matters (professional and administrative) and two dealing with external matters (historical publications and general public relations) and these functions determine the set-up of the organization. The plan adopted after careful study of the organizations of analogous institutions was as follows:

Executive staff.-(1) Director of Archival Service; (2) Executive Officer; (3) Director of Publications; (4) Administrative Secretary. Professional divisions.-(1) Accessions; (2) Repair and Preservation; (3) Classification; (4) Cataloging; (5) Maps and Charts; (6) Reference; (7) Research; (8) Library; (9) Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings; (10) Department Archives (divisions to be set up as needed, one for each of the major archival collections of the Federal Government, such as those of the State, Treasury, and other executive departments, Congress, and the courts).

Administrative divisions.-(1) Purchase and Supply; (2) Personnel and Pay Roll; (3) Finance and Accounts; (4) Photographic Reproduction and Research; (5) Central Files.

Administrative sections.-(1) Building and grounds; (2) printing and binding; (3) stenographic pool; (4) mail room; (5) messenger service; (6) telephone switchboard."

EXECUTIVE STAFF

Director of Archival Service.-Authorization for the creation of this Office is found in section 3 of the National Archives Act, which authorizes the Archivist "to make regulations for the arrangement, custody, use, and withdrawal of material deposited in the National Archives Building." The Director of Archival Service is charged with the supervision and coordination of the work of the professional divisions; with the receipt for and proper disposal of all archives transferred through the Division of Accessions; with the control and surveillance of any archives that, for whatsoever purpose or length of time, may be withdrawn from the stacks; with the direction of the work of the staff of special examiners in surveying the lists of papers recommended by the Federal departments and other agencies for destruction or other disposition as provided by law; and with making analytical and comparative studies of the methods employed by archival institutions in this country and abroad. He represents The National Archives at professional gatherings to which the Archivist may think it proper and advisable to send him and performs such other duties as the Archivist may direct.

Executive Officer.-The Executive Officer is charged with the responsibility of carrying out a variety of functions, all of which are essential to the successful administration of the other activities of The National Archives. He formulates and carries into execution policies concerned with administrative matters and supervises and coordinates the work of the several administrative divisions and sections. He is charged with the immediate custody and control of the building, grounds, and equipment, except as otherwise provided by

law.

Director of Publications.-This Office is set up under the authority of section 5 of the National Archives Act, which creates the National Historical Publications Commission. The functions of the Director include the compiling and editing of the official reference publications

of The National Archives, including special reports on the archives and records of the Government, guides, inventory lists, catalogs, calendars, and other instruments for facilitating the use of the collections; and general editorial supervision over the publications of the National Historical Publications Commission, of which he serves as secretary. The scope of his work will be determined by the publication needs of The National Archives and by the recommendations of the National Historical Publications Commission. It is evident that, as the collections grow in size, there will be increasing need for instruments for facilitating their use.

Administrative Secretary.-This Office is set up primarily under the authority of sections 6, 8, and 9 of the National Archives Act. The Administrative Secretary is charged with the custody of the official seal of The National Archives; with the duty of attesting copies of all official records furnished by The National Archives; with the preparation for the Archivist of the minutes and proceedings and other records of the National Archives Council; with the preparation of data for the Archivist's annual report to Congress, which must include detailed statements of all accessions and of all receipts and expenditures; with preparing reports on the lists or descriptions of such papers and documents among the archives and records of the Government as appear to have no permanent value or historical interest, which reports the Archivist is required to transmit annually to Congress in order that the papers listed may be destroyed. or otherwise disposed of; with conducting all general correspondence; with furnishing a general information service to the public and arranging all public exhibits of The National Archives; with preparing and issuing all official announcements of The National Archives; and with representing the Archivist in official relations with other Government establishments and with the general public.

PROFESSIONAL DIVISIONS

These divisions are responsible for those activities of The National Archives that are of a professional and technical character.

Division of Accessions.-The functions of this Division are authorized in sections 3, 6, 9, and 10 of the National Archives Act. They include the responsibility for making such surveys and identification inventories of archival materials in the several departments and agencies of the Government as are necessary to the work of The National Archives; for the inspection of the archival collections in the various depositories to ascertain their physical condition and liability to loss by theft or damage by fire or other destructive agencies; for appraising such archival collections with the view to accurate identification of their contents; and for making and keeping certified inventories and other accession records of all archives transferred to the National Archives Building.

