Statement on the Nomination of Allen Weinstein to Become Archivist of the United States
April 14, 2004
We are concerned about the sudden announcement on April 8, 2004, that
the White House has nominated Allen Weinstein to become the next Archivist
of the United States. Prior to the announcement, there was no consultation
with professional organizations of archivists or historians. This is
the first time since the National Archives and Records Administration
was established as an independent agency that the process of nominating
an Archivist of the United States has not been open for public discussion
and input. We believe that Professor Weinstein must—through appropriate
and public discussions and hearings—demonstrate his ability to
meet the criteria that will qualify him to serve as Archivist of the
United States.
When former President Ronald Reagan signed the National
Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-497),
he said that, “the
materials that the Archives safeguards are precious and irreplaceable
national treasures and the agency that looks after the historical records
of the Federal Government should be accorded a status that is commensurate
with its important responsibilities.” Earlier in 1984, when the
National Archives Act was being discussed, Senate Report 98-373 cautioned
that if the Archivist was appointed “arbitrarily, or motivated
by political considerations, the historical records could be impoverished
[or] even distorted.”
P. L. 98-497 clearly states that, “The
Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations
and solely on the basis of the
professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities
of the office of Archivist.” In 1984, House Report 98-707 noted, “The
committee expects that [determining professional qualifications] will
be achieved through consultation with recognized organizations of archivists
and historians.” The law also states that when the Archivist is
replaced, the President “shall communicate the reasons for such
removal to each House of Congress.” President Bush has not given
a reason for the change, and there is no evidence to suggest that it
is being made because of John Carlin’s resignation.
We agree with
these statements and believe that the decision to appoint a new Archivist
should be considered in accordance with both the letter
and the spirit of the 1984 law.
We call on the Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs to schedule open hearings on this nomination in order to explore
more fully 1) the reasons
why the Archivist is being replaced and 2) Professor Weinstein’s
qualifications to become Archivist of the United States. Among other
issues, we believe it is important to learn more about Professor Weinstein’s:
- Knowledge and understanding of the critical issues confronting NARA
and the archival profession generally, especially the challenges of
information
technology, and the competing demands of public access to government
records, privacy, homeland security, and ensuring the authenticity
and integrity of all records.
- Thoughts on how NARA should balance competing interests for protecting
sensitive or confidential information with those seeking to gain
access to records created by government agencies.
- Ideas for continuing essential programs as well as important new
archival initiatives, such as the Electronic Records Archives project.
- Thoughts on fully supporting the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission (NHPRC), whose grants have been instrumental
in starting
and supporting the production of published editions of historical
documents and in helping to raise the level of archival practice at
state and local
levels.
- Experience and demonstrated ability to lead and manage a large government
agency such as NARA.
- Plans for protecting the professional integrity and political non-partisanship
of NARA as a governmental agency.
Society of American Archivists
ericson@sois.uwm.edu
American Association of Law Libraries
baish@law.georgetown.edu
American Association for State and Local History
davis@aaslh.org
American Library Association
fdifulvio@alawash.org
American Historical Association
ajones@historians.org
American Studies Association
asastaff@theasa.org
Association of American University Presses
pgivler@aaupnet.org
Association for Documentary Editing
esther.katz@nyu.edu
Association of Moving Image Archivists
mshefter@earthlink.net
Association of Research
Libraries
prue@arl.org
Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists
gordon_daines@byu.edu
Coordinating Council for Women in History
jscanlon@bowdoin.edu
Council of State Historical Records
Coordinators
tslavin@coshrc.org
Illinois Library Association, Social Responsibility Forum
cgulyas@colum.edu
Michigan Archival Association
reynoldsg@hope.edu
Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
lisa@soroptimist.org
Midwest Archives Conference
smcshane@iun.edu
National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators
tellis@slco.org
timothy.slavin@state.de.us
National Humanities Alliance
jhammer@cni.org
New England Archivists
http://nils.lib.tufts.edu/newengarch/
Northwest Archivists, Inc.
jodi.allison-bunnell@umontana.edu
Organization of American Historians
oah@oah.org
Progressive Librarians Guild
iskra@earthlink.net
Seattle Area Archivists
Peter.Schmid@providence.org
Society of California Archivists
jmartine@mail.sdsu.edu
Society of Florida Archivists
mflekke@flsouthern.edu
Society of Ohio Archivists
mccabe@ohiou.edu
Special Libraries Association
DNewcomb@sla.org
Twin Cities Archives Roundtable
daardi.sizemore@mnsu.edu
Wisconsin Library Association
wla@scls.lib.wi.us
See also:
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