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Subject: NARA Introduction From: Steven J. Coker Date: March 26, 1999
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INTRODUCTION
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A Rich Information Resource
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) acquires,
preserves, and makes available for research records of enduring value created or
received by organizations of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
of the Federal Government. On October 1, 1994, the holdings of the National
Archives comprised over 1.7 million cubic feet of textual records; approximately
300,000 rolls of microfilm; 2.2 million maps and charts; 2.8 million
architectural and engineering plans; 9.2 million aerial photographs; 123,000
motion picture reels; 33,000 video recordings; 178,000 sound recordings; 7,000
computer data sets; and 7.4 million still pictures.
Records in the custody of the National Archives date from pre-federal times
to the present. They include linen-paper records of the Continental Congress as
well as electronic lists of Vietnam casualties. Information content is as
diverse as the media on which it was recorded. The records document people,
events, activities, topics, and localities ranging from Bella Abzug to Charles
Zwick, ABSCAM to the Zapruder film, accounting to zoning, and Aberdeen, MD, to
Zanesville, OH.
Although a significant portion of this vast information resource is housed
in the National Archives Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, and
the National Archives at College Park, MD, researchers do not need to come to
the nation's capital to visit the National Archives. Since 1969, NARA has
managed a system of regional archives that hold valuable federal records of
regional origin and significance. Federal records may also be found in each of
the Presidential libraries managed by NARA and in a few non-NARA repositories
that, by special agreement with the Archivist of the United States, are
affiliated participants in the federal archival network. (Table A following this
introduction lists all of the archival repositories that are managed by or
affiliated with NARA.)
General Guides to the National Archives
Since its establishment in 1934, the National Archives has helped the
public to discover and use a rich national information resource by publishing
descriptions of federal archival records. A first such effort, entitled, "Guide
to the Materials in the National Archives, June 30, 1937," was incorporated into
the Third Annual Report of the Archivist of the United States, 1936-37 (1937),
app. VI, pp. 111-168. This listing, which covered approximately 250,000 linear
feet of records accessioned since December 1935, was replaced in 1940 by the
Guide to the Material in the National Archives. The 1940 guide described in
greater detail approximately 320,000 linear feet of records accessioned by
December 31, 1939. Subsequent editions of comprehensive guides to the National
Archives holdings appeared in 1946, 1948, and 1974. In 1987, NARA reprinted the
1974 version, Guide to the National Archives of the United States, with only
minimal changes in the descriptions of its holdings.
This 1995 Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United
States supersedes both the 1974 edition and 1987 reprint. It includes
descriptions of federal records in the National Archives of the United States as
of September 1, 1994. More recent additions to the holdings are described in The
Record, a quarterly newsletter available from the National Archives and Records
Administration, Public Affairs (N-PA), Washington, DC, 20408. An electronic
version of information about new accessions is available on the NARA gopher
server; its Internet address is "gopher.nara.gov".
The Record Group Concept
NARA arranges its holdings according to the archival principle of
provenance. This principle provides that records be attributed to the agency
that created or maintained them and arranged thereunder as they were filed when
in active use. In the National Archives, application of the principle of
provenance takes the form of numbered record groups, with each record group
comprising the records of a major government entity, usually a bureau or an
independent agency. For example, National Archives Record Group 4 is Records of
the U.S. Food Administration. Most record groups include records of any
predecessors of the organization named in the title of the record group. A few
record groups combine the records of several small or short-lived agencies
having an administrative or functional relationship with each other. An example
of this type of record group is Record Group 76, Records of Boundary and Claims
Commissions and Arbitrations. The number assigned to a record group reflects the
order in which it was established by the National Archives. (Table B following
this introduction has an alphabetical list of agencies named in the titles of
record groups.)
Within a record group, the records of a government agency are organized
into series. Each series is a set of documents arranged according to the
creating office's filing system or otherwise kept together by the creating
office because they relate to a particular subject or function, result from the
same activity, document a specific kind of transaction, take a particular
physical form, or have some other relationship arising out of their creation,
receipt, or use.
