interactive exhibit that will take visitors "inside" the National Archives. There, visitors will see how the records that shaped and continue to shape our nation offer insights into their own lives and invite them to return to the Archives and research their own family's history.
Nearby, the Foundation is underwriting programs for two other components of the National Archives Experience. The Special Exhibition Gallery will feature records-based exhibits on timely topics or touring exhibits. The Learning Center will host workshops for teachers and students on using primary sources in the classroom.
*
On Bill of Rights Day, December 15, 2003, in partnership with U.S. News & World Report and National History Day, we announced the results of a nationwide vote to determine the 10 documents that most defined America.
This was the latest phase of the Our Documents project, which is part of President Bush's initiative to promote the teaching and understanding of American history and civics.
The project focuses on 100 of the most important documents in American history, nearly all of which are in our holdings. They range from the Charters of Freedom, signed public laws, and Presidential speeches to Supreme Court decisions, treaties, and constitutional amendments.
*
In his remarks at the rededication ceremony for the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States, noted that while the Charters are the most famous documents in the National Archives, all the records we hold are vital to our democracy.
"Just as the Charters of Freedom remind us of the land of liberty envisioned by our Founding Fathers," Carlin said, "the records of our people reveal the courage, determination, and spirit that have shaped our democracy throughout its history."
In those records are the story of America-and your story.
To find out more . . .
- See info on the September 17, 2003, rededication ceremony.
- For more information about the National Archives Experience, go to
www.archives.gov/museum/. - For complete information about the Our Documents project and The People's Vote and for high-resolution images of each document, go to www.ourdocuments.gov.
- To learn more about the Charters of Freedom, go to www.archives.gov/
national_archives_experience/charters.html.
- To learn about and subscribe to Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration, go to www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/.
A Little Information Can Make a Big Difference
In March 2003, a researcher from Dallas contacted the National Archives for information about the SS Harriet Monroe, a merchant marine vessel.
The merchant marine is a fleet that carries imports and exports during peacetime - and that delivers troops and supplies in times of war. During World War II, many merchant mariners saw military action.
Merchant mariners now have veterans' status, entitling them to veterans' benefits for injuries sustained in action.
The researcher's father-in-law claimed he had served on the crew of the SS Harriet Monroe and had come under enemy fire in the Philippines on January 12, 1945. But he needed proof to obtain veterans' benefits for injuries resulting from that action.
Official logbooks were issued to merchant vessels at the beginning of each voyage and were turned in at the end. The National Archives facility in San Bruno, CA, holds about 11,000 official merchant vessel logbooks for voyages that terminated at the port of San Francisco.
Archives technician Joseph Sanchez found the official logbook of the SS Harriet Monroe for a voyage that commenced at San Francisco in September 1944 and terminated there in April 1945.
The logbook included a crew list that confirmed the father-in-law's presence on the ship; however, the book did not contain a single entry mentioning enemy action on or around January 12.
But Sanchez knew of another collection of World War II - era logbooks, known as the "secret logbooks" because they once were classified. In the formerly secret logbook of the SS Harriet Monroe for that same voyage, he found several entries describing enemy action on January 12, 1945.
The researcher's father-in-law now has the proof he needs and is able to claim full veterans' medical benefits for his injuries.
Another researcher visited our facility in New York seeking naturalization records for his terminally ill mother. Medicare officials had refused to pay for her treatment unless he could prove that she was a citizen, but she had lost her naturalization certificate. Not only did NARA staff help find the proof the woman needed, they worked with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services to quickly issue a letter of citizenship and get it to the son.
These stories are not unique. Helping individuals document their role in America's past - and secure their rights in America's future - is a big part of what the National Archives does. Every day, in NARA facilities around the country, our staff helps people find the evidence they need to verify their rights and entitlements and trace their family history.
And we continue to make that evidence more accessible. In 2003, we made progress in our five-year project to microfilm and make available nationwide the records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, a major source of genealogical information for African American families. Records for the District of Columbia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky are now available.
