1999 Performance Report

March 31, 2000

Table of Contents

Preface from the Archivist

Introduction

What is the National Archives?
Our Mission
Our Strategic Goals
Budget resources
Performance measurement
Program evaluations

Strategic Goal 1: Essential evidence

Target 1.1: Inventory and schedule
Target 1.2: Close out schedule items
Target 1.3: Recordkeeping systems
Target 1.4: Recordkeeping requirements

Strategic Goal 2: Access

Target 2.1: Customer service
Target 2.2: Customer contacts
Target 2.3: Online catalog
Target 2.4: Declassification
Target 2.5: Presidential records
Target 2.6: Federal Register publications
Target 2.7: Charters of Freedom
Target 2.8: NHPRC grants

Strategic Goal 3: Space

Target 3.1: Holdings in appropriate space
Target 3.2: Preservation of at-risk holdings
Target 3.3: Preservation of electronic records

Strategic Goal 4: Infrastructure

Target 4.1: Staff performance
Target 4.2: Diversity
Target 4.3: Training
Target 4.4: Technology
Target 4.5: Records life-cycle system

Appendix A: Outputs

Appendix B: Program evaluations

PREFACE FROM THE ARCHIVIST

Are we fulfilling our mission of ready access to essential evidence? Are we achieving what we set out to do in our Strategic Plan? Are we meeting your needs? These are the questions we must answer for Fiscal Year 1999 and every year thereafter in our Annual Performance Report.

There's much more to the National Archives and Records Administration, however, than what can be measured in a performance report. NARA is no ordinary Federal agency. We safeguard the significant records of all three branches of our national Government. We serve not just today's citizens, but all who are yet to come. Our democracy depends on the Charters of Freedom-the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights-that are in our care and on the millions of other records in the care of government agencies and archives at all levels. For in this country records define all of our governments, document all of our identities, establish all of our entitlements, and enable us to hold accountable those to whom we entrust office at the Federal, state, and local level.

Every time NARA provides ready access to records that are useful and beneficial to people, and every time we come up with records that help people document their identities and verify their entitlements to rights and benefits as citizens, I feel we are contributing to the health of our democracy. Every time our records enable people to analyze the actions of our Government and hold our officials accountable, every time we help people figure out what really happened in our history and assess the meaning of it, we are contributing to the health of our democracy.

Each document in the National Archives, whether celebrated or not-the millions of military service files, pension files, passenger lists, census records, and other materials that shed light on the lives of the humble as well as the renowned, the immigrant as well as the early settler, and those who came in bondage as well as those who sought a freer, better life-is a treasure in its own right and makes up the essential evidence that we preserve. And by using these records in Washington, in our regional archives, in our Presidential libraries, in our records centers, or on our web site, you become living proof that we are a government of, by, and for the people.

We have an awesome responsibility. And we face more challenges than ever to meet it. Every day thousands of new records are being created in a variety of forms and formats. We must not only meet the challenge of preserving our Charters of Freedom and the aging documents in our care, but also meet the challenge of providing access to electronic records. As this report shows, we are making progress in a number of areas, but we still have a long way to go in others. We are working hard to measure up to all our goals. And I know, for the sake of our democratic society, that we must.

John W. Carlin
Archivist of the United States

INTRODUCTION

What is the National Archives? The National Archives of the United States is a public trust on which our democracy depends. We enable people to inspect for themselves the record of what Government has done. We enable officials and agencies to review their actions and help citizens hold them accountable. We ensure continuing access to essential evidence that documents:

• the rights of American citizens,
• the actions of Federal officials,
• the national experience.

To ensure ready access to essential evidence, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) establishes policies and procedures for managing U.S. Government records. We assist and train Federal agencies in documenting their activities, administering records management programs, scheduling records, and retiring noncurrent records to regional records services facilities for cost-effective storage. We appraise, accession, arrange, describe, preserve, and make available to the public the historically valuable records of the three branches of Government. We manage a nationwide system of Presidential libraries, records centers and regional archives. We administer the Information Security Oversight Office and make grants to non-Federal institutions to support historical documentation through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. We publish the Federal Register, Statutes at Large, Government regulations, and Presidential and other public documents.

We serve a broad spectrum of American society. Genealogists and family historians; veterans and their authorized representatives; academics, scholars, historians, and business and occupational researchers; publication and broadcast journalists; the Congress, the Courts, the White House, and other public officials; Federal Government agencies and the individuals they serve; state and local government personnel; professional organizations and their members; friends' groups, foundations, donors of historical materials; students and teachers; and the general publicCall seek answers from the records we preserve.

To be effective, we must determine what evidence is essential for documentation, ensure that Government creates such evidence, and make it easy for users to access that evidence regardless of where it is, or where they are, for as long as needed. We also must find technologies, techniques, and partners worldwide that can help improve service and hold down costs, and we must help staff members continuously expand their capability to make the changes necessary to realize the vision.

Our Mission

NARA ENSURES, FOR THE CITIZEN AND THE PUBLIC SERVANT, FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS AND THE COURTS, READY ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE.

Our Strategic Goals

• One: Essential evidence will be created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed for as long as needed.
• Two: Essential evidence will be easy to access regardless of where it is or where users are for as long as needed.
• Three: All records will be preserved in appropriate space for use as long as needed.
• Four: NARA's capabilities for making the changes necessary to realize our vision will continuously expand.

These goals and the strategies to achieve them are detailed in Ready Access to Essential Evidence: The Strategic Plan of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1997-2007, issued September 1997. This Annual Performance Report is based on the goals, strategies, and long-range performance targets in our Strategic Plan and the specific objectives in our FY 1999 Annual Performance Plan. The following pages detail our performance on all our FY 1999 objectives. Those we fully achieved are preceded by checked boxes. Those we did not fully achieve have open boxes with an explanation below. We also included all relevant performance results. Supplemental performance data for some objectives is included in Appendix A. We received no aid from non-Federal parties in preparing this report.

