Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Archivist or Librarian--does anyone care?

"On July 28, President Obama announced his intent to nominate David S. Ferriero to the position of Archivist of the United States. Mr. Ferriero currently serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL). Mr. Ferriero succeeds Professor Allen Weinstein who resigned as Archivist last December." National Coalition for History

Well, he's not an archivist, and as a librarian I can tell you these are different specialties, but it's much closer than the Librarian of Congress ever came to being a librarian. And closer than the last guy, Allen Weinstein who had been a history professor, writer, editor and head of a think tank/non-profit. These position usually don't change with the administration but he has Parkinson's Disease and cited ill health. It's probably just a title and I wish him well. To the victor belongs the archives. And the appointments.

And it requires confirmation! Since none of the czars do, and they will affect our lives far more than this position, it's time to demand a little sunlight on them. There are plenty more Van Joneses in the O-Administration; besides it sounds like he's just moved on over to John Podesta's Center for American Progress Action Fund. Sandy Berger's daughter works there. He definitely had a strong NARA connection. (He's the guy who stole the documents from the Archives and stuffed them in his socks.) See Guide to the Political Left for information on CAP.

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