Changes in NARA Research Room Hours, 56357-56359 [06-8338]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
statute violated the Alaska Constitution.
The Court’s ruling in McDowell required
the State to delete the rural preference
from its subsistence statute and,
therefore, negated State compliance
with ANILCA. The Court stayed the
effect of the decision until July 1, 1990.
As a result of the McDowell decision,
the Department of the Interior and the
Department of Agriculture
(Departments) assumed, on July 1, 1990,
responsibility for implementation of
Title VIII of ANILCA on public lands.
On June 29, 1990, the Temporary
Subsistence Management Regulations
for Public Lands in Alaska were
published in the Federal Register (55
FR 27114).
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory
Councils
Pursuant to the Subsistence
Management Regulations for Federal
Public Lands in Alaska, April 6, 1992,
and the Subsistence Management
Regulations for Federal Public Lands in
Alaska, 36 CFR 242.11 (2002) and 50
CFR 100.11 (2002), and for the purposes
identified therein, we divided Alaska
into 10 subsistence resource regions,
each of which is represented by a
Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory
Council (Regional Council). The
Regional Councils provide a forum for
residents of the regions, who have
personal knowledge of local conditions
and resource requirements, to have a
meaningful role in the subsistence
management of fish and wildlife on
Alaska public lands. The Regional
Council members represent varied
geographical, cultural, and user
diversity within each region.
Withdrawal of Direct Final Rule
The Kenai Peninsula has unique fish
and wildlife management challenges
due to intense use of the Peninsula’s
fish and wildlife by local and nonlocal
residents and by nonresidents, and due
to the recent Board actions to begin to
provide a meaningful subsistence
priority for fisheries in Federally
managed fresh waters on the Kenai
Peninsula. Kenai Peninsula lands
primarily under Federal management
include the Chugach National Forest
and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
We published a direct final rule on
August 14, 2006 (71 FR 46400), that
would have created a separate
subsistence resource region for the
Kenai Peninsula because we viewed this
action as an uncontroversial
administrative action by the Federal
Subsistence Board. That direct final rule
would have become effective September
29, 2006, unless we received significant
adverse comments.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:20 Sep 26, 2006
Jkt 208001
During a Southcentral Federal
Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska on
August 24, 2006, we heard significant
adverse testimony regarding the creation
of a new Kenai Peninsula Subsistence
Resource Region. Additionally, the
Southcentral Regional Council
unanimously recommended against the
formation of such a region without
providing more opportunity for public
input. Letters from the public also
strongly opposed the formation of such
a region without providing more
opportunity for public input. Therefore,
we are withdrawing the direct final rule
and will hold hearings in the affected
area to obtain additional public input
before deciding whether to proceed with
the formation of a new subsistence
resource region. In addition, on the
same date that we published the direct
final rule, we published a proposed rule
(71 FR 46427) to create an additional
subsistence resource region for the
Kenai Peninsula.
For the reasons stated above, the
Federal Subsistence Board withdraws
the direct final rule of August 14, 2006
(71 FR 46400).
Dated: September 19, 2006.
Peter J. Probasco,
Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.
Dated: September 19, 2006.
Steve Kessler,
Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest
Service.
[FR Doc. 06–8276 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P; 4310–55–P
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS
ADMINISTRATION
36 CFR Parts 1253 and 1280
[Docket NARA–06–0007]
RIN 3095–AB52
Changes in NARA Research Room
Hours
National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NARA is further modifying
the research room hours at its facilities
in the Washington, DC, area to retain, on
a monthly basis, Saturday and some
evening hours. We are taking this action
in response to the many comments
received on the interim final rule on this
subject published in July. As noted in
the previous rulemaking, NARA is
reducing the research room hours as one
of several measures the agency must
take in Fiscal Year 2007 to ensure that
our expenditures are in line with our
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
56357
expected resources. This regulation will
affect individuals who use our archival
research rooms in the National Archives
Building and National Archives at
College Park facility.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is
effective October 2, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nancy Allard at 301–837–1477 or
Jennifer Davis Heaps at 301–837–1801
or via fax number 301–837–0319.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA
published an interim final rule with
request for comments on July 25, 2006
(71 FR 42058). The interim rule
specified changes to NARA research
room hours at the National Archives
Building in Washington, DC, and the
National Archives at College Park, MD
and a revision of the public hours for
visiting the National Archives
Experience and the Rotunda exhibits in
the National Archives Building. We
received more than 530 timely
comments. In addition, approximately
70 individuals attended a public
meeting on the rule on August 3, 2006,
at which 24 individuals spoke. Virtually
all of the responsive comments
concerned the research room hours in
our DC area facilities.