Budget resources. Following is a summary of the resources, by budget authority, we received to meet our FY 1999 objectives.

Performance measurement. In response to the need to be able to verify and validate performance data for this report, we developed a Performance Measurement and Reporting System (PMRS) with contract support from Acton Burnell, Inc. This system allows us to define and consistently measure data critical to the analysis of our performance objectives. Our Inspector General audited the system and noted in the audit report that "NARA officials should be commended for their efforts in developing the PMRS that measures agency performance against strategic goals and objectives. However, additional work is needed to improve the quality and reliability of the data. . . ."¹ We have implemented many of the recommendations in the audit report and will complete the remainder in 2000. We are continually working to improve the system by expanding it to include a more balanced scorecard approach for tracking cycle times, quality, productivity, cost, and customer satisfaction for our products and services and by further integrating it with our agency business processes. We also plan to have our Inspector General audit parts of the system each year to ensure our data is reliable.

Program evaluations. In addition to our Performance Measurement and Reporting System, we conduct periodic management reviews or program evaluations, formal audits of operations, and customer surveys to evaluate our performance fully. These evaluations are summarized in Appendix B.

1. Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation of the Accuracy of NARA's Performance Measurement Data, OIG Report No. 00-03, January 28, 2000, p. 3.

STRATEGIC GOAL 1: ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE
ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE WILL BE CREATED, IDENTIFIED, APPROPRIATELY SCHEDULED, AND MANAGED FOR AS LONG AS NEEDED.

1.1 INVENTORY AND SCHEDULE

FY 1999 Objectives		Establish team and complete data collection efforts including as-is modeling of existing processes for the re-engineering study of the inventorying, appraisal, scheduling, and tracking of Federal records while in agency custody. (See also 4.5.)
		Increase the number of records schedule items submitted by agencies and processed by 20 percent over the number submitted by agencies and processed in FY 1997.
Results		We established and trained the team and developed the project plan for the scheduling reinvention project, which will review the policies and process for determining the disposition of Federal records.
		Federal agencies submitted 4,215 schedule items.
		We completed processing on 3,262 schedule items.

Explanation We did not meet our objective on the reinvention of the scheduling and appraisal process because we learned that we needed to do a much more extensive data collection effort than had been previously planned. We are currently seeking contract assistance to do the data collection. We have revised our FY 2000 objective for this project to account for the more extensive data collection, and although we have had these initial delays, we still expect to complete the project as scheduled by the end of FY 2001.

The total number of schedule items submitted and processed actually decreased by 18.22 percent and 47.30 percent, respectively, from our FY 1997 levels. This was due to a number of factors including:

• Uncertainty surrounding electronic records scheduling because of the General Records Schedule 20 litigation
• A 20 percent net decline in staff devoted to processing schedules
• Diversion of staff resources to backlog work at the Washington National Records Center and to the preparation of litigation-related reports and guidance

None of these factors was anticipated at the time the objective was written. In fact, we had expected to receive a large increase in the number of schedule items submitted because of the GRS 20 case, but the opposite happened. We also determined the right thing to measure was not how many schedule items were submitted, but how many Federal records are being scheduled within 2 years of creation, which is the focus of our long-range performance target. We changed our FY 2000 objective to increase the number of records scheduled within 2 years of creation and collected baseline data for this in FY 1999.

1.2 CLOSE OUT SCHEDULE ITEMS

FY 1999 Objectives		Close out 3,800 schedule items within 120 calendar days of submission to NARA.
Results		We closed out 469 record schedule items within 120 calendar days of submission to NARA

Explanation The same factors that affected our performance in the inventory and schedule objectives (1.1) also affected our performance on this objective. We anticipate that we will be able to make dramatic improvements in the cycle time for processing schedules once we have completed our reinvention of the scheduling and appraisal process. In the interim we are making several process adjustments that will help us to improve our performance in FY 2000. These adjustments include the creation of special tracks to help schedules move through NARA, the redistribution of work to take better advantage of personnel resources, and the separation of controversial schedule items from larger schedules so that the bulk of the items can be expedited.

1.3 RECORDKEEPING SYSTEMS

FY 1999 Objectives		Draft detailed guidance on recordkeeping requirements for specific types of electronic records and develop criteria and pilots for testing the feasibility of those requirements.
Results		We issued guidance to Federal agencies on how to schedule electronic copies of program records that remain on an email or word-processing system after a recordkeeping copy has been produced.
". . . the documents are an excellent first step toward providing guidance on electronic recordkeeping to Federal agencies."		Our Fast Track Guidance Development Team launched a web site for the dissemination of guidance on electronic records issues.
		We revised general records schedules to authorize the disposal of certain administrative records, regardless of physical format.
		Federal agencies reviewed our draft government-wide records schedule for information technology administrative records.
		We tested, evaluated, and endorsed the Department of Defense standard for the management of electronic records. We reviewed the Department's certification process for commercial software that meets this standard.

1.4 RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS

FY 1999 Objectives		NARA will revise its evaluation process to collect and utilize baseline information about the status of Federal agencies' recordkeeping practices and begin to identify which agencies have critical needs for managing their records.
Results		We hired an initial 13 senior records analysts to implement our Targeted Assistance program for Federal agencies.
" . . . of enormous assistance . . ."		We completed our preliminary plan for implementing our Targeted Assistance program.

Explanation We have redirected our efforts in this area. To meet Federal agencies' immediate needs for help with records management, and recordkeeping requirements in particular, we developed our Targeted Assistance program. Through this program we are working in partnership with agencies to resolve long-standing or significant records management issues. Our initial collection of baseline information about the status of Federal agencies' recordkeeping practices is being done through the scheduling and appraisal reinvention project (see 1.1).

