NARA: Declassification Center blog launched

The new National Declassification Center Blog, just launched, is titled "Releasing All We Can, Protecting What We Must."

The National Declassification Center (NDC) mission is to align people, processes and technologies to advance declassification and public release of historically valuable permanent records while maintaining national security.

The NDC blog is seeking public input on a prioritization plan; view a copy of the plan.

The blog discussion will lead to an open public forum, moderated by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero at NARA on Wednesday, June 23. It's free to attend but advance registration is required.

If you can't be there in person, post comments on the NDC blog (link above), or send via e-mail.

NARA: Secret agent man!

Did you know that the US National Archives has a specialist Archival Recovery Team staffed by special agents and an investigative archivist?

This Wall Street Journal story centered on the special team's activities to find lost documents. You can read the official press release here, with a quote from Archivist of the US David S. Ferriero:

"Thousands of researchers each year have access to our nation’s priceless documentary heritage, using original records at National Archives facilities across the nation. This allows American citizens to see for themselves the workings of the Federal government and the accountability of Federal officials. These priceless records must be protected and preserved.”

Remember the film "National Treasure"? Kind of like that without the cameras and the popcorn. The official team tracks down lost or stolen items. Their new weapon is a Facebook page.

The top entry on the page:

Each month the US National Archives Archival Recovery Team will feature an item (or related group of items) that we need your help to locate. Be sure to check back each month, as this album will be updated to reflect the range of missing items we are seeking to recover. This month’s featured National Treasures: Missing... Item-of-the-Month for May 2010 is the Wright Brother’s Flying Machine Patent, consisting of 35 documents, last seen at the US National Archives in 1979. Please take a look and notify the US National Archives Archival Recovery Team if you have any information regarding the patent file's whereabouts.

Over the years, items have disappeared including Whitney's cotton-gin patent drawing, the Wright brothers' "flying machine" application and more.

Other missing items include presidential Civil War correspondence, telegrams, and objects such as swords, daggers, portraits and presidential class rings. View images and descriptions of the missing items.

Read the WSJ article at the first link above, and visit the Recovery Team's Facebook page.

Footnote: Vietnam War records, photos online

Footnote.com today added 27,000 photos and records to its Vietnam War Collection, which now stands at more than 100,000 photos and documents. View it free throughout February.It provides viewers with a better perspective for this often misunderstood event in US history.

“Our partnership with the National Archives has proven to be invaluable as we work to make these records more accessible,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “Previously you were required to travel to Washington, D.C. to see these records. Now anyone can access the original records through the internet.”

Army Unit Service Awards include documents relating to Presidential Unit Citations, Valorous Unit Awards and Meritorious Unit Commendations. These were usually awarded to units going above and beyond the call of duty, and in most cases, showing exceptional valor. These documents contain: dates of service, duties performed and letters of recommendation

Army Photos feature various activities of the US Army during the Vietnam War. In nearly every case, there is a caption or description of what was happening and the names of soldiers in the photos. Everything ranging from daily duties to Bob Hope’s visits are captured, providing a glimpse into the soldiers' lives.

Justin Schroepfer, Footnote.com's marketing director, says that his father is a Vietnam War hero, but he can rarely get him to share his wartime experiences. "Going through these photos allowed me to visualize a little more what he went through and the sacrifices he made for his country,” he said.

The Vietnam War Collection at Footnote also includes:

The Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - color
Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - black and white

The online subscription site will continue to work with the National Archives to add more records.

A picture is worth a thousand words is an old adage, and these documents and photos tell a story that isn't in textbooks.

It’s imperative that we preserve and share this side of history for future generations," says Footnote CEO Russell Wilding. "We are encouraging everyone to come to Footnote.com and enhance these stories by adding their own comments, photos and documents.”

The Vietnam War Collection is free to the public throughout February.

National Archives: A kid in a candy store

When I was a kid, I always imagined heaven as being locked in a library. All those books just for me! I guess that archive, museum and library directors must feel the same way.

According to an article by Barbara Barrett on Kansascity.com, the National Archives' new director David Ferriero, 64, feels like a kid in a candy store.

Until recently, David Ferriero's favorite artifact at the National Archives was the canceled $7.2 million check - "an actual check!" - that was used to purchase the territory of Alaska back in 1868.

