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National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

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Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#21

Post by AnimalMuppet »

treetalker wrote: post #7
jekwoooooe wrote: post #4

[flagged]

Abandon all hope, ye who seek reflective reasoning from this government. But my guess is that less public access to national information helps, and does not hinder, a speed-run to autocracy.

I dunno. I'm very much not a Trump fan, but I don't see how restricting access to "national information" would help him. And if it would, how does restricting access to one of them help him?

I could more see this as being just random action without any real purpose, or aimed at petty revenge on someone, or something.

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#22

Post by ggm »

I appreciate analogous cases are often not helpful, but in the UK some institutions like the national library of scotland are so-called "copyright libraries" and they have always restricted access to people who register and declare an interest grounded in research, or some gatekeeping around legitemate need otherwise. In many instances the documents held in these institutions are both rare, and contextually unique. Like paleological holotypes their role is different to objects on display in museums and collections.

I also believe in the general public's right to see and access things which relate to government. I'm just trying to point out that whilst this probably is reactive to current affairs (cost management? risks? FUD?) there are reasons and situations outside the USA where this is normal, and I do not mean "has been normalised to disadvantage you" -I just mean that identifying who you are and why you want to do something isn't that unusual, in archive access.

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#23

Post by [deleted] »

Dig1t wrote: post #17
treetalker wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Abandon all hope, ye who seek reflective reasoning from this government. But my guess is that less public access to national information helps, and does not hinder, a speed-run to autocracy.

[flagged]

[deleted]

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#24

Post by LastTrain »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #21
treetalker wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Abandon all hope, ye who seek reflective reasoning from this government. But my guess is that less public access to national information helps, and does not hinder, a speed-run to autocracy.

I dunno. I'm very much not a Trump fan, but I don't see how restricting access to "national information" would help him. And if it would, how does restricting access to one of them help him? I could more see this as being just random action without any real purpose, or aimed at petty revenge on someone, or something.

Everything they do is meant to sew mistrust. It doesn’t need to have any other benefit. I don’t think they are trying to hide anything, and I don’t think this is about staffing - they just want to wreck government and your trust in it.

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#25

Post by [deleted] »

LastTrain wrote: post #5
jekwoooooe wrote: post #4

[flagged]

Who knows, why should they feel obligated to supply any kind of rationale for their actions? [edit: /s]Here is the sum total of detail they have provided: “ All researchers must apply and present a researcher card, which may be obtained in Room 1000. This ensures that proper identification is on file for all individuals accessing the building to establish a legitimate business purpose. Abuse of any researcher registr…

[deleted]

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#26

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

ggm wrote: post #22

I appreciate analogous cases are often not helpful, but in the UK some institutions like the national library of scotland are so-called "copyright libraries" and they have always restricted access to people who register and declare an interest grounded in research, or some gatekeeping around legitemate need otherwise. In many instances the documents held in these institutions are both rare, and contextually unique. L…

> in the UK some institutions like the national library of scotland are so-called "copyright libraries" and they have always restricted access to people who register and declare an interest grounded in research

As an 8yo, I'd walk into the US Library of Congress alone and ask for rare books.

I like this way best.

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#27

Post by caseysoftware »

ggm wrote: post #22

I appreciate analogous cases are often not helpful, but in the UK some institutions like the national library of scotland are so-called "copyright libraries" and they have always restricted access to people who register and declare an interest grounded in research, or some gatekeeping around legitemate need otherwise. In many instances the documents held in these institutions are both rare, and contextually unique. L…

It's normal in the US too.. the Library of Congress has required it for certain collections for decades (that I know of):

https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/use-the-library/researc...

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#29

Post by gardnr »

Looks like NARA are underfunded [1] and trying to grapple with how to prioritize digital transformation while still meeting KTLO demands. They closed three facilities last year. [2] The goal was/is to digitize everything to increase access to the archives for everyone.

The current administration reduced NARA funding and, in February, dismissed Shogan as "Archivist of the United States" but it appears a plan for a strategic shift was underway before those changes.

1: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/foia-audit/foia/2024-03-15/us-nati...

2: https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2024/nr24-37

Re: National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility

#30

Post by IvyMike »

From the site:

> All researchers must apply and present a researcher card, which may be obtained in Room 1000. This ensures that proper identification is on file for all individuals accessing the building to establish a legitimate business purpose. Abuse of any researcher registration to circumvent access by the general public may result in a trespass situation and a permanent ban from access to all NARA facilities.

What the hell does "legitimate business purpose" mean? What "business" need is there for JFK Assassination records (which I think are at this site), for example? If I'm getting a PHD or writing a book, is that a "business" need? I suspect not.

Also, "Abuse of any researcher registration to circumvent access by the general public may result in a trespass situation and a permanent ban from access to all NARA facilities" seems like a very poorly constructed sentence.

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