Photograph of Suffrage Parade, 1913. National Archives Identifier 593561

A Call to Action for Scholars of American History: Contribute to Wikipedia

David S. Ferriero | Archivist of the United States

WASHINGTON, August 22, 2018 -- Our mission at the National Archives is to drive openness, cultivate public participation, and strengthen our nation’s democracy through public access to government records.  We are fast approaching the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a hallmark of the expansion of democracy here in the United States. On March 8, we will open our exhibit, Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote, which celebrates its modern relevance through inclusive retelling of the women’s suffrage movement.

As the National Archives, along with many other organizations, prepares for the 19th Amendment’s centennial we are working hard to increase access to the records we hold around women’s suffrage. One way we are doing this is by collaborating with Wiki Education, a nonprofit focused on empowering people to expand and improve Wikipedia content for the benefit of all. Through this collaboration, Wiki Education is launching a new virtual, immersive training course designed to give participants the skills and practical experience necessary to improve Wikipedia coverage of the history of women’s voting rights in the United States. 

Archivist of the United States Committed to Transparency, Upholding Rule of Law, in Supreme Court Nominee Records Releases

By David S. Ferriero | Archivist of the United States

The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is to provide access to the permanent records of the Federal government, which include Presidential records from NARA’s Presidential Libraries.

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018. NARA has permanent records related to Judge Kavanaugh, because he served in the White House Counsel’s Office and the White House Office of the Staff Secretary under the Administration of President George W. Bush, and he also served as an Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr during the Administration of President William J. Clinton.

Each time a candidate is nominated to the Supreme Court by the President, the staff at the National Archives and Records Administration immediately begin the task of reviewing and releasing records related to that nominee. The process is governed by several laws, including the Presidential Records Act, the Federal Records Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. All of the records, electronic and paper, must be reviewed by archival staff before being released by NARA.

In addition to the challenges of reviewing the records, the archival staff face an enormous number of documents—in Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s case, far more than previous nominees.  While National Archives processed and released roughly 70,000 pages on Chief Justice John Roberts and 170,000 pages on Justice Elena Kagan, there are the equivalent of several million pages of paper and email records related to Judge Kavanaugh in the holdings of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and in the National Archives.

This is a challenging task that National Archives staff are currently working to meet. These are not open records under the Presidential Records Act, and the way we’re reviewing and releasing them is governed by the processes specified in the law, including that we must give first priority to records requested by a chairman of a congressional committee. Some records might be withheld or released in redacted form for various reasons: to preserve the secrecy of grand jury proceedings; to protect the personal privacy of living individuals; to protect the identities of confidential sources; and to protect confidential communications within the White House.  The PRA representative of former President George W. Bush, who has an independent right of access to Presidential records of his administration, is also engaged in a separate process to review and provide records to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In our efforts towards transparency, we have created a new webpage summarizing the Judge Kavanaugh records. Presidential records are being reviewed by NARA archivists and will be released on NARA’s George W. Bush Presidential Library’s website, along with previously released records. NARA has released the records from the Office of Independent Counsel Starr on the National Archives website. Additionally, correspondence between NARA and the Senate Judiciary Committee related to the overall process can be found in NARA’s FOIA Electronic Reading Room. I encourage anyone with a deep interest in how this process works to read these exchanges for the latest and most accurate information.

I remain deeply committed to the efforts of archives in providing transparency as our best hope in combating low public trust in government. Transparency also supports active public engagement with government, and NARA is seeing high levels of engagement and interest in what we do. After all, archives and open government records are one of the pillars of democracy. When I became Archivist of the United States, I took an Oath of Office just as every Federal employee. I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Rule of Law. That is what I have been doing, that is what I am doing, and that is what I will continue to do as long as I am the Archivist of the United States.

Preventing FOIA Disputes

By David S. Ferriero | AOTUS Blog

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2018 — In addition to providing services that help Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesters and Federal agencies in resolving disputes, one of the goals of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is to prevent FOIA disputes from arising in the first place. In line with this goal, OGIS recently issued its first advisory opinion, providing agencies with useful advice on effective communication with requesters to help them navigate through the FOIA process and the resources available to them.

OGIS is the Federal FOIA Ombudsman. The office, created within the National Archives, opened its doors in 2009 to educate the public about FOIA, resolve FOIA disputes, and assess agency compliance with the statute. OGIS’s advisory opinion is based on its observations through its now robust mediation program. OGIS’s mediation program brings the office into contact with a broad range of Federal agencies and requesters at various points throughout the FOIA process. This unique lens enables OGIS to identify common causes of FOIA disputes and identify practices that can help avoid disputes.