But then two weeks ago, Ferriero, the archives' new director, saw an old American Indian treaty buried in a secret vault. It was etched on parchment and festooned with ribbons and, he recalled, "a string of the most beautiful cobalt blue and white beads."

"Wampum!" he exclaimed in a recent interview. "Have you ever seen wampum?"

By now, Ferriero probably has a new favorite item. For the nation's 10th archivist, the former director of New York's public libraries, the discoveries come daily.

In November 2009, he was sworn in as NARA director, in charge of the US collection of some 10 billion items in its treasure trove. He's the first librarian to lead the archives.

Beyond the so-called Charters of Freedom, written by our Founding Fathers, the National Archives holds old legislative bills, early sketches of the Apollo moon lander and formerly classified details on the attempted U.S. cover-up of a downed U-2 spy plane in the Soviet Union. There are decades of slave ship manifests, military records and immigration logs treasured by genealogists.

From shelving books to associate libraries director at MIT, and from Duke University's vice provost for libraries, he took the helm for New York City's public library system.

Ferriero also is the consummate librarian, delighting in history while promoting openness in government. He tries to wander every day through the National Archives' rotunda, home to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to marvel alongside the tourists.

Ferriero was recently asked if he had the backbone to take on the White House over public records. He responded that it just wasn't the White House, but government in general and that he needs to make sure that each agency is doing what it is supposed to do regarding records.

It takes an experienced librarian to sort this out as the government has 2,000 systems for classifying documents. Ferriero is also in charge of the new National Declassification Center and has four years to work through 400 million pages of top secret federal documents dating to WWI.

Technology may be his greatest challenge as NARA finds a way to preserve electronic records and handle evolving technology.

Read the complete story at the link above. Read more about the National Archives.

Footnote.com: WWII collection free in December

Today, Footnote.com has opened its extensive WWII collection to free public access during December.

In honor of Pearl Harbor Day, this largest WWII grouping, including the first-ever interactive USS Arizona Memorial, offers more than 10 million records, documents and photos from the National Archives. These resources will help more people to better understand the historical events and to find family members who served in the various military branches.

A quick check for COHEN resulted in 283 mentions in various categories. Try your own names of interest to see what information is available.

The Interactive USS Arizona Memorial online version allows viewers to see the actual wall of names and search for those they know. An interactive box for each name features additional information for each veteran, and provides a place where viewers can contribute photos and stories. As an example, view Franklin Van Valkenburgh - The USS Arizona's captain - on the wall.

Although more than 2 million WWII veterans are still alive today in the US, thousands of veterans are lost each month - taking their WWII stories with them. Footnote's efforts to help preserve and transmit these stories is assisted by digitizing National Archives documents and providing tools to help people connect and honor their family members.

Footnote.com's press release mentioned Christina Knoedler of Pennsylvania, who used the Missing Air Crew Reports to discover information about her WWII vet father-in-law. “The other night, I showed him what I had found,” explains Christina. “He couldn’t believe that these papers existed. They had not only his name but also his buddies’ names. He started to reminisce and it was quite an evening. This will allow me to go back and document many more events in our family’s history for the generations to come.”

In addition to the Missing Air Crew Reports, the other WWII collections at Footnote.com include:

Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls
U.S. Air Force Photos
Submarine Patrol Reports
Japanese Air Target Analysis
Army JAG Case Files
Navy JAG Case Files
Naval Press Clippings
Allied Military Conferences
Holocaust Records

According to Footnote.com CEO Russell Wilding, people are making fascinating discoveries in the records. Reading the first-hand accounts helps viewers develop a different view and appreciation of WWII heroes and their experiences.

Experience the Interactive USS Arizona Memorial and the World War II collection.

Footnote.com: Holocaust collection free through 2009

Great breaking news from Footnote.com!

The Holocaust Collection's free open access was supposed to be available only during October.

However, due to the exceptional popularity of the site's new Holocaust Collection, it will remain free to the public through December 31, 2009.

More people will now be able to search and explore these original records.

On January 1, 2010, the collection will become part of the paid subscription databases, although the records will remain freely accessible at the National Archives physical locations via personal visit.

If Holocaust research is important to your research, consider a subscription to Footnote.com.

