Public Documents Research Articles

Secrets of History and the Law of Secrets

Also, I come to you after considerable indoctrination in the ways and concerns of your professions. I have become the object of this indoctrination because of my involvements with the historical papers of two Presidents (although only the latter of the two involvements was of my choosing) and, as a member of the Public Documents Commission, with the papers of other Presidents those to come. The credit for making me one of your disciples goes to those persuasive members of your organizations who have written and talked to me and who, in some cases lest I not be persuaded have sued or threatened to sue me. But even as a disciple of yours, I still harbor ideas which may be heresy. Possibly, I feel too strongly about the importance and value of privacy, not just for people in private life (to whom privacy relates by definition) but also for persons fulfilling public functions. Personalized criticism, instinctive suspicions, parochial observations, speculative thoughts, tentative judgments, calculated posturing, emotional pleas, shifted positions, sour dissents, and quid pro quo efforts to compromise: these are as much a part of human reflections and deliberations in government as they are anywhere else. And I question any policy that puts such occurrences in the public domain simply because they take place in a government office or conference room and involve government officials on government time. Of course, I recognize that historians have a sense of patience which would lead them to say: We do not ask for such matters to be put in the public domain now but let there be a record of them so that at least our progeny can some day see that record. On that preliminary note, I would like to explore now my dual topics: secrets of history and the law of secrets. As a definition of historical secrets I suggest that they consist of information which historians want to know but can't find out, including:

Introduction to United States Public Documents. Joe Morehead

<i>Introduction to United States Public Documents</i>. Joe Morehead

Transfer of the public documents library to the National Archives

The Library of the Public Documents Department, generally considered to comprise the most nearly complete collection of federal government publications in existence, was transferred as an archival unit to the National Archives during the year 1972. Reasons for this relocation were given as the need to preserve the collection and to alleviate the critical problem of space at the former facility. A principal benefit of the transfer was the provision of reference service for scholars desiring access to the materials. This report deals with the problems and progress of the relocation which, at this writing, had not been wholly resolved or concluded. Recommendations for future surveys are proffered. The on-site research for this report was made possible by a small grant-in-aid from the Research Foundation of the State University of New York.

Public Documents “Care of the Aged” Report by the Social Welfare Commission, August 1975

Two Government publications of great social significance became available in quick succession in recent months, viz. the First Main Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Poverty and the Social Welfare Commission's Report on Care of the Aged. Both provide a wealth of information on their respective subjects, and both will surely continue to be studied over a long period by those who are concerned with social planning, irrespective of any political affiliation they may have.

Recycling Early National History Through the Papers of the Founding Fathers

IN 1928, THE BLOSSOM YEAR OF THE JAZZ ERA, EDWARD P. CHEYNEY observed, position of history in the eyes of the world has never been higher than it is at present. Yet none know better than those who pursue it most closely the inadequacies of its materials and the deficiencies of its presentation.1 Cheyney wrote at a time when historians considered Benjamin Franklin Stevens' Facsimiles of Manuscripts in European Archives Relating to America as the apogee of documentary publication. Cheyney's prefatory remarks for Lucy Salmon's book were reinforced by her own perception that Stevens' work and Reuben Gold Thwaites' seventy-three-volume Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents were perfect illustrations of ideal editing. Yet a printed collection she did not mention, Samuel Eliot Morison's Sources and Documents Illustrating the American Revolution, was about to go into a second edition, and Max Farrand's Records of the Federal Convention was an established historical tool. Both works have had far more usage since 1928 than either of the perfect illustrations. Thus do the volumes perceived as outstanding by one generation of historians sometimes fail to fit the allotted niche. Yet except for the publication of Burnett's Letters of Members of the Continental Congress, Clarence Carter's Territorial Papers, and John C. Fitzpatrick's Writings of Washington, the situation had not radically changed between 1928 and 1945. The end of World War II, however, saw a revival of documentary editing as a major field in American historiography. The trend has slowed, thirty years later, but it still has a certain momentum. It is time to inquire whether that

Historical Advisory Committees: State, Defense, and the Atomic Energy Commission

HE EXTENSIVE USE Of members of the academic community to offer advice on governmental historical activities dates from the years after 1945. To be sure, the American Historical Association long ago created standing committees to monitor matters of concern to it--establishing a national archives, promoting documentary publication, securing prompt and impartial access to records still in departmental hands; but until after the Second World War most federal historical projects involved printing papers from the distant past, not writing about recent events from classified materials. Thus, a new situation arose with the launching of several postwar programs-editorial, archival, and narrative-in which civil servants or uniformed personnel used files not available then, or probably for some time to come, to nongovernmental historians. To aid with these programs, and also to attest to their scholarly character, the government appointed numerous advisory committees, but their work is little known within the profession. In some quarters, this ignorance has fostered suspicion and mistrust. To promote a fuller understanding of the problem, this essay seeks to describe the past actions and present status of committees that counsel the Departments of State and Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission in their historical enterprises.'

