National Archives at College Park

This is the central repository of U.S. federal government department records, notably those of the State Department.

Address
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001

Website
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/

Telephone
301-837-2000, or Customer Service Center: 1-866-272-6272

Email
Contact via this link.

Schedule & hours
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Extended hours on evenings and Saturdays once a month--check the website.

Working language(s)
English

Layout
The entrance to the archive, its security desk, registration, and cafeteria are on the ground floor. Lockers are in the basement, and the reading room is on the second floor. The reading room contains a few computer terminals, as well as a glassed-in room containing catalogues. More detailed catalogues can be had in archivists' offices to the north of the reading room (an escort is required). The microfilm reading room is on the third floor. Most storerooms are on-site.

Directions
Public transportation and driving directions can be found here. Public transport access is functional, but less than convenient. A free shuttle bus from the National Archives in DC can be convenient, if you are staying near downtown.

Description of holdings
(a more extensive description (qualitative and/or quantitative) of the holdings and the state in which they are kept)

History of the archive
(previous location(s) of collection held there, and any information that might help researchers to navigate previous systems)

Catalogues & finding aids
Finding aids at the College Park archives tend to be primitive: shelf after shelf of second-generation photocopied lists, many offering only general descriptions of holdings. It is almost always necessary to enlist an archivist or two in order to cover the bases, and many of the archivists are very helpful. A breakdown of holdings by Record Group and size is here. The National Archives is beginning to experiment with an online catalogue called the Archival Research Catalog (ARC).

Languages of materials
English, with some foreign languages in State Department records

Inaccessible material
Cataloguing is inconsistent, so it can be difficult to ascertain the state of collections. Archivists have been known to escort researchers into the stacks in order to look for obscure material.

Future of the archive
(what direction is the archive going? what rumours have you heard?)

Access
(what permits, identity documents, or letters of reference do you need to present? how far in advance must you begin to register?)

First visit
(what happens when you first come to the archives?)

Permitted and prohibited items

 * Permitted: laptop computers, cameras, certain scanners (details)
 * Prohibited: ink pens

Document ordering
Records are pulled four times per day (10 and 11 a.m., 1:30 and 2:30 p.m.); submit your orders by beforehand.

Ordering classified material
(what special permission is necessary?)

Document delivery
(how long does it take for documents to arrive? where are they delivered?  how many can you consult at a time?  what do you do when you are finished with an item?)

Photocopying, photography, microfilming
(what are costs, permits, and page limits? how long do you have to wait?)

Key forms
(what are the main forms that the archive uses? if possible, provide links to copies or post copies directly)

Archive staff
(people you've found particularly helpful; no invective)

Scholars
(scholars who are familiar with this archive)