#archivesathome

[usnatarchives]

Help make history more accessible! We’re looking for people to help us tag and transcribe documents and photographs in our online Catalog. 

It’s easy to get started, and you can work on all kinds of documents!

Become a Citizen Archivist today! 

[riversidearchives]

Archives Technician Aaron Cleans His Telework Desk and Virtual Desktop 

Since I have been working from home since the end of March, I decided to take some time to clean my computer files and do some organization. I cleaned up my work email and created some new email labels for records management. I also cleaned out my download file and deleted some files which I did not need anymore. 

As I was cleaning up my computer files, I figured since I was sitting here for six months at a dining table doing the work for the National Archives, it got a bit messy. As you can see, things started to get out of hand with papers and my notes of significant Los Angeles District Court cases. 

Now that I cleaned out the pile of papers my telework desk is now spic and span. I am now ready for doing the work of the National Archives from home in a well-organized manner. I am truly blessed to do the work from home of the National Archives and Records Administration without touching documents.

[southwestcollectionarchives]

Today in the #WFHArchives series, we check in on our AV Unit Manager Elissa Stroman (and voice of this social media account):

"Back in March, when working from home became a reality for us all, the transition was rather easy for me. See, in 2015 and 2016 I had a trial run of sorts. I was writing my dissertation at the time, and I strategically planned work sessions: three-day weekends that I extended to become four or five days reclusively hidden away in my house, completely focused on writing as much as possible. Appropriately, many of those “vacations” were in the springtime. So there was familiarity and comfort cleaning off my spare bedroom/library/work room’s desk (an old door from my great-grandparent’s farm house propped up on two thrift store filing cabinets) and returning to a state of at-home productivity. I quickly fell back into the natural rhythms that I honed four years ago (I get my best creative work done mid-mornings, my best editing done mid-afternoon). As the weather warmed in April, I started again spending time on my back patio, which is fabulously serene in the morning. Last month I wrote a blog about our department ramping up our transcription operations so that people would have remote work during COVID-19 times. At this point, we have around thirty people transcribing our oral histories; so needless to say, I am kept busy managing those workflows as well as the SWC social media. But I’ve noticed over the last few weeks the increasingly disconnected feeling we all are getting as we float further from our anchor—our building and its physical holdings. This week is especially difficult. We spent a considerable amount of time in early 2020 planning an exhibit and symposium surrounding the 50th anniversary of the May 11th Lubbock tornado. That symposium would be this weekend. The exhibit remains undone in our empty halls. But life goes on. That’s something many have remarked on during these times—what day is it? What week? What month? The sun continues to rise and set. And the work continues. And so we keep going. We must. We plan for a 2021 symposium and a better exhibit since we have more time now. We do what we can with the spaces we have, while we have them. Every day, I remind myself that I am writing from a place of extreme privilege. I am a single woman with a multi-room house that has patios! I have a job that affords me the opportunity to continue working from home. Though I’m at an elevated risk for catching the virus, I mask up and drive around our stretched out West Texas town, able to go to the grocery store when needed or partake of our abundant curbside pick-ups and drive-throughs. I have a nine-year-old Havanese who has always been a Velcro companion dog, and she has helped create greater structure and normalcy throughout this surreal time. I took the desk picture on my first day of working from home, while preparing remote oral history work packets for various library employees. I’ve had a chance to start playing piano a bit again, since it’s so close at hand. I’ve also set up my sewing machine to make masks in my spare time. And there’s a large dog tent nearby, full of blankets and toys, that clutters the floor. But Emme Lou still much prefers my desk chair or the desk itself."

[fordlibrarymuseum]

Archives At Home: The Sheila Weidenfeld Files

Sheila Weidenfeld, Press Secretary to the First Lady, played a major role in the East Wing during the Ford administration.

The East Wing Press Office handled all liaison with the press for Betty Ford and the Ford children and notified the press about all White House social functions. Weidenfeld’s specific duties involved acting as spokesperson for the family and advising them about media requests. In addition to supervising the East Wing Press Office she also coordinated duties and responsibilities with the West Wing.

Weidenfeld’s files provide a detailed look into Betty Ford’s daily activities and trips as First Lady, as well as preparations for state visits. The General Subject File contains materials developed to answer questions from the press and the public on Mrs. Ford and the Ford children, the White House, and the women’s movement, especially the Equal Rights Amendment.

Learn more about the Weidenfeld Files and explore the collection at https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/findingaid/weidenfeldfiles.asp

Image: Sheila Weidenfeld and Betty Ford working in the First Lady’s Office in the East Wing, 2/20/1975 (White House photograph A3375-30A)

[fdrlibrary]

FDR in Hawaii, July 1944

FDR poses with General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz aboard the USS Baltimore shortly after his arrival in Hawaii, July 26, 1944.

NPx 48-22:3868(476)

FDR reviews military strategy with Admiral Chester Nimitz (standing), General Douglas MacArthur (left) and Admiral William Leahy (right), July 28, 1944.

NPx 48-22:3868(478): https://catalog.archives.gov/id/197116

[fdrlibrary]

Looking for another Virtual Field Trip? Add the online virtual tour of our permanent exhibit to your list: http://www.fdrlibraryvirtualtour.org! It includes all of the exhibit text and a selection of documents, photos, artifacts, as well as related educational resources.

[riversidearchives]

Summertime Fixer-upper

It’s summertime, which means plenty of daylight to do all those fixer-upper do-it-yourself (DIY) projects you’ve been planning for. Some people will use this time to improve on the structures of their homes including many different projects such as landscaping, fixing appliances, cleaning and organizing, painting, building additions, etc.

Archives Technician Tim was scrolling the National Archives Catalog and found some photographs from Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. These photographs, taken by farm agents and other Agency employees, show some of their own home construction being completed under various New Deal programs on the reservations under the Mission Agency's jurisdiction.

Series: Photographs, 1936 - 1942. Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793 - 1999. (National Archives Identifier 561578)  

Image 561578-003-084 (National Archives Identifier 170102259)

Image 561578-003-085 (National Archives Identifier 170102261) 

Image 561578-003-086 (National Archives Identifier 170102263) 

[riversidearchives]

#ArchivesAtHome

If you are looking for a way to participate in the sharing of our collective history, perhaps you would like to join the citizen archivist community and contribute some of your time to improve access to the holdings of the National Archives.  To learn more, please visit https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist