Monthly Archives: September 2016

Why study history?  And civics?  What are the benefits of learning the story of government in the United States?

How can professionals in the fields of history, archives, library, and records better communicate what we know?   And how can we learn from others?

How can we tap into citizens’ knowledge? And work on solutions to 21st century challenges?

The last decade has seen some of these questions raised inside and outside local, state, and Federal government.   On Social Media.  At conferences, symposiums, workshops and informal face to face conversations.

I’ve blogged about the nexus of records, archives, history, and civic literacy since I started this blog in 2010.  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plays a role in many of these issues, through the records it preserves and makes available, its education programs, its exhibits.

During 2008-2009, before I launched this blog, I read and engaged at Archivesnext, a notable gathering place for archivists, librarians, and records experts.  The blog featured thoughtful, insightful, and forward thinking essays by archivist Kate Theimer (seen at right on a 2014 panel).  In 2010, Kate edited a book of essays about new ways of connecting archives and users, A Different Kind of Web, which featured a forward by the Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero.  She later edited a series of books about innovative practices in archives.

 

I participated at other blogs and online forums between 2008 and 2010, as well.  After the economic downturn in 2008, many of us discussed professionalism and job opportunities in libraries and archives.  I have a particular interest in the people side of archives and followed many spirited discussions about employment issues and the gap between new graduates and job openings in libraries and archives.

I also talked and read about leadership and change management.  If you want to serve your customers better, you have to pay attention to the articulated and intuited needs of those who work with them–the staff.  One of the most enjoyable threads I participated in on an archivists’ Listserv a decade ago was about workplace morale.

To better understand “what comes next,” I turned to Kate Theimer’s posts and the comments from her readers.  In April 2010, Kate pointed at Archivesnext to the first essays at the newly launched AOTUS blog.  I, too, read the new blog by David Ferriero, who took office as Archivist of the United States in November 2009.

Prior to Ferriero’s appointment by President Barack Obama, Kate blogged at times about the National Archives.  One area she touched on then was opportunities for improvement in the National Archives’ communications.  I agreed with her. As I had, Kate once worked as a NARA employee.

I applauded her raising the issues she did during 2007-2009.  The agency had handled some public outreach well, some less well, during the tenure of Ferriero’s predecessors.  Notable for me in the years before Ferriero took charge was good work done by NARA Information Security Oversight Office director William H. Leonard.

But I understood what Kate meant when she wrote in 2008 and 2009 about NARA’s relatively closed posture.  Observing it as an outsider with many inside connections, I sometimes felt frustration because the agency seemed more closed off and remote than it needed to be.   My participation in online forums, such as one for historians, and also some archives and records Listservs, suggested that NARA would benefit from sharing more information about its actions than available in news reporting or Listservs.

When he launched his blog in April 2010, David Ferriero, whom I wouldn’t meet until 2011 (and come to know in person and respect greatly), described a transformation vision for a National Archives open to change.  I liked the vision for improving preservation and access to records, which I saw as part of improving civic literacy.   Ferriero wrote,

“We risk losing our memory as a country if we cannot meet the challenges of electronic records management. The fact is, without good records management, it is impossible for us to learn from the past and plan for the future. This concern is deeply American.”

Improved communications also was a part of the change vision:

“In this digital age, we have the opportunity to work and communicate more efficiently, effectively, and in completely new ways. This will require a change not only in our processes, but also in the culture of the National Archives and Records Administration. Working on the Open Government Plan has helped us take our first steps. It’s an exciting time to be at helm, charting a new course for our agency.”

The comment I left under David’s post, “No small change,” included a suggestion that NARA learn from the public and share knowledge about itself:

“Just as NARA would benefit from hearing more from its stakeholders, stakeholders would benefit from learning more about NARA. Granted, there are limits to how transparent an executive agency can be about some of its operations. However, I’ve read enough articles and blog postings about NARA since I left its employ to believe that some misperceptions have arisen simply from lack of contextual information.”

Archivists often talk about their “elevator speeches,” the short conversations they have at random moments with people who ask what they do.  The comment I left at AOTUS blog in 2010 reflected occasions online and in person when I found myself explaining archives issues.

These knowledge sharing opportunities reflected my experiences and those of my late twin sister, Eva, a NARA records declassification supervisory archivist (pictured below with colleagues).  And also those of my many friends at the agency, among them historian-archivist Tim Mulligan, shown with his wife, Bonnie, a Freedom of Information Act specialist, when he received a NARA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Some of these “elevator speeches” have occurred in governmental settings.  I’ve learned not to take for granted that busy professionals in other functions would see the purpose and work of archives the same way we archivists do.

Other opportunities arose at conferences where we talked about research in academic, corporate, and government archives.  Some resulted from visits to bookstores and libraries and even casual social encounters, including among friends who worked in other professions.

The level of engagement in those encounters varied.  So I tried to adapt to what the people who asked me about the National Archives sought.  Sometimes I had to intuit what they needed.

