September 7, 2006

The Honorable Allen Weinstein
Archivist of the United States

National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001

Dear Dr. Weinstein,

I write on behalf of the National Humanities Alliance to communicate our deep concern with the proposed reduction of operating hours for research facilities at the National Archives Building and National Archives at College Park. While we do not support the change of hours outlined in the interim rules issued in July, we applaud your interest in seeking public comments on this important issue.

The National Humanities Alliance is a coalition of more than ninety national, state and local organizations and institutions dedicated to the advancement of research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities. Our members include scholarly societies representing hundreds of college/university faculty, K-12 teachers, graduate students, independent researchers, writers and others who conduct research at the National Archives. Scholars, students, policymakers and the general public benefit from this use of records through the publication and dissemination of academic analyses, books, news reports, documentary films, museum exhibits, and course curricula.

As the nation's recordkeeper, the Archives is one of the nation's most important resources for the documentation and study of American history, government, politics, and society. Our government's responsibility to ensure broad public access to these records is at least as important as its responsibility to collect and maintain them. We are concerned that NARA's proposed elimination of evening hours will create a serious barrier to access for out-of-town researchers who try to make the maximum use of their time in Washington, DC by working days and evenings. In addition, researchers' ability to access the Archives on Saturday constitutes a potentially significant cost savings in travel, and allows for further ability to extend research outside of the normal work week. Full- and part-time faculty, as well as graduate students, may have extremely limited financial assistance (if any) for their work. Travel funds for higher education institutions across the country have been cut back in recent years; similarly, federal and private support for research fellowships has also declined.

While we realize that your institution faces enormous budgetary challenges, we ask that NARA reconsider the proposed elimination of evening and weekend hours for research. We agree with NARA's assessment of the importance of its many "mission-critical activities" beyond staffing of research and reading rooms, including staff response to the online and written requests of researchers, and the cataloging and declassification of new and existing archives holdings. Scholars within our community have praised the professionalism and expertise of the Archives staff, and are unequivocal in describing the value of this assistance to identification and retrieval of documents critical to the research process.

Given the centrality of the Archives' mission to our nation's democratic and educational aims, we regret the inadequacy of the Archives current and projected budgets. The NHA is committed to communicating these concerns to both the administration and Congress.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jessica Jones Irons
Executive Director
National Humanities Alliance