We also built a new Research Center at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. This facility consolidates a number of research functions previously found on several floors of the building. Researchers will find that their visit is easier, speedier, and more efficient because of the new center.
We are proud that visitors to any National Archives facility, anywhere in the country, will find committed staffers to help them find the evidence they need.
To find out more . . .
- Our Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives is available in an extensively revised and expanded third edition. For more about our publications, go to www.archives.gov/publications/.
- For more background on the Freedmen's Bureau project, go to
www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/
summer_2002_freedmens_bureau.html.
- For more information about the new Research Center at the National Archives Building, go to
www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/
fall_2003_research_center.html.
- To visit our Research Room online, go to
www.archives.gov/research_room/.
Managing the Digital Records of Government-Today and Tomorrow
While the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is best known as the home of some of the most famous documents in American history, much of our day-to-day activity centers on managing the records created by Federal agencies.
NARA is the Government's recordkeeper, and billions of paper records continue to fill our records centers all around the country.
Today, however, more and more of the records that come to us are electronic, as our Government not only creates electronic records but also provides citizens access to Government services and information through the Internet.
As a result, we are seeing an explosion in the number of electronic text documents, financial presentations, photographs and images, e-mails, and web sites that constitute a significant part of the records of our Federal Government.
To meet the challenges presented by this tidal wave of electronic records, NARA has stepped up its efforts to help other Government departments and agencies deal with records management problems-and to create an electronic archives of the future.
*
Throughout the Government, records management is generally based on practices developed in a paper environment, but those practices are no longer workable in an era of electronic records.
In the previous year we had collected and analyzed information about records management practices throughout the Government. That work made it clear that we must redesign the way the Government manages its records and build a permanent nationwide online archive for electronic records. We spelled out our goals, strategies, and tactics in Strategic Directions for Federal Records Management. Our goals are to:
- Ensure that Federal agencies can economically and effectively create and manage records necessary to meet business needs.
- Keep records long enough to protect rights of citizens and assure accountability of Government.
- Preserve and make available for future generations all records of archival value.
One example of a strategy we adopted is to give agencies the flexibility to manage their records in a variety of ways depending on how the records are actually used. The rationale: It's more important that an agency has the records it needs when it needs them rather than a textbook records management program that may not serve its needs.
Another strategy we have put into practice is resource allocation, a new methodology for prioritizing where to allocate scarce records management resources of NARA and other agencies. We successfully piloted this approach with the new Department of Homeland Security.
*
In our role as managing partner of the Electronic Records Management (ERM) Initiative, we continued to make progress on establishing the records infrastructure that will make e-Government work. This initiative is one of 24 Administration e-Government initiatives aimed at making it simpler for citizens to receive high-quality service from Government, while reducing the cost of delivering those services.
With our Federal partners, the ERM Initiative is providing the guidance and tools that agencies will need to manage their records in electronic form, particularly records that support e-Government. The Environmental Protection Agency is developing model criteria and requirements to help agencies acquire an electronic records management system. The Department of Defense has updated its records management application standard (DOD 5015.2), and NARA and DOD are promoting its use Government-wide.
In the past year, NARA worked with partner agencies to conduct pilot transfers and develop transfer requirements for new record formats. We expanded the options other agencies have to transfer electronic records to us by allowing a new tape format and computer-to-computer transfers. With other partner agencies, we identified ways in which electronic records could be transferred to NARA in an automated manner. We also issued transfer guidance for scanned images of textual records, PDF files, and digital photography.
*
Even as we assist other agencies in managing today's electronic records, we made significant progress in our plan to design and build the Electronic Records Archives (ERA). The ERA will preserve and make accessible electronic records far into the future without dependence on any particular computer hardware or software.
During 2003, in meetings around the country, we engaged in dialogues with potential users. We also conducted an extensive series of meetings with potential contractors to help us refine the requirements of the ERA. We expect to award the design contract in May of 2004.
Our research efforts to build ERA have from the start involved important partners from both inside and outside the Federal Government. In 2003, we gained two new research partners, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center at Stanford University, both in association with the Department of Energy.