In reading about Open Government during Ferriero’s first full year as AOTUS,  I saw many knowledge sharing and knowledge seeking opportunities for NARA.  Both with those who engaged with it directly and those who lurk read its output and intellectually filed away what they learned.  I observed in my comment at “No small change” of Ferriero, “I do applaud your interest in outreach and wish you and all at NARA the very best.”

Kate Theimer expressed support for many of the changes the Archivist described.

“…let me point out what I think Ferriero is getting at. He says he wants to harness the public participation, support, and knowledge of what in the pre-digital days we probably would have called volunteers (or advocates, depending on the role). And, if I imagine myself in Ferriero’s place, I can see why he wants to find a term to use other than volunteer. First, the level of expertise and creativity that he wants to harness (such as that shown by Malamud and others) goes far beyond what we normally think of when we hear ‘volunteer.'”

Her post drew thoughtful comments about a phrase Ferriero used to describe members of the public who could help with NARA’s work, “citizen archivists.”  What it meant became clearer over time.   I enjoyed being present at a Social Media Fair and communications forum at NARA on November 4, 2011 which included a thoughtful explanation of the new Citizen Archivist Dashboard.

Prior to the program, I talked to records management policy specialist Arian Ravanbakhsh (pictured below) about NARA’s use of Social Media.  By then, I had gotten to know in person, like, and admire David Ferriero, whom I called “the Big Dude” at my blog.  I closely followed the agency’s communications across a widening array of platforms.

 

I used the occasion to tell Ferriero how much I appreciated Arian’s work, pointing to an astute post about court records at NARA’s Records Express blog.   Arian did a great job clarifying issues that had been raised elsewhere about those records.  Sharing context about how NARA works is a key part of outreach.  It brings a diverse audience into the same room, together, to share different perspectives.   I also told David (pictured with me at the Social Media Fair) that I was thrilled to meet digital engagement experts such as Meredith Doviak, who started at the agency in 2009 as an intern working on scanning records from World War I.

 

In a reminder of how far NARA had come in its outreach and communications efforts, there was no Social Media Fair the next year.  The value of online engagement across platforms increasingly showed in the agency’s rich and varied online presence.

On August 17, 2016, Ferriero provided an update on NARA’s Open Government efforts at the conference of the International Federation of Libraries and Archives.   Among those efforts is a new online catalog for which Meredith Doviak now is NARA community manager.

David listed many commendable recommendations in the new draft Open Government National Plan now available for public comment.  He shared these highlights:

“• Our public engagement efforts will include launching a social media campaign to collect stories about people’s own artifacts and documents from the Vietnam War to enrich the experience of visiting our new exhibit on the War

• Our Office of Research Services will explore how to best incorporate digital tools like social media and our pilot History Hub to make it easier for the public to find the records that interest them and will provide more customer service training for staff members so that they can better serve the public.

• Our efforts to improve employee engagement and to foster collaboration continue to be a robust part of our Open Government efforts, including launching six Employee Affinity Groups focused on LGBTQ, Veterans, Hispanic and Latino employees, individuals with disabilities, African American employees, and women

• Ten initiatives to increase access to our records through innovation, including expansion of our History Hub and Citizen Archivist programs and developing user-generated finding aids that dynamically update as information changes.

• A number of activities to strengthen the record keeping and access to records responsibilities of Executive Branch government agencies

• And, the recent passage of the FOIA Improvement Act provides us opportunities to strengthen our Office of Government Information Services role as the FOIA Ombudsman.”

David added of U.S. efforts on Open Government,

“I take particular pride in the work that the National Archives has done to play a leadership role in this process. Not only are we at the table, the table is in my house! More importantly, we are front and center in the product which is created by the Open Government representatives of the various Federal agencies and departments.”

NARA has come a long way since a decade ago when bloggers debated its approach to communications and getting access to records still mostly meant visiting a research room in person.  More and more galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) welcome public input and knowledge sharing.

While it has much in common with other GLAMs, the National Archives also has elements unique to its work.  Notable among them are Federal records management policy and responsibilities in protection and release of national security classified information.  Its present efforts in these areas are commendable.

Technological change presents new managerial challenges (and opportunities!) in recruiting and retention of staff.  Including areas such as recognition and rewards.

I’m open to insights from the public and private sector in these areas.  I’d like to see more archival leaders discuss the issues David Ferriero raised at the Institute of Museum and Library Services Focus Session in 2015.  He pointed to the need to better align graduate programs with workforce needs.  And offered thoughtful observations on the value of diverse staff, some doing traditional archival work, some creative work.

Although the term “gatekeeper” sometimes is used pejoratively in Twitter conversations about change, I know from my work (on both sides of the reference desk) how committed many subject experts were in the pre-digital age to helping researchers find information.  So it is exciting to watch the gates now swing open.  And to know the same commitment to access is there, with greater opportunities for use.  And the public the beneficiary.