Learning from the Holdings Protection Team at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), USA

Abstract

In 2011, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the USA faced worldwide attention when it was revealed that thousands of documents had been stolen from its collection, including rare Civil War documents and presidential papers. The response by NARA was to create a Holdings Protection Team, with the task of overseeing and managing the collection security at NARA's multiple locations across the United States. In this paper NARA's strategy for collection security management (CSM) is placed alongside current research into CSM in libraries and archives to demonstrate how NARA exhibits a ‘house’ model of collection security, as seen through their slogan ‘Protect Our House’. From this discussion, some lessons for Australia are explored, with calls for some specific CSM guidelines from Australia's professional bodies in the information sector, such as the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).