New Blog: NARAtions appears

NARAtions is a new blog by the US National Archives and Records Administration. It will address online public access to NARA-held records and aims to improve researcher experience.

We hope to hear from NARA researchers and anyone interested in the Archives on topics related to online access and historical research in general. The plan is to post questions periodically and encourage you to share your opinions, ideas, and stories with us. We will also post news items about descriptions or digitized archival materials available online.

The most recent NARAtions post concerns Nara's redesign of ARC and tagging.

Our current online catalog, the Archival Research Catalog (ARC), does not allow for tagging. Staff archivists can add subject terms from our authority list of approved subject headings (based on the Library of Congress Subject Authority Headings), but in many cases there is not enough time to index the descriptions. People using the catalog would be able to add whatever tags or keywords to the catalog descriptions.

What do you think?

From the "about" section of the new blog:

NARA has custody of more than 9 billion pages of records. How do we provide online access to it all? It’s a big challenge. Everyone would love to see all of the records available online as high-resolution scans with full-text searchability and a variety of ways to tag, search, browse, and discover the documents, photographs, maps, and films. And how about we get this completed by yesterday?

We think numerous strategies will have to come together as a multifaceted solution to providing better online access to NARA’s treasures and the vast array of federal records. NARA already has started to implement some approaches (like making descriptions and digital copies available in our online catalog, forming digitization partnerships, and developing an Electronic Records Archives), but we are still looking to the future and would like your input on how things are now and how you would love for them to be.

If you have suggestions for questions we should ask our researchers and the public, please send them to us at socialmedia@nara.gov.

Let the discussion begin!

NARAtions bloggers are Jill and Kristen.

Jill joined NARA in 2004, and coordinates outreach and training for the online Archival Research Catalog (ARC). Her degees are MLS (Archival Administration and an MA (US History), University of Maryland; BA (English, French Studies), University of Delaware.

Kristen joined the ARC staff in 2007, and works on digital outreach projects like topical research galleries and Web 2.0 efforts. She holds an MLS (Archival Administration) , University of Maryland and a BA (Historic Preservation), Mary Washington College.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Jill and Kristen. Readers may suscribe to the RSS feed (see bottom of the blog's home page). I wish one could subscribe via email alerts as well.

Philly 2009: Learning something new

Tracing the Tribe just spoke with Ellen Silverman of Philadelphia who is attending the conference.

Ellen demonstrates the diversity of attendees. While not Jewish herself, her husband was and she's helped Jewish friends with their research. Our conferences provide many general topics as well as specifically unique Jewish topics.

Each year we learn something new. Ellen just told me about the First Friday program at the NARA branch here in the city at Chestnut near 9th Street.

On the first Friday of each month, genealogists and researchers gather noon to 2pm to share success stories, ask questions, collaborate, network. These are people who regularly use the archives and gather once a month.

She's even found a family member at one of these meetings - they discovered that they were researching the same families from the same localities!

A staff archivists is always on hand to answer questions and assist.

Jefferson Moak, one of the local NARA archivists, will be presenting three talks at the conference this week. Ellen reports that he is often the archivist who joins in the First Friday get-togethers.

She suggested that other attendees may want to join the group this Friday after our conference ends.

Thanks, Ellen, for the information!

Cuba: Today's Jewish community

A contingent of Floridians recently visited Cuba's Jewish community in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santa Clara.

The Miami Herald covered the story here. There's a photo of the Guanabacoa Jewish cemetery.

When Franklin Silbey and other members of Temple Israel in West Palm Beach recently visited Jewish synagogues and cemeteries in Cuba, they noticed two details right away.

''No security, and no graffiti,'' Silbey said. ``Everywhere else in the world you go, guards are outside the synagogues. Automatic weapons, in some cases metal detectors, and you get graffiti in the cemeteries. In Cuba, you don't see any of that.''

That might be explained by tight state security, but the Jewish visitors said they also felt no prejudice on the part of Cubans during their week on the island in June. Silbey said they may have found one of the few countries in the world devoid of anti-Semitism.

''Of course, there are only something like 1,500 or 1,600 Jews out of 11 million people,'' Silbey said. ``A very, very small percentage of the population, but still it was unusual.''

