Ceremonial Swearing-In of David S. Ferriero as Tenth Archivist of the U.S.
Press Release · Thursday, January 7, 2010

Media Alert
January 7, 2010

Media Invitation to Ceremonial Swearing-In of David S. Ferriero as Tenth Archivist of the United States on January 13

WHAT: The swearing-in of David S. Ferriero as the tenth Archivist of the United States. The ceremony is open to invited guests and members of the working press.

WHO: Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer presiding

WHEN: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, at 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, National Archives Building
700 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
(The press should use the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance.)

Note: The National Archives Experience will be closed to the public January 13, 2010.

Background Information

About Mr. Ferriero

The United States Senate voted to confirm David S. Ferriero as the 10th Archivist of the United States on November 7, 2009. Mr. Ferriero was the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL), and is a leader in the field of research librarianship. Mr. Ferriero was nominated by President Obama on July 28, 2009.

As the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries, Mr. Ferriero was part of the leadership team responsible for integrating the four research libraries and 87 branch libraries into one seamless service for users, creating the largest public library system in the United States and one of the largest research libraries in the world. Mr. Ferriero was in charge of collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research services; and education, programming, and exhibitions.

Before joining the NYPL in 2004, Mr. Ferriero served in top positions at two of the nation’s major academic libraries, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, and Duke University in Durham, NC. In those positions, he led major initiatives including the expansion of facilities, the adoption of digital technologies, and a reengineering of printing and publications.

Mr. Ferriero earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from Northeastern University in Boston and a master’s degree from the Simmons College of Library and Information Science, also in Boston.

About the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration’s mission is to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of the United States Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. It ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. It supports democracy, promotes civic education, and facilitates historical understanding of our national experience.

As Archivist of the United States, Mr. Ferriero is responsible for 44 facilities across the country, including the two main research buildings in the Washington, DC, area, 13 Presidential libraries from Herbert Hoover through George W. Bush, and 14 regional archives. Together these facilities preserve and make available more than 9 billion records, including documents, maps, photographs, films and sound recordings, as well as millions of electronic records. In addition to assisting Federal agencies and the public with research and reference services, the National Archives offers educational programs and public workshops to help Americans learn how to use archived records.

The Archivist is also in charge of 17 Federal Records Centers which provide Federal agencies records storage, access, and disposition services through a national network of facilities; the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis which manages the records of millions of military veterans of the 20th century, as well as former civilian Federal employees; and the Federal Register which is the daily "gazette" of the U.S. Government. Published daily, the Federal Register is a record of Government proclamations, orders, and regulations, and Presidential and other public documents.

Other offices and programs that the Archivist is responsible for include: a Government-wide records management program, a grants program administered by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the Office of Government Information Services that mediates disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies, the Information Security Oversight Office that oversees the Government-wide security classification system, and the National Declassification Center, a newly-created center to streamline the declassification process.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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