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Citizen Archivist Missions

Ready to start tagging and transcribing? We've curated these topical missions to help you jump in and contribute! Click on a topic that interests you, and it will bring you right to those historical records in our Catalog. Tagging and transcribing makes these records more accessible to everyone. New missions are added and updated regularly, so check back often to see what’s new.

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Transcription Challenge

Ready for another #ArchivesAtHome challenge? This is the case of Richard Galatas, a businessman from Hot Springs, AR, who conspired with a group of Kansas City, MO, mobsters to attempt to free Frank Nash from police custody during the Union Station Massacre. Galatas was sentenced to two years in the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, and later transferred to Alcatraz. Find a page without a blue tag and begin transcribing!

Alaska Road Commission

Help us transcribe appropriate acts, memos, correspondence, reports and more. The materials document the Commissioner of Roads' policies and procedures in the formulation and implementation of the work of building roads, bridges, ferries, and trails in the Territory of Alaska.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Master Speech Files

Transcribe public statements, speeches and addresses delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his lifetime. The speeches range from a 1898 school debate on the annexation of Hawaii while Roosevelt was a student at Groton School to the draft of the April 13, 1945 Jackson Day address that Roosevelt never delivered because of his death the day before.

TVA Family Removal and Population Readjustment Case Files, 1937 - 1948

Transcribe case histories and family surveys of individuals affected by the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) acquisition of land for dam and power production projects. Find a page without a blue tag and start transcribing. Thanks to Citizen Archivist Alex for the suggestion!

Hunting and Fishing Correspondence, 1934-1953

Help us transcribe Alaska Reindeer Service correspondence relating to hunting and fishing; letters regarding open and closed seasons for various fur-bearing animals and fishing areas; fish trap licenses; and other regulatory and legal matters.

Award Cards, 1942 - 1963

Help us transcribe this large series of index cards for awards that include the Purple Heart, Air Medal Decoration, Commendation Medal, Distinguished Service Cross, and Distinguished Flying Cross. Information included consists of: name, service number, rank, general order number, order date and issuing organization, award type, date awarded and more.

Bureau of Public Roads Historical Photograph 1896 - 1963

Bureau of Public Roads 1896 - 1963

Help us tag details and features you find such as vehicles (can you identify the model and make?), highway structures, buildings, tourist cabins and motels, car washes, shopping centers, bus terminals, and parking garages.

Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant

Help us transcribe records relating to the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire from the National Archives at Boston. They cover 1973-1979, a period when there was a great deal of legal activity with the Clamshell Alliance, an anti-nuclear power citizens' group.

Don't Leave Us Hanging

Help us complete these records that have not been fully transcribed.

Questions? Email us at citizenarchivist@nara.gov

Outside the Box Missions

Up for a challenge or something different? We often have records that require special work in order to make them more accessible.

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Chinese Heritage

Help us transcribe and tag records related to the Chinese Exclusion Era. We need your help transcribing these immigration records and tagging very specific details that will help provide greater access to these records. Please read the instructions on the mission page carefully and begin contributing.

Join the mission

Presidential Libraries Road Trip

Earlier this year, in honor of Presidents Day, we virtually traveled the country to bring you a series of Citizen Archivist missions featuring records from the Presidential Libraries across the National Archives.

We still have records left to transcribe. Will you help us complete the missions? .

Start the Road Trip!

Record Group Explorer Missions

The National Archives recently launched a new pathway to view and explore our records: the Record Group Explorer. You can use this tool to see an overview of the scans of records currently available in our Catalog, organized by Record Group and format.

To celebrate the launch of the Record Group Explorer, we’ve created special missions for each Record Group. Give the Explorer a try while contributing as a citizen archivist! Jump in and help tag and transcribe:

We’ll feature additional Record Groups for future missions. Each of your contributions to these records will help unlock history and make them easier to find in our Catalog for other users.

Transcriber Task Force

Seeking expert transcribers! We’ve gathered records that have tricky elements for our expert transcribers. You may find only a few pages that are difficult or the whole record. If you’d like to join our Transcriber Task Force and get emails for special projects, send us an email citizenarchivist@nara.gov

Get started transcribing!

