Lessons in Leadership Taught Through The National Archives

Jen and I spent the last morning of BLC08 in a session about The National Archives. They have recently redesigned their website and the physical building takes up 2 entire city blocks in Washington D.C. Many folks never realize that they have visited the building, which houses the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution

The speaker asked us to brainstorm the qualities and behaviors that make a leader, and then we had an opportunity to study several documents she provided for us from the Archival Research Catalog, including:

• A photograph of the Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster with the artist posing alongside
• Irving Berlin's draft card
• A commendation for Julia Child
• A letter written to President Roosevelt from a 12-year old Fidel Castro
• Greta Garbo's Declaration of Intention
• A squadron list from the Korean War including John Glen and Ted Williams
• A letter written to Boston city leaders in 1960 with concern about a development project that would interfere with Minuteman National Park
  

As we went through the various documents, we looked for information about the people (Irving Berlin cared for his elderly mother), the times (what if Roosevelt had sent $10 to Castro in 1940?!) and leadership (we never knew who designed Uncle Sam, yet his impact and legacy certainly deem him a leader.) She talked about how the Castro letter was a great teaching document because it shows what he was like as a child.

How do we capture archives now that we are creating so many documents electronically, like email? Historians and archivists ask different questions than technologists do...they don't just want to capture the text, but the metadata, when it was sent, from which computer, etc.

She recommended checking out their new Digital Vaults site.