General Organization of this Guide
Each chapter in this guide covers a record group, with the chapters
arranged by the record group number. A record group is often established in
anticipation of the transfer of archival records. If the transfer had not taken
place by the time the content of this guide was finalized, no chapter covering
the record group was prepared. This circumstance accounts for the following gaps
in the chapter number sequence: 201, 271, 281, 289-290, 292, 297, 299-300, 312,
316, 329, 339, 343-344, 346-347, 361, 367, 371-372, 377, 379, 384-386, 388, 390,
400, 402, 408, 413, 415, 420, 422, 425-427, 433, 436-440, 444-447, 451, 454-455,
458, 461, 465, 468, 470-471, 473-477, 480-481, 483-488, and 502- 509. In
addition, a few record group numbers are no longer in use and account for the
following gaps in the chapter number sequence: 189, 200, 282, 283, 285, 301,
348, 356, 376, 401, 421, 450, and 491-501.
The following examples taken from the guide are intended to illustrate the
basic chapter layout.
FIGURE 1 shows a sample heading taken from Chapter 49 describing the
Records of the Bureau of Land Management (Record Group 49).
Figure 1. Sample Chapter Heading
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| RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT [BLM] |
| (Record Group 49) |
| 1685-1989 (bulk 1770-1982) |
| 59,666 cu. ft. |
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The title of the record group includes the name of the agency responsible
for creating or receiving the records in the record group and the agency
acronym. The dates shown are the beginning date of the earliest and the ending
date of the latest series described in the chapter. In some record groups, the
bulk of the records cover a shorter period than that spanned by the dates given
in the heading. When this is the case, as in Record Group (RG) 49, the shorter
span is provided in parentheses, preceded by the word "bulk." The chapter
heading also includes a statement of the volume of records in the record group,
reported in cubic feet.
FIGURE 2 provides a sample of the first section of the chapter describing
the Records of the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service (Record Group 262).
The first section of each chapter contains an administrative history of the
agency that created or received the records in the record group.
Figure 2. Sample Administrative History
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| 262.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY |
| Established: In the Federal Communications Commission |
| (FCC), by FCC order, July 28, 1942. |
| |
| Predecessor Agencies: |
| |
| Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service, FCC (1941-42) |
| |
| Transfers: To the Military Intelligence Division, War |
| Department General Staff, by order of the Secretary of |
| War, December 30, 1945, pursuant to agreement between |
| FCC and War Department; to the Central Intelligence |
| Group (CIG), National Intelligence Authority, August 5,|
| 1946. |
| |
| Functions: Recorded, translated, and analyzed foreign |
| broadcast programs. |
| |
| Abolished: November 1, 1946. |
| |
| Successor Agencies: Foreign Broadcast Information |
| Service, CIG, November-December 1946. Foreign Broadcast|
| Information Branch, CIG, January-September 1947. |
| Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Central |
| Intelligence Agency, 1947- . |
| |
| Finding Aids: Walter W. Weinstein, comp., Preliminary |
| Inventory of the Records of the Foreign Broadcast |
| Intelligence Service, PI 115 (1959). |
| |
| Security-Classified Records: This record group may |
| include material that is security-classified. |
| |
| Related Records: |
| Records of the Foreign Broadcast Information Branch, |
| 1947-48, in RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence|
| Agency. |
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The heading, 262.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY, illustrates the convention for
designating sections within each chapter. This designation is a combination of
the record group number and a number indicating the position of the section
within the chapter. Under the administrative history section, the Established
block presents basic information such as the date and nature of the government
action establishing the agency. This statement typically is followed by a list
of Predecessor Agencies grouped to indicate shared administrative or functional
origins. A Transfers block indicates if an organization was transferred to
another agency or had important functions in the past that are no longer
conducted. Subsequent blocks describe the major Functions of the agency, tell if
and when it was Abolished, list Successor Agencies to the organization (where
appropriate), and under Finding Aids, note the availability of an inventory or
list that amplifies descriptive information contained in the guide chapter. A
Security-Classified Records block indicates when a record group includes
materials that are restricted from public access, and a Related Records block
identifies other record groups that include associated material, in particular
Record Group 287, the record group to which copies of government publications
have been allocated. The first section of each chapter may also cite Subject
Access Terms that apply comprehensively to the records in the record group or it
may provide generally applicable guidance in a Note.