In this final rule, we are further
amending the interim final rule to
specify that the research room hours at
the National Archives Building and the
National Archives at College Park will
include, one week a month, evening
hours from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on
Thursday and Friday and Saturday
hours from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. This
rule and the other provisions of the
interim final rule published at 71 FR
42058 will go into effect on October 2,
2006.
Summary of Public Comments Received
The total number of comments
received included submissions made
through https://www.regulations.gov,
individual letters that were mailed or
faxed (or both) to NARA, letters
forwarded from Congressional offices,
and two petitions. Comments received
on or before 11:59 p.m. on September 8,
2006, and those postmarked on or before
September 8, were considered timely.
Because of the time constraints in
revising the rule before October 2, 2006,
we were not able to consider late
comments.
Many comments expressed
appreciation for the important role
NARA plays in providing public access
to records and offered suggestions for
ways in which NARA might be able to
retain some or all extended hours. We
address the most frequently stated
suggestions in the next sections of this
E:\FR\FM\27SER1.SGM
27SER1
56358
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
A number
of comments stated a concern that
eliminating evening and Saturday hours
would severely restrict the ability of
certain categories of researchers—
especially students, individuals with
full-time jobs, and non-local researchers
with limited time and budget—to use
the Archives at all. In evaluating the
various suggested alternatives, we tried
to consider the needs of all researchers,
but particularly the needs of those who
have limited ability to visit the research
rooms during weekday hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Discussion of Adopted Comments
A number of commenters
recommended offering evening and
Saturday hours one week each month.
Many commenters stated that they come
to our DC area facilities to do research
in short, concentrated visits of less than
two weeks once or twice a year. Offering
monthly extended hours on Thursday
and Friday evening and Saturday would
provide these users an additional 15
hours of research time during that week.
This alternative would also provide
some relief to users who cannot come
during the weekday because it would
give them a non-workday block of time
each month to review original records.
We have adopted this alternative in the
final rule. We recognize that it does not
address all of the researcher needs
identified in the comments, but it
provides the best available balance
between researcher needs and NARA
financial constraints. For Fiscal Year
2007 (October 1, 2006–September 30,
2007), we will hold the extended hours
the third Thursday through Saturday of
the month. This schedule avoids
conflict with the Veterans Day holiday
in November 2006 and other Federal
holidays occurring during the first and
fourth weeks of other months. The
schedule of extended hours will be
published at https://www.archives.gov/
research/ and also available in the
research rooms.
Other Alternatives Proposed in the
Comments
A number of comments argued that
NARA should make no changes in the
research room hours, making reductions
in other areas, if necessary. As noted in
the preamble above, the reduction in the
research room hours is only one of
many areas in which NARA is making
adjustments to ensure that NARA can
continue to fulfill its mission as the
nation’s recordkeeper effectively with
the resources that will be available to
us. We are also taking other measures
that are less visible to the public, such
as instituting a hiring freeze and a staff
‘‘buyout’’ earlier this fiscal year,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:20 Sep 26, 2006
Jkt 208001
additional energy conservation
measures, and a significant reduction in
the agency’s FY 2007 travel budget.
When we issued the interim final rule,
we did so because we had determined
that it is not practicable to achieve all
of the savings we need without any
reduction in research room hours. This
situation has not changed.
Many commenters asked that NARA
retain Saturday hours once or twice a
month. In evaluating the various
alternatives, we determined that
monthly extended hours on two
evenings and Saturday would be more
cost effective and serve more categories
of researchers than being open two
Saturdays per month but no evenings.
A number of commenters
recommended that we close the research
rooms on one weekday and stay open on
Saturdays. While Monday was the day
most frequently suggested for closing,
other days of the week were put forth
too, including a rotating day schedule
that would include Saturday.
Commenters suggested that this
alternative would assist those
researchers who can only come on
Saturdays; it might also assist some
current evening researchers who are
able to come on Saturday instead. While
a number of institutions follow a
Tuesday–Saturday schedule, a
Tuesday–Saturday or other similar
schedule would not provide an
equivalent amount of savings as the
interim rule proposal for a Monday–
Friday schedule because the facilities
would have to remain open on Mondays
for other official business that NARA
conducts. Thus, NARA would still incur
facility and security costs for the
buildings on Mondays. This alternative
also reduces available hours for our
large number of weekday researchers,
including Federal agency researchers.
