The grants go to state and local archives, colleges and universities, libraries and historical societies, and other non-profit organizations. The Archivist of the United States chairs the Commission and makes grants on its recommendation. Our society cannot do without historical documents. Without documents, historians cannot carry forward the continuing evaluation and re-evaluation we need of the experience of our nation, our states, our communities, and the many groups that comprise our society. And documents undergird the accuracy of the history our children are taught in textbooks and schools.
Challenges Documenting American history is difficult.
Wars, fires, and floods have carried many records away. Others are succumbing to the less dramatic ravages of acidic paper, insect infestation, and neglect in damp basements, hot attics, and unprotected warehouses. Many units of government have no archives or records management program, and in the private sector as well many records are routinely discarded by persons unaware of their value. Moreover, records of potential value are proliferating both in quantity and form. Government records in particular, at all levels, have mushroomed, and archivists who are overwhelmed with paper are having to cope also with computer-generated records, which are easily deleted or altered, exist on tapes and disks that do not last long, and depend for readability on hardware and software that quickly become obsolete.