Evening star., 1933-08-20
ARCHIVES BUILDING VAULT
TO PROTECT i. S. PAPERS
Historic Manuscripts Provided for in
Worlds Greatest Edifice of Kind, Now
Slowly Rising in Capital City.

The general information section will
be included in the public, non official
research room, with library Of ref
erence works, particularly official pub
lications, close at hand. For ofhcial
purposes, and other research room
and smaller enclosures where extensive
searches may be conducted, Will be
available.
Separate rooms for individual
searchers will not be provided" it Is
stated in the official outline Of plans
under which the entire work Is being
conducted. This provision. Of course,
has a direct relationship to the pos
sibility Of mutilation or theft Of
archives. Officials recognize the neces-
sity Of striking fine balance between
protection and accessibility. however,
and they have sought to draft system
which will not hamper research. but at
the same time will offer all needed
safeguards.
When the construction work under
way is completed next year, the ex-
terror walls and roof, space for admin
iStrative Offices, workshops and ap-
proximately half of the storage space
ultimately to be used will be accessible.
Building Is Rectangular.
The building then will present a
completed and artistic appearance in
the form Of huge rectangle. 1t will
appear complete at the end Of next
year, despite the fact that future
decades will witness addition of ap-
proximately 100000 cubic feet of
shelving space.
The main entrances, waiting room,
lobbies and administration quarters,
together with long passages and cor
ridors leading to other parts of the
building. will occupy the entire in
terror of the southern face of the
structure
The principal administrative and
secretarial Offices will be on the first
floor. and the research rooms-both
official and public-will be located on
the second floor
Behind the lobby. on the inner side
OF the southern portion of the rec
tangle, will appear semi-circular eX-
hibition hall. 1t will be equipped with
specially designed cases for the dis
play of historic documents to the pub
lie. This exhibition hall will be two
stories in height and will be flanked
by corridors leading to the archive
stacks.
Numerous meetings held by custo-
dams of Government archives and be-
gun even before the preliminary archi-
tectural sketches were drawn developed
facts hitherto unknown and wholly
unexpected" concerning the volume of
material destined to find place in the
new structure. The design of the
building reflects in large degree these
findings
1t was revealed that shelving, or
stack space required for files bearing
dates prior to 1880 and demanding
-fc 70 OF
900 cubic feet
One of the amazing facts brought to
light during the experts meetinG-
however, is the revelation of q rap
rate OF archlval accumulations dllrir
recent years. A review by DR.. Thoni
P. Martin, assistant chief of the diI
sion of manuscripts. Library of &C.
gress, dealing with the official reps
developed by the experts, states ii
present rate of growth is suggested
the fact that date early in 1917 iu
about halved the entire collection
In other words. the period following
entry OF the United States into the
World War has witnessed accumula-
tion of a mass of archives equal to the
volume of all the valued papers COL
lected during the many decades of the
Nations existence prior to that time
In the Seventy-second Congress bills
were introduced to provide for ap-
po1ntment of an ''archivist of the
United States" and for a staff of we'll
trained assistants, to deal with the
material to be stored in the building
now under construction No measure
was enacted. but the bills suggest the
main outlines of a system which may
be developed.
For example. it was proposed that
the various executive departments of
the Government, as well as some of the
older Independent Federal agencies,
would transfer to the archives build
ing all approved files covering the pc
riod ending with the year 1860, the
transfer to take place within six
months following completion of the
structure. Files covering the five-year
period beginning with 1861 would be
placed in the building five years later.
Those representing the next half dec
ade would be moved to the archives
building 10 years and 6, months
after its completion. In this way, sub
ject, of course. to variations to avoid
illogical divisions of files, papers and
documents would be transferred Pc
riodically from the Government units
which now exercise custody of them.