Another recommendation was to open
late (e.g., 1 p.m.–9 p.m., noon–8 p.m.,
11 a.m.–7 p.m., or 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) some
or all weekdays. The commenters
suggested that this alternative would
provide some relief for researchers who
can only come to the Archives in the
evening. NARA’s review of this
alternative found that this would not
provide significant relief, except to the
relatively small number of researchers
(approximately one to two percent) who
only use the research rooms in the
evening, and might reduce available
hours for weekday researchers (over half
of our current researchers) if they can
not shift to later hours. The cost for this
alternative would also be greater than a
Monday–Friday schedule because of the
need for facility and security services
during official business hours and
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
additional night-differential pay for staff
working after 6 p.m.
Because the number of research visits
to the larger research complex at the
National Archives at College Park
(Archives II) is nearly double the
number of research visits at the National
Archives Building, some commenters
suggested implementing the Monday–
Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. schedule at the
National Archives Building and
retaining the existing extended hours
(Tuesday, Thursday, Friday evenings
and Saturday every week) at Archives II.
Not only is the cost of this alternative
significantly more than other
alternatives considered; the large
number of genealogical researchers who
do research at the National Archives
Building would gain no relief.
Two other alternatives were suggested
by several commenters: to use unpaid
volunteers or interns or to charge a user
fee to all or non-U.S. researchers.
Neither alternative is viable. NARA has
a large cadre of dedicated volunteers
who greatly assist NARA in carrying out
its mission. Volunteer opportunities are
described on our Web site at https://
www.archives.gov/careers/
volunteering/. Volunteers, however,
cannot replace NARA staff or security
guards in providing oversight of our
research rooms and use of original
records. NARA does not have statutory
authority to charge user fees for access
to our research rooms.
Other Comments Relating to Research
Room Hours
As part of many comments on the
change in hours, concerns were
expressed with NARA’s schedule for
‘‘pulling’’ (i.e., retrieving from the
stacks) original records under the new
hours and delays in entering the
National Archives Building at the start
of the research day because of security
procedures. Currently, with the research
room opening at 8:45 a.m., the first pull
of the day, when researchers must
submit their reference requests for
original records, takes place at 9:30 a.m.
Commenters were concerned that a
9 a.m. research room opening would not
allow sufficient time to prepare the
reference request before the first pull
time. Beginning October 2, we are
adjusting the pull times to 10 and 11
a.m., and 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. on the days
that the research complex closes at 5
p.m.; an additional late day pull will be
provided when we are open in the
evening. Changing the morning pulls to
10 and 11 instead of 9:30 and 10:30
allows more time for researchers to
submit their requests for the first pulls
of the day. The current 3:30 pull time
will be dropped because records pulled
E:\FR\FM\27SER1.SGM
27SER1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
at 3:30 are scheduled to arrive by 4:30,
allowing only 15 minutes for review
before records are returned before
closing time. Our records retrieval
practices will enable us to accommodate
requests for records submitted at any
time prior to the last pull time of the
day.
Another concern was expressed with
the availability of NARA staff for
researcher consultation. Our experience
with the Researcher Assistance Room in
the National Archives Building has
shown that the most efficient and
researcher-friendly reference
consultation is provided in one room.
Having all finding aids and research
assistance staff in one location enables
us to focus our resources so we can
provide better service to researchers
and, at the same time, achieve
efficiencies. Staff assigned to a single
research consultation room provide
excellent reference service because they
have all finding aids available in the
room and they have no other
responsibility to distract them from
helping researchers while they are
assigned to the room. Researchers
benefit significantly from having this
focused service in one location. We will
modify the Research Assistance Area in
Room 2000 in the College Park facility
so that we can provide the same
efficient service that we provide in the
National Archives Building.
Finally, at the public meeting, several
commenters expressed concern that the
security procedures for entering the
National Archives Building were more
cumbersome and required more time
than our procedures at College Park,
also affecting the amount of time
researchers could spend in the research
rooms. Immediately following the
meeting, NARA instituted the same
inspection procedures used at College
Park in the National Archives Building.
This rule is not a significant
regulatory action for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management
and Budget. As required by the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, I certify that
this rule will not have a significant
impact on a substantial number of small
entities because it affects individual
researchers. This regulation does not
have any federalism implications.
List of Subjects
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
36 CFR Part 1253
Archives and records.
