National Archives Launches New "Inside the Vaults" Video Short
Press Release · Thursday, September 9, 2010

Washington, DC

Video highlights "citizen archivists" Jonathan Deiss and Jon White

What do a cartoonist, a freelance historian, and the Archivist of the United States have in common? Find out on YouTube.

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The National Archives today launched its sixth "Inside the Vaults" video short featuring Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero discussing contributions of the public to the National Archives. The National Archives' produced 2:53 minute "Inside the Vaults" video short "Citizen Archivist" [http://tiny.cc/CitizenArchivist].

Researcher Jonathan Webb Deiss talks about his discovery of a Revolutionary War diary in Senate records. More information and images of the historic diary can be found on the Archivist's blog [http://tiny.cc/RevDiary]. Educational cartoonist Jon White discusses his use of cartoons as a means to get children excited about history. He uses the National Archives' "Today's Document" features as inspiration for the illustrations on his web site www.todaysdocument.com.

Background on "Inside the Vaults"

"Inside the Vaults" is part of the ongoing effort by the National Archives to make its collections, stories, and accomplishments more accessible to the public. "Inside the Vaults" gives voice to Archives staff and users, highlights new and exciting finds at the Archives, and reports on complicated and technical subjects in easily understandable presentations. Earlier topics include the conservation of the original Declaration of Independence, the new Grace Tully collection of documents at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library, and the transfer to the National Archives of the Nuremberg Laws. The film series is free to view and distribute on our YouTube channel [http://tiny.cc/Vaults].

Created by a former broadcast network news producer, the "Inside the Vaults" video shorts series presents "behind the scenes" exclusives and offer surprising glimpses of the National Archives treasures. These videos are in the public domain and not subject to any copyright restrictions. The National Archives encourages the free distribution of them.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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