How the National Archives Became NARS
On June 19, 1934, the National Archives was created as an independent agency. But just 15 years later, on June 30, 1949, Congress passed legislation moving the National Archives to the newly created General Services Administration (GSA) and renamed it the National Archives and Records Service (NARS). Today we’re looking at the events that led up to that move.
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2024/06/17/how-the-national-archives-became-nars/
The Presidential Records Act
Under the Presidential Records Act (PRA), incumbent Presidents have exclusive responsibility for the custody and management of the Presidential records of their administration while in office. The National Archives and Records Administration has no formal role in how incumbent Presidents manage their records, except when the President proposes to dispose of records; instead, NARA provides guidance and counsel to incumbent Presidents and their designated officials, upon request. For more information, see:
Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978
https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html
Guidance on Presidential Records
https://www.archives.gov/files/guidance-on-presidential-records-from-the-national-archives-and-records-administration-2020.pdf
Press Statements in Response to
Media Queries About Presidential Records
https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2022/nr22-001
Each change of Presidential administration requires a massive move of records and materials. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plays a key role in the physical transfer of hundreds of millions of textual, electronic, audiovisual records, and artifacts from the White House to an outgoing President’s future library. NARA also plans for the transfer of legal custody of those materials when an administration ends, the care of those materials, and the development of the library itself. Presidential records come to NARA at the end of the administration. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) five years after the President has left office. NARA uses this time to begin to conduct archival processing and otherwise prepare for the onset of public access. (Trump Presidential records will become subject to FOIA on January 20, 2026).
https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/presidential-records-act