XII. Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, October 5th 1961

XII. Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, October 5th 1961

Introduction to United States Public Documents (Book Review)

Introduction to United States Public Documents (Book Review)

Public Documents: Submission Concerning Social Workers in Schools made at the request of the N.S.W. Public Service Board, 28th August, 1974

This paper is based on a review of the Submission concerning Social Workers in Schools made at the request of the N.S.W. Public Service Board in the light of current developments in school social work. An attempt is made to look at some of the areas not covered by the submission and there is some discussion of goals, roles, primary target groups and other related issues. In conclusion it is felt that no decision can be made about location on the basis of information contained in the submission and that much more consideration needs to be given to the dynamics of school social work.

Public Documents Financial Assistance for Local Government. A Submission to the Grants Commission

James Joyce in his deepest metaphysical moments was no match for the writer(s) of this Report. Whilst recognizing that interdepartmental reports provide never-to-be-missed opportunities for one-upmanship between bureaucracies, one expects more clarity and simplicity when such technical bulletins are made public (as this one has). Paradoxically the Department of Urban and Regional Development (D.U.R.D.) has its own precedent in the excellent report, “Sydney Western Region—an initial discussion report, May 1974”, which formed the basis for allocations in its area improving programme for Sydney.

Libraries and machine-readable data

Wednesday evening, July 10th, 8:30-10:30 is the time scheduled for a panel discussion: "Government Publications in Machine-Readable Form: A New Tool for the Reference Librarian." A part of the American Library Association's 1974 New York Conference, the meeting is co-sponsored by the Government Documents Round Table's (GODORT) Machine-Readable Data Files Committee, the Federal Librarians Round Table (FLIRT), the RASD Information Retrieval Committee and the RASD/RTSD/ASLA Public Documents Committee.

South Dakota public documents: Report of a study

The Interim Public Documents Study Commission was given the charge of initiating and completing a comprehensive study of all phases of the publication and distribution of South Dakota Public documents. The commission determined in its study that lack of a clear understanding of what constitutes a public documents, lack of standardization in the publication of state documents, confusion in the states laws regarding the printing and distribution of these documents, and the lack of a depository system were key problems in the publication and dissemination of South Dakota state documents. Recommendation for correcting these deficiencies were made in the report, which was submitted to the Forty-eight Legislative Assembly of the State of South Dakota, with major emphasis being given to the establishment of a depository system within the South Dakota State Library. The author, director of libraries at the University of South Dakota, served as chairman of the Interim Public Documents Study Commission.

Reports and Public Documents

There is more then generous gesture in the efforts towards “openness” so frequently heard about today. The more one encounters it, the more one finds certainty that it springs from a deeply experienced insight that there is no way so human and integral by which to reach out to solve problems as in the opening of oneself to the messages contained within human interaction and in the giving and receiving of opinion on ways of proceeding.

Public Documents and Legislation

Local government is a big topic. As of the United States, almost anything one could say about it is true somewhere, somehow. And indeed much has been said. There have been continuous comments and criticisms, matched by a plethora of reports and inquiries—both overseas and in every State in Australia.

Public Documents and Legislation: The South Australian Juvenile Courts Act, 1971, and Community Welfare Act, 1972

The Juvenile Courts Act repeals previous arrangements for Juvenile Courts in South Australia and introduces non-judicial treatment of juveniles in some cases. The Community Welfare Act consolidates a number of social welfare provisions previously covered by separate Acts, introduces a regional administration of services and provides for community involvement in social welfare. The two Acts are related to the extent that arrangements for assessment and care of children coming under the Juvenile Courts Act are provided under the Community Welfare Act.

R. E. A. Palmer, The King and the Comitium. A Study of Rome's Oldest Public Document

R. E. A. Palmer, The King and the Comitium. A Study of Rome's Oldest Public Document

The Hague Conventions on Private International Law and State Succession

The last decade has seen a most encouraging territorial extension of the application of the Hague Conventions. This may, to some extent, be attributed to the efforts of Member States to extend the application of such treaties to territories for the international relations of which they are responsible. The United Kingdom has been particularly active in this respect, extending the application of the Convention on the Conflict of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions to 28 territories, and that Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents to 34 territories. Whilst this adds a new dimension to the Conventions, it does pose problems when the territories become independent.

The Choice of a Medium for Documentary Publication

The Choice of a Medium for Documentary Publication

Index of Book Reviews and Reviews of Government Report and Public Documents

Previous articleNext article No AccessIndex of Book Reviews and Reviews of Government Report and Public DocumentsPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 42, Number 1Mar., 1968Forty-Year Index, Volumes 1-40 (1927-66) Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/642207 Views: 3Total views on this site Copyright 1968 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

"Having the Power, We Have the Duty": Report to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Advisory Council on Public Welfare

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviews of Government Reports and Public Documents"Having the Power, We Have the Duty": Report to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Advisory Council on Public WelfareFrank R. BreulFrank R. Breul Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 40, Number 4Dec., 1966 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/642021 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright 1966 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.