I For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the interim rule published on
July 25, 2006 (71 FR 42058) amending
36 CFR parts 1253 and 1280 is
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:20 Sep 26, 2006
Jkt 208001
confirmed as final with the following
changes:
PART 1253—LOCATION OF NARA
FACILITIES AND HOURS OF USE
1. The authority citation for part 1253
continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2104(a).
2. Amend § 1253.1 by revising
paragraph (a) to read as follows:
I
§ 1253.1
National Archives Building.
(a) The National Archives Building is
located at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20408. Business
hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays when the building is closed.
Hours for the Research Center and the
Central Research room are:
(1) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays, and
(2) Once monthly, from 5 p.m. to 8:45
p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from
8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Information on these extended hours is
available at https://www.archives.gov/
research/.
(b) * * *
(c) * * *
I 3. Amend § 1253.2 by revising
paragraph (b) to read as follows:
§ 1253.2
National Archives at College Park.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) Research complex hours are:
(1) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays, and
(2) Once monthly, from 5 p.m. to 8:45
p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from
8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Information on these extended hours is
available at https://www.archives.gov/
research/.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: September 25, 2006.
Allen Weinstein,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 06–8338 Filed 9–25–06; 2:07 pm]
BILLING CODE 7515–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 82
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2005–0087; FRL–8223–4]
RIN–2060–AM24
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone:
Listing of Substitutes for OzoneDepleting Substances—Fire
Suppression and Explosion Protection
Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Direct Final Rule.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
56359
SUMMARY: This action lists four
substitutes for ozone-depleting
substances (ODSs) in the fire
suppression and explosion protection
sector as acceptable subject to use
conditions under the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Significant New Alternatives
Policy (SNAP) program. SNAP
implements section 612 of the Clean Air
Act, as amended in 1990, which
requires EPA to evaluate substitutes for
ODSs and find them acceptable where
they do not pose a greater overall risk
to human health and the environment
than other acceptable substitutes.
This rule is effective on
November 27, 2006 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse
comment or receives a request for a
public hearing by October 27, 2006. If
we receive adverse comment or a
request for a public hearing, we will
publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public
that all or part of this rule will not take
effect.
DATES:
EPA has established a
public docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2005–
0087. All documents in the docket are
listed on the www.regulations.gov Web
site. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available,
e.g., CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Air and Radiation Docket, EPA/DC,
EPA West, Room B102, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC. The Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744,
and the telephone number for the Air
and Radiation Docket is (202) 566–1742.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bella Maranion, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of
Atmospheric Programs (6205J), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
343–9749; fax number: (202) 343–2363;
e-mail address:
maranion.bella@epa.gov. The published
versions of notices and rulemakings
under the SNAP program are available
on EPA’s Stratospheric Ozone Web site
at https://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/regs.
E:\FR\FM\27SER1.SGM
27SER1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56357-56359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8338]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
36 CFR Parts 1253 and 1280
[Docket NARA-06-0007]
RIN 3095-AB52
Changes in NARA Research Room Hours
AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NARA is further modifying the research room hours at its
facilities in the Washington, DC, area to retain, on a monthly basis,
Saturday and some evening hours. We are taking this action in response
to the many comments received on the interim final rule on this subject
published in July. As noted in the previous rulemaking, NARA is
reducing the research room hours as one of several measures the agency
must take in Fiscal Year 2007 to ensure that our expenditures are in
line with our expected resources. This regulation will affect
individuals who use our archival research rooms in the National
Archives Building and National Archives at College Park facility.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective October 2, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Allard at 301-837-1477 or
Jennifer Davis Heaps at 301-837-1801 or via fax number 301-837-0319.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA published an interim final rule with
request for comments on July 25, 2006 (71 FR 42058). The interim rule
specified changes to NARA research room hours at the National Archives
Building in Washington, DC, and the National Archives at College Park,
MD and a revision of the public hours for visiting the National
Archives Experience and the Rotunda exhibits in the National Archives
Building. We received more than 530 timely comments. In addition,
approximately 70 individuals attended a public meeting on the rule on
August 3, 2006, at which 24 individuals spoke. Virtually all of the
responsive comments concerned the research room hours in our DC area
facilities.
In this final rule, we are further amending the interim final rule
to specify that the research room hours at the National Archives
Building and the National Archives at College Park will include, one
week a month, evening hours from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on Thursday and
Friday and Saturday hours from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. This rule and the
other provisions of the interim final rule published at 71 FR 42058
will go into effect on October 2, 2006.
