On July 1, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and the National Archives will be holding a business meeting to mark up legislation (H.R. 5616) to reauthorize the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) at a $20 million level from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2015. Since FY 1991, the NHPRC’s authorization level has never exceeded $10 million.
The National Archives recently released for public comment a draft prioritization plan for the National Declassification Center (NDC) . The plan focuses on moving the approximately 408 million pages of accessioned Federal records to the open stacks and clearing referrals in the Presidential Libraries Remote Archives Capture (RAC) program. A copy of the draft plan may be found by clicking here.
On June 4, the William Clinton Presidential Library opened approximately 46,500 pages of files relating to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s tenure at the White House Domestic Policy Council. The additional release of papers from the approximately 160,000 pages of material will be made available on the Clinton Library website in batches as soon as the records are processed.
On Wednesday, June 9, 2009, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Strengthening the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.” The hearing will take place at 2:00 p.m. in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses from a number of the National Coalition for History’s historical and archival membership organizations are scheduled to testify.
At its spring meeting, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded 88 grants of $7,038,063 for projects in 36 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A list of the grantees by category is available by clicking here.
Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero recently announced the appointment of Sheryl Jasielum Shenberger as the first director of the National Archives National Declassification Center (NDC). Her appointment is effective June 7, 2010.
The National Park Service (NPS) recently awarded 23 grants totaling $2.9 million to help preserve and interpret historic locations, where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. To see a list of the 2010 grantees click here.
On May 20, Jonathan Spence, one of the world’s leading experts on Chinese history and culture, delivered the 2010 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities. The annual lecture, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), is the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities. To read the lecture, click here.
The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) recently unveiled its annual report on the status of the nation’s historic battlegrounds. The report, entitled History Under Siege: A Guide to America’s Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields, identifies the most threatened Civil War sites in the United States and what can be done to save them.
President Barack Obama recently named Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, to be the next chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP).