Division of Repair and Preservation.-The establishment of this Division is made necessary by section 3 of the National Archives Act, which authorizes the Archivist to make regulations for the custody of the archives. Its functions are to conduct researches into methods for the preservation of records; to clean papers and other

documents transferred to The National Archives; to fumigate such materials as are in a moldy condition or are infected with silver fish, insects, or other vermin; and to repair broken or damaged materials in accordance with the most recent and approved findings of research experts in this field.

Division of Classification.-The work of this Division is authorized by section 3 of the National Archives Act, which directs the Archivist to make regulations for the arrangement of material. It is charged with conducting basic investigations into technical classification methods in institutions of comparable character and size and with. analyzing and interpreting such studies as it finds may affect the final classification procedure to be adopted by The National Archives; with determining the chronological duration of all Government departments and independent agencies and their subdivisions and of the archival series created by them; with making a complete survey and analysis of the various classification plans now in use in the different agencies of the Federal Government; with organizing these classification schemes so as to permit their temporary use for general classification purposes; with developing a logical and comprehensive classification plan based upon the foregoing studies; and with devising a numbering system that will positively identify each archival series in the various collections transferred to The National Archives.

The scope of the work of the Division of Classification is not fully shown by a short description of its major functions. In library science the principles of book classification have been exhaustively studied and standard classification systems have been evolved. This is not true in the case of public archives, and the difficulties are greater because of the unstandardized character of archival series. The task of the Division of Classification will involve the appraisal of all present departmental classification systems and the development of a new or revised union system to cover all archival collections of all Government agencies.

Division of Cataloging.-The work of this Division is based on section 3 of the National Archives Act, which requires the Archivist to make regulations for the arrangement and use of materials. Its functions are to provide maximum availability of all archival collections transferred to The National Archives and to facilitate prompt service to those who have occasion to consult the documents. The Division must collect and assemble the present indexes and inventories to archival collections of the various Government departments and agencies; correlate such indexes and inventories through supplemental cataloging work; coordinate transferred archives with those retained by other Government agencies; develop a central catalog, the aim of which will be to facilitate the use of all archival series of all Government agencies; and extend the cataloging system to aid searchers in locating specific subject information in the various archival collections.

The work of the Division includes, as a continuing activity, the studying of departmental catalogs and the devising of such temporary or additional catalogs as may be necessary for the efficient administration of the archives, pending the adoption later of a unified cataloging plan. The scope and volume of its work will be

controlled to some extent by the time required to build up the Divisions of Department Archives devoted to the archives of the major Government departments. When the full complement of these divisions is in operation, the Division of Cataloging will be receiving from them a continuous flow of descriptive inventories to be used by it as a basis for its work.

Division of Reference.-The work of this Division is based on section 3 of the National Archives Act, which instructs the Archivist to make regulations for the use of materials. Its major functions are to supervise and control the search rooms, in which the archives will be consulted by searchers; to make available to searchers the catalog prepared by the Division of Cataloging; to requisition for the use of searchers the archival materials desired from the Divisions of Department Archives; to aid searchers in the location and use of archival materials; to furnish copies of documents and supply other archival services requested; and to enforce the rules and regulations governing the use of the archives.

Division of Research. This Division is set up under the general authority of section 3 of the National Archives Act, which requires the Archivist to make regulations for the use of the material deposited with The National Archives. It is charged with the responsibility of making for the guidance of searchers cross-sectional studies of the collections in the several Divisions of Department Archives. These studies will cover: (1) Particular fields of knowledge, such as history, political science, and economics; and (2) particular subjects in American history over varying periods of time, such as the history of the Federal Constitution, naval and military history, land grants, and Indian affairs. The Division will assemble and coordinate, with the aid of the inventories compiled by the Divisions of Department Archives, information required by the Director of Publications for the preparation of guides, calendars, and other instruments to facilitate the use of the collections or for compiling and editing the publications recommended by the National Historical Publications Commission. It will conduct researches in the archives transferred to The National Archives upon the request of Government agencies or by direction of the National Archives Council. It will assemble and correlate lists of materials relating to American history to be found in the archives of the several States of the Union and of foreign countries.

Division of Maps and Charts.-This Division is set up under sections 3 and 10 of the National Archives Act, which authorize the requisition, purchase, and exchange of maps. It is given separate entity as a division because the special scientific problems involved call for supervision by an expert geographer and cartographer. This separate entity is in accordance with precedent in other Government establishments, and the preliminary survey now being conducted by the Division of Accessions has developed the fact that there are in the archives of the Government thousands of maps and charts of great historical value that may be transferred to The National Archives. The functions of the Division are to furnish the Archivist with expert advice relative to the accessioning of maps and charts from Government agencies and to exchanges and pur