Two new divisions will be created: the Textual Reference Division and the Textual Projects Division. Geraldine Phillips has been selected as the director of the Textual Projects Division. R. Michael McReynolds will serve as the director of the Textual Reference Division. The charts below explain the breakdown of the organization: The creation of a new unit, the Records Relocation Branch, is a major element of the reorganization plan. The branch is headed by Maida Loescher, who is responsible for creating a master location register for all textual records in the Washington, DC area. This staff, of approximately 30 employees, will describe records for which series level descriptions are required and will be responsible for preparing accessioned textual records (both in the Archives Building and at the WNRC) for the move to Archives II. They will also annotate existing finding aids with comments about the condition of the records and enter this data in the location register. Materials which need holdings maintenance prior to the move will be identified. A new Branch devoted entirely to holdings maintenance will be created to consolidate this program. Wayne Tracy is the chief of the Holdings Maintenance Branch. Another aspect of the reorganization is the redesignation of the Legislative Archives Division as the Center for Legislative Archives. Dr. Peterson stated that the purpose of the redesignation was to enhance the visibility of the program and underscore the significance of legislative records. Dr. Peterson also announced that the Machine-Readable Archives Branch was being taken out of the Special Archives Division and redesignated as the Center for Electronic Records. The Center is organized into two branches and, over the next few years, will receive additional personnel and equipment. part of the Archivist's commitment to expand the electronic records holdings. This is The Archivist called the reorganization an "essential element" in the preparation for Archives II. "We must ensure a smooth transition in 1994 to the new building. We hope the disruption to staff members will be minimal although some inconvenience will be inevitable." Field Branches Renamed Effective October 9, 1988, the Field Archives Division was renamed the Regional Archives System with no change in the correspondence symbols of the director or the individual archives. The names of the former branches are changed as GPO Publications Moved to Center for Legislative Archives As a result of the reorganization of the Office of the National Archives in October 1988, an important series of records previously in the custody of the Library and Printed Archives Branch was transferred to the Center for Legislative Archives. This series is the record set of publications of the Government Printing Office, which is a Congressional agency. These publications, which made up the library of the GPO's Public Documents Division, are the most complete collection of printed Federal documents in existence. They are controlled by the National Archives as Record Group 287, Publications of the U.S. Government, and are arranged mainly by the agency classification scheme developed by the Superintendent of Documents. Fourth Annual Preservation Conference On March 1, 1989 the National Archives will host its Fourth Annual Preservation Conference entitled "Current Trends in the Preservation of Audiovisual Collections." The one-day conference will include four sessions focusing on video, sound recording, motion picture, and still picture holdings and will provide a nontechnical update for archivists, librarians, preservation administrators, and curators on the issues, problems, and concerns in the preservation of these materials. Speakers and panelists representing the Library of Congress, the Ampex Corporation, the American Film Institute, Winterthur, the National Archives of Canada, and the National Archives and Records Administration will participate in the conference. conference will be held in the National Archives Theater from 5 p.m. with a reception following from 5 p.m. 7 p.m. Preregistration for the conference is required. The fee of 9 a.m. $40.00 includes a reception. The Please make check payable to: Mail fee National Archives Trust Fund (355X.NO0A 0410.10.411.9). with name of individual, address, name of institution, and phone number to: Conference Coordinator NSZ National Archives Washington, DC 20408 For further information call (202) 523-1546. Archives II Update On September 22, 1988, President Reagan signed Public Law 100-440, the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, authorizing the National Archives to construct and finance Archives II. Archives II will be constructed on a 33-acre site on the northwest end of the University of Maryland campus in College Park. The Federal government will receive the use of this land without charge. In September 1988, NARA completed an environmental assessment of the University of Maryland site, which concluded that construction of the facility poses no major adverse impact on the area from either an environmental or historical perspective. Also in September 1988, the National Archives awarded a design contract for the design of Archives II to the joint venture firm of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, P.C. (HOK) and Ellerbe Becket. In conjunction with the Gilbane Building Company, which will serve as the construction quality manager for |