Curtis A. Utz, Naval History & Heritage Command
Dec 17, 2015
Providing the proper access to records is a primary mission of U.S. government archivists.
◦ Access to records limited by law, including national security and privacy
◦ Archival challenges that include back logs and poor prior practices
◦ Review process challenges◦ Solutions & Conclusion
Government declassification: near continuous evolution largely by Executive Order (EO)
◦ First post-war EO issued by Eisenhower◦ Modified by Kennedy; new EOs issued by Nixon,
Carter & Reagan◦ Clinton’s EO is most significant, modified by
Bush◦ Additional EO under Obama
Declassification does not mean a record can be released; there are various controls usually based on Federal law
◦ Privacy Act◦ Other FOIA exemptions such as proprietary
material and law enforcement exclusions◦ Kyl-Lott: response to inadvertent releases
during Clinton EO reviews
Primary challenge: RESOURCES Changes to EOs and laws, including interpretation in
the courts◦ Additional requirements without understanding or
resources is counterproductive Archival challenges: back logs must have initial
processing done prior to declassification review◦ Not always followed in past, resulting in reworking
and potential chaos Joint and multi-agency equity records and changing
methods including the role of government personnel and contractors
Ineffective records management - particularly electronic data
Clarify roles & responsibilities◦ Development of National Declassification
Center at NARA◦ Improvement of interagency cooperation &
coordination Better use of technology
◦ Move towards machine-assisted review Improve training & awareness across knowledge
management spectrum Reasonable expectations from customers Find more resources
Government archivists try to provide all properly releasable information
FOIA process works, but can be improved Declassification process has improved, but more
work needs to be done Better training and education for government
employees; realistic expectations from customers
Greatest need: more resources, utilized more effectively