A few weeks ago on The Text Message, I introduced Wikimedia’s Wikisource project to you. A sister project of Wikipedia, Wikisource is a free repository of primary-source texts which are transcribed, proofread, and arranged—like Wikipedia—collaboratively by a community of online volunteers. It is my pleasure to announce that, since August 15, Wikimedia’s presence now extends [...]

At the NAGARA plenary address in Nashville a few weeks ago, I was asked to talk about NARA’s new Applied Research Division, which wandered into an explanation about why we haven’t been ERA Research for the past two years. Folks were encouraged to attend my 1940 Census session, featuring NARA research partners who are using cool smart tools to make sense out of scanned images—there was not an empty chair in the room, leading to fruitful discussions and promising collaborations…and that’s what you missed at NAGARA! Read the full story here…

In early December, the Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, awarded Weidman Outstanding Volunteer Service Awards to three National Archives volunteers.  Robert Gaugler was honored for his leadership of volunteer projects to make America’s military records more accessible. What’s your name and where do you volunteer at NARA? My name is Bob Gaugler, and [...]

In early December, the Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, awarded Weidman Outstanding Volunteer Service Awards to three National Archives volunteers.  Ernest Webby was honored for his ingenuity and achievement in establishing a program to enhance Web resources for the John F. Kennedy Library. What’s your name and where do you volunteer at NARA? [...]

Ever wonder what exciting new projects the many employees at NARA are working on? The “What are You Working On?” blog feature aims to introduce a variety of NARA employees and highlight some of the exciting projects we are working on around the agency. Check for this blog series on Wednesdays! This week, we introduce [...]

If you can think all the way back to January, you may remember NARAtions starting a new weekly blog series called Tech Tuesdays that would highlight exciting new developments and cutting edge technologies being introduced into the archives field.  While NARA is traditionally concerned with history, we must look to these new ideas and tools [...]

On December 12, 1942, 2nd Lt. Jack E. Williams and his crew were flying over the coast of France when, according to his report, “We hit the ground; that is, made a crash landing, at 12:40, after having been violently attacked by fighters.” The actions of Williams and his crewmates following the crash are documented [...]

Our next Users’ Group meeting will be held at the National Archives in Washington, DC,  in room G-24, on Friday, June 25, 2010, at 1pm. The agenda for the meeting includes Update on Renovation WiFi Update A-1 researcher tables Saturday pull pilot Rolling pulls at A-1 Digitization update Inaccurate pulls at A-1 Web redesign- Green Bags update [...]

The minutes from the Researcher Users’ Group meeting on May 21st (PDF) are now available on the Archives.gov page for the Researcher Users Group at the National Archives in the Washington, DC Area. Please join us for the next meeting on Friday, June 25th, 2010 at Archives I in Washington, DC (room G-24). What topics would [...]

Our next Users’ Group meeting will be held at National Archives at College Park,  in lecture room C, on Friday, May 21, 2010, at 1pm  The agenda for the meeting includes Briefing on Archives II Reference Studies Updates on:           Presenting the “Know Your Records” series as webinars Current Digitization Activities We hope to see you there!