Also as part of our ERA research activities, we built an in-house Virtual Archives Laboratory in partnership with the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The Virtual Lab will allow our staff to experiment with technology that may be used for ERA.
*
The goal of all these efforts is part of our mission of providing ready access to essential evidence that documents the rights of citizens, the actions of Government officials, and the national experience. In 2003 we made more records available online and provided online researchers with more tools to locate other records in our holdings.
We launched Access to Archival Databases (AAD), the first publicly available tool developed and funded under the ERA program. AAD provides direct online access to a selection of nearly 50 million historic electronic records created by more than 20 Federal agencies.
We completed development of the data entry portion of our Archival Research Catalog, which contains online descriptions of about 20 percent of our records. With the new system, we can speed the process of making more descriptions of records available online.
We partnered with other agencies in the new web site, www.regulations.gov, which makes the Federal rulemaking process more accessible to citizens who want to comment on proposed regulations. Our Office of the Federal Register took the lead in developing this web site.
And we signed an agreement with the Government Printing Office to ensure that documents now available on the GPO web site, www.gpoaccess.gov, will remain available permanently. Among those are two NARA publications, theFederal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.
*
As we design new ways of record keeping for new kinds of records, we are keeping in mind our central mission of making these records-the story of America and the story of its citizens-available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
That's why we're spending so much time and staff resources redesigning Federal records management and building an archives of the future-because we serve not only today's Americans, but the generations of Americans to come.
To find out more . . .
- The Electronic Records Management initiative is described in detail at
www.archives.gov/records_management/initiatives/
erm_overview.html.
- The Records Management Initiatives are discussed at
www.archives.gov/records_management/initiatives/
rm_redesign_project.html.
- For background on the Electronic Records Archives program, go to
www.archives.gov/electronic_records_archives/
about_era.html. There are links there to our ERA partners and related information.
- The Archival Research Catalog can be accessed at
www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/.
- Access to Archival Databases can be found at
www.archives.govhttp://aad.archives.gov/aad/.
Preserving the Sights and Sounds of America's Story
The story of America is perhaps best told in the most American of ways - through the sights and sounds of history as it happened. Those sights and sounds are at the National Archives.
We have one of the world's largest audiovisual archives, and it captures major events of the 20th century as witnessed by those who lived through them: soldiers and sailors, farmers and assembly line workers, artists and entertainers, scientists and inventors, astronauts and explorers, Presidents and statesmen.
We see the automobile creating an ever-mobile America in scenes from the Ford Film Collection.
We see the struggles of the Depression in the Dust Bowl in Pare Lorentz's classic Government documentaries, The River and The Plow That Broke the Plains.
We see GIs fighting in Europe and the Pacific, Korea, and Vietnam in official combat footage.
We see the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Abraham Zapruder's famous 8mm amateur home movie.
Our holdings are preserved and accessible on 360,000 reels of film, 275,000 sound recordings, and 85,000 videotapes. Included are large collections of newsreels, donated film collections, Government-produced documentaries, and edited and unedited film from Government and private sources. We have videotapes of all congressional floor debates since televised sessions began. And we have captured enemy film from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.
For years, these rich resources have been researched for movies and documentaries. Such celebrities as Bob Hope and Gregory Peck have come to NARA to view them. Documentary filmmakers Charles Guggenheim and Ken Burns mined our collections for their award-winning films and television series.
Each year, thousands of researchers screen our holdings for documentary productions on cable television, such as the History Channel, the A&E network, and the Discovery and The Learning Channels - as well as for programming on the Public Broadcasting Service. And while World War II remains a strong subject of research, there is increased interest in the Korean War and Vietnam War periods.
These priceless strings of pictures and streams of sound will have some exciting new outlets in late 2004.
Material from our audiovisual holdings will be used in the Public Vaults, an interactive, multimedia component of the National Archives Experience that will take visitors "inside" NARA for up-close looks at some of our many records. An exhibit called "Reel D-Day" will feature clips from the D-day landing on June 6, 1944. "Moonwalk One" will show man's first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969.