FIGURE 3 illustrates the statistical summary box for the General Records of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Record Group 207). This box
follows the administrative history section and gives a summary of the record
types found in the record group and described in the chapter, along with the
location and quantity of each type.
Figure 3. Sample Records Type Summary
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| Record Types Record Locations Quantities |
| Textual Records Washington Area 1,131 cu. ft. |
| Fort Worth 3 cu. ft. |
| San Francisco 1 cu. ft. |
| Maps College Park 966 items |
| Arch/engrg Plans College Park 5,500 items |
| Motion Pictures College Park 165 reels |
| Video Recordings College Park 6 items |
| Sound Recordings College Park 528 items |
| Machine-Readable College Park 2 data sets|
| Records |
| Still Pictures College Park 48,007 images |
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The Record Types found in Record Group 207 are textual records, and
nontextual records such as maps, architectural and engineering plans, motion
pictures, video recordings, sound recordings, machine-readable records, and
still pictures. Other record groups may also include maps and charts, aerial
photographs, and filmstrips. Record Locations in the summary box are treated as
follows: the location of textual records held by any of the Washington area
repositories is cited as Washington Area; the location of nontextual records
filed with Washington area textual records is cited as Washington Area; the
location of nontextual records held by the National Archives at College Park is
cited as College Park; the location of records held by a regional or affiliated
repository is cited as the name of the metropolitan area in which the repository
is located (e.g., Fort Worth); the location of records held by a Presidential
Library is cited as the name of the library (e.g., Truman Library).
FIGURE 4 illustrates section 243.2 GENERAL RECORDS of the guide describing
a subgroup of the Records of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey [USSBS]
(Record Group 243). It demonstrates how remaining sections in the chapter
describe subgroups of records under headings reflecting the major divisions or
offices within the agency for which the record group is named.
Figure 4. Sample Subgroup of Records
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| 243.2 GENERAL RECORDS |
| 1944-47 |
| 52 lin. ft. |
| |
| History: Combined Bomber Offensive Survey authorized by|
| letter from Gen. Henry H. ("Hap") Arnold, Commanding |
| General, U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), to Gen. Carl |
| Spaatz, Commanding General, U.S. Strategic Air Forces |
| in Europe (commonly referred to as "USSTAF"), April 21,|
| 1944, and approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, June |
| 6, 1944. Strategic Bombing Effects Survey established |
| in London by Headquarters, USAAF, July 1944, with |
| designation suggested by USSTAF, to consolidate |
| planning activities for a survey of the effects of the |
| Allied air war in Europe. Renamed United States Bombing|
| Research Mission by Presidential directive, September |
| 9, 1944. Further redesignated USSBS, November 1944. |
| SEE 243.1. |
| |
| Textual Records: General correspondence of Chairman |
| Franklin D'Olier, 1944-47. Copies of the final |
| published reports of the European and Pacific Surveys, |
| 1945-47. Cablegrams and other messages sent and |
| received, 1944-46. Record copy of the published Index |
| to Records of the United States Strategic Bombing |
| Survey, June 1947. |
| |
| Microfilm Publications: M1013. |
| |
| Photographs (370 images): USSBS directors and staff; |
| military officials in Japan and England; and USSBS |
| installations in England, Germany, and Japan, |
| 1945-46 (A). SEE ALSO 243.8. |
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The GENERAL RECORDS cover the period 1944-47 and measure 52 linear feet.
Subdivisions within the section provide an administrative History of the Survey
and give additional information about the Textual Records and Photographs that
constitute the General Records subgroup. Descriptions of photographs held by the
Still Picture Branch of the National Archives include, as in this example, an
alphabetical designator (e.g., A). When records in the subgroup have been
microfilmed by NARA, the Microfilm Publications number is provided. For more
detailed information regarding specific microfilm publications, researchers
should consult the current edition of the National Archives Microfilm Resources
for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog (1986, revised 1990).
