Library Resources for Administrative History

• Library Resources for Administrative History
• Title/Name Index
• Date Index

Federal administrative history is the study of the development, organization, functions, and activities of an organic body, such as a government agency. To understand the basic significance of administrative history in archival work, one should read:

Karl L. Trever, Administrative History in Federal Archives, in the American Archivist, 4:159-169 (July 1941).
[REF CD760. A5. volume 4]

A great deal of information on the administrative history of Federal agencies is embodied in finding aids produced by the National Archives and Records Administration. An archivist should check such finding aids, and consult pertinent ones, especially preliminary inventories and guides, before proceeding to do research on the administrative history of an agency. Bibliographical references to published monographs in administrative history are given after the description of each record group in the 1948, 1974, and 1987 reprint of the 1974 Guide to the National Archives, Washington, National Archives and Records Administration, 1987 [REF CD3029.A8 1987]. Bibliographical citations are not included in the current Guide.

The National Archives Library’s ALIC database is the most important source for locating the published finding aids for the record groups in the National Archives of the United States.

Garner, Diane L.; Smith, Diane H. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents: Manual for Writers & Librarians. Government Documents Round Table; American Library Association. Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; 1984. xi, 142 p.
REF Z7164. G7G3