There are many repositories of archived records in the Washington, DC
area, each one maintaining its own set of regulations and hours
of access. Often, within a given institution, there are
different rules and hours of access for each collection.
Copying rules can vary from place to place: some collections allow scanning of records using flatbed
scanners, and, at least one, the USDA National Agricultural Library allows scanning of
certain records using rapid auto-feeding scanners. Some
repositories allow photography under light stands and others do not. However,
compared to archival access in other countries, there is extremely good access to U.S. government
records.
The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
The main National Archives building (herein NA1) is located in downtown
Washington, DC on Pennsylvania Avenue between Congress and the
White House across from the
US Navy Memorial. While it is impossible to generalize on the
historical records it holds, it is home to many military and other records created before
WWII, and while the understanding staff is first class, it can be a
cramped place to work. For instance, it only has one photo light stand in the research room and this can lead to lines and consequent delays in completing projects.
Far more historical material can be found at the
large modern and roomy
National
Archives (NA2) building in College Park, Maryland. This
building contains five floors accessible to
researchers and, as such, may be the
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National Archives(NA2), College Park largest and best-organized archive on the planet.
There are several types types of records held at the National Archives
in various media, including written
textual records, microfilms,
photographs, audio and video recordings as well as several
databases. Here are some of the records that I have worked
in at NA2:
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Civilian records dealing with foreign policy, including State Department,
USIA, USAID
records. |
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Civilian records of domestic-oriented agencies,
including many entities that no longer exist, such as those
created by the FDR administrations. |
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Law Enforcement records (historical). FBI
records are listed by a "case number." If the researcher
only has a name and doesn't have a case number, that
number must be requested from the FBI through the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FBI
has a very quick turnaround with this type of request
- almost always within a few weeks of submitting the
subject's name through a FOIA request. Other Federal law
enforcement records are available, including Federal
Bureau of Narcotics records. |
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Military records from all branches BUT no DD214's
(Reports of Separation) after 1917.
Post WWI DD214s
are held at the
St. Louis
facility. If you are not the veteran or next of kin, you must fill out a SF-180
to receive records.
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WWI, WWII and Korean War personnel records from the
NARA St. Louis facility: I highly recommend contacting
Geoff Gentilini's
Golden
Arrow Military Research specializes in research of
U.S. Military Veterans who served during WWI, WWII and
the Korean War. It has
unparalleled access to daily unit records - including morning reports,
rosters, personnel files, medical records and court
martial transcripts - which allow them to trace the steps of individual
soldiers to show you where they were and what they did
during their service.
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Intelligence records from the the CIA and its
precursors (COI, OSS, SSU, and CIG)and DoD entities such as
ONI,MI-8 (MID), (better known as the G-2), and the CIC.
Records from the
National Security Agency are also available. |
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CIA CREST records database, a huge collection of
mainly analytical records. |
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Captured German records - both military and civilian from the
early 1700s through the fall of Nazi Germany. The post-WWI
records contain SA, SD and SS records as well as Abwehr records.
All are on microfilm. |
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National Security Archive database
(Digital National Security Archive -DNSA). This
usually involves querying the database with a series of
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The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress, besides probably being the largest library in the world,
also contains collections of letters of hundreds of diplomats,
artists and others.
AFL-CIO records:
The George Meany Memorial Archives (GMMA)at the National Labor College (NLC)
The George Meany Memorial Archives are housed at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland just north of of Washington, DC. These archives hold the records of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations which merged in 1955 to become the AFL-CIO which represents some 12 million workers.
This is not only the best place to study trade unionism within the US, but the records housed here reflect the strong AFL-CIO presence throughout the world, especially during the Cold War period. The AFL-CIO abroad often acted as a quasi-governmental agency in concert with USG entities and sometimes US-based companies, interacting with all of the political movements of a given country. This collection gives us an incredible insight into the views and activities of US Labor, the US government and some major US firms during the Cold War - often in language unhindered by the diplomacy of civilian government cables or the continued secrecy of the intelligence services' messages.
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