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Opinion. Expresses concern that the major documentary editions of the papers of the Founding Fathers and other historical figures may be in jeopardy. How the threat to the documentary editions arose when the National Historical Publications and Records Commission revised its strategic plan; Scholarly editing projects, like those dealing with papers of Thomas Jefferson, that are being endangered by concern about preserving electronic records.

The article reports that several Democratic Senators have accused the administration of United States President Ronald Reagan of trying to determine whether prospective nominees for public positions are loyal supporters of the administration. The accusations came after Reagan nominated John T. Agresto for Archivist of the U.S. Under the law, the Archivist is supposed to be appointed without regard to his or her political views.

The article reports that the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the National Archivist can release former US President Richard Nixon's papers which were previously withheld according to Nixon's request and executive privilege. The public interest group Public Citizen, which was founded by Ralph Nader, has filed a lawsuit for the release of the Nixon documents.

The article reports on developments in education in the U.S. for the period ended August 5, 1987. There are indications that Don W. Wilson, director of the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, will be nominated to serve as the Archivist of the U.S. The next Librarian of Congress will be James H. Billington, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The article presents news items related to higher education in the U.S. Peter J. Duignan, director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution, will encounter opposition as he is the first choice to be the archivist of the U.S. Marvin L. Goldberger, president of the California Institute of Technology, has asked James A. Abrahamson, head of the missile defense program of U.S. President Ronald Regan, to correct a misleading statement related to the involvement of his institution in the program.

Reports on the efforts of scholars and archivists to fight the plan of U.S. President Ronald Reagan that would limit public access to historical records and documents. Impact of the proposal of Reagan to reduce the fiscal 1982 Archives budget on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; Total number of scholarly organizations that formed the Coalition to Save Our Documentary Heritage to ask the Congress to reject the proposal; Problems being faced by the commission.