And our films will gain a new venue when the William G. McGowan Theater opens in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The 294-seat theater is named for McGowan, who founded MCI Communications Inc., in recognition of a $5-million gift to the National Archives Experience from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Inc.
Among the McGowan Theater's missions will be that of an outlet for the many films in NARA's holdings and the work of filmmakers who drew material from our holdings. Through our signature film on the importance of records in a democracy and our new Center for Documentary Film, we hope to educate as well as entertain audiences.
The sights and sounds of our American story are without equal in importance and impact. We hope you will join us at the McGowan Theater to see and hear them.
To find out more . . .
- For information on our motion picture and sound and video collections, go to
www.archives.gov/research_room/media_formats/
film_sound_video.html.
- For more information about the William G. McGowan Theater, go to
www.archives.gov/media_desk/press_releases/nr03-62.html.
- For more information about the National Archives Experience, go to
www.archives.gov/museum/
NARA's Updated Strategic Plan Reaffirms Our Course
In 2000 we issued the first update of NARA's Strategic Plan. This year we transmitted the next update of that plan,
Ready Access to Essential Evidence: The Strategic Plan of the
National Archives and Records Administration, 1997 - 2008.
Thanks to the help received from our customers within and outside the Government, our key stakeholders, and members of our own staff, this update reaffirms the course we are taking toward achieving our 10-year plan.
While four of our goals remain essentially the same, we have added a new goal for electronic records to highlight the significance that these records have for our mission. For NARA to provide ready access to essential evidence, we must ensure that
- Essential evidence is created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed for as long as needed.
- Electronic records are controlled, preserved, and made accessible for as long as needed.
- Essential evidence is easy to access regardless of where it is or where users are for as long as needed.
- All records are preserved in an appropriate environment for use as long as needed.
- NARA strategically manages and aligns staff, technology, and processes to achieve our mission.
This updated plan does several things.
It identifies achievements we have made, such as launching our new Internet-accessible catalog describing our holdings, opening the 1930 census records, and reopening the newly renovated Rotunda and re-encased Charters of Freedom.
The plan identifies efforts under way to meet objectives, such as our steps toward creating a viable Electronic Records Archives, implementing initiatives to redesign Federal records management, and making increasingly more of our records and services available to our customers through the Internet.
Our updated plan also accounts for the different world in which we work after September 11, 2001, with efforts identified for working closely with Federal agencies that create classified records and ensuring the security of NARA's information technology systems and facilities.
Our new plan also incorporates suggestions from Government and private industry on ways to better measure our results and the benefits customers want to realize.
Following are some performance highlights from 2003, organized by strategic goal.
Improving Records Management
- We issued Strategic Directions for Federal Records Management,
our roadmap for redesigning records management and partnering with Federal agencies to ensure that records management supports their business needs and archival records are preserved for future generations.
- We reengineered our records lifecycle business processes, the results of which provide a model upon which requirements for an Electronic Records Archives are being built.
- The Electronic Records Management Initiative, one of the President's 24 e-Government initiatives, is providing practical recordkeeping guidance and tools to Federal agencies for managing electronic records.
- This year, we added two new file formats that NARA can accept - scanned images of textual records and PDF files.
- Since 1999, Targeted Assistance has put NARA in partnership with more than 75 Federal agencies on more than 340 projects to help them resolve records management issues. To date, 238 of those projects have been successfully completed.
Meeting Electronic Records Challenges
- We took important steps toward building and acquiring an Electronic Records Archives, where the records of digital government will be managed, preserved, and made available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. We completed the majority of the concept exploration phase and made refinements to the ERA acquisition strategy to support a 2004 contract award for design of the system.
- To meet an immediate need to provide direct access to electronic records for the first time ever, we launched the Access to Archival Databases system. This system provides researchers with online access to more than 50 million selected electronic records, created by more than 20 Federal agencies.
- We completed processing electronic records from the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and began processing nearly 30 million e-mail messages from the Clinton administration.
