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The White House nomination of Allen Weinstein, a historian of Soviet espionage, as archivist of the United States has caused a storm of protest in the normally quiet world of archivists and historians. Nineteen organizations, including the Society of American Archivists and the Organization of American Historians, have issued a joint statement expressing concern and calling on the Senate, which must confirm the nomination, to hold hearings to find out why the current archivist is being replaced and whether Weinstein is qualified. That call was heeded; hearings will be held "in the coming weeks," according to a Senate spokesperson. The groups' first concern is that the nomination appears to be a political move, while the position of archivist was supposed to have been depoliticized. There was no need to replace the present archivist, John Carlin, a Clinton appointee. Why, then, has the White House nominated a new archivist? Many speculate that George W. Bush, as well as his father, thinks the younger Bush may lose the election, and they want their man in control of their archives before that happens. Whatever Bush's motives may be, Weinstein, who declined a request for an interview, is considered by many archivists and historians to be unqualified on ethical grounds. They point to his buying exclusive access to restricted archives and his withholding of archival materials from other scholars, which appear to violate the ethical standards of the archivists' and historians' organizations. Another issue relevant to Weinstein's nomination concerns the sources of funding for his Center for Democracy.

The New Public Records Act was enacted on June 24, 2009 and will be in effect in April 2011. This is the first comprehensive law of managing administrative records including historical records in Japan. The law states that the public records are intellectual resources shared by citizens and allows people to have more access to them. It depends on the concept that the public records mean the basis of democracy including accountability. This article describes the main points of the new law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article profiles Allen Weinstein, a national archivist, historian, educator and writer. Several of his published works include "Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case" and "The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America: The Stalin Era". The article provides an overview of his family and educational background. His organizational affiliations include the National Endowment for Democracy and the Center for the Study of Democracy.

Profiles John Taylor, an archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Md. Comments from author John Waller, who needed Taylor's expertise at finding archival information on military intelligence for his book "The Unseen War in Europe" which focuses on World War II military intelligence.

This article looks at the nomination of historian Allen Weinstein to be the ninth archivist of the United States. Weinstein sailed through a July 22 hearing in the Senate on his controversial nomination. However, signaling a potential political battle over what was designed to be a nonpolitical position, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) revealed that a recent exchange of letters suggests that John Carlin's announced resignation from the post was not voluntary. In a July 22 letter to Levin, Carlin explained that White House counsel Alberto Gonzales requested his resignation. Critics of the Weinstein appointment have suggested that Carlin was asked to resign in an effort to keep sensitive presidential documents from becoming public. Meanwhile, Carlin remains in his current position and has asked to stay at least four more months to oversee certain initiatives. In August, Carlin named two firms to begin the process of finding a technological solution to a massive challenge-preserving electronic information. The contracts, valued at a combined $20.1million, have been awarded to Lockheed Martin ($9.5 million) and Harris Corporation ($10.6 million).

An interview with U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) archivist David Ferriero is presented. He provides an overview of the impact of a memorandum from President Barack Obama on controlled but unclassified information on presidential libraries and the operations and responsibilities of NARA. He also cites the measures of NARA to provide accessibility to government records in line with the open government initiative of Obama. He adds that NARA created the Holdings Protection team to ensure data security.

An interview with David Ferriero, the 10th Archivist of the U.S., is presented. He mentions the short-term challenges he needed to face at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) upon taking the position, which include making developments in electronic records, re-establishing oversight of records management programs and the security of collections. He explains the relationship between NARA and the Government Printing Office (GPO). He discusses the progress in the digitization of archives.

The article discusses the success of the fourth annual Genealogy Fair of National Archives held in Washington, D.C. in April 2008. This event serves as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) reminder of its role as source of information for those people who are interested to discover their family history. NARA holds the U.S. census records from 1790 to 1930, and the 1940 census will be opened in 2012.

Reports on the election of new members by the board of directors of the Foundation for the National Archives in winter 2004. Lamar Alexander; Jane Fawcett-Hoover; Riley K. Temple.

Reports on the progress of the confirmation hearing on the pending nomination of historian Allen Weinstein as the next Archivist of the U.S. at the U.S. Senate. Overview on the speech of Weinstein; Citations of the questions faced by Weinstein from the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee; Concerns over the position of Weinstein in the Bush Executive Order 13233.

Reports that U.S. President George W. Bush has appointed historian Allen Weinstein on April 8, 2004 as the Archivist of the United States. Senior adviser at the International Foundation for Election Systems in Washington, DC; Former president of the controversial Center for Democracy; Violation of the Congressionally sanctioned requirement that selection of a nominee should be preceded by consultations with recognized organizations of professional archivists and historians.

