Evoking memories of the Walt Disney Company’s efforts to build a theme park near the Manassas Battlefield in the early 90s, the Civil War Preservation Trust has alerted its members that Wal-Mart, Stores, Inc., is planning to build a 145,000-square-foot “Wal-Mart Supercenter” in Orange County, Virginia, a quarter-mile from the Wilderness Battlefield National Park.
The Library of Congress, the California Digital Library, the University of North Texas Libraries, the Internet Archive and the U.S. Government Printing Office recently announced a collaborative project to preserve public United States Government web sites at the end of the current presidential administration ending January 19, 2009. This harvest is intended to document federal agencies’ online archive during the transition of government and to enhance the existing collections of the five partner institutions.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced that 222 successful applicants would receive $27.6 million in awards and offers for a wide-range of projects in the humanities.
The Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress will meet on September 8, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the U.S. Capitol Building, Room S-211, Washington DC. The committee advises the National Archives and Records Administration on the programs, policies, and plans for the Center for Legislative Archives in the Office of Records Services.
Before leaving for its summer recess, Congress passed and sent to the president a bill (H.R. 4137, H. Rept. 110-803) reauthorizing federal higher education programs. It marks the first time in over a decade that Congress had reauthorized the Higher Education Act. The bill includes a new “American History for Freedom” initiative to establish or strengthen postsecondary academic programs or centers that promote the teaching of “traditional American history, free institutions and the history and achievements of Western Civilization.”
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is proposing a comprehensive revision to the current NARA regulations on Federal records management.
The National Archives and Records Administration has announced that on August 14 it will open more than 35,000 official personnel files of men and women who served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was the U.S. wartime intelligence agency during World War II. The files cover civilian and military personnel who served and were later transferred, discharged, reassigned, or died while in service prior to 1947.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced that a second round of applications for Picturing America would be accepted online through October 31, 2008. Picturing America is a free educational resource that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of our nation’s greatest works of art directly to classrooms and libraries. In June, the NEH awarded Picturing America to over 26,000 schools and public libraries nationwide.
The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to amend regulations governing viewing of the Inaugural parade by the public, demonstrators, and the Presidential Inaugural Committee. The proposed rule would extend the duration and extent of demonstrations and special events in Washington, DC, including the Inaugural, the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree and Christmas Pathway of Peace, the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Fourth of July Celebration, and the Festival of American Folklife.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) will meet on Friday, August 15, 2008. The meeting will be held in the New York/Illinois Room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at One St. Louis Union Station, St. Louis, MO at 9 a.m.
