National Archives and Records Administration December 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is issuing regulations under the Presidential Libraries Act (PLA) amendments of 1986 (codified at 44 U.S.C. 2112). Section 2112 requires the Archivist of the United States to promulgate architectural and design standards for Presidential libraries and to report to Congress before he accepts title to or enters into an agreement to use land, a facility, and equipment as a Presidential library. The Archivist must also report to Congress before accepting a gift for the purpose of making any physical or material change or addition to an existing library. Because new Presidential libraries have traditionally been built by private, nonprofit charitable foundations, either by themselves or in collaboration with state and local government or universities, this proposed rule will affect these nonfederal entities.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice at least once monthly of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). Once approved by NARA, records schedules provide mandatory instructions on what happens to records when no longer needed for current Government business. They authorize the preservation of records of continuing value in the National Archives of the United States and the destruction, after a specified period, of records lacking administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is published for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy records not previously authorized for disposal or reduce the retention period of records already authorized for disposal. NARA invites public comments on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a).