Expanding Opportunities for Access
- We began to roll out the data entry component of the Archival Research Catalog to our archival units nationwide. This system allows us to add more descriptive data to ARC. People who want to do research in ARC can now search nearly 600,000 descriptions and access more than 123,000 digital images. While this represents only about 20 percent of our holdings, we have set aggressive targets to get many more of our holdings described in ARC over the course of our Strategic Plan.
- We improved customer service at the National Personnel Records Center by fully deploying our Case Management and Reporting System. By the end of the year, 41 percent of military service record requests were answered within 10 working days.
- We completed microfilming of records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen's Bureau) for 6 out of 15 states to make these records available for public use.
- Nearly 31 million visitors accessed our web site this year, a 58-percent increase over last year. We continued to expand the resources we provide through sites such as ourdocuments.gov, which provides information online to students, teachers, and the general public about American history, civics, and service. As part of the e-Government rulemaking initiative, regulations.gov, we provided online access for the public to provide comments on rules and proposed rules published in the Federal Register.
- We continued to serve our customers well. If you wrote to us with a request about our holdings, 94 percent of the time we responded to you within 10 working days. If you made an appointment to look at records in one of our research rooms, 99.9 percent of the time your records were ready when you arrived. If you asked to have a record pulled at one of our research rooms, 96 percent of the time the record was pulled within an hour of your request or the scheduled pull time.
Meeting Storage and Preservation Needs
- We reopened the renovated Rotunda of the National Archives Building to the public on September 18, 2003. We also completed extensive conservation work and re-encasement of the Charters of Freedom - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The murals of the signers of the Charters of Freedom, painted by artist Barry Faulkner, were also restored.
- We renovated and reopened the Presidential Gallery of the Eisenhower Library and made significant progress on construction of the Roosevelt Library Visitors Center. In addition, we completed a plaza and seawall repair project at the Kennedy Library and completed construction of an addition at the Ford Museum.
- At our regional records center in Dayton, OH, we added three new records center storage bays. And we acquired additional records center storage space in Lenexa, KS.
Strategically Managing Our Resources
- We made significant progress in preparing our new electronic editing and publishing system for the Federal Register. This system will begin to accept electronic document submissions in 2004.
- We created a new intranet web site for our staff, NARA@work, to improve the information and tools available to help staff do their work.
We welcome your continued input into our planning and reporting processes. If you have any comments on our Strategic Plan, or any of our plans and reports, please share them with us at vision@nara.gov.
To find out more . . .
- Ready Access to Essential Evidence: The Strategic Plan of the National Archives and Records Administration 1997 - 2008 (Revised 2003) can be found on our web site at www.archives.gov/about_us/
strategic_planning_and_reporting/2003_strategic_plan.html.
Printed copies are available by contacting the Policy and Communications Staff at 301-837-1850.
- You can read more about performance measurement and 2003 accomplishments on our web site at www.archives.gov/about_us/strategic_planning_and_reporting/
annual_performance_reports.html.
- The Archivist's 2003 State of the Archives speech is available at
www.archives.gov/about_us/archivists_speeches/speech_12-4-03.html.
Links to other important NARA statements are available at
www.archives.gov/about_us/.
Presidential Libraries
NARA Managerial Staff
Archivist of the United States
John W. Carlin
Deputy Archivist of the United States and Chief of Staff
Lewis J. Bellardo
Assistant Archivist for Administrative Services
Adrienne C. Thomas
Director of the Federal Register
Raymond A. Mosley
Assistant Archivist for Human Resources and Information Services
L. Reynolds Cahoon
Assistant Archivist for Records Services - Washington, DC
Michael J. Kurtz
Assistant Archivist for Regional Records Services
Thomas Mills
Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries
Richard L. Claypoole
General Counsel
Gary M. Stern
Inspector General
Paul Brachfeld
Director, Information Security Oversight Office
J. William Leonard
Executive Director, National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Max J. Evans
Director, EEO and Diversity Programs
Robert Jew
Director, Policy and Communications Staff
Lori A. Lisowski
Director, Congressional and Public Affairs
John Constance
Director, Public Affairs
Susan Cooper