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October 28, 2004
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Main Section Guide to Federal Records
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Textual Documents

Information About Holdings

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds millions of textual documents in multiple repositories nationwide. Federal records and Presidential materials in paper format constitute the largest portion of NARA's holdings. Document types include correspondence, registers, reports, forms, treaties, case files, and log books. These materials are held by:

On-Line Resources

General Information Sources (Federal Records)

  • The Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States (3 vol., 1995) provides a general overview of and introduction to the Federal records holdings in NARA's Washington, DC area facilities and Regional Records Services Facilities. The NARA homepage section on research "By Federal Government Organization" provides 'record group' level links to chapters in the Guide, arranged by branch of government and by Executive Branch department/agency.

  • The "List of Record Groups of the National Archives and Records Administration" provides researchers with a list of NARA's Federal records holdings, their location and volume estimates.

  • Records Declassified by the National Archives Under E.O. 12958 (as of 09/28/98) identifies formerly classified textual documents in Washington, DC, area facilities. Records in Washington, DC area facilities

    National Archives Building - Washington, DC

    • Many of the textual documents located in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, are of interest to genealogical researchers. Please visit NARA's Genealogy Page for information about those record holdings.

    • The Old Military and Civil Records unit of the Textual Archives Services Division provides reference services on those federal records in the National Archives Building that originated in the Executive and Judicial branches of government. Most of these records were created prior to 1900 and include documents created or accumulated by the following government agencies: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Census Bureau, Coast Guard, Customs Service, U.S. Army Commands (1784-1821), U.S. Army Continental Commands (1821-1920), War Department, Veteran's Administration, and Washington-based components of the judicial branch. Contact the unit at: National Archives, Washington, DC 20408, by telephone at 202-501-5385, or via inquire@nara.gov.

    • The Center for Legislative Archives provides reference services on the records of Congress and on the record set of Publications of the U.S. Government.

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    The National Archives at College Park

    • The Civilian Records unit of the Textual Archives Services Division, provides reference services on those federal records in the National Archives at College Park that originated in civilian agencies of the Executive branch of government. Most of these records were created after 1900 and include documents created or accumulated by bureaus within the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury. Contact the unit at: The National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001, by telephone at 301-837-3480, or via inquire@nara.gov.

    • The Modern Military Records unit of the Textual Archives Services Division provides reference services on those federal records in the National Archives at College Park that originated in military agencies of the Executive branch of government. Most of these records were created after 1900 and include documents created or accumulated by the various components of the Department of Defense and its predecessor, the War Department. Contact the unit at: The National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001, by telephone at 301-837-3510, or via inquire@nara.gov.

    • The FOIA and Special Access unit of the Textual Archives Services Division provides reference services on those federal records in the National Archives at College Park that require administration of special access provisions. Examples of these types of records include those accumulated as part of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection and those accumulated by Independent Counsels. Contact the unit at: The National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001, by telephone at 301-837-3190, or via inquire@nara.gov.

    • The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff provides reference services on the accessible textual (paper) materials from the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. Contact the unit at: The National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001, by telephone at 301-837-3290, or via inquire@nara.gov.

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Regional Records Services Facilities

The following Regional Records Services Facilities have finding aids to their holdings available on-line:

Archival Research Catalog (ARC)

Archival Research Catalog (ARC): The ARC database includes descriptions of a limited portion of the textual documents in NARA custody. It can be searched by media type and by subject.

Search Hint:

  • Go the ARC basic search screen.
  • Select "Textual records" from the Type filter box. Due to the large number of textual record descriptions in ARC, a search for this Type should be matched with another search filter, either by entering keywords in the keywords boxes or selecting NARA Unit(s) from the NARA Location filter box.
  • Then press the "Go" button to retrieve descriptions of textual records.

Search ARC
Other Resources
  • Most of NARA's finding aids are not yet online
  • Send us your request.

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Privacy and Use Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions Contact Us NARA Home Page NARA Address: 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408, Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272