The delegation of 27 brought medicine, clothing, school supplies to the tiny remaining community - the remnants of what was a thriving 20,000 prior to Fidel Castro's rise to power in 1959. Some 90% of the island's Jews left, most to Florida.

The story details the experiences of the group's members. Some commented on a rich collection of Spanish and Hebrew books at a Havana synagogue library.

There are a half-dozen congregations on the island. Half the community lives in Havana where three congregations are open (Orthodox and two Reform, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardic). None have a rabbi or cantor, although US and South American clergy do visit. Sometimes group ceremonies, such as a bnai mitzvah for 15 young people from all over Cuba, are conducted by the visiting clergy.

Elsewhere, a family's apartment serves as a synagogue for two dozen Jews in the south central city of Cienfuegos and, in central Santa Clara, there are another two dozen (some of them from the rural areas) who attend services.

In Santa Clara's Jewish cemetery there is a Holocaust memorial, with stones brought from the Warsaw Ghetto.

One problem is that the Santa Clara community has only two children, and they are concerned about the future.

Read the complete article at the link above, and search Tracing the Tribe for other articles on Cuba.

Washington DC: Alien files to become permanent

An important signing ceremony will take place today (Wednesday, June 3) at the National Archives in Washington DC. The event will preserve some 32 million immigration files originally slated for disposal.

Designated as permanent will be the files created for millions of aliens residing in the US in 1944 and for those who have arrived since then.

Presiding will be US acting archivist Adrienne Thomas, US Citizenship and Immigration Services associate director Gregory Smith, and Save Our National Archives communications director Jennie Lew.

According to the press release:

These Alien Case Files (commonly referred to as A-Files) document the famous, the infamous, the anonymous and the well-known, and are an historical and genealogical goldmine.

The new agreement authorizes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Department of Homeland Security to send A-files to the National Archives when 100 years have passed since the birth date of the subject of a file.

The National Archives expects to receive the first transfer of A-files later this year, and will store the files at National Archives facilities in San Francisco and Kansas City. Researchers will be able to access the files at these two sites, or request copies of files. An index will be available to support research use.

The A-files are a key to unlocking the fascinating stories of millions of people who traveled to the United States in search of opportunity.

They include information such as photographs, personal correspondence, birth certificates, health records, interview transcripts, visas, applications and other information on all non-naturalized alien residents, both legal and illegal.

At the event, the National Archives will have samples of the alien registration form used to create the A-files. The form asked for valuable details - for genealogists, family historians and other researchers - including the alien’s current name, the name s/he used when entering the country, marital status, occupation, employer's name and address of employer, height, weight, date and place of birth.

These permanent records will be of great significance to many immigrant communities that arrived in 1944 and afterward. The press release noted that the files are of particular interest to the Asian American community because many A-files supplement information in Chinese Exclusion Act-era case files (1882-1943), already housed at the National Archives.

It is always good news when such record groups are saved from destruction and made permanent for future generations of researchers.

Washington DC: Jewish museum panel, May 13

The National Archives in Washington, DC will celebrate the third annual Jewish American Heritage Month with a program - Exhibiting the American Jewish Experience - at 7pm, Thursday, May 21, in the McGowan Theater. The event is free.

A panel of speakers will discuss the creation and importance of Philadelphia's
National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH), scheduled to open in fall 2010.

The panel includes:

- Gwen Goodman, NMAJH executive director, moderator.
- Patrick Gallagher, president Gallagher and Associates, NMAJH exhibit design.
- Robert Young, Polshek Partnership Architects, NMAJH building design.
- Professor Jonathan Sarna, American Jewish History, Brandeis University.

For more information on the museum, click the NMAJH.

The new museum will be the first and only major museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience. Through exhibits, artifacts and interactive displays, the Museum will mark the trials and triumphs of American Jews through US history. It will explore the challenges of identity and assimilation and celebrate contributions made to American life.

NMAJH is currently building a five-story, 100,000-square-foot facility on Independence Mall in historic Philadelphia, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects. The capital and endowment campaign for NMAJH has raised nearly $120 million to date.

NARA: Weinstein resigns

JTA reported that US National Archivist Dr. Allen Weinstein, who has held the post since February 2005, has resigned for health reasons.