This approach seems to be working. A Department of Labor official sent a letter of praise for our staff in Washington who were "of enormous assistance" in making "what initially appeared to be an overwhelming task turn out to be . . . manageable." Our Southwest Region received a similar letter from an official who wrote, "NARA's participation . . . was a tremendous boon. We were able to cut right to the chase and have a strong sense of what it is we need to do to fulfill records management requirements." And an Army colonel wrote our Pacific Alaska Region "to express my appreciation for the outstanding 'Update on Electronic Record Keeping' workshop you presented. Your professionalism and knowledge of the subject matter made the workshop both timely and informative. Your presentation raised the level of awareness . . . on the importance of properly managing our records."

STRATEGIC GOAL 2: ACCESS
ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE WILL BE EASY TO ACCESS REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS OR WHERE USERS ARE FOR AS LONG AS NEEDED.

2.1 CUSTOMER SERVICE

FY 1999 Objectives		Meet or exceed NARA's published standards for access to records and services, as noted below:
		80 percent of written requests are answered within 10 working days;
		95 percent of items requested in our research rooms are furnished within 1 hour of request or of scheduled pull time;
		99 percent of self-service customers are assisted within 15 minutes of signing into a research room;
		for 99 percent of customers with appointments, records will be waiting at the appointed time;
		90 percent of routine Federal agency reference requests to records center activities in regional records services facilities are ready within 24 hours of receipt in center;
		90 percent of public education programs and workshops are rated by their users as "excellent" or "very good"; and
		all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are acknowledged within 20 working days
		and 80 percent of FOIA requests are completed within 20 working days.
		Implement a pilot team to test the redesigned work processes at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Establish performance objectives that reflect the work process redesign.
Results		We answered 88.57 percent of archival written requests within 10 working days.
"Thank you for your assistance and thank you for restoring my faith in civil service."		We furnished 94.13 percent of requested items within 1 hour of request or of scheduled pull time.
		We assisted 100 percent of self-service customers within 15 minutes of signing into a research room.
"Excellent! When I arrived the fifteen boxes of documents I requested were waiting for me. Your agency should give lessons in how to do it right."		We furnished records at the appointed time for 99.69 percent of customers with appointments.
		We had ready 80.43 percent of routine Federal agency reference requests within 24 hours of receipt in a records center.
"The Digital Classroom is a treasure trove . . ."		Our users rated 89.65 percent of our public education programs and workshops as "excellent" or "very good".
		We acknowledged 100 percent of all FOIA requests within 20 working days.
		We completed 37.55 percent of all FOIA requests within 20 working days.
		The Office of Personnel Management helped us form and develop a pilot team at the National Personnel Records Center and issued a report that documented the team's success in improving customer and employee satisfaction.

Explanation For the objectives that we did not meet or exceed, the performance deviation was slight and had no effect on overall program performance except in two cases. Staffing shortages in our Federal records centers prevented us from having 90 percent of routine agency requests ready within 24 hours of receipt in a center. We have filled these vacancies and expect to meet this target in FY 2000.

Although we did complete FOIA requests for NARA operational records and Federal archival records within the 20-day time period more than 88 percent of the time, two unique situations explain the overall performance gap in our FOIA response time. First, 80 percent of our FOIA requests are for veterans' records at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Only 28.8 percent of these requests were answered within 20 working days. Service backlogs at the center are what prompted us to undertake a business process reengineering project there. We are in the pilot phase now, and when all the recommendations are fully implemented, we will be able to meet our response time standards. Second, Executive Order 12667 allows 30 days for Presidential review of proposed record openings in Presidential libraries governed by the Presidential Records Act. The 20-day FOIA requirement is in conflict with the Executive Order. Thus, we cannot meet the FOIA requirement for requests to Presidential libraries governed by the Presidential Records Act.

2.2 CUSTOMER CONTACTS

FY 1999 Objectives

30 percent of customer contacts for NARA information and services are made electronically.

   Results

Explanation We significantly exceeded this objective because at the time it was developed, we had no baseline information for electronic customer contacts. In addition, we did not expect widespread use of email and the Internet to occur as quickly as it did. While for most of NARA, electronic contacts are about 40 percent of our business, customers make nearly all of their contacts with the Office of the Federal Register electronically.

2.3 ONLINE CATALOG

FY 1999 Objectives		Complete development of the Archival Research Catalog. (See also 4.5.)
		Describe 10 percent of holdings in NARA Archival Information Locator.
Results		We completed descriptive and data content standards, technical and functional requirements, and a data model for the Archival Research Catalog.
"Thanks for posting the microforms on NAIL. Thanks for continuing to improve a Great Site!"		We described 236,756 cubic feet of holdings in the NARA Archival Information Locator (8.35 percent).
		We completed a 2-year project to digitize 124,000 high-interest documents, which are linked to records descriptions in the NARA Archival Information Locator.
		We described 3,210 microfilm publications and their locations in the NARA Archival Information Locator.

Explanation We did not complete development of the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) because we determined that our original software selection would not adequately support our data model. As a result, we reopened our software procurement process. We now have a new software vendor under contract and have begun customization of their product. Once all data content and value standards are finalized and customization of features such as data entry screens, date controls, and keyword searching is completed, ARC will be ready for final testing. We expect ARC development to be completed in FY 2001.

Although we exceeded our projected output for description in the NARA Archival Information Locator by 20,756 cubic feet, we did not meet our target of describing 10 percent of our holdings because of faster than projected growth in our total holdings.

