A few more points about GPO, the Library of Congress, and NARA. I've been busy so this response is a day or two late, sorry!
These three Federal agencies are not all within the same branch of government. The GPO and LC are part of the legislative branch while NARA is a part of the executive branch.
NARA relies on records managers to preserve and transfer into its collections archival records of permanent value. GPO and LC would be able to function pretty well without records managers. That's because the former handles records, the latter two handle publications. So NARA needs you Federal records managers, LC and GPO really don't.
As an historian, I look to NARA for primary source materials and to GPO, LC or other libraries for secondary source materials. As you all know from doing history research in school or at work, these types of sources present different perspectives on issues. And doing research in them can be very different, procedurally and methodologically.
So, I see members of the public as going to the three different institutions to meet different needs. As for me, I would go to a bookstore or a public library to get a copy of Henry A. Kissinger's memoirs. Or to GPO ¯ another type of bookstore -- to get a publication issued by the White House. I would go to NARA to look at the contemporaneous records of the Nixon presidency ¯ to learn what happened behind the scenes. Or for State Department records relating to Kissinger's tenure as Secretary of State.
The vast majority of NARA's records were not born digital. They go back to the 18th century. It would take a lot of money (our tax dollars at work!) and resources to digitize NARA's paper records. The National Archives just does not have that type of money, its budget, like that of most civil agencies, is very, very tight. NARA does have a certain percentage of its records available as digital images in its Archival Research Catalog.
(http://www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/ ) But most of them are not available as electronic images. Even if they could scan them all, I can't imagine that it would possible to have images of every document NARA holds on a server, either! The volume truly is huge. To get a sense of how much NARA holds and how varied are the records in scope and type, just take a look at
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/
Just a single record group covering State Department records encompasses a vast amount of material. See
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/general_department_of_state_rg059.html
Of course, unlike GPO and LC with their pubs, NARA can't just make everything available. It must screen records for personal privacy, national security classification, statutory closures, etc. before making the disclosable portions available to the public. This archival screening is very labor intensive and it requires a lot of specialized skill and judgment on the part of processing archivists.
As to GPO, here's how it describes its role and functions in the Government Manual:
"The Government Printing Office produces and procures printed and
electronic publications for Congress and the departments and
establishments of the Federal Government. It furnishes printing supplies
to all governmental activities on order. It catalogs, distributes, and
sells Government publications in printed and electronic formats.
Printing processes used are electronic prepress, including networked
on-demand printing systems; offset presswork, featuring computer-to-
plate technology; and bookbinding. Electronic databases prepared for
printing are premastered for CD-ROM replication and are used to provide
online access. . . .
GPO invites bids from commercial suppliers on a wide variety of
printing and reproduction services, awards and administers contracts,
and maintains liaison between ordering agencies and contractors.
GPO sells approximately 9,000 different printed and electronic
publications that originate in various Government agencies."
GPO is headed by an official called the Public Printer. NARA, of course, does not get into issues relating to printing, bookbinding, etc.
Maarja
>>> <[log in to unmask]> 5/3/2005 12:04:48 PM >>>
Maarja
Thanks for your response. I understand your point but it seems to me that
in a world of desk top publishing the distinction between documents and
archives is becoming one that is less and less clear. After all any
collection in the archives could be published as a document. For example
all state department cables relating to the war in Vietnam might be
published as a document. In the web enabled world we might see raw census
data published (after the required waiting period) to the web. In fact
NARA itself could be the agency who is publishing such information.
Given budget issues and the challenge of preserving electronic information
it seems to me that it might make sense to better define the respective
territories of these two agencies. From my perspective they are both
trying to preserve the same thing but they employ different tools -- one
comes at it like librarians and the other like archivist. Although it is
certainly possible that I am missing a key element since I have never
worked as a federal employee -- though I was employed as a government
contractor for many years.
Regards,
Dave Gaynon
----- Forwarded by David Gaynon/CentralCompliance/CF/CCI on 05/03/2005
08:47 AM -----
"Maarja Krusten" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent by: [log in to unmask]
05/03/2005 08:30 AM
Please respond to
"Records Management Program" <[log in to unmask]>
To
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cc
Subject
Re: GPO and NARA
Good links, Peter. David, GPO is the place where the public goes to buy
articles, books and reports that have been written and published by
Federal government. GPO essentially handles published information but
instead of lending out copies, as a library does, it offers them for sale
so people can acquire their own copies of government publications. Check
out some of what is available at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/databases.html
GPO only deals with published material, not manuscript collections,
archival records, etc. Those fall under the National Archives' purview.
The National Archives houses permanently valuable records - unpublished
archival materials such as correspondence, case files, subject files, and
other research materials. There is a publication component to this -
one can find some publications associated with NARA's archival collections
- but the bulk of NARA's materials are records.
GPO's use of the term "documents" is somewhat confusing, I'll admit. For
example, GPO's FAQ includes the question, "How do I get documents from
GPO?" But the documents it holds are published materials. You cannot go
to GPO and ask for a copy of a declassified State Department telegram from
the 1950s. Or a memo circulated within a government agency. Or talking
points prepared for a U.S. President. You'd have to go to NARA for those.
Maarja
>>> Peter Kurilecz <[log in to unmask]> 5/2/2005 9:05:28 PM >>>
On 5/2/05, David Gaynon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I am hoping someone on the list could explain to me the difference in
> mission between the US Government Printing Office (GPO) and the US
> National Archives.
Dave
try this link to the GPO website
http://www.gpo.gov/factsheet/index.html
and this link to NARA's website
http://www.archives.gov/about_us/vision_mission_values.html
--
Peter Kurilecz
Richmond, Va
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