GODORT (Government Documents Round Table)

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The mission of the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) is to (1) To provide a forum for discussion of problems, concerns, and for exchange of ideas by librarians working with government documents; (2) to provide a force for initiating and supporting programs to increase availability, use, and bibliographic control of documents; (3) to increase communication between documents librarians and other librarians; (4) to contribute to the extension and improvement of education and training of documents librarians.

Learn more about GODORT on the ALA website.

  • 1.  destroying Agency records

    Posted Oct 24, 2018 11:48 PM
    Hello
    This email was circulating on the school Librarians listserv.  Many have responded to it with questions about how to best write a good reply to NARA - what might be a good approach? 
    Thank you kindly,
    Connie Williams

    " I wanted to alert you to a very disturbing thing happening in the National Archives world that may severely impact research, especially historical and scientific research. The Dept. of Interior is asking for permission to destroy records about oil and gas leases, mining, dams, wells, timber sales, marine conservation, fishing, endangered species, non-endangered species, critical habitats, land acquisition, and lots more. Basically records from every agency within the Interior Department, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and others. This is all content that would normally go to NARA for collection and preservation. This is disturbing because previous administrations would obfuscate records by classifying/reclassifying records. This admin is basically just destroying records so they'll never be accessible. 

    There's an October 29 deadline for comment to NARA: request.schedule@nara.gov /// fax: 301-837-3698 /// NARA (ACRA), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park MD 20740-6001. (Be sure to say that you're referring to DAA-0048-2015-0003.) Please forward to your networks and researchers who may be effected.

    More information: https://altgov2.org/doi-records-destruction/ Click or tap if you trust this link." style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif">https://altgov2.org/doi-records-destruction/

    NARA's appraisal memo  https://altgov2.org/wp-content/uploads/DAA-0048-2015-0003_Appraisal_Memo.pdf Click or tap if you trust this link." style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif">https://altgov2.org/wp-content/uploads/DAA-0048-2015-0003_Appraisal_Memo.pdf   "



    Connie Williams
    National Board Certified
    Teacher Librarian
    707-778-7524

    Chat with me about library/classroom topics on my blog posts at Knowledge Quest 

    History Room Librarian
    Petaluma Regional Branch
    Sonoma County Library



    "They always say time changes things, 
    but you actually have to change them yourself." 
    Andy Warhol



  • 2.  RE: destroying Agency records

    Posted Oct 26, 2018 12:59 PM
    It looks to me like this is just a regular update to their retention schedules.  Many, perhaps most, agency records are destroyed.  Probably more should be, because a lot of staff, like me, are packrats.

    Right now, with federal agencies under a mandate to go electronic by 2019, I imagine a lot of agencies are updating retention schedules.  I checked with an archivist friend, and she recommended that anyone concerned contact Interior Records Officers, who they can find at https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/agency/departments/interior.html, or check the Federal Register for changes to retention schedules and calls for comments to NARA. 

    And...she just forwarded a post to me from the National Archives.  Here's what they have to say about it:
    https://records-express.blogs.archives.gov/2018/10/26/department-of-interior-updating-their-records-schedule/

    All the best,
    Freya

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    Freya Anderson
    Head, Information Services
    Acting Head, Historical Collections
    Regional Librarian, Alaska Talking Book Center
    Alaska State Library
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: destroying Agency records

    Posted Oct 26, 2018 01:36 PM
    The deadline to comment has been extended to Nov 26. https://altgov2.org/doi-records-destruction/


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    Amy Brunvand
    Associate Librarian
    University of Utah
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: destroying Agency records

    Posted Oct 26, 2018 10:50 PM
    Thank you for this info. I passed it on to the school librarians listserv!
    Connie

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    Connie Williams
    NBCTeacher Librarian

    chwms@mac.com
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: destroying Agency records

    Posted Oct 29, 2018 01:20 PM
    Here is a post from the National Coalition for History that offers more explanation on the records destruction http://historycoalition.org/2018/10/27/controversy-over-proposed-destruction-of-interior-department-records-explained/

    The information says in part:

    "We were struck in this case by the unfortunate broad and swift dissemination of erroneous information. To no small degree it is a product of diminished confidence in our government and the truthfulness of government officials. Before concluding that a federal agency wants records destroyed as part of a broader political agenda, judicious and thorough investigation must be a priority. In fact, Interior and NARA have been working on this schedule since the Obama administration. NARA has highly trained archivists and records management professionals who have the expertise to make decisions concerning the historical significance of records and a reputation of doing so with integrity. There is no evidence that they have acted in anything other than a spirit of good faith and professionalism in the current matter."

    However, the author also says that "This episode and the perception of a lack of transparency have identified a serious flaw in NARA's public notification process on the destruction of records."

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    Amy Brunvand
    Associate Librarian
    University of Utah
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    Original Message