Tag Archives: national archives

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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The National Archives Presents Free Screenings Of Oscar Nominated Films Today Through Sunday

Photo courtesy of
‘Academy Award Winner’
courtesy of ‘Dave_B_’

Pumped for the Oscars this weekend? The National Archives are in on the fun and are presenting free screenings of films in four of the Academy Award’s nominee categories including Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Live Action Short Film, and Animated Short Film.

The screenings begin tonight and run through Sunday in the Archive’s William G. McGowan Theater. Free tickets are available at the National Archives Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue beginning one hour prior to start time.

Seating for the screenings are on a first-come, first-serve basis. And no – you’re not allowed to save any seats. The theater crew say it’s strictly prohibited.

For a full list of the screening schedule, visit the Archives website. The first screening starts at 7.

News, The Daily Feed
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National Archives to Ban Photography

Photo courtesy of
‘National Archives Document Lighting’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

This came to us as a special contribution of one of our photographers, Erin McCann

Via the Post comes word today that the National Archives has decided to ban photography. That means that after next month, unless you are a professional photographer, you’ll be forbidden from using a camera inside the building whose No. 1 purpose is to display the documents of freedom on which our country was founded.

Archives officials opened the issue for public comment last summer with an announcement in the Federal Register. (What? You don’t scour the register?) After two months, they had only three comments, all of which were against a change in policy. Despite this, David S. Ferriero, the chief archivist for the United States, wrote that the agency “does not believe that this rule will create problems for tourists. The agency believes this rule creates a better visitor experience.” Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, Technology, The Daily Feed
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Missing: Hard Drive with Presidential Info

Photo courtesy of
‘Lady of the Archives’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

The Washington Post reports that in the wake this weekend’s “Post Hunt 2,” the National Archives is getting in on some scavenger hunt action of its own.  Just, instead of innocuous puzzles, NARA employees are attempting to solve the disappearance of a hard drive containing, among other things, Secret Service operating procedures and the social security numbers of Al Gore’s daughters. The prize for the person who finds it: the possibility of not serving a lengthy jail sentence.
 
The hard drive contains around a terabyte of information from the Clinton presidency and was a part of a project to digitize the National Archives’ collection. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation but has no firm leads, as of yet.  So, if you see an important looking hard drive lying around, the NARA would appreciate it if you would return it to them without looking at the contents.

Adventures, Essential DC, History, The District, The Mall
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Archival Lovin’

archives_arch

One of my favorite museum sites to visit in DC is the National Archives. Housing the original documents from our country’s founding, the National Archives Experience (as it is officially called) always evokes a sense of awe and history in me and many other visitors. And it’s missed by thousands of tourists every year.

People are surprised to find out that there’s more to the Archives than the popular Rotunda. In fact, the entire mission of the Archives is to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. As such, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) was designed to safeguard and preserve the most important documents to American history and our heritage as a country. Thus, NARA serves both the public and the federal government through a network of facilities across the U.S. Continue reading →