National Archives Experience: Digital Vaults

Digital Vaults, flash version

"Many people know the National Archives as the keeper of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. But we also hold in trust for the public the records of ordinary citizens—for example, military records of the brave men and women who have fought for our country, naturalization records of the immigrants whose dreams have shaped our nation, and even the canceled check from the purchase of Alaska.

In a democracy, records belong to the people, and for more than seven decades, NARA has preserved and provided access to the records of the United States of America. Records help us claim our rights and entitlements, hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, and document our history as a nation. In short, NARA ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their Government" [archives.gov]

Ditigal Vaults, html version

The National Archives has a fascinating site, digitalvaults.org which contains 1,200 documents of historical records of the US.  Included are digitized photos, maps and artwork plus audio files and video clips.   “Shuffle records” is an introduction that provides examples of documents from 1800 to the present.  Keyword or searching by tag results in the fingerprints of Charles Lindbergh and a photo of Sandra Day O’Connor being sworn in as the first woman Supreme Court Justice.  It is also possible to collect “pathways” that show relationships between different types of records. [ALA's Booklist, 6/13/2012]