During his term, Weinstein increased declassification, incorporated the Nixon Library into the archives system and, with the archives' Canadian counterpart, established a joint Israeli-Palestinian archives preservation initiative.

NARA: Genealogy awards competition

The US National Archives (Washington, DC) has announced, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, two awards to recognize significant achievements in genealogy research, based on records from the famed institution.

The National Archives is known worldwide as a treasure chest of genealogical information. Each year, millions of people use Federal records in the National Archives to search for their family roots. Census schedules, ship passenger arrival lists, citizenship papers, military pension files, land patents, and court records offer detailed evidence to flesh out family histories. This competition provides an opportunity for students to share their research "treasures" with the public.

The awards are $1,000 for first place; $500 for second place. Winning articles may be published in Prologue, the quarterly magazine of the National Archives, and/or on the National Archives web site.

To be eligible, an applicant must be either an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited institution of higher learning; have completed at least one semester; and have not yet advanced to candidacy, if in a Ph.D. program. An applicant does not have to be an American citizen, but must be attending an American college or university. Permanent National Archives employees are not eligible.

Awards will be announced at the National Archives annual Genealogy Fair on April 22, 2009.

An original, unpublished work (1,000-3,000 words) must demonstrate the use of National Archives holdings for genealogical research. It must be typed, include a works-cited page or bibliography; end notes suggested but not required. A cover sheet must include the author's name and contact details, enrollment proof at an accredited academic institution and signed permission for the publishing of the article.

Applications should be delivered (in-person, e-mail or regular mail) by 5pm EST, March 1, 2009 or postmarked by February 25, 2009, to:

Diane Dimkoff
Director, Customer Services Division
Room G-13
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408
EMAIL: diane.dimkoff@nara.gov

For more details about the awards or applications, email KYR@nara.gov.

Footnote.com: Homestead records released

Footnote.com has just released homestead records.

Here's the official press release:

HOMESTEAD RECORDS BECOME AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET FOR THE FIRST TIME ON FOOTNOTE.COM

Original Records Documenting the Lives of Early Settlers Offer a Unique View Into 19th Century America

Lindon, UT - September 18, 2008 – In an event held today at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Footnote.com along with several partners announced a project to make available hundreds of thousands of original Homestead Records on the Internet for the first time. This project involved the efforts of organizations including The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the National Parks Service, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and FamilySearch.

“It’s exciting to see various organizations with different strengths and capabilities come together to make this information widely available,” says Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “This record collection is just one example how individuals on Footnote.com can connect their own family history to the big picture of American History.”

The Homestead Act of 1862 was a landmark event at a time when the American Nation was being torn apart by the Civil War. These records, most of which have never been microfilmed, contain more than simply the names of those who petitioned the U.S. Government for land. They tell the rich story of a fast-growing country and those men and women eager to live the American dream by becoming land owners.

Footnote.com has already digitized and indexed the Homestead Records from Broken Bow, Nebraska featuring almost 40,000 records. To view samples of these records and see what Footnote users have discovered, click here. Working together with its’ partners, Footnote.com will continue to release more records on the site.

Footnote.com has focused on making real history accessible to everyone and providing tools that enable people to connect with history and with each other.

Footnote.com recently released Footnote Pages, which allows users to create interactive pages for an individual, group, place or event. These pages bring history to life by allowing users to create:
• Interactive timelines and maps
• Photo galleries
• Stories
• Links to other related Footnote Pages and Footnote Members

“We encourage everyone with an interest in these Homestead Records to come and enrich this content with your contributions,” says Wilding. “When people come together and share their insights, a new and exciting side of history is revealed.”
Learn more by visiting http://www.footnote.com

About Footnote.com

Footnote.com is a history website where real history might just surprise you. Footnote.com features millions of searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.

The next Tracing the Tribe posting covers some 1,000 Jewish homesteaders who settled the region.

US, Canadian archivists help Israel, Palestinians

US and Canadian archivists have launched a project to help Israel and the Palestinians preserve their archives, according to this JTA newsbrief.

Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and his Canadian counterpart, Ian Wilson, met earlier this year with officials of both the Israel State Archives and the Palestine National Archives.