Reports that the American Historical Association has joined other historical associations and related institutions in issuing a statement criticizing the nomination by President George W. Bush of Allen Weinstein, senior adviser at the International Foundation for Election Systems in Washington, D.C., to be the Archivist of the United States without public discussion. Statement by the current archivist John Carlin that he would retire in July 2005; Provisions of the National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984 which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

The article presents an obituary for Allen Weinstein, ninth archivist of the U.S.

The article presents an obituary for Richard F. Myers, former chief at the National Archives.

The article talks about the qualities of a leader needed at the federal institution Library and Archives Canada (LAC). The resignation of Doctor Daniel Caron as National Librarian and Archivist is mentioned. According to the author, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) believes that LAC needs a leader who is visionary, passionate and will build positive relationships with the library and archival communities. The author also mentions the move by CLA to create advocacy tools for its members.

The article announces the retirement of archivist Sharon Gibbs Thibodeau from the National Archives.

The article reports on the issues discussed by David S. Ferriero, 10th Archivist of the U.S., at the 2010 Hewlett Lecture on October 27, 2010 in Penn Quarter district, Washington, D.C. It includes the need of a cultural change at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in response to the growing digital records and increasing use of the Internet by researchers, NARA's commitment to Open Government, and the significance of the Freedom of Information Act for records management.

An interview with Mercedes Clark-Smith, the head of online product strategy at the National Archives in Great Britain, is presented. When asked about her job responsibilities, she says she serves as a bridge between technology and the archives. She also discusses internet accessibility and her work in the Clore fellowship.

The article reports on the new public research hours on every first Saturday of every month, offered by the National Archives and Records Administration at the Great Lakes Region in Chicago, Illinois. According to sources, researchers may be able to examine original historical documents of the U.S. government and microfilm copies of commonly used federal records. Moreover, the public research hours on the first Saturday of each month will be offered at least through April 2007.

This article presents an interview with Allen Weinstein of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration regarding problems encountered by the agency in its ongoing audit of declassified records that the federal agencies have been removing since 1999. Expected to be completed in April 2006, the audit is aimed at determining what they took, whether it was appropriate, and how to prevent the problem from recurring. According to Weinstein, he discovered the process through a "New York Times" story. Upon discovering it, he said that he had a conversation with Michael Kurtz and Bill Leonard, director of the Information Security Oversight Office. When asked about his vision for the National Archives and Records Administration, he explained that the problem with having a vision is having the resources to support the vision. Nevertheless, Weinstein has three visions: tend to the documents with great care; education in many dimensions; and develop ideal technology for the agency.

Presents an update on the Society for the National Archives in the U.S. as of spring 2005. Opening of the Public Vaults; Growth of the group of donors in the Society; Acknowledgement of Edwin and Naomi Singer for renewing their membership for the second year.

This article reports that after four years of planning, the National Archives opened its "Public Vaults" exhibit on November 12, 2004. This 9,000-square foot permanent exhibit displays letters, films, recordings, photographs, maps, and other archival items that provide a fascinating perspective on American history. This $7-million public-private partnership between the National Archives and the Foundation for the National Archives is intended to make the archives more accessible while also making the nation's history more interesting to visitors. The exhibit begins with the Record of America hallway; this central pathway takes the visitor on a journey through time and the changing technology of records. Branching off this pathway are five "vaults.

On April 8, 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated historian Allen Weinstein to be archivist of the U.S. and head of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Weinstein currently served as senior advisor at the International Foundation for Election Systems and was a founder and former president of the Center for Democracy. The move has garnered much controversy. The nomination caught the archivist community-off-guard, current NARA head John Carlin had indicated his intention to serve until July 2005. Archivists groups said they were not consulted about the nomination, as has been the custom. On April 14, 2004, a coalition of archives groups, led by the Society of American Archivists (SAA), released a statement relaying their concern about Weinstein's qualifications to be the archivist of the U.S., as well as questioning whether his nomination was politically motivated. Weinstein nomination has been sent to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee for consideration. His critics have demanded that the committee hold a hearing on the nomination. Senior committee staff said it is too early in the process for any senators to have formed an opinion of Weinstein.

Reports that the Organization of American Historians (OAH) has joined with the Society of American Archivists, the American Historical Association, the National Humanities Alliance, and nearly two dozen other groups, in issuing a statement against the nomination of Allen Weinstein as Archivist of the United States. Call on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs to schedule open hearings on this nomination; Need to explore the reasons why the Archivist is being replace, and Weinstein's qualifications.

The article reports that the Nunavut Sivuniksavut, an Ottawa-based training program for recent Nunavutmiut secondary school graduates, has undertaken to identify the subjects of some of the hundreds of thousands of historical photographs of Inuit in the collection of the National Archives of Canada. It mentions that the photographs, taken mostly in the first half of the 20th century, were accompanied by information about the location and general subject matter. It notes that the students will approach elders in northern communities, hoping to identify people in some of the photographs in the archival collection. It declares that the students chose the photograph identification project as the research component of their program, which aims at preparing them for post-secondary education.