Summary of Public Comments Received
The total number of comments received included submissions made
through https://www.regulations.gov, individual letters that were mailed
or faxed (or both) to NARA, letters forwarded from Congressional
offices, and two petitions. Comments received on or before 11:59 p.m.
on September 8, 2006, and those postmarked on or before September 8,
were considered timely. Because of the time constraints in revising the
rule before October 2, 2006, we were not able to consider late
comments.
Many comments expressed appreciation for the important role NARA
plays in providing public access to records and offered suggestions for
ways in which NARA might be able to retain some or all extended hours.
We address the most frequently stated suggestions in the next sections
of this
[[Page 56358]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. A number of comments stated a concern that
eliminating evening and Saturday hours would severely restrict the
ability of certain categories of researchers--especially students,
individuals with full-time jobs, and non-local researchers with limited
time and budget--to use the Archives at all. In evaluating the various
suggested alternatives, we tried to consider the needs of all
researchers, but particularly the needs of those who have limited
ability to visit the research rooms during weekday hours.
Discussion of Adopted Comments
A number of commenters recommended offering evening and Saturday
hours one week each month. Many commenters stated that they come to our
DC area facilities to do research in short, concentrated visits of less
than two weeks once or twice a year. Offering monthly extended hours on
Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday would provide these users an
additional 15 hours of research time during that week. This alternative
would also provide some relief to users who cannot come during the
weekday because it would give them a non-workday block of time each
month to review original records. We have adopted this alternative in
the final rule. We recognize that it does not address all of the
researcher needs identified in the comments, but it provides the best
available balance between researcher needs and NARA financial
constraints. For Fiscal Year 2007 (October 1, 2006-September 30, 2007),
we will hold the extended hours the third Thursday through Saturday of
the month. This schedule avoids conflict with the Veterans Day holiday
in November 2006 and other Federal holidays occurring during the first
and fourth weeks of other months. The schedule of extended hours will
be published at https://www.archives.gov/research/ and also available in
the research rooms.
Other Alternatives Proposed in the Comments
A number of comments argued that NARA should make no changes in the
research room hours, making reductions in other areas, if necessary. As
noted in the preamble above, the reduction in the research room hours
is only one of many areas in which NARA is making adjustments to ensure
that NARA can continue to fulfill its mission as the nation's
recordkeeper effectively with the resources that will be available to
us. We are also taking other measures that are less visible to the
public, such as instituting a hiring freeze and a staff ``buyout''
earlier this fiscal year, additional energy conservation measures, and
a significant reduction in the agency's FY 2007 travel budget. When we
issued the interim final rule, we did so because we had determined that
it is not practicable to achieve all of the savings we need without any
reduction in research room hours. This situation has not changed.
Many commenters asked that NARA retain Saturday hours once or twice
a month. In evaluating the various alternatives, we determined that
monthly extended hours on two evenings and Saturday would be more cost
effective and serve more categories of researchers than being open two
Saturdays per month but no evenings.
A number of commenters recommended that we close the research rooms
on one weekday and stay open on Saturdays. While Monday was the day
most frequently suggested for closing, other days of the week were put
forth too, including a rotating day schedule that would include
Saturday. Commenters suggested that this alternative would assist those
researchers who can only come on Saturdays; it might also assist some
current evening researchers who are able to come on Saturday instead.
While a number of institutions follow a Tuesday-Saturday schedule, a
Tuesday-Saturday or other similar schedule would not provide an
equivalent amount of savings as the interim rule proposal for a Monday-
Friday schedule because the facilities would have to remain open on
Mondays for other official business that NARA conducts. Thus, NARA
would still incur facility and security costs for the buildings on
Mondays. This alternative also reduces available hours for our large
number of weekday researchers, including Federal agency researchers.
Another recommendation was to open late (e.g., 1 p.m.-9 p.m., noon-
8 p.m., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., or 10 a.m.-6 p.m.) some or all weekdays. The
commenters suggested that this alternative would provide some relief
for researchers who can only come to the Archives in the evening.
NARA's review of this alternative found that this would not provide
significant relief, except to the relatively small number of
researchers (approximately one to two percent) who only use the
research rooms in the evening, and might reduce available hours for
weekday researchers (over half of our current researchers) if they can
not shift to later hours. The cost for this alternative would also be
greater than a Monday-Friday schedule because of the need for facility
and security services during official business hours and additional
night-differential pay for staff working after 6 p.m.
