The folder title list also allows the researcher to request specific boxes of material. These inventories list folder titles, analyze contents, describe the people and subjects involved, and explain the collection's relationship to other holdings. Please do not hesitate to ask an archivist for help. The great majority of domestic policy and political affairs materials are processed and open to research. Some defense and foreign policy materials also are open and the rest are currently being processed for eventual release.
Most open collections have some items that are temporarily restricted from public use.
Most closed items are national security classified or of such a nature that their release would be an unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy. The National Archives and Records Administration temporarily restricts these and a few other categories of historical material regardless of source. Occasional other restrictions derive from specific agreements between the library and those who have donated materials. Researchers may formally appeal the restriction of items closed for privacy or other reasons unrelated to national security. The Freedom of Information Act does not apply to donated historical materials, including the Ford Papers.