2.4 DECLASSIFICATION

FY 1999 Objectives		Review 60 percent of archival records in NARA's custody more than 25 years old and 50 percent of Presidential materials (500,000 pages for this fiscal year).
		Refer to agencies 100 percent of identified agency records eligible for declassification review for which NARA has no delegated declassification authority. This includes scanning 1,000,000 pages this fiscal year in Presidential libraries for review by equity-holding agencies.
Results		We reviewed 52 percent of Federal records in our custody more than 25 years old that were not being reviewed by the originating agency and for which we had declassification authority.
		We reviewed 48 percent of Presidential materials in our custody more than 25 years old that were not being reviewed by the originating agency and for which we had declassification authority.
		We referred 100 percent of identified Federal agency records and Presidential materials eligible for declassification review for which we had no delegated declassification authority.
		We scanned 351,165 pages of Presidential materials for review by equity-holding agencies.

Explanation The Kyl amendment, which requires that we conduct page-by-page review of records potentially containing atomic energy information, affected our performance on the review of Federal records. When we first developed this objective, we declassified up to 85 percent of records by survey. Page-by-page review takes 25 times longer than review by survey, and we did not receive any more resources to handle this increased workload. We have adjusted our FY 2000 objectives to account for the impact of both the Kyl amendment and the Lott amendment, which requires that we re-review declassified records for atomic energy information.

For Presidential materials, although we exceeded our projected output of 500,000 pages by 213,046 pages, we did not meet our target percentage because we received additional guidance that expanded our authority to declassify these materials. This increased what we will need to review by 500,000 pages.

We did not meet our objective to scan 1,000,000 pages for review by equity-holding agencies because the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shifted its priorities from scanning Presidential materials to reviewing other department materials. In addition, this project was not funded in FY 2000. We do still need to scan, refer, and review classified records beginning with the Nixon Administration, and we are trying to get funding to resume this project in FY 2001.

2.5 PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS

FY 1999 Objectives		Hire and begin training staff to process the Clinton Presidential records.
Results		We hired and trained five archivists to process and review Presidential records.

2.6 FEDERAL REGISTER PUBLICATIONS

FY 1999 Objectives		100 percent of scheduled publications are available online.
		100 percent of the Code of Federal Regulations volumes are available online.
		100 percent of the online publications are the most recent edition.
Results		We made 100 percent of scheduled publications available online.
"I love the Federal Register on the web. Look at it daily."		We made 100 percent of the Code of Federal Regulations volumes available online.
		We made 89.7 percent of publications available online no later than the date they were available in print.

Explanation The Office of the Federal Register publishes and now makes available online a variety of publications including the daily Federal Register, the U.S. Government Manual, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, the Public Papers of the President, the slip laws, several specialized reference guides, and all 200 volumes of the Code of Federal Regulations. Most of these are available online the same day that they are made available to the public in traditional formats. We could not meet our objective of having 100 percent available online at the same time as the print version was released because structuring the electronic data for simultaneous printing and posting online entails additional post-editorial work that the Federal Register and the Government Printing Office (GPO) are in the process of refining. We adjusted our target to a more realistic 90 percent for FY 2000.

2.7 CHARTERS OF FREEDOM

FY 1999 Objectives		Design, develop, fabricate, and test a prototype encasement for the Charters of Freedom.
Results		We designed, developed, fabricated, and tested a manufacturing model of the prototype encasement.

2.8 NHPRC GRANTS

FY 1999 Objectives		80 percent of all NHPRC-assisted projects produce results promised in grant applications approved by the Commission.
Results		89 percent of NHPRC-assisted projects produced the results promised in grant applications approved by the Commission.

Explanation The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) always has maintained a high standard for performance but did not have a well-defined quantitative measure for assessing what level of results should be achieved in grants programs. The FY 1999 objective and long-range performance target of 90 percent were educated guesses; FY 1999 was the first year the Commission used this formal evaluation process and could collect baseline data. The types of grants we fund may also influence the results. Certain grants, such as research and development grants, have a higher risk of not achieving their intended results. If the number of grants in these areas increases, as the Commission's priorities encourage, then a steady or low percentage of successful grants may be a justifiable target. We need to see what trends develop in the data over the next few years to determine if our target levels are realistic.

STRATEGIC GOAL 3: SPACE AND PRESERVATION
ALL RECORDS WILL BE PRESERVED IN APPROPRIATE SPACE FOR USE AS LONG AS NEEDED.

3.1 HOLDINGS IN APPROPRIATE SPACE

FY 1999 Objectives		Complete concept design for renovation of the National Archives Building.
		Complete design phase and issue request for proposals for construction work at Roosevelt and Truman Presidential libraries.
		In support of accomplishing facility repairs and improvements to library facilities, Archives I, and Archives II, as identified in facility condition surveys, award term architecture and engineering, construction quality management services, and design and build contracts. Initiate two major repair and renovation projects (more than $500,000) and complete repair and renovation projects at 10 Presidential libraries.
		Increase Regional Records Services system storage capacity by 480,000 cubic feet.
		Complete reimbursable records centers implementation planning.
Results		We completed 90 percent of the concept design for renovation of the National Archives Building.
		We completed 70 percent of the design phase for the renovation projects at the Roosevelt and Truman libraries.
		We increased records center system storage capacity by 800,000 cubic feet.
		We completed 65 percent of a project to increase storage capacity by 286,398 cubic feet at the National Archives at College Park.
		We awarded our agency-wide term architecture and engineering contract to Peck, Peck and Associates.
		We combined the construction quality management services contract with the design and build contract for NARA and awarded it to Heery International.
		We awarded the contract for the renovation of four abandoned freight elevators in the National Archives Building.
		We completed six repair and restoration projects at Presidential libraries.
		On October 1, 1999, we successfully converted our records center program to a revolving fund operation.

Explanation We completed the concept design for the renovation of the National Archives Building on October 27, 1999, just 1 month after the projected completion date. This slight delay has not affected the final completion dates for the renovation.

