---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 13:19:27 -0500 From: David A. Wallace <[log in to unmask]> To: Multiple recipients of list ARCHIVES <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Archivist of the U.S.- petition ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- Sender: Archives & Archivists <[log in to unmask]> Poster: "David A. Wallace" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Archivist of the U.S.- petition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Archives has been without an Archivist of the United States for nearly a year now. Please read and (if agreeable) sign the attached petition and send it to the President and the Vice-President (their email addresses are located at the top of the petition), and be sure to edit out these explanatory comments. According to the Library of Congress's gopher site, each message received is read and analyzed by White House staff and summaries are reported to the President and Vice-President every week. After sending your message you should receive an immediate acknowledgement noting that your communication was received. Please include your title and street address below your "signature", since you may receive an additional response by US mail. I am sending this petition to the following lists: records management, archives, government documents, electronic records, history, reinventing government, association of moving image archivists, and museum-l. Thanks for your efforts - David A. Wallace School of Library and Information Science University of Pittsburgh [log in to unmask] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PETITION March 24, 1994 To: The President ([log in to unmask]) Cc: The Vice-President ([log in to unmask]) Re: Appointment of Archivist of the United States The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been without an Archivist of the United States for nearly a year. During the interim NARA has been led by the Acting Archivist, however, this role possesses neither the profile nor the authority that is required to meet the pressing challenges posed by federal documentation. These concerns require the full weight inherent in the position of Archivist of the United States. It is therefore requested that the administration mitigate the organizational and mission discontinuity currently gripping the National Archives and appoint an Archivist of the United States with all due speed. Such an appointment is all the more crucial given the rapid changes currently taking place federal information policy environment, including such cornerstone issues as the Government Information Locator System (GILS), the National Information Infrastructure (NII), and the soon to be released Executive Order reforming the system for classifying and declassifying federal information. The position of Archivist requires an individual of vision. An individual of vision who will affirm NARA's statutory and regulatory domain for identifying, protecting, and preserving the current and historical records the federal government. An individual of vision who will advocate and support the National Performance Review (NPR) initiative by enhancing NARA's delivery of services both to citizens and federal agencies alike. An individual of vision who will reinvigorate staff morale by addressing the Senate's Committee on Government Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General's findings on mismanagement at NARA. And an individual of vision who will transform NARA by providing a leadership role for the following initiatives: * Accountability and Oversight - NARA's new leader must realize that the National Archives is more than just another historical or cultural institution of the federal government. NARA's main responsibility is enforcing agency compliance with federal records laws and regulations. A strong Archivist overseeing agency compliance with federal records laws will vastly improve agency recordkeeping activities, increase the oversight potential of Congress, and assist National Archives records appraisal and scheduling duties. * Information Technology - In 1990, a report issued by the House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations found that "NARA's current policies are inadequate to assure the long-term preservation of electronic records." A request by the Committee for NARA's recommendations for amending the law to reflect changes in recordkeeping systems wrought by computers remains unanswered by the agency. The need for NARA leadership in informing the development of compliant, accountable, and functional electronic recordkeeping systems was recently underscored by the General Accounting Office which found, despite an annual investment of tens upon tens of billions of dollars in computer technology throughout the government, that "agency after agency still lacks critical information needed to analyze programmatic issues, manage agency resources, control expenditures, and demonstrate measurable results." The new Archivist of the United States must possess the vision to understand that these faulty systems are the archives of the future and that NARA is strategically positioned to assist agencies with developing sound contemporary recordkeeping systems. Such systems can be designed to capture and house agency institutional memory, thus facilitating agency mission achievement. The new Archivist must also explore new strategies for preserving those thousands of existing computerized federal records systems that are distributed throughout the globe. * Declassification - The administration is on the verge of instituting a new Executive Order which will have a dramatic impact on the classification and declassification of federal records. The Presidential Review Directive of April 1993 which initiated this process identified quicker declassification as one of its main priorities. The National Archives currently houses over 325 million pages of classified records and accessions an additional 16,000 cubic feet of classified records each year. NARA's inadequate declassification initiatives has led to a ever growing mountain of classified files, sealed off from a curious public eager to study the history of the Cold War and earlier periods. A recent estimate has noted that, given current staffing and procedures, it will take NARA 19 years to review just its holdings of 1960s State Department records. To compound matters, the previous Executive Order on classified information vastly increased number of classified records while at the same time it decreased the number of declassifications. As a consequence, NARA needs a new leader who will seek expanded resources and legislation to declassify its bulging classified records and who will develop a strategic plan for managing the masses of classified records that are sure to be transferred to NARA over the following years. NARA needs a leader who will offer vision for all of the pressing areas highlighted above. Information is the coin of the realm for effective, efficient and accountable government. Information is also the currency of democracy that must be made accessible to our nation's citizens. It is contingent upon the administration to promptly appoint an Archivist of the United States who will serve both roles and set long range goals for the nation's archival agency that will lend it new relevance and prominence. Respectfully Submitted,