NARA Proposes Cut in Hours at New York City Regional Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is seeking public comment on a proposed change to the hours of operation at the Kansas City, Missouri, and New York City regional archives. The proposal for the New York City archives would result in a reduction of 2.5 hours per week from the current 42.5 hours to 40 hours, and a one-half hour per-month reduction in extended research hours. In Kansas City the hours of operation would change, but there would be no reduction of service.

New York, NY

The New York City facility is currently open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and the first Saturday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (42.5 hours per week, plus 8 extended hours per month). Proposed new hours would be Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on the first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (40 hours per week, plus 7.5 extended hours per month). This change would result in a reduction of hours (2.5 hours per week, plus half an hour per month).

According to NARA, since October 2007, the New York regional archives has had an average of less than one visitor during the hour from 8 to 9 a.m. NARA believes that opening one-hour later will not negatively impact public use.

Kansas City, MO

On March 17, 2009, the Kansas City regional archives relocated to the Union Station Complex at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri. NARA is proposing to change the research room hours to 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday.

Comments must be submitted to NARA on or before August 11, 2009. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Include “Attn: 3095-AB61” and your name and mailing address in your comments.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Fax: Submit comments by facsimile transmission to 301-837-
0319.

Mail: Send comments to Regulations Comments Desk (NPOL), Room 4100, Policy and Planning Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

One thought on “NARA Proposes Cut in Hours at New York City Regional Archives

  1. As a former public library employee, I completely accept the rationale for the shift in hours. The extra afternoon hours, despite the net loss of 2.5 hours overall, will be very helpful to more people than holding onto the earliest hours. Given the current public budget stresses, I think NARA-NY’s intended new schedule is a responsible and functional approach.

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