Ouch. During discussion of the proposed budget for the National Archives and Records Administration, Archivist Allen Weinstein admitted that the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2009 did not include funding to keep the restored evening and Saturday open hours [in Washington DC and College Park, Maryland]. This was in a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (How's that for a mouthful!)
This news and other details appeared on the National Coalition for History's blog. This link was forwarded by Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG, CGL, a Washington DC area professional researcher and frequent NARA user. Thanks Marie - I think. It's like watching a tennis match -- this way, that way, this way, that way. The additional evening and Saturday hours that were restored don't even begin until April 14th. Thus, they are deciding to cut them again in the future before they have even begun again?
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I have just been informed this morning by National Archives staff that I misconstrued Archivist Weinstein's response to Chairman Serrano's question about the status of research hours at NARA that was posed in last week's budget hearing.
The Archivist said that if the FY '09 budget as proposed by the Bush administration is adopted that the research hours will NOT be affected or cut. The base budget allows for the hours to remain as they will be when the hours are restored on April 14. Chairman Serrano had expressed concern that there was no specific funding requested for the hours, but I have been assured by NARA staff that the research hours are already included in the base budget as proposed by NARA for FY '09.
I apologize for the mistake and I will be posting a retraction on the NCH website today.
Lee White
Executive Director
National Coalition for History
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