ARCHIVES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-00433A000100010015-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 19, 2002
• Sequence Number: 15
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Rel a 2002/05/06: CIA-RDP78-00433A00` 00010015-5
ARCHIVES
As defined by the Civil Service Commission for the Archivist
of the United States, Archives are "(1) those bodies of non-current
permanently valuable records that form useful evidence of the or-
ganization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations
or other activities of Federal Agencies or very important Federal
Officials, or (2) those records that must, or should, be preserved
for their informational content.....Archival records document of-
ficial actions and serve as sources for official reference in the
prosecution of the affairs of Government by providing a record of
past actions. The information contained in Archives is essential
to historians, political scientists, economists, sociologists, or ~~
other scholars engaged in study in various aspects of our society."
Professional archival work involves the following broad, but
not mutually exclusive, functions:
(1) Appraisal and disposition
(2) Arrangement and description
(3) Preservation and rehabilitation
(4) Documentary publication, historical editing,
and exhibit of archival materials
(5) Reference service
A sampling of these functions are described below to further
clarify the professional distinctions between Archivists and Records
Management Officers:
(1) Records appraisal and disposition involves the analysis
and evaluation of inactive records to determine their con-
tinuing value and to provide advice or make decisions about
their destruction or permanent retention. Archivists employ
a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the history,
organization, and operations of the Agency; the legislative
authorities and responsibilities of the Agency as these re-
late to the development and retention of records; the organi-
zational, functional and records relationships of the Agency
to other Agencies and activities in the intelligence community
and federal government at large; and the needs of the scholarly
community.
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(2) Archivists engaged in records arrangement study the
origins, the organizational and functional history and
administrative procedures of the producing units. They,
analyze the records to decide the arrangement that will
best reveal their character and significance; protect
their integrity as historical evidence of organization
and function; and facilitate their location, description,
and use.
(3) Preservation involves safeguarding the archival
material from deterioration or impairment..of their
value through alteration. It considers the condition
of the records; the nature of their evidential or
informational value; the extent of their use; and the
cost of repair and rehabilitation.
(4) Archivists involved in publication work carefully
study the documents to be published to resolve questions
of origin and authenticity. They employ a thorough
knowledge of the substance of the documents and persons,
circumstances, or events to which the documents relate.
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HISTORY AND ARCHIVES
The role of the Directorate archivist depends to a large extent upon
(1) the establishment of an Agency archival policy, (2) the establishment
of an Agency archives program, and (3) the implementation of the policy
and program through the establishment of an Agency archival function and
the staffing of this function with qualified professional archivists.
The Directorate archivist will be responsible for the following:
1. Coordinate the historical program of the Directorate.
2. Develop a systematic way to insure that all records of
interest to the Support Directorate are retrieved from
other directorates for archival screening and appraisal.
3.. Consult with the Directorate Records Manager regarding
(1) the short and long-term values of records from the
standpoint of Directorate operations, (2) methods and
systems for the identification of records of permanent
value, and (3) the scheduling of non-current records for
transfer into archival custody.
Li. Analyze and evaluate inactive Directorate records to
determine their continuing value and to provide advice or
make decisions about their destruction or permanent
retention.
5. Analyze records to decide the cataloging arrangement that
will best reveal their character and significance; protect
their integrity as historical evidence of the development
of the Directorate's organization and function; and
facilitate the identification of their location, description,
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6. Insure the preservation of archival material from deteriora-
tion or impairment of their value through alteration or
neglect. This involves consideration of (1) the condition
of the records, (2) the nature of their evidential or
informational value, (3) the extent of their use, and (1k)
the cost of repair and reliabilitation.
7. Resolve questions of origin and authenticity of documents
in regard to research that may lead to publication. He must
employ a thorough knowledge of the substance of the documents
and persons, circumstances, and events to which the documents
relate.
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Approved For Release 2002/05/06 : CIA-RDP78-00433A000100010015-5