NARA Staff Releases Publications for 2023

National Archives and Records Administration: A Year in Publications

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been a hub of academic and educational activity in 2023, 2024, and 2025, with numerous publications shedding light on various aspects of American history, archival practices, and civic education.

In May-June 2023, Debra Steidel Wall, Acting Archivist of the U.S., penned an article titled "Civics for All of US at the National Archives" for Archival Outlook, emphasising the importance of civic engagement in understanding the nation's history. Meanwhile, in July-August of the same year, Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the U.S., wrote "A New Era Begins at the National Archives," detailing the changes and developments within NARA.

In September 2023, R. Darrell Meadows and Joshua Sternfeld co-authored "Artificial Intelligence and the Practice of History: A Forum." in the prestigious American Historical Review, discussing the potential impact of AI on historical research. Around the same time, Heidi Holmstrom authored "Abraham Zapruder's Camera" for Pelletier and Stoeltje's Tales from the Vaults: Film Technology over the Years and across Continents.

As the year drew to a close, Kathleen Munn wrote "Civic Engagement in Primary Sources." for Social Education, offering insights into using primary sources for teaching civics. Breanne Robertson also contributed an article titled "Iwo Jima and the Struggle for Historical Truth."

In 2024, a flurry of publications continued. Sara Lyons Davis authored "We the People: Exploring Early American Identity through the First Federal Census" in Social Education, while Caitlin Cutrona wrote "We Were There When It Happened: The ENIAC 6 and Women at Work during World War II" in the same journal. In the same year, Claire Kluskens published "Unusual Federal Census Records" in NGS Magazine and "Bounty Land Warrant Application Files" in the same publication.

Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the U.S., wrote several articles in 2024, including "NARA's Subject Matter Experts," "Highlights from the National Archives' Nationwide Holdings," "First Ladies' Records at the Presidential Libraries," "The National Archives Building Becomes a Historic Landmark," "Expanding Access at the National Archives," and "A New Strategic Framework to Guide the National Archives Forward."

In September-October, Shogan also penned "Presidential Libraries: A Passport to History" for Archival Outlook, followed by "New Digitization Center at the National Archives at College Park" in May-June.

In the latter half of 2024, Ellen Engset and Meg Phillips co-authored "ICA as Global Commons: Connections and Opportunities at the International Council on Archives" in Archival Outlook, and Gwen E. Granados wrote "'We're From the Government and We're Here to Help': The Records of the Federal Government in Arizona" for the Journal of Arizona History.

David A. Langbart authored "Finding Walter LaFeber in the Records" in Brewer, Immerman, and Little's Thinking Otherwise: How Walter LaFeber Explained the History of US Foreign Relations, and published "'We Should Have Our Own Observers of Information': The American Commission to Negotiate Peace Looks at Russia, 1919." in Intelligence and National Security in August.

In 2025, there were no specific individual authors or authors named who published at NARA available in the search results. However, the National Archives itself published open data and documents for public access.

Nicholas Coddington and Caitlin Cutrona co-authored "Behind the Shingle, the Untold Stories of World War II" in Social Education, and John P. Deeben authored "Using the Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-789, for Family Research" in NGS Magazine.

Finally, Sara Lyons Davis and Amanda Voglezon co-authored a publication titled "'Nothing Less Than a Miracle': A Peaceful Transition of Power and the American Inaugural Tradition" in Social Education, published in 2025.

If you have any publications related to NARA that you'd like to include in the "Current Staff Writings" feature, please send a notice to [email protected].