Other blocks within the section may list Finding Aids to the records
covered by the section, or identify Related Records in other record groups or
other sections of the same chapter.
FIGURE 5, concerning section five of the chapter covering the Records of
the Environmental Protection Agency (Record Group 412), shows how a section may
be subdivided into parts to cover the components of a subgroup. These
subsections also comprise blocks that provide History or Textual Records
information and may include Related Records, Finding Aids, or Microfilm
Publications blocks, or, as does the example in FIGURE 5, a block citing Subject
Access Terms that pertain to the records covered by the subsection.
Figure 5. Sample Part of a Subgroup
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| 412.5 RECORDS OF EPA FIELD ORGANIZATIONS |
| 1951-89 |
| 92 lin. ft. and 22 rolls of microfilm |
| |
| 412.5.1 Records of EPA Region III, Philadelphia, PA |
| (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV) |
| |
| Textual Records (in Philadelphia): Daily activity |
| reports of the Regional Administrator, 1981-86, |
| 1988-89. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination |
| System hearing files, 1980. |
| |
| 412.5.2 Records of EPA Region IV, Atlanta, GA (AL, FL, |
| GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) |
| |
| Textual Records (in Atlanta): Adjudicatory hearings |
| files of the Office of Regional Counsel, 1972, 1974-81.|
| Records of the Legal Support Branch, consisting of 180 |
| Notice Files--Water, 1972-73. Records of the Water |
| Quality Standards Section, Water Projects Branch, |
| relating to water quality standards conferences, |
| 1969-71. |
| |
| 412.5.3 Records of EPA Region VI, Dallas, TX (AR, LA, |
| TX, NM, OK, TX) |
| |
| Textual Records (in Fort Worth): Program planning and |
| evaluation files, 1970-75. Records of public hearings |
| on requests for ocean dumping and pollutant discharge |
| permits, 1970-78. State water quality management plans |
| for river basins in LA, OK, and TX, 1974-78. |
| |
| Subject Access Terms: Arkansas River; Brazos River; |
| Canadian River; Colorado River; Cypress Creek; E.I. |
| DuPont; Ethyl Corp.; Guadalupe River; International |
| Paper; Kennecott Copper; Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corp.; |
| Lavaca River; Neches River; Red River; Rio Grande |
| River; Sabine River; San Antonio River; San Jacinto |
| River; Shell; Sulphur River; Texaco; Trinity River; |
| Weyerhaeuser Co. |
| |
| 412.5.4 Records of EPA Region VII, Kansas City, MO |
| (CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, WI, WY) |
| |
| Textual Records (in Kansas City): Missouri and Upper |
| Mississippi River Basin studies, 1951-71. Adjudicatory |
| hearings files, 1972-75. |
| |
| Map (1 item, in Kansas City): Southeast quadrangle, |
| St. Onge, SD (1954), annotated to show Crow Creek |
| diversion, ca. 1971. |
| |
| Photographs (19 images, in Kansas City): Effects of |
| pollution and of abatement measures on tributaries of |
| the Missouri River in WY, NE, and SD, 1951-71. SEE |
| ALSO 412.8. |
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The example in FIGURE 5 illustrates the convention of citing the location
in boldface type (e.g., in Philadelphia) of records held in regional or
affilicated repositories or in Presidential libraries. Within the text of a
chapter, the lack of a boldface location specification is an indication that the
records described are available in a Washington area facility or, more
specifically for nontextual records, in College Park.
FIGURE 6 illustrates two General Records subgroups from the end of Chapter
412, describing the Records of the Environmental Protection Agency (Record Group
412.) At the end of the chapter, general records sections either describe
nontextual records that cannot be assigned on the basis of provenance to
specific provenance-related subgroups, or provide cross references to the
sections that describe nontextual records that are allocated to
provenance-related subgroups. This information is designed to facilitate the
task of researchers who are primarily interested in records of a particular
nontextual medium.