"The purpose of these meetings was to discuss projects that would assist in the digitization of paper records of both Israel and Palestine that would ultimately document the joint heritage of people in the region," said a statement released Thursday.

"They are also working with both institutions to develop archival training programs for their staff, and have received enthusiastic support from" U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "and the State Department for these projects."

A joint US-Canada exhibit is being launched on the 1783 Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War and dividing North America into the US and those British colonies which would become Canada.

NARA and Ancestry: Special access through May 31

Ancestry.com will make its entire US Military Collection free to the public from May 20 through May 31. Click here to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of military records. The majority come from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and cover all 50 US states.

This special public access commemorates the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement which features on site Ancestry.com technicians and scanners at the National Archives for digitization of historical content.

WASHINGTON and PROVO, Utah, May 20 -- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that makes millions of historical records more easily available to the American public. The agreement, which will be signed today at the NARA headquarters in Washington, D.C. and celebrated with a military theme in honor of this Memorial Day, allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military records.

The new agreement provides critical access to these important historical records at a faster rate than ever before due to the placement of Ancestry.com technicians and scanning machines at NARA to continually digitize content for online access. The initial NARA collections to be digitized under the new agreement include INS Passenger and Crew Arrival and Departure Lists from 1897-1958 and Death Notices of U.S. Citizens Abroad from 1835-1974, which have not been available to the public outside of NARA research rooms before now.

"The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration is to provide access to the nation's historical records, and we are proud to have The Generations Network among our valued partners," said Professor Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. "With this new agreement, citizens can discover and learn from these records in remote locations faster than ever before."

For more than a decade, Ancestry.com and NARA have collaborated to make important historical records available to the public, demonstrating their dovetailing commitment to preserving America's heritage. Ancestry.com currently has the largest online collection of digitized and indexed NARA content, including the complete U.S. Federal Census Collection, 1790-1930, passenger lists from 1820-1960 and WWI and WWII draft registration cards. Through this new agreement, Ancestry.com and NARA have greatly enhanced their working relationship. More on the agreement and the long-term relationship between Ancestry.com and NARA can be found at http://www.ancestry.com/nara.

For more information on the agreement, click here.

Professional Services Desk Manager Suzanne Russo Adams has informed readers that she was just made aware of an Ancestry.com page that lists all NARA series and films currently in Ancestry databases:

Scroll past the search template to see a table that lists the NARA series #, the NARA Collection Title, the Ancestry Database Title and the number of film reels and/or fiche in that collection.

She adds that this will prove useful for understanding which NARA records are currently on Ancestry. The page will be updated as more NARA titles are added.

Moroccan library, MJH agree on exchange

The National Library of Morocco and New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage have agreed to exchange information and documents under an agreement signed in the Moroccan capital.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday, provides for developing technical co-operation and boosting inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, according to the Moroccan national radio.

The agreement is geared towards reinforcing the cultural exchange and sharing of technical know-how between the two institution, said National Library director Driss Khrouz to National Radio.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage will have access to documents available in all universities and libraries across Morocco, he said, adding that the national library will contribute to digitalizing fundamental historical documents, magazines and papers.

The signing took place in the presence of Andre Azoulay, King Mohammed VI's adviser on Jewish affairs, and Rabat's US Ambassador Thomas Riley.

DC: National Archives' free genealogy fair

The National Archives in Washington, DC, is hosting its fourth annual genealogy fair this year from 9.30am-4.30pm Wednesday, April 23. It is free and open to the public.

The event is smack-dab in the middle of Passover - make sure to bring some edible holiday goodies for lunch - and head on over if you're in the neighborhood.

This year's program includes:

Federal records located at the National Archives relating to general genealogy, World War I, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Sessions will offer guidance on topics including Civil War pension files, Freedmen's Bureau marriage records, World War I draft registration records, and New Deal publications. National Archives staff will demonstrate how to use databases including the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) and Access to Archival Databases (AAD).

Speakers include Marian Smith (USCIS historian); author Raff Ellis (Kisses from a Distance: An Immigrant Family Experience) and National Archives experts Susan Abbott, Bill Creech, John Deeben, Kenneth Heger, Claire Kluskens, Constance Potter and Reginald Washington.

The schedule of lectures and demonstrations is here.