Work on the Roosevelt Library project was delayed due to factors beyond our control. The New York State Historic Preservation Officer and the National Park Service withdrew their support for the visitor center site that was in the original project agreement. By year's end, no site had been selected, and further planning activities were put on hold until all parties could come to an agreement on a site. The building design is 99 percent complete, but any relocation of the site will require some re-design. These delays have significantly affected this project, and we now expect that the construction contract will not be awarded until FY 2001.

At the Truman Library, we did not meet the objective due to contractor delays. We are now on track to complete the design phase and award the construction contract in FY 2000. We expect to begin construction in the third quarter of FY 2000.

To increase records storage capacity at the National Archives at College Park we are installing an eighth shelf on our moveable shelving and adding perimeter shelving in the stack areas. We did not complete the project in FY 1999 because of manufacturing and shipping delays. We will complete the remaining 35 percent of this project in FY 2000.

We had planned to initiate two major repair and renovation projects connected with the renovation of the National Archives Building in FY 1999. We began the first project to fix the freight elevators. We decided to reschedule the second project, design and relocation of the storage vaults. The vault construction has been incorporated into the overall building renovation rather than dealing with it as a separate project. This became necessary when we learned that major wall demolition would be required in the area intended for the new vault as well as throughout all the records storage areas in the building to correct significant fire safety problems.

We completed 6 of 10 planned repair and renovation projects in Presidential libraries. The four incomplete projects are on schedule to be completed in FY 2000. See Appendix A for a list of the projects.

3.2 PRESERVATION OF AT-RISK HOLDINGS

FY 1999 Objectives		Assess all new accessions received by the Office of Records ServicesCWashington, DC, for determination of preservation requirements using enhanced risk assessment procedures.
		100 percent of at-risk new textual accessions in Washington, DC, will receive required preservation treatment within 12 months of legal transfer; 1.5 percent of identified at-risk previously accessioned materials will receive required preservation treatment.
		Develop a systematic records preservation program for the Office of Presidential Libraries and Office of Regional Records Services.
Results		We assessed 98.18 percent of new accessions of Federal records in the Washington, DC, area for determination of preservation requirements using enhanced risk assessment procedures.
		We performed required preservation action on 99.62 percent of identified at-risk newly accessioned textual Federal records in the Washington, DC, area.
		We performed required preservation action on 3.08 percent of at-risk previously accessioned textual Federal records in the Washington, DC, area.
		We trained Presidential library archivists in preservation and risk assessment procedures.
		We identified and evaluated conservation treatment priorities at six regional archives facilities.

Explanation The preservation assessments of accessions received near the end of the fiscal year were completed early in FY 2000. A very small amount of preservation actions were also carried over into FY 2000. The performance deviation is slight and had no effect on overall program performance.

3.3 PRESERVATION OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS

FY 1999 Objectives		Increase Archival Preservation System processing capacity to 50,000 files per year.
Results		We increased the Archival Preservation System's processing capacity to 57,000 files per year.

STRATEGIC GOAL 4: INFRASTRUCTURE
NARA'S CAPABILITIES FOR MAKING CHANGES NECESSARY TO REALIZE OUR VISION WILL CONTINUOUSLY EXPAND.

4.1 STAFF PERFORMANCE

FY 1999 Objectives		Develop and submit for OPM approval a new agency performance appraisal system that will support the ready linkage of individual performance plans and appraisals with strategic outcomes.
		Develop an implementation plan that will address the timetable for accomplishment of all required actions.
Results		We developed and OPM approved a framework for a new agency performance appraisal system that will support the ready linkage of individual performance plans and appraisals with strategic outcomes.
		We developed an implementation plan and timetable for accomplishment of all required actions.

4.2 DIVERSITY

FY 1999 Objectives		Provide formal diversity training to 33 percent of NARA managers and employees.
		Employ and recruit percentages of people in protected classes so that NARA's percentages match 40 percent of those percentages of people in protected classes in national PATCOB categories.1
		Increase the percentage of people in protected classes in pools of applicants from which to select for positions in Grades 13 and above.
Results		We developed and distributed a diversity pamphlet to all employees.
		We trained 5.76 percent of managers and employees in diversity.
		We employed people in protected classes so that our percentages matched at least 40 percent of the national averages in 16 of 25 PATCOB categories.
		We determined that 47.62 percent of applicant pools for positions in grades 13 and above included people in protected classes. On average, 16 percent of people in those pools were in protected classes.

Explanation We were not able to meet our objective on diversity training because it took us longer than expected to award the contract for the training. We do expect to reach our goal of training all employees in diversity within the next 3 years.

We did not meet our objective for employment of people in protected classes in seven of the PATCOB categories. This is a problem throughout the archival profession and is not unique to NARA. We are trying to form partnerships with schools, universities, and professional organizations to attract and recruit more people from a variety of backgrounds into the archival profession. We are currently exploring internship programs to train minorities, and we are planning to conduct a marketing program that targets schools (middle, secondary, and post-secondary) with diverse populations to educate the students about archives as a career choice. It will take time, however, for these efforts to work, and there is no guarantee they will significantly improve our numbers in all PATCOB categories.

Because we did not have a baseline established, we do not know if we increased the people in protected classes in our applicant pools. We used the data we collected in FY 1999 to establish that baseline and our objective is to increase the number of people in protected classes in our applicant pools in FY 2000.

4.3 TRAINING

FY 1999 Objectives		Test and refine courses that address the supervisory competencies expected of all NARA managers (as piloted during FY 1998).
		Pilot a curriculum of courses that address the core competencies expected of all NARA employees.
		Train 50 percent of managers on how to comply with GPRA, prepare types of staff development plan modules for job-specific competencies, and link NARA's strategic goals to development plans.
Results		We tested and refined courses that address the supervisory competencies expected of all NARA managers.
		We piloted a curriculum of courses that address the universal competencies expected of NARA employees and the supplemental competencies expected of employees in specific areas.
		We instructed 29 percent of managers on the Government Performance and Results Act and its application in the agency..

