5.7: Progress Reports

Inform the public of our progress

Other Information:

Building a culture of open government at the National Archives requires active communication of our progress to the public. We will strive to communicate in an efficient and clear way the major milestones and significant actions and business of our agency. We will make announcements in both traditional ways and through social media to encourage two-way communication with the public. While social media is an important and highly interactive way to engage the public, we also realize that more traditional forms of media are sometimes better at reaching members of the public who do not have immediate access to the Internet. A few examples of actions that will be communicated with the public include: * Progress on aspects of our Open Government Plan * Significant acquisitions of records * Releases of previously unavailable material * Changes in research room procedures * Changes in visitor/researcher policies * Temporary closures of records when records are being moved from one facility to another * Announcements of conferences, symposiums, exhibits * Progress in the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Initiative * Changes to fees charged for some services * Appointments of senior staff * Partnerships with outside organizations to increase access to archival material * Approved agency-specific disposition authorities and the Government-wide General Records Schedules We use a number of means to communicate with the public, from face-to-face meetings to social media. NARA encourages public feedback through Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, blogs, and regular mail. Press releases and on-site press briefings publicize NARA actions and programs through the news media. All press releases are also posted on Archives.gov so that they are available directly to the public. High-level news is announced on the front page of Archives.gov. We will continue to hold public meetings, such as those held on researcher room changes, to facilitate immediate exchange of ideas. We are also investigating web chat possibilities for communicating with the public. NARA’s Facebook sites reach the public at large, as well as targeted audiences. On our public and research pages, we will make announcements about agency-wide actions and developments. Facebook pages maintained by our regional archives and Presidential libraries as well as those relating to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Federal Register will maintain their specialized audiences informed of particular developments in their areas. Through our NARAtions blog (http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access), we converse with researchers about issues relating to access to records (both traditional and digital) and the research experience. A Washington, DC, subgroup of NARAtions reaches those concerned about research rooms in the Washington area. Through our Records Express blog, http://blogs.archives.gov/records-express/, we provide the latest information regarding Government-wide records management activities. We provide this information to the Federal agencies creating records today and the research public who will rely on these records in the future so both groups can appreciate the importance of effective records management in ensuring records and information created today can be preserved and made available for future generations. Other blogs geared toward additional audiences are in the planning stages. Ideascale (http://www.naraopengov.ideascale.com) allows us to collect and share ideas and feedback from the public on a particular topic. We will continue to gather public input to gauge the success of our Open Government Plan.

Stakeholder(s):

• The Public

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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