Saving History

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have devastated the lives of millions of Americans living in the Gulf states. Not only have homes and jobs been lost, the potential loss of our collective memory of the region is also at risk of disappearing. These important records include documents such as property deeds, birth certificates, and personal papers. So too are documents of rights and entitlements--such as Social Security and veterans' benefits--which are all crucial in the recovery and rebuilding processes. Also at risk are records that document the routine operation of the federal government--the actions of regional offices of departments and agencies and federal courts in those areas--as well as records of state and local governments.

As "first preservers" of such documents, the National Archives and Records Administration helps assess, recover, and preserve these irreplaceable records. Our staff has already spent hundreds of hours working with Federal agencies and our partners in state and local government to scope this effort and begin to identify and recover records. We have sent both financial resources and staff from around the country to the affected areas and will continue to offer assistance as long as it is needed. To date, NARA has:

• Held training sessions and workshops for various federal and state officials and others on dealing with damaged or contaminated documents. NARA will provide these sessions to other interested parties when possible.
• Moved staff members from NARA's regional archives in Atlanta and Fort Worth to the affected areas--when they are allowed to do so--to assess damage to records and offer advice and assistance on records recovery.
• Provided expedited service to hurricane related requests from veterans and retired civil servants who need documents from their personnel files so they can establish or reestablish their identities.
• Created a section on our website <http://www.archives.gov> that lists agency contacts and provides links to information on records recovery and preservation for federal agencies and courts, state and local governments, cultural institutions, and the general public.
• Worked closely with the appropriate federal authorities to secure NARA representation on teams of federal officials that evaluate damaged buildings to determine the nature of NARA assistance.
• Authorized federal agencies to destroy contaminated records that represent a risk to health, life, or property if those records have a temporary disposition of ten years or less and if the information in them is likely captured, at least in part, in other sources.

Because we also have a professional responsibility, if not a legal one, to ensure the preservation of nonfederal historical records that tell the story of America, I have taken several actions in my capacity as chairman of NARA's National Historical Records and Publications Commission (NHPRC). Emergency grants of up to $25,000 from NHPRC's FY 2005 funds have been authorized for the state archives in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for disaster assessment and response activities. Additional grants in each state of up to $100,000 from FY 2006 funds will be considered as soon as those funds are appropriated. NHPRC is working closely with the Council of State Archivists and the Society of American Archivists to identify other funds and sources of support.

Individual staff members at the National Archives have also stepped forward to offer assistance. When the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent out a call for federal employees to volunteer to work for a month in the hurricane-damaged region, quite a few NARA staff members applied. In Chicago, several NARA employees from the Great Lakes Region helped staff a FEMA satellite telephone registration center to receive applications for Federal disaster assistance from victims of Hurricane Katrina.

At the Federal Register, editors stopped the presses to add publication of an important Treasury Department ruling that allowed financial institutions to cash government assistance checks for Hurricane Katrina victims without requiring identification, which in many cases had been lost.

Foundations and institutes affiliated with the presidential libraries have contributed nearly $83,000 to a special fund to aid Katrina victims.

In the aftermath of the unprecedented damage to a large part of the Gulf Coast region, we are learning once again the vital importance of access to records, not only for governments and institutions but also for individuals and families. For our part, NARA will work diligently to fulfill its mission to provide expertise in the areas of records management, recovery, and preservation.

NARA Announces External
Affairs Liaison
Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein recently announced the appointment of David McMillen to the newly created position of External Affairs Liaison. McMillen will assume the position on October 30, 2005.

In making the announcement, Weinstein said, "When I became Archivist I made it clear that I was going to make it a personal priority to open the doors to dialogue and collaboration with all of the organizations that share interests and relationships with the National Archives. Today I am taking an important step in ensuring that we accomplish this priority by appointing McMillen."

As External Affairs Liaison, McMillen will manage the planning and execution of a continuous program of liaison and partnering with allied professional, scientific, and technical organizations. He will be responsible for assuring that NARA mission, goals, services, and policies are clearly communicated with professional audiences and that partnering opportunities are appropriately explored and executed. He will be the full-time liaison to all of our stakeholder and customer communities.

David McMillen comes to the National Archives from the professional staff of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform where he served from 1995 to the present.