Explanation Although we did not meet our target of training 50 percent of managers on the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), we did train most of the key managers directly involved with GPRA. We also bought and distributed online training to the remaining managers and expect to meet our FY 2000 objective to train 100 percent of our managers in GPRA. Training on the linkage of strategic goals to employee development plans will be given as part of the implementation of our new performance appraisal system (see 4.1).

4.4 TECHNOLOGY

FY 1999 Objectives		Install the necessary monitoring tools, develop a process for monitoring network performance, and collect baseline data.
		Operate Washington, DC, area network at 99.7 percent of availability.
Results		We installed the necessary monitoring tools, developed a process for monitoring network performance, and collected baseline data.
		We operated the Washington, DC, area network at 99.9 percent of availability.
		We renovated 17 mission critical systems for Year 2000 compliance.

4.5 RECORDS LIFE-CYCLE SYSTEM

FY 1999 Objectives		Establish team and complete data collection efforts including as-is modeling of existing processes for the reengineering study of the inventorying, appraisal, scheduling, and tracking of Federal records while in agency custody. (See also 1.1.)
		Complete development of the Archival Research Catalog. (See also 2.3.)
Results		We established and trained the team and developed the project plan for the scheduling reinvention project, which will review the policies and processes for determining the disposition of Federal records.
Results		NARA completed descriptive and data content standards, technical and functional requirements, and a data model for the Archival Research Catalog.

Explanation As we stated on page 1, we did not meet our objective on the reinvention of the scheduling and appraisal process because we learned that we needed to do a much more extensive data collection effort than had been previously planned. We are currently seeking contract assistance to do the data collection. We have revised our FY 2000 objective for this project to account for the more extensive data collection, and although we have had these initial delays, we still expect to complete the project as scheduled by the end of FY 2001.

As noted on page 6, we did not complete development of the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) because we determined that our original software selection would not adequately support our data model. As a result, we reopened our software procurement process. We now have a new software vendor under contract and have begun customization of their product. Once all data content and value standards are finalized and customization of features such as data entry screens, date controls, and keyword searching is completed, ARC will be ready for final testing. We expect ARC development to be completed in FY 2001.

1. Protected classes are women, minorities (African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives), and disabled individuals. PATCOB categories are Professional, Administrative, Technical, Clerical, Other and Blue Collar occupations used to categorize the Civilian Labor Force data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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APPENDIX A: OUTPUTS

This appendix contains supplemental output information on selected objectives in this report. Objectives not listed below have no significant supplemental data.

1.1 Increase the number of records schedule items submitted by agencies and processed by 20 percent over the number submitted by agencies and processed in FY 1997.

FY 1997 output

• 5,154 records schedule items submitted by Federal agencies to NARA.
6,190 records schedule items closed out by NARA.

FY 1999 output

• 4,215 records schedule items submitted by Federal agencies to NARA (18.22 percent decrease).
• 3,262 records schedule items closed out by NARA (47.30 percent decrease).
• 220 records schedule items completed within two years of the records' creation (6.7 percent of records schedule items closed out).

1.2 Close out 3,800 schedule items within 120 calendar days of submission to NARA.

• 3,262 records schedule items closed out.
• 469 records schedule items closed out within 120 days (14.38 percent).

2.1 Meet or exceed NARA's published standards for access to records and services.

• 105,789 archival written requests answered; 93,697 answered within 10 working days.
• 525,063 items furnished in our research rooms; 494,216 furnished within one hour of the request of the scheduled pull time. (These numbers did not include requests for pension and military service records at the National Archives Building. Those requests will be included in FY 2000.)
• 209,742 self-service customers signed into a research room; 209,742 assisted within 15 minutes.
• 32,535 customers with appointments; 32,435 of these customers had records waiting at the appointed time.
• 8,600,661 routine Federal agency records center reference requests; 6,917,684 were ready within 24 hours of receipt in the center.
• 367 public education programs and workshops rated by users; 329 rated as "excellent" or "very good."
• 6,911 FOIA requests answered; 6,911 acknowledged within 20 working days and 2,595 answered within 20 working days.
  • 207 NARA operational, 3 percent of total, 100 percent answered within 20 working days
  • 910 Federal archival, 13.17 percent of total, 84.62 percent answered within 20 working days
  • 5,574 St. Louis, 80.65 percent of total, 28.85 percent answered within 20 working days
  • 220 Presidential Records Act, 3.18 percent of total, 0 percent answered within 20 working days

2.3 Describe 10 percent of holdings in NARA Archival Information Locator.

• 2,834,522 cubic feet of NARA archival holdings nationwide.
• 236,756 cubic feet described in NAIL.

2.4 Review 60 percent of archival records in NARA's custody more than 25 years old and 50 percent of Presidential materials (500,000 pages for this fiscal year).

• 10,317,552 of 20,000,000 pages of Federal records reviewed.
• 85,000,000 pages of declassified Federal records certified as highly unlikely to contain RD/FRD.
• 713,046 of 1,500,000 pages of Presidential materials reviewed.

2.4 Refer to agencies 100 percent of identified agency records eligible for declassification review for which NARA has no delegated declassification authority. This includes scanning 1,000,000 pages this fiscal year in Presidential libraries for review by equity-holding agencies.

• 435,632,259 pages of Federal records referred for agency declassification review.
• 271,954 pages of Presidential materials referred for review.
• 351,165 pages of Presidential materials scanned for review.

2.6 100 percent of scheduled publications are available online.

• 527 individual issues of official Federal Register publications issued in print and online formats.

2.6 100 percent of the Code of Federal Regulations volumes are available online.

• 202 volumes of the Code of Federal Regulations, in both print and online formats, issued.

