Government Information Quarterly
Volume 11, Number 1, 1994
Discussion Forum:
Justice in the Dark: Closing the Door on Criminal Proceedings
Jane E. Kirtley
........................................................................................... 1
SYMPOSIUM ON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES
The Federal Presidential Library System
Harold C. Relyea
........................................................................................ 7
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Dennis A. Daellenbach
.............................................................................. 23
Creating an Archives at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
Susan Naulty
............................................................................................ 37
Access and Accessibility at the Gerald R. Ford Library
David A. Horrocks
.................................................
.................................. 47
The Jimmy Carter Library: An Update
Donald B. Schewe
...................................................................................... 67
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Central Information Services Function in County Governments:
From Controller to Enabler
Patricia T. Fletcher and John Carlo
Bertot ....................................................... 73
Fourth Interagency Conference on Public Access: Summary Report
James P. Jadlos and Claude J. Christensen
.............................. 89
Contributors ........................................................................................................ 127
To the Editor
Kurt N. Molholm ......................................................................................... 129
Reviews
John A. Shuler, Editor
CD-DIS
Published by the Center for Development Information and Evaluation (U.S.)
Reviewed by Andrea Sevetson ................................................................ 131
Defense Logistics Agency Publishing System (DLAPS): Defense
Logistics Agency Publications, Manuals and Hardware (CD-ROM format)
Software by Reference Technology, Inc.
Federal Information Resources Management Regulation and Bulletins
Through Transmittal (FIRMR); and Federal Acquisition Regulation
and Circulars (FAR) (CD-ROM format)
Software by Reference Technology, Inc.
United States Code: Containing the General and Permanent Laws
of the United States (CD-ROM format)
Software by I-Mode Retrieval Systems, Inc.
Reviewed by Denise M. Davis ................................................................... 133
Internet System Handbook
By Daniel C. Lynch and Marshall T. Rose
Reviewed by Peter Jorgensen .............................................................................. 135
Major U.S. Statistical Series: Definitions, Publications, Limitations
By Jean Slemmons Stratford and Juri Stratford
Reviewed by Raeann Dossett .............................................................................. 136
Harold C. Relyea
The Federal government operates nine presidential libraries, and will soon assume responsibility for a tenth facility. Inaugurated with the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, these entities are privately constructed on behalf of a former president and, o n completion, are deeded to the United States. Deposited within these edifices are papers, records, memorabilia, and artifacts of the former president, his family, and oftentimes, his political associates.These materials are accessible to the public in ac cordance with prevailing law concerning custody, national security, and personal privacy as well as other donor restrictions. In subsequent years, other statutes--the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and the Presidential Libraries Act of 1986--have furthe r modified arrangements concerning these facilities. An overview is provided here of the development of the Federal presidential library system, the authority governing it, and its operation and cost.
Dennis A. Daellenbach
The Ronald Reagan Library, located on a rugged hilltop in southern California is the newest facility in the National Archive's system of presidential libraries. Five American presidents gathered at the library for its dedication on November 4, 1991. The library's collections of textual, audiovisual, and museum objects are the largest holdings of any presidential library. Under provisions of the Presidential Records Act (1978), the library has made available for research over 7 million pages of its 47 million pages of records. The main museum exhibits depict the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan, with an emphasis on photographs, gift items, and multimedia presentations. Exhibit highlights are a full-scale replica of the Oval Office and a section of the Berlin Wall. Events at the library have included visits by Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher. The first two years of operation have provided the Reagan Library with a solid foundation for future expansion of collections management, exhibits, and programs.
Susan Naulty
This article describes the Nixon Library, its collection, and its scope.
David A. Horrocks
Formal terms of access can be stipulated, legislated, and litigated to a fare-thee-well. True acessibility, however, additionally depends on many factors. These include staff professionalism, a customer-orientation, and energetic use of information technology. Above all, accessibility also requires a network of constructive partnerships among diverse individuals, institutions, and interests.