Because the number of research visits to the larger research
complex at the National Archives at College Park (Archives II) is
nearly double the number of research visits at the National Archives
Building, some commenters suggested implementing the Monday-Friday 9
a.m.-5 p.m. schedule at the National Archives Building and retaining
the existing extended hours (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday evenings and
Saturday every week) at Archives II. Not only is the cost of this
alternative significantly more than other alternatives considered; the
large number of genealogical researchers who do research at the
National Archives Building would gain no relief.
Two other alternatives were suggested by several commenters: to use
unpaid volunteers or interns or to charge a user fee to all or non-U.S.
researchers. Neither alternative is viable. NARA has a large cadre of
dedicated volunteers who greatly assist NARA in carrying out its
mission. Volunteer opportunities are described on our Web site at
https://www.archives.gov/careers/ volunteering/. Volunteers, however,
cannot replace NARA staff or security guards in providing oversight of
our research rooms and use of original records. NARA does not have
statutory authority to charge user fees for access to our research
rooms.
Other Comments Relating to Research Room Hours
As part of many comments on the change in hours, concerns were
expressed with NARA's schedule for ``pulling'' (i.e., retrieving from
the stacks) original records under the new hours and delays in entering
the National Archives Building at the start of the research day because
of security procedures. Currently, with the research room opening at
8:45 a.m., the first pull of the day, when researchers must submit
their reference requests for original records, takes place at 9:30 a.m.
Commenters were concerned that a 9 a.m. research room opening would not
allow sufficient time to prepare the reference request before the first
pull time. Beginning October 2, we are adjusting the pull times to 10
and 11 a.m., and 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. on the days that the research
complex closes at 5 p.m.; an additional late day pull will be provided
when we are open in the evening. Changing the morning pulls to 10 and
11 instead of 9:30 and 10:30 allows more time for researchers to submit
their requests for the first pulls of the day. The current 3:30 pull
time will be dropped because records pulled
[[Page 56359]]
at 3:30 are scheduled to arrive by 4:30, allowing only 15 minutes for
review before records are returned before closing time. Our records
retrieval practices will enable us to accommodate requests for records
submitted at any time prior to the last pull time of the day.
Another concern was expressed with the availability of NARA staff
for researcher consultation. Our experience with the Researcher
Assistance Room in the National Archives Building has shown that the
most efficient and researcher-friendly reference consultation is
provided in one room. Having all finding aids and research assistance
staff in one location enables us to focus our resources so we can
provide better service to researchers and, at the same time, achieve
efficiencies. Staff assigned to a single research consultation room
provide excellent reference service because they have all finding aids
available in the room and they have no other responsibility to distract
them from helping researchers while they are assigned to the room.
Researchers benefit significantly from having this focused service in
one location. We will modify the Research Assistance Area in Room 2000
in the College Park facility so that we can provide the same efficient
service that we provide in the National Archives Building.
Finally, at the public meeting, several commenters expressed
concern that the security procedures for entering the National Archives
Building were more cumbersome and required more time than our
procedures at College Park, also affecting the amount of time
researchers could spend in the research rooms. Immediately following
the meeting, NARA instituted the same inspection procedures used at
College Park in the National Archives Building.
This rule is not a significant regulatory action for the purposes
of Executive Order 12866 and has not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, I
certify that this rule will not have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities because it affects individual
researchers. This regulation does not have any federalism implications.
List of Subjects
36 CFR Part 1253
Archives and records.
0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the interim rule published
on July 25, 2006 (71 FR 42058) amending 36 CFR parts 1253 and 1280 is
confirmed as final with the following changes:
PART 1253--LOCATION OF NARA FACILITIES AND HOURS OF USE
0
1. The authority citation for part 1253 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2104(a).
0
2. Amend Sec. 1253.1 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 1253.1 National Archives Building.
(a) The National Archives Building is located at 700 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20408. Business hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:15
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays when the building
is closed. Hours for the Research Center and the Central Research room
are:
(1) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays, and
(2) Once monthly, from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on Thursday and Friday
and from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Information on these
extended hours is available at https://www.archives.gov/research/.
(b) * * *
(c) * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 1253.2 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 1253.2 National Archives at College Park.
* * * * *
(b) Research complex hours are:
(1) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays, and
(2) Once monthly, from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on Thursday and Friday
and from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. Information on these
extended hours is available at https://www.archives.gov/research/.
* * * * *
Dated: September 25, 2006.
Allen Weinstein,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 06-8338 Filed 9-25-06; 2:07 pm]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P