The location is the Research Center Lobby, National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. Rememer that government-issued ID or student ID is required to enter. For reservations, directions and other information, click here.

Increased archives budget good for genealogists

Some good news for genealogists, family historians, roots searchers and others who share mutual interests, from IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee chair Jan Meisels Allen:

The budget for the US National Archives and Records Administration was a problem in 2006 and 2007, which saw cuts in research hours and staff levels. However, the 2008 budget, just signed by President Bush into law, increases NARA's budget by 20.5% over 2007.

According to a December 28, 2007 press release:

“I am very pleased that the Congress and the President have recognized the importance of the work of the National Archives and the urgency of our needs for increased staffing and greater public access,” said Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. “We will restore our regular research hours and bring on more trained archivists as soon as possible.”

Professor Weinstein added, “The resources being provided to us reflect a recognition of the dedicated and professional work of Archives’ staff during this period of fiscal austerity. They not only have worked to maintain access to records of our democracy, but they also have expanded that access.”

Specific provisions of genealogic interest:

*$2.1 million to restore important customer services, including $1.3 million to return to the public research hours reduced in October 2006 and $800,000 to hire more staff archivists to replace those who left the agency over the past few years.

*Continuation of work on the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) provision of full funding of $58 million, compared to 2007's funding of $45.2 million.

The ERA is being built by the Archives to preserve and make accessible all electronic records produced by the Federal government now and in the future, and to allow access to these records to anyone, anywhere at any time.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the record keeper for the Federal government and operates major facilities in downtown Washington,DC, College Park, MD, locations in 17 states and an additional District of Columbia facility.

To learn more about the bill's provisions, read the press release by NARA director, Dr. Allen Weinstein, here.

National Archives: September programs

September programs at the National Archives (Washington, DC) will highlight genealogy, Hispanic military service and Puerto Rico.

Hispanic records - such as military records and Puerto Rican records - are important to genealogists searching Jewish roots because of the Converso presence, in general, as well as immigration patterns.

Mexican border crossings, as another example, demonstrate many Jewish records (Sephardic and Ashkenazi). If you have an Ancestry subscription, go to this record group and search for COHEN and other common Jewish names. The results indicate many individuals and families. There are more than 400 COHEN, KOHAN and variations, double names in the Hispanic naming patterns and many obvious Sephardic names added to Cohen or Kohan.

Footnotes: National Archives Librarian Jeffery Hartley will discuss how the Archives and Footnote.com are providing access to holdings. (11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4; 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6.)

Mexican Border Crossings: Archivist Claire Kluskens will discuss Mexican border crossing records documenting the arrival of permanent and temporary immigrants to the U.S. at the U.S.-Mexico border. (11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 13.)

Hispanic Volunteers in the Antebellum U.S. Army: Archives Specialist John Deeben will discuss service records and other documentation for Hispanics who served in the U.S. Army (1835–55), including the Second Seminole War, the Mexican War, and the Apache and Navajo wars. (11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18; 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20.)

Hispanic-Related Films from the National Archives: A variety of film clips illustrating Hispanic population, culture, activities, and families in the early-mid-20th century. (11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21.)

Documenting Community, Politics, and the Economy in Puerto Rico, 1898–1950: Archives Branch Chief Kenneth Heger will provide an overview of records of the two Federal agencies that administered Puerto Rico - the Bureau of Insular Affairs and the Office of Territories - focusing on their value to local historians. (11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25; 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27.)

From the Records Book Group: "The Archaeologist Was a Spy: Sylvanus G. Morley and the Office of Naval Intelligence," by Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler. The Archives Shop offers a discount for participants. (noon Wednesday, Sept. 26.)

Hispanics in the 19th Century through Military and Census Records:
Archivist Constance Potter and Archives Specialist John Deeben will present a workshop on 19th century Hispanics in the Southwest, focusing on Civil War military service, regimental and pension records for volunteers from New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, population and non-population census schedules. (9.30-11.30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26.)

Who’s on Your Family Tree? Beginning Your Family Genealogy: Marie Melchiori, CG, CGL, will help you get started with a look at home, local, county, Federal sources, with a look at the Internet as well. (10.15 a.m.-12.30 a.m. Friday, Sept, 28.)

Read more here, including fees for some programs, locations, directions, making reserveations and other information.