STHC-L: The Science, Technology and Health Care Archives Forum

Fwd: NARA Press Release--New Electronic Database

• Date:   Wed, 09 Apr 2003 11:51:19 -0400
• To:   sthc-l@library.ucla.edu
• From:   Cheryl StadelBevans <cheryl.stadel@nara.gov>
• Subject:   Fwd: NARA Press Release--New Electronic Database
• Message-ID:   se940945.046@smtp.nara.gov

jennifer.heaps@NARA.GOV 04/09/03 10:00AM

Press Release
April 8, 2003

Thousands Search National Archives New Electronic Database

College Park, MD. . . The National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA) recently launched Access to Archival Databases (AAD), a new 
research tool that makes a selection of the Archives' most popular 
electronic records available to the public over the Internet. The URL 
is http://www.archives.gov/aad/.

AAD is the first publicly accessible application developed under the 
auspices of the National Archives Electronic Records Archives Program. 
The Electronic Records Archives Program is addressing the larger 
challenges of preserving the increasing variety and volume of 
Government records that have been created and stored in electronic 
form. AAD addresses just access to a specific type of electronic 
record--databases and records that are structured like databases.

In announcing the new system, Archivist of the United States, John W. 
Carlin said, "This groundbreaking system will provide a new way for 
customers to access records over the Internet. Until we launched AAD, 
researchers needed to contact us directly to gain access to our 
electronic records. Sometimes we were able to supply them with copies 
of specific records after a period of time, but frequently they needed 
to purchase a copy of the entire file. Now they only need access to a 
computer connected to the Internet to reach these selected records.  
AAD is a crucial step toward fulfilling our mission by providing the 
public with 'ready access to essential evidence.'"

AAD provides researchers with:

--Online access to more than 350 databases, which were created by over 
20 Federal agencies. NARA plans to expand the system to more than 500 
databases.
--The ability to search, retrieve, print out, and download 
records. Researchers will need to determine the series and file units 
of interest before they begin their search.
--Important contextual information to help researchers understand the 
records better, including code lists, explanatory notes from National 
Archives archivists, and for some series or files in AAD, related 
documents.

Notable databases in the initial release of AAD include:

--Preservation survey of Civil War sites
--Combat casualties from the Vietnam and Korean Wars
--POWs from World War II and Korean War
--Japanese-American Internee Files from World War II
--Port of New York ship passenger lists,1846-1851 (Irish Famine 
database)
--Death records from the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary in Panama, 1906-1991
--Indexes to black and white and color NASA photographs, 1958-1991
--After action combat and air sortie reports from the Vietnam War
--Military Prime Contracts in excess of $10,000, 1965-1975
--Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ownership Reporting System, 
1978-1998
--SEC Proposed Sales of Securities System (Insider trading), 1972-1993

Since the launch of AAD, thousands of researchers have flocked to the 
site. Due to this heavy use, users may experience a wait time to access 
information. The National Archives is currently working to add 
additional capacity to the system to meet the demands of users.

For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs 
Staff at 301-837-1700.

03-34

(The above press release is available online at
http://www.archives.gov/media_desk/press_releases/nr03-34.html )

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