Figure 6. Sample General Records Subgroups
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| 412.6 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL) |
| |
| SEE Map UNDER 412.5.4. |
| |
| 412.7 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL) |
| 1969-71 |
| 44 reels |
| |
| Office of Public Awareness films on environmental |
| pollution and its ill effects, 1969-71. |
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Researchers interested in general cartographic records are instructed to
"SEE Map UNDER 412.5.4". This is a cross reference to the "Map" description
found earlier in the chapter in part four of section five. Researchers
interested in general motion picture records are provided with a description of
44 reels of films from the Office of Public Awareness dated from 1969 to 1971.
These motion picture records are described as a general records subgroup because
they could not be allocated to any other subgroup of records.
FIGURE 7 shows a sample entry taken from the index. This guide contains an
alphabetical index to Subject Access Terms, as well as key terms found in record
group titles, subgroup headings, and records descriptions. Personal names and
named acts of Congress from the administrative histories are also indexed. The
index numbers following each entry provide location information in accordance
with the arrangement scheme of the chapters. For example, a reference to Oak
Island, Minnesota, can be found in section 3, subsection 1, of the chapter for
Record Group 36, Records of the U.S. Customs Service.
Figure 7. Sample Index Entries
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| Oahu, HI |
| military facilities (maps) 338.8 |
| naval stations 181.7.1, 181.11.3, 181.11.6 |
| Oahu, HI, Coast Defenses of 392.3 |
| Oak Island, MN 36.3.1 |
| Oak Ridge Journal 326.3.1 |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| facilities construction 374.3.13 |
| photographs 434.4.3 |
| isotopes (motion pictures) 326.3.1 |
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Finding and Using the Records
Readers who find topics of interest to them in this guide will want to know
how to see or use the records. Conducting primary source research in the
National Archives of the United States is a multi-step process. Review of the
information contained in these guide volumes is merely the first step. The guide
provides a general overview of NARA's holdings at the record group level, and
assists researchers in identifying which record groups may have material
relevant to their research topics.
NARA also publishes specialized finding aids such as "inventories" (SEE
Finding Aids in Figure 2), which provide fuller descriptions of the series in a
given record group; and "special" and "select" lists of items of nontextual
records, such as computer data sets, motion pictures, maps and charts, and
architectural and engineering plans. Researchers should consult General
Information Leaflet Number 3, Select List of Publications of the National
Archives and Records Administration (revised 1994), for further information
concerning these additional publications.
After identifying which record groups or particular records are of interest
to them, researchers are encouraged to write or call in advance before visiting
a NARA repository. This allows researchers to verify which repository houses the
records they wish to view and, if they so desire, to arrange a meeting with an
archivist familiar with the records. For further information on conducting
research at the National Archives, readers should consult General Information
Leaflet Number 30, Information About the National Archives for Researchers
(revised 1994).
Researchers planning to cite unpublished records held by the National
Archives should consult General Information Leaflet Number 17, Citing Records in
the National Archives of the United States (revised 1993).
Generally, records in NARA's custody are in the public domain and, as such,
are free from copyright restrictions. There are occasional exceptions,
particularly involving nontextual records such as still pictures, motion
pictures, and sound and video recordings. Researchers should verify with the
custodial unit whether any copyright restrictions apply to the records they wish
to reproduce.
Some records in NARA's custody are restricted from public access for
reasons of privacy or national security. Specific restrictions are noted in
individual chapters. Researchers wishing to view security-classified records may
request in writing a declassification review under the provisions of the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) or the mandatory review provisions of Executive Order
12958. For further information regarding restrictions on the public availability
of records in NARA's custody, researchers should consult General Information
Leaflet Number 2, Regulations for the Public Use of Records in the National
Archives (1991).
Potential users of primary historical resources are more likely to become
actual users when they are informed of the nature, scope, and location of these
resources. The Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United
States serves this informative purpose. It is an integral part of the effort by
the National Archives to serve the American people, safeguard their interest in
federal records and other documentary materials, promote effectiveness and
efficiency in the administration of those materials, and advance knowledge of
the history of the United States.
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