NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) Releases FY 2026-2030 Strategic Plan Framework Document

From NARA:

Last week Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan announced a new Strategic Framework for the National Archives. The framework, a template that will guide the development of a full Strategic Plan, charts a course for the agency that emphasizes building digital capacity, scalability, and responsibly embracing technological innovation.

“Our mission is both straightforward and complex: We preserve, protect, and share the historical records of the United States to promote public inquiry and strengthen democratic participation,” said Shogan. “The goals outlined in this framework will guide our efforts as we successfully navigate the complexities of the rapidly evolving digital landscape and strive to engage all Americans in meaningful ways.”

One of the agency’s key objectives outlined in the framework is to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into archival recordkeeping and information-sharing practices to make it easier for everyone to use the records held by the National Archives.

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NARA’s early AI projects have showcased the technology’s strengths by improving response times for records requests and making information from holdings more easily understood. One of the first uses of AI at NARA, in 2022, helped identify names in the 1950 Census before the records were released. Census records are a rich resource for genealogists—but it can be difficult and time-consuming to find names. These names were handwritten by census takers and can be difficult to read. NARA was able to use AI to identify names and make the records searchable within the National Archives Catalog, making it easier for the public to search and find family members in the census on the day that it was released.

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AI is also being tested as an administrative business tool to help NARA employees work more efficiently in day-to-day tasks. Employees in the pilot project can access Google Gemini AI capabilities within the Google applications used at NARA for help summarizing documents, writing emails, and creating presentations and data visualization. The Gemini pilot greets employees with a message that reminds pilot users that no data will be shared outside of the National Archives environment and will not be used to train Google’s AI model.

National Archives Chief Information Officer Sheena Burrell stated, “AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we work at NARA. By automating routine tasks and providing us with new tools to analyze and understand our data, AI can help us to be more efficient, effective, and responsive to the needs of our customers.”

NARA’s inventory of AI use cases to date are listed on its website.

Learn More, Read the Complete NARA Post

Direct to New Strategic Framework Document (2 pages; PDF)

See Also: AI-Mazing Tech-Venture’: National Archives Pushes Google Gemini AI on Employees (via 404 Media)

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