In a democracy, government records belong to the people. Since its creation in 1934, the nonpartisan National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has served as the nation’s official record keeper, safeguarding and providing public access to billions of records from all three branches of the United States government.
Records help us to claim our rights as citizens, to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, and to document our history as a nation. By preserving our most important records, the Archives ensures that future generations of Americans will be able to explore our shared history at the home of the official Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
The National Archives was established during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but its major holdings date back to 1775. They capture the sweep of the past: slave ship manifests and the Emancipation Proclamation; captured German records and the Japanese surrender documents from World War II; journals of polar expeditions and photographs of Dust Bowl farmers; Indian treaties making transitory promises; and a richly bound document bearing the bold signature “Bonaparte”—the Louisiana Purchase Treaty that doubled the territory of the young republic.
The Archives keeps only those Federal records judged to have continuing value—about 3 percent of those generated in any given year. All of these materials are preserved because they are important to the workings of government, have long-term research worth, or provide information of value to citizens. Today, the Archives’ collection includes 12 billion sheets of paper, 40 million photographs, miles and miles of video and film, and more than 5.3 billion electronic records. The records are housed in facilities around the country, from Anchorage, Alaska to Atlanta, Georgia— including two Washington, DC, area buildings, 14 Regional Archives, 17 Federal Records Centers, 13 Presidential libraries, and the National Personnel Records Center.
About the Archivist
Dr. Colleen J. Shogan is the 11th Archivist of the United States. She was sworn in on May 17, 2023, and is the first woman appointed to lead the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
As the nation’s record keeper, Dr. Shogan is responsible for preserving, protecting, and sharing the history of the United States. A noted author and political scientist, Dr. Shogan is deeply committed to civic education and public engagement, and she has made it a priority to expand the reach of the National Archives to a wider audience. Under her leadership, NARA has launched a number of initiatives to enhance services and make its holdings more accessible, both in-person and online, with the goal of cultivating public participation and strengthening our nation’s democracy.
With the U.S. government’s transition to electronic record keeping, Dr. Shogan is also driving a digital renaissance for the National Archives. NARA is leveraging artificial intelligence and other advanced technology to enhance preservation efforts, streamline internal processes, and unlock public access to the billions of stories preserved in its holdings.
Prior to becoming Archivist, Dr. Shogan served in a number of cultural heritage leadership roles. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association. She also worked in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress and its Congressional Research Service.
Dr. Shogan served as the Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. She taught at Georgetown and George Mason University. She has also moderated seminars for the Aspen Institute. She is the previous President of the National Capital Area Political Science Association and served on the American Political Science Association Council, the governing body of the organization. Her research focuses on the American presidency, presidential rhetoric, women in politics, and Congress.
A native of the Pittsburgh area, Dr. Shogan holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a Ph.D. in American Politics from Yale University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Order of the Cross and Crown, and the Washington, D.C. Literary Society.