2.6 100 percent of the online publications are the most recent edition.

• 713 online publications
• 640 were available no later than the date they were available in the print version.

2.8 80 percent of all NHPRC-assisted projects produce results promised in grant applications approved by the Commission.

• 100 projects using NHPRC grants funds closed out.
• 89 NHPRC-assisted projects produced results promised in grant applications.

3.1 Complete repair and renovation projects at 10 Presidential libraries.

• Initiated a project to design and install a new emergency generator and emergency power distribution system at the Hoover Library.
• Completed study of the fire suppression system at the Roosevelt Library.
• Awarded contract to complete historic restoration at the Roosevelt Library.
• Installed new cooling tower at the Truman Library.
• Inspected and reported on unused underground fuel tanks at the Truman Library.
• Completed 95 percent of a joint energy conservation project with the Department of Energy at the Eisenhower Library.
• Completed study of water leaks at the Kennedy Library.
• Initiated a project to design and install a new chiller at the Ford Library.
• Installed ramp to help disabled individuals use the Carter Library.
• Repaired the HVAC system, including a major alterations to the humidifying system at the Reagan Library.

3.1 Increase Regional Records Services system storage capacity by 480,000 cubic feet.

• Storage capacity increased by 240,000 cubic feet at Lee's Summit, MO.
• Storage capacity increased by 560,000 cubic feet at Dayton, OH.

3.2 Assess all new accessions received by the Office of Records ServicesCWashington, DC, for determination of preservation requirements using enhanced risk assessment procedures.

• 42,699 cubic feet of Federal records accessioned in the Washington, DC, area.
• 41,921 cubic feet assessed using risk assessment procedures.

3.2 100 percent of at-risk new textual accessions in Washington, DC, will receive required preservation treatment within 12 months of legal transfer; 1.5 percent of identified at-risk previously accessioned materials will receive required preservation treatment.

• 877.61 cubic feet of new accessions of Federal records in the Washington, DC, area, identified for preservation action; 874.32 cubic feet received required preservation action.
• 161,478 cubic feet of previously accessioned records in the Washington, DC, area identified for preservation action; 4,971 cubic feet received required preservation action.

3.3 Increase Archival Preservation System processing capacity to 50,000 files per year.

• 56,838 files processed by the Archival Preservation System.

4.2 Provide formal diversity training to 33 percent of NARA managers and employees.

• 2,829 employees
• 163 received diversity training.

4.2 Employ and recruit percentages of people in protected classes so that NARA's percentages match 40 percent of those percentages of people in protected classes in national PATCOB categories.

We employed people in protected classes so that our percentages matched 40 percent of those percentages of people in protected classes in 16 of 25 national PATCOB categories. The categories where we met or exceeded the objective are checked below.

• 429 employees in Professional category
  157 Women, 36.5 percent; national average 37 percent
  36 Blacks, 8.3 percent; national average 5.6 percent
     2 Hispanics, 0.46 percent; national average 3.5 percent
     3 Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders; 0.69 percent; national average 5.4 percent
  1 American Indian / Alaskan Native; 0.23 percent; national average 0.4 percent
  
  
• 331 employees in Administrative category
  183 Women, 55.2 percent; national average 50 percent
  59 Blacks, 17.8 percent; national average 8.9 percent
     2 Hispanics, 0.60 percent; national average 5.2 percent
  5 Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders; 1.51 percent; national average 2.8 percent
  2 American Indians / Alaskan Natives; 0.60 percent; national average 0.60 percent
• 502 employees in Technical category
  257 Women, 51.1 percent; national average 54.9 percent
  142 Blacks, 28.2 percent; national average 10.2 percent
     8 Hispanics, 1.5 percent; national average 6.6 percent
     7 Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders; 1.3 percent; national average 3.5 percent
     1 American Indian / Alaskan Native; 0.10 percent; national average 0.70 percent
  
  
• 927 employees in Clerical category
  602 Women, 64.9 percent; national average 80.5 percent
  438 Blacks, 47.2 percent; national average 12.3 percent
     14 Hispanics, 1.51 percent; national average 6.9 percent
  22 Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders; 2.37 percent; national average 2.7 percent
  3 American Indians / Alaskan Natives; 0.32 percent; national average 0.60 percent
  
  
• 26 employees in Blue Collar category
     1 Woman, 3.8 percent; national average 14.1 percent
  16 Blacks, 61.5 percent; national average 11.3 percent
  2 Hispanics, 7.6 percent; national average 10.2 percent
  1 Asian American / Pacific Islander; 3.8 percent; national average 2.2 percent
     0 American Indian / Alaskan Native; 0.0 percent; national average 1 percent

4.2 Increase the percentage of people in protected classes in pools of applicants from which to select for positions in grades 13 and above.

• 21 applicant pools for positions in grades 13 and above formed.
• 499 applicants pools for positions in grades 13 and above; on average 23.76 in each pool.
• 10 pools had self-identified applicants in protected classes.
• 38 self-identified applicants were in protected classes in the 10 applicant pools.
• Of the total applicants, 7.61 percent were self-identified as in protected classes.
• On average 16 percent of the applicants in the 10 pools above were self-identified as in a protected class.

4.3 NARA tested and refined courses that address the supervisory competencies expected of all NARA managers (as piloted during FY 1998).

• 2 new courses in supervisory competencies offered.

4.3 NARA piloted a curriculum of courses that address the universal competencies expected of NARA employees and the supplemental competencies expected of employees in specific areas.

• 6 new courses in universal and supplemental competencies offered.

4.3 NARA instructed 29 percent of managers on the Government Performance and Results Act and its application in the agency.

• 278 managers
• 80 managers instructed on the Government Performance and Results Act.