Zooniverse

Give voice to American soldiers and help transcribe records from the National Archives on the Zooniverse platform:

The American Soldier: Transcribe this remarkable collection of more than 65,000 handwritten reflections by U.S. soldiers who fought during the Second World War.
African American Civil War Soldiers: Transcribe military records of over 200,000 African Americans soldiers who fought for their freedom in the American Civil War.

Featured Records

Jump in and help us transcribe these individual records. Documenting events throughout United States history, transcribers of all skill levels are sure to find something new and interesting in these featured records!

Beginner

Stuart Edgar Angel Jones, 3/25/1976 Transcribe this record.
Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1894 - 2002, NIE 11-14-65, 21 Oct 65, Capabilities of Soviet General Purpose Forces Transcribe this record.
NSDD 255 Fiscal Year (FY) 1987-1992 Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, 1/9/1987 Transcribe this record.
Zinnamon v. Board of Education of the Pulaski County Special School District, Temporary Restraining Order, 11/1/1971 Transcribe this record.
Daily Appointment Sheet for President Harry S. Truman, 7/2/1946 Transcribe this record.
Records of the Domestic Policy Council (Clinton Administration), ca. 1992 - 1/20/2001, [Admin Files] Administration Accomplishments Transcribe this record.
Records of the Forest Service, 1870 - 2008, F – Aerial – Airports, 1953 Transcribe this record.
Ted Davis, et. al. v. St. Louis Housing Authority Transcribe this record.
Records of the U.S. Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976, 206-01 Combat Artist Team II 1966 Transcribe this record.
Aunyx Corporation v. Canon Incorporated and Canon U.S.A., Incorporated, Complaint as Amended April 13, 1988, 4/13/1988 Transcribe this record.

Intermediate

Alice Bobo v. ITT Corporation and Continental Baking Company Transcribe this record.
Documentation of peregrine falcon nest sites in relation to state land use proposals, 1994 Transcribe this record.
Annual Message to Congress - State of the Union (Speech File 1501) of January 11, 1944 Transcribe this record.
San Francisco Branch Evacuee Property Files, Sacramento Field Representative File (Part 4 of 10) Transcribe this record.
Esther Williams et. al. v. City of Kansas City, Missouri et. al. Transcribe this record.
Portland Branch Evacuee Property Files, 3/18/1942 - 6/30/1946, [B4.30] Alphabetical File: O Transcribe this record.
History of the 52nd Fighter Group Scrapbook Transcribe this record.
Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1868 - 2008, Narrative Reports 1911-2001, Imperial NWR, 1946 Transcribe this record.
Records of the Forest Service, 1870 - 2008, Historical Files, 1901-1962, F – Control – Weather Records, 1942-49 Transcribe this record.
Folder, "Memos, [Cables, memos, reports, and other material, 11/63-5/67] Vol. XV, 8/1964," Vietnam Country File, NSF, Box 7 Transcribe this record.

Advanced

Pei, Ieoh Ming - Case Number: 35527/015-16 - Ship of Arrival: President Coolidge, 08/28/1935 Transcribe this record.
Oswald's Notebook (Home Copy) Transcribe this record.
San Francisco Branch Evacuee Property Files, 3/18/1942 - 6/30/1946, Head Office Interview Reports: C Transcribe this record.
Folder, "Presidential Decisions-Gulf of Tonkin Attacks of August 1964-Volume I, Tab 9, 1 of 2," NSC Histories, NSF, Box 38 Transcribe this record.
Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, Criminal Case Files, 1879-1987, U.S. v. Frank James Transcribe this record.
U.S. v. Douglas Chandler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Boston, May 29, 1947 Transcribe this record.
Records of the Public Buildings Service, 1801 - 2000, Letters Sent, 1/1858-1/1930, Vol. 2: Pages 950-1047: Letters 181-209 Transcribe this record.
Criminal Case Files, 1879-1987, The United States v. Fremont Weeks Transcribe this record.
Approved Pension Application File for Ann E. Meredith, Widow of Corporal Davis Meredith, Company D, 151st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment Transcribe this record. (Scanned by Citizen Archivists in the Innovation Hub!)

Questions? Email us at citizenarchivist@nara.gov

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