Archives II building<\/a> on the outskirts of the University of Maryland\u2019s campus in College Park, paper stacks are not something to be feared, but to be revered.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUnlike much of the federal bureaucracy, the National Archives and Records Administration isn\u2019t in the business of eliminating its paper trails so much as making them last. The way to do that is by digitizing many of its 13 billion records with its own staff, equipment and gumption. Currently, only about 275 million, or 2%, is digitally catalogued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of NARA\u2019s original textual records are available for viewing in-person only, or by requesting reproductions. The way the agency sees it, those invaluable original documents don\u2019t do much good locked away in a temperature-controlled, gray-painted room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, by September 2026, NARA is aiming to digitize 500 million pages of records, and even more thereafter. It\u2019s a herculean effort that wouldn\u2019t be possible without the new $20 million, 18,000-square-foot Digitization Center located within a remodeled space in Archives II that is replete with text-scanning equipment, work space, sensitive cameras and upgrades to keep light and humidity damage to a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith new high-speed scanners and a dedicated team of digitization staff, this new center is a game changer for the National Archives,\u201d said Colleen Shogan, the 11th archivist of the U.S., on April 12 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. \u201cIt provides us a tenfold increase in our in-house scanning capacity and will help us make millions of original records accessible online for Americans everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n