Hi, Lorinda!
I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Cathy Westfeldt showing you the "Nixon papers" and taking you on a tour in California. As NARA notes on its website, "Some of Nixon's pre-Presidential papers are located at the National Archives Pacific Regional Archives in Laguna Niguel, CA.." These are not the same materials as the White House tapes and files held at Archives II in College Park. If any one wants to see a picture of the ziggurat, check out the information on the Laguna Niguel facilitiy at
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/ca/laguna_niguel.html
I was out at Laguna Niguel in the fall of 1978 and it really _is_ a cool location. My first and only trip to Southern California, boy those beaches were beautiful!
For anyone who didn't follow closely the controversy over the Archivist nomination, most of the postings on the Archives List centered on concerns about the means by which John Carlin was removed from his job. That really raised a lot of red flags last year. To my knowledge, no U.S. Archivist had his resignation letter dictated to him the way Carlin allegedly had. Had Carlin finished out his planned 10 year term normally, I doubt there would have been nearly as much discussion about his replacement on the List.
Nevertheless, I don't recall hearing anyone "condemn" Allen Weinstein although there was some discussion by some records management experts as to his lack of background in dealing with electronic records. I think it is legitimate to debate whether an academic historian or a manager who has handled complex issues in a politically charged setting is better suited for the role of U.S. Archivist. I've talked at length with two former confirmed and Acting U.S. Archivists (Bob Warner and Trudy Peterson). I also know from my own experiences as a NARA employee that the agency head faces many difficult challenges. Given what is at stake (the records of our governance), it certainly seems legitimate to debate what qualities he or she should bring to the job.
My own view is that it would be rare to find a nominee who brings equal strengths in terms of background to everything NARA does. As someone pointed out on the Archives List last year, it's important to consider whom the U.S. Archivist relies on once he gets in to office, as well as how he can avoid various pitfalls, where he is likely to be blindsided, how he can best protect the agency and move it forward in terms of budget and resources, etc.
You mentioned that Honda does not have an archivist. Has it had one in the past? Is there any likelihood that it might hire one?
Maarja
>>> [log in to unmask] 06/28/05 12:16 PM >>>
Here at American Honda Motor Company, Inc., we do not have an archivist.
We need one. Other than the flap over the Archivist of the United States
nominee, during which archivists were quoted as condemning for his lack of
archival job experience, my other experiences with archivists with Cathy
Westfeldt, CRM, of NARA, and Phil Brigandi, Orange County's Archivist.
Cathy Westfeldt organized Orange County ARMA's CRM Seminar for the past two
years, and also spoke on Organizing Shared Electronic Files. She promotes
education and technology. She let us see the Nixon papers, (in boxes in a
secure area), and taking us on tours of the local NARA in the ziggurat.
Besides all that, she's a cool person.
We just met Phil Brigandi this year when we needed a tour. Although he has
published and spoken for years, he's a young guy. He showed us the ancient
technology - newspapers, file cards and a typewriter, the assessor's
information on microfilm which is holding up better than the later
information on later technology, up to today's digital filings. I look
forward to featuring the Orange County Archives in a couple of articles in
our newsletter - maybe something on conserving business records and ways
the Orange County Archives can assist local businesses and vice-versa. (He
doesn't know this yet.) Already he's in conversation with the records
manager of one of the earliest land-owning families in the county, who he
met at the tour.
Meeting individuals blows away stereotypes.
Lorinda Kasten-Lowerre
Records Management Analyst, Senior
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Torrance, California, USA
Member ARMA, The Association for Information Management Professionals
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