Donald B. Schewe
This article updates the progress of the Jimmy Carter Library in its efforts to computerize the finding aids to its holdings. Progress, pitfalls, and solutions are described, and promises for the future outlined.
Patricia T. Fletcher
John Carlo Bertot
The central control function associated with the management of information technology is giving way to a central support orientation in county governments. A national study of information technology management in county governments describes and supports the emerging functions for information technology management. This restructuring of a central function is occurring to assist counties to meet dramatically rising service demands with less financial support from their constituencies and state and Federal government.
James P Jadlos
Claude J. Christensen
This article summarizes the Fourth Interagency Conference on Public Access, which was held in Reston, Virginia, on April 26, 1993. The all-day session focused on issues the subgroups identified in their deliberations, a revised policy framework document incorporating the policy issues, and locator systems.
Claude J. Christensen is presently
serving in the Office of
Information Resources Management as the Department of the Interior Data Administration Program Manager, where
he has additional program management responsibilities for Geographic Information Systems. His previous positions include Chief of the Branch of ADP Management Services,
Division of Information Resources Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Principal Investigator for Geographic Information Systems, Bureau of Land Management.
Mr. Christensen holds a B.S. degree in land use from the Metropolitan State College,
Denver, Colorado, and an Associate of Science degree in geology from the Community
College of Denver. He was a contributing writer for the Federal Interagency Coordinating
Committee on Digital Cartography newsletter and a member of the team responsible for
drafting the revised OMB Circular A-16. In 1990, he was recognized by the Department of
the Interior and Government Computer News for his work in information resources management and strategic planing. He is a member of the Data Administration Management
Association and the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
Dennis A. Daellenbach is Assistant Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California. He began his career in presidential libraries in 1972 as an archivist at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, and moved to the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1977, where he also served as Assistant Director for 1989-1991. He has a Ph.D. in history from Kansas University.
Patricia T. Fletcher is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Systems, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (FLETCH@IFSM.UMBC.EDU). She was the principal investigator and project manager for the national study of information technology management in county governments and senior research associate for the national study of information resources management in state government. She has a Ph.D. in Information Transfer from Syracuse University.
David A. Horrocks is the supervisory archivist of the Gerald R. Ford Library, where he has many debts to his colleagues and director Frank Mackaman in the common labor described in this article. He worked previously at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and the Office of Presidential Libraries. He has a M.A. in history from Washington University in St. Louis.
James P. Jadlos is presently serving as Director, Office of
Information Resources Management, Department of the Interior, where he is the Designated Senior Official for the management, coordination, and oversight of all information-management-relat
ed technologies
and systems activities in the Department of the Interior.
Mr. Jadlos formerly served as Deputy Director and Chief, Division of Project Services,
Office of Information Resources Management. His previous positions in the Department of
the Interior include Deputy Director, Office of Administrative Services; and Staff Assistant
to the Assistant Secretary of Policy, Budget, and Administration. He has also served in
management positions in the General Services Administration and the U.S. Civil Service
Commission. He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Development Program and holds a
B.A. from Syracuse University and an M.P.A. from the American University.
Jane E. Kirtley is Executive Director for The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a voluntary association of reporters and editors dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. A lawyer and former reporter, Ms. Kirtley writes and speaks frequently on press freedom issues. She also edits the Reporters' Committee's quarterly magazine, The News Media & The Law.
Susan Naulty is Archivist at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, Yorba Linda, California. She began her career in library work in 1972 at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Starting as a Library Assistant in the Readers Services Department, she worked her way up to Assistant Curator, Special Collections, Rare Book Department. In 1991, she left the Huntington to accept her present assignment with the Nixon Library. She has an M.A. in history from Loyola University of Los Angeles.
Harold C. Relyea is a Specialist in American National Government with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress and a founding member of the editorial board of Government Information Quarterly.
Donald B. Schewe is Director of the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his Ph.D. in history from the Ohio State University and, after a year of training at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., joined the staff of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York, as an archivist in 1972. In 1978, he became Assistant Director of the Roosevelt Library, and in 1981, he moved to Atlanta to head what was then the Carter Project.
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