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RUNNING HEAD: A comparison: NARA and LC Manuscript Division

An Institutional Comparison of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division Robyn Ward Emporia State University 809 Archives Management

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An Institutional Comparison of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division The National Archives and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division were created out of different traditions. The distinction is still prominent today and there continues to be recognized differences between professionals who consider themselves either as archivists who oversee the records created by government, business, and organizations versus those who consider themselves curators who manage manuscripts, personal and family papers, or special collections. It is important to recognize these differences created from the past in order to realize the transitions that these two traditions have made in recent times to work together and create ways of looking at archival work in new, collaborative ways. The National Archives and the Manuscript Division exemplify both traditions and give an example of how each view its mission, collections, and access to the people of the United States. National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives holds and maintains the official records of the United States government. It’s mission is many fold: 1) to safe-guard and preserve the records of the U.S. government, 2) to ensure that the people of the U.S. will discover, use, and learn from its holdings, or rather “documentary heritage”, 3) to ensure continuing access to the “essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government”, and 4) to “support democracy, promote civic education, and facilitate historical understanding of our national experience”. Along the same lines as the mission statement are inscriptions on the physical building that also eloquently articulate the purpose of the Archives:

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The glory and romance of our history are here preserved in the chronicles of those who conceived and built [sic] the structure of our nation. This building holds in trust the records of our national life and symbolizes our faith in the permanency of our national institutions. The ties that bind the lives of our people in one indissoluble union are perpetuated in the archives of our government and to their custody this building is dedicatedhttp://www.archives.gov/about/history/building-an-archives/description.html Written in order to set in tangible form a nation’s history, stability, and permanence. The Archives’ collection includes the “records that document history, the business and actions of Government, and the rights and entitlements of individuals” (National Archives Strategic Plan, p. iii). Section 3301 (and presidential records in sections 2111, 2201) of the United States code indicates that any materials “…regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United State Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organizations, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data in them”. (National Archives Strategic Plan, p. vii). An idea of subject areas can be found at http://www.archives.gov/research/topics.html Beginning in 1934, the National Archives made an active, aggressive effort in visiting each state in order to collect government records to store in the newly created Archives in order to claim the physical and intellectual control of records made while doing the business of government around the country. Retention schedules dictate when records of all government agencies are either withdrawn or sent to the National Archives for permanent holding. This is where the main collections for the Archives come from. The National Archives has a number of facilities across the country including the Presidential libraries, which fall under NARA’s jurisdiction. Since the Hoover’s presidency, the NARA has held the official papers of the President.

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Regarding policies of use, it is easy to request copies from any site nation-wide http://www.archives.gov/research/order/restrictions.html and for most requests there is an easy

online process. There are certain restrictions for use: 1) donor imposed restrictions, 2) copyright restrictions, and 3) preservation priorities. If an individual is able to visit a research room, then he/she is allowed to make his/her own copies. Use and obtaining copies is very open and accessible. Library of Congress Manuscript Division The mission of the Library of Congress is “to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.” http://www.loc.gov/about/mission/. The Manuscripts Division would aid in facilitating this

mission. The Manuscript Division itself collects Presidential papers from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge and papers of government officials beginning from the 18th century to the present. The Manuscript Division is also the repository for nongovernmental organizations “which have significantly affected American life” (http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/mss_abt.html#coll) such as the League of Women Voters,

Advancement of Colored People, and National American Woman Suffrage Association. The Division also holds papers on a number of diverse subjects that would support scholarly research in politics, science, and culture. The collection also includes a Special Collections “formed by individual or institutional collectors as well as foreign sources, which includes transcriptions, microfilm, and photo static copies of manuscripts and archives specifically relating to the American experience held in foreign repositories”.

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The Manuscripts Division has been active in collecting these sources since 1905. “… collections contain many different types of manuscripts. Included are diaries, correspondence (both incoming and copies of outgoing letters), notebooks, accounts, logs, scrapbooks, press clippings, subject files, photographs, and other documents in every conceivable form--handwritten and typewritten, originals, carbons, letterpress copies, microfilm, and computer diskettes” http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/mss_abt.html#coll

Acquisitions for the Manuscript Division comprise of three different areas: gifts/donations, copyright deposits, and purchases. Today gifts and donations are the most prominent type of acquisition. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/special.html#acqu “Despite its early concentration upon acquiring original manuscripts for political, military, and diplomatic history, the division soon broadened its acquisition interests, especially after World War II, to include cultural history, history of science, and the archives of nongovernmental organizations. Its current holdings, nearly forty million items contained in ten thousand separate collections, include some of the greatest manuscript treasures of American history and culture.” http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/mss_abt.html#coll The policies of use for the Library of Congress Manuscript Division collections includes the ability to 1) provide a “serious purpose and a need to consult the rare and often unique items” at the library, 2) present a valid Library of Congress issued readers card, and 3) must sign an agreement to “adhere to the division’s rules for the use of rare materials” http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/special.html#uses and http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/mss-use.html. Access is also limited to graduate students and

those undergraduates who have had previous experience with using manuscripts. Minors are not allowed in the reading room. Prior notice of wanting to use materials from the Manuscripts division is also encouraged to prepare for use and many collections are held in off-site storage.

Conclusion

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Both missions for the Library of Congress and the National Archives are similar in that they both express the interest of making information available to all citizens of the United States. The National Archives to provide information that will be “discovered, used, and learned from” while the Library of Congress hopes that it’s holdings will be used to preserve and create further knowledge. Some collections overlap for both institutions, such as Presidential Papers. Both hold collections on a wide variety of topics concerning the human experience. One from a governmental standpoint and the other from a cultural, societal standpoint. Though at times it is difficult to distinguish. One can determine from the intent of the original creation of the record itself to where it is located and preserved. Again it is important for us to realize the history of how these two traditions came into being in the United States and to realize ways how they can work together and to understand the perspectives of both traditions when dealing with collections and providing access to information.

References

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Library of Congress. (2008). Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress Manuscripts Division. (2008). Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/ National Archives and Records Administration. (2008). Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.archives.gov/ National Archives and Records Administration. (2006). Preserving the past to protect the future. Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.archives.gov/about/plans- reports/strategic-plan/2007/nara-strategic-plan-2006-2016.pdf