APPENDIX B: PROGRAM EVALUATIONS

STRATEGIC GOAL 1: ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE

General Accounting Office, National Archives: Preserving Electronic Records in an Era of Rapidly Changing Technology, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs, July 1999.

NARA and Federal agencies face huge challenges to preserve electronic records in an era of rapidly changing technology. GAO recommended that NARA conduct a baseline survey to obtain Government-wide data on Federal agencies' electronic records management practices. NARA responded that much of this data collection would be done as part of the scheduling and appraisal reinvention project and that a full baseline survey will be undertaken after the completion of this project.

STRATEGIC GOAL 2: ACCESS

Office of Administrative Services, Classified National Security Information and Access to Classified Information Program Audits, April 27, 1999; May 18, 1999; May 19, 1999.

NARA conducted program audits at the Northeast regional records services facility in Waltham, MA, the Eisenhower Presidential Library, and the Central Plains regional records services facility in Kansas City, MO. The audits recommended reevaluating clearance levels needed by staff and reexamining the level of classified material that can be stored at each facility. Recommendations for the Eisenhower Library have been implemented, and clearances for staff at the regional facilities were evaluated and downgraded.

STRATEGIC GOAL 3: SPACE AND PRESERVATION

Office of Administrative Services, Physical Security Reviews, Central Plains regional records services facility, Lee's Summit, MO, June 17, 1999; Kennedy Presidential Library, July 26, 1999; Northeast regional records services facility, Waltham, MA, July 28, 1999.

NARA conducted physical security reviews of these three sites and identified no problems in the reviews. Reviews also were conducted at the Truman Presidential Library and all of the Mid-Atlantic regional records services facilities. Issuance of the reports was pending at the end of FY 1999.

STRATEGIC GOAL 4: INFRASTRUCTURE

National Archives Trust Fund, Compliance Review, August 1999.

The Trust Fund review of compliance under OMB Circular A-127 found no material weaknesses but did find several areas of noncompliance, which are caused by current software in the core accounting system. Implementation of NARA's new Order Fulfillment and Accounting System, which is now taking place, is expected to bring the Trust Fund into full compliance.

Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation of NARA's Progress on the Year 2000 Project, OIG Report 99-05, April 22, 1999.

The Inspector General recommended that the Office of Human Resources and Information Services give technical assistance to other NARA offices in identifying Y2K problems and fixing non-mission-critical systems. The IG also recommended that NARA work with the General Services Administration to determine if systems in leased buildings were Y2K compliant. NARA implemented the recommendations.

MULTI-GOAL EVALUATIONS

Office of the Federal Register, Report of the FY 1999 Internal Control Review, September 27, 1999. Office of the Inspector General, Missing Federal Register Documents, OIG Case 99-043-GC, May 17, 1999.

The office reviewed its document protection and cash handling procedures. The reviews found that there is adequate control over the documents copied at the Public Inspection Desk, but additional protections must be taken to lessen the risk of theft of originals and ensure that money is collected for all copies made. Actions have been taken to implement all recommendations.

Office of Government Ethics, Report on NARA's Ethics Program: OGE Report 99-006, March 19, 1999.

In reviewing NARA's ethics program, the Office of Government Ethics concluded that, except for the confidential financial disclosure system, all elements of NARA's ethics program appear to comply with applicable laws and regulations. OGE made two recommendations to bring the program into full compliance, and the General Counsel is in the process of implementing the recommendations.

Office of the Inspector General, Audit of Selected Aspects of Foreign and Domestic Travel, OIG Report 99-03, January 7, 1999.

The Inspector General recommended that the Director, Financial Services Branch, ensure that travel vouchers (SF 1012) contain a cost comparison of actual versus reconstructed costs before forwarding to the General Services Administration and verify that block 13 of GSA Form 87 contain the dates official business is to be conducted. The recommendations have been implemented.

Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation of the Accuracy of NARA's Performance Measurement Data, OIG Report 00-03, January 28, 2000.

The Inspector General reviewed 7 of the 24 numeric performance objectives in NARA's FY 1999 Annual Performance Plan and commended NARA for its efforts in developing a system that measures agency performance against strategic goals and objectives. However, the Inspector General also made five recommendations to improve the quality and reliability of the data. NARA will implement the recommendations in FY 2000.

Office of the Inspector General, Review of NARA Personal Property Management Program, OIG Report 99-06, April 1999.

The Inspector General recommended that NARA acquire a system that allows for real-time accounting of personal property using a menu-driven, interactive database management system. NARA is implementing the recommendations.

Office of Presidential Libraries, Program Review, November 30-December 3, 1998.

The office reviewed the Johnson Presidential Library and made 34 recommendations for improvement in several areas. As of September 30, 1999, all but three items due by that date have been completed.

Office of Presidential Libraries, Program Review, April 13-15, 1999.

The office reviewed the Reagan Presidential Library and made 43 recommendations for improvement in several areas. As of September 30, 1999, all but one item due by that date has been completed.

Office of Presidential Libraries, Program Review, June 22-24, 1999.

The office reviewed the Hoover Presidential Library and made 25 recommendations for improvement in several areas. As of September 30, 1999, all items due by that date have been completed or addressed.

Office of Regional Records Services, Inspection, July 19-22, 1999.

The office inspected the Chicago regional records services facility in the Great Lakes Region. The inspection covered all major program areas and found that the facility had undergone significant change in the last few years. The report contained 90 recommendations for improvement. Corrective action has begun on the recommendations.

Securities and Exchange Commission, Peer Review of the National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Inspector General, November 6, 1998.

The Inspector General for the SEC, in a peer review of the audit function, concluded that NARA's internal quality control system provided reasonable assurance that appropriate audit standards and requirements were being followed. The report made three recommendations that were incorporated into a revised procedure manual.

For more information about these reports, contact the Policy and Planning Staff on 301-837-1850 or by email at vision@nara.gov.