The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires that agencies let requesters know about the availability of dispute resolution services from agency FOIA Public Liaisons and OGIS at several points in the FOIA process. After the law’s enactment OGIS’ caseload increased significantly.  A common trend noted among several cases was the need for better communication between the agency and the requester.

OGIS’s first advisory opinion takes the communication issues OGIS noted in its individual cases and gathers it together to provides agencies with advice to help better communicate with requesters about the FOIA process: how to preserve their administrative rights to challenge an agency’s decisions, the kinds of assistance they can expect from an agency FOIA Public Liaison and OGIS, and the next steps to take if they need additional assistance with a request. The advisory opinion also provides agencies with specific examples of language and format.

National Youth Administration (NYA) Photographs. National Archives Identifier 7350937

Pursuing Civic Literacy

Today’s post comes from the AOTUS blog, written by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero

As the nation’s record keeper, the National Archives is responsible for making the records of the U.S. Government available to the public. These records—some famous but others quite ordinary—tell the nation’s story, document the actions of government officials over the years, and confirm the rights guaranteed to individuals. They are records that deserve preservation not simply for reference purposes but for use by all interested Americans to participate in the civic process. In short, they form a vital documentary bedrock of our democracy.

An informed citizenry is at the heart of what we do—rooted in the belief that citizens have the right to see, examine, and learn from the records that ensure their rights, hold their government accountable, and tell the story of the nation. However, without a fundamental level of civic literacy, the records that we preserve and make accessible will not be understood or used effectively by the citizens we serve.

I recently read some disheartening statistics about the state of civic literacy in the United States, strengthening my resolve to improve understanding of how the government works and citizen responsibility. According to the data from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and Pew Research Center:

Nearly 2/3 of Americans cannot name all three branches of government. (Yet three in four people can name all Three Stooges.)

Only 29% of eligible Americans participated in the 2016 primary elections.

Less than half of the public can name a single Supreme Court Justice. And only 15% can correctly name John Roberts as Chief Justice. (Yet 2/3 of Americans know at least one of the American Idol judges.)

Nearly a quarter of young Americans think that a democratic form of government is very bad

Intentionally fabricated news stories involving the 2016 presidential candidates were shared 38 million times on social media.

Americans distrust the government at record levels and they also distrust their fellow citizens to participate in governance.

College bound young people (about half the youth population) are much more civically involved than their non-college bound peers. Rates of voting and volunteering are at least twice as high for those who attend college.

Students who are white get more high quality civic-learning opportunities

Nationwide, more than 1/3 of today’s high school seniors lack even basic civics knowledge and skills.

More than 1/4 of Americans do not know who America fought in the Revolutionary War

39% incorrectly stated that the Constitution gives the president the power to declare war.

The National Declassification Center is proud to announce that the contents of the newly-declassified Classified Central Subject Files of the U.S. Embassy Djakarta, Indonesia, 1963-1969 are now available via the National Archives Catalog.  This record series, digitized through the kind efforts of the National Security Archive, consists of correspondence, telegrams, airgrams, memoranda, reports, newspaper accounts, and other documents that pertain to subjects that were of interest to the Ambassador and staff of the Embassy.  This series also contains documents that were originated by or sent to the U.S. Consulates at Medan and Surabaya.  To search for the digitized embassy records please visit the National Archives Catalog at https://catalog.archives.gov/.

India’s public digital infrastructure is increasingly powered by open-source software, raising key questions around licensing, transparency, accountability, and public ownership. From governance platforms to citizen services, understanding how open-source licenses shape democratic technology is essential for innovation, compliance, and sustainable public sector development in India’s evolving digital ecosystem.

Learn more: https://www.khuranaandkhurana.com/licensing-the-code-of-democracy-open-source-use-in-indian-public-projects

In the spirit of open government, France dumps 9,067 repos online with public sector open-source code, to show off its FOSS credentials

 The release happened as a result of a decree of Open Government from 30 October 2019 after the French government joined the Open Government Partnership in April 2014. After two years of work, the site hit version 1.0 on Wednesday.

 This really allows further re-use of publicly funded code, and also serves as a boost for their own small businesses who want to make use of it for themselves or to serve their customers.

 See https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/11/french_government_foss/

 #opensource #opengovernment #france #publicsector