VISIT TO THE AGENCY ARCHIVES AND RECORDS CENTER BY MR. ANDREWS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP72-00450R000100150013-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 4, 2001
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: October 3, 1967
• Content Type: MFR

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10/3/67
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2 October 1968
SUBJECT: Visit to the Agency Archives and Records Center by Mr.
1. On Wednesday, 2 October 1968, at 8:30 a.m. I met Mr.
25X1A9a at Headquarters and he drove us to_ We returned at 3:00 p.m. 25X1A6a
2. Enroute we discussed, among other things, the Agency Records
Program, the early Management Staff, and the current purge of records
at the Agency Archives and Records Center. He said he was going to the
Center to examine the records of the Inspector General's office. He
realized they had only 32 cubic feet in storage, but he felt they would
be expected to review them although the space savings would be slight.
He felt most of their Case Files could be summarized to dispose of the
bulk and retain the summary at the office in headquarters. He felt Mr.
Stewart would not agree to this disposal. Mr. - felt the IG
25X1A9a surveys should be retained as is. I suggested microfilming both IG Cases
and Surveys. He did not comment on that idea.
3. At the Center we met and talked briefly with Mr.
who had been there Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning reviewing the
DCI records. He said he only got through one box and felt it would take
years to review the 62 on hand. He left at 10:30 for a meeting with Col.
White.
25X1A9a 4. Mr. - and the Records Center Chief, Mr.
talked at length about records in storage and those identified for dis-
25X1A9a posal. Mr. - said he had come down for two reasons:
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a. To find out who from the office should come to the Records
Management Conference on 22 October. Should it be Mr.
- or Mr. Stewart?
b. "What was stirred up about? Were we
destroying records we shouldn't? Mr. had 25X1A9a
recently visited Mr. Stewart and seeme concerned that
valuable records, will be destroyed in this purge."
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5. I answered the first question that the Conference was concerned
with Automation and Microfilming and was aimed to demonstrate new ways
to store the records left after the purge. The current IG Records Officer
25X1A9a was Secretary and she should attend. But I did suggest that
office needed a higher grade professional to initiate new systems and
procedures for IG records. They should appoint one of the Junior Officers
to the Records Officer position.
6. For the second question Mr. 'provided examples of re- 25X1A9a
cords disposal problems and an explanation of Mr. visit
25X1A9a last Wednesday. (September 25) his latest pro-
blem case I had not yet heard about. It was an FI Case File from a box
just ordered destroyed. It was Mr. Gordon Stewart's file on the "Exploi-
tation of the Krushchev Speech attacking Stalin." The file had the source
document, several valuable letters to and from foreign allies on the 25X1A9a
subject with copies of related published documents. Mr. acknowl-
edged the file's value and wondered who the Office of Record should be
or was for this. Mr. - asked if he ought to destroy this box of
files as requested or inquire whether a record file existed elsewhere.
7. The discussion went from this specific example to the general
problem Agencywide. Several offices and the Historical Staff have re-
25X1A9a quested Mr. to double check the boxes enroute to the incinerator -25X1 A9a
25X1A9a Dr. - asked him to review DDP records ordered destroyed. -
has questioned many over the past few years and referred the boxes of
records back to the office that ordered the destruction. In most cases
they agreed that the identified records were valuable and must be re-
tained as permanent records in the Agency Archives. Four Records Officers,
25X1A9a Logistics, Contacts, Elint, and DDP, have complained to me that- 25X1A9a
was not following their orders. Mr. of the Historical Staff
has acknowledged finding some 40 historical documents in boxes- 25X1A9a
intercepted and referred to him. These developments were explained and
25X1A9a illustrated to Mr. -
8. We explained various cases to Mr. and said we expected
complaints because the Offices feel the records belong to them. Their
position is that they can dispose of anything produced in their offices.
25X1A9a Mr. - pointed out the records belong to the Agency and are part
of the Director's responsibility under the law that requires an Agency
Head to "make and keep records of his organization, functions, procedures,
25X1A9a policies, and products." Copies of this law were shown to Mr. ~ as
25X1A9a they had been to Mr. The government manual of scheduled
records retention periods governing our Agency records was also provided
25X1A9a to M.. - (Mr. had expressed concern that the Director
25X1A9a could be embarrassed if we violated this schedule and he was someday
25X1A9a asked to produce a document required by this government schedule.)
Mr. - was non comittal but did express surprise that no records
by any field station chief were in the Records Center.
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that Mr.
9. I explained to Mr. 6was I had to Mr.
ii1j"
25X1A9a -, our Staff liaison with National Archives, had met with
and me to review this problem frequently in recent months. I had re-
25X1A9a quested Mr. to collect specific examples and send them to me
with his findings. So far he has assembled four groups for my study
and I have contacted the offices concerned. Copies of these examples
25X1A9a had been shown to Mr. and may well have been the motivation
for his visit to Mr. Stewart.
25X1A9a 10. Mr. - and I explained to Mr. 6athat last year
the Records Center destroyed 11,000 cubic feet of useless, obsolete
25X1A9a records as scheduled. Mr. - has. a bocklog of about 400 boxes
of questionable material enroute to the incinerator. It will be
destroyed eventually as requested unless someone provides an official
stop order. He stakes his Archivist reputation and twenty years of
work with records that these records are of important historical, and
legal value to the Agency and should be retained in the Archives. At
present neither he nor this Staff have the authority to countermand
a statement about its records made by an Agency component regardless
of the degree of competence in that statement. The records policy
continues to be that expressed by Col. White: Purge all useless
material from the Center. Preserve the historical and legally required
records. The published rules and standards provided by the Archivist
of the United States are the yardsticks we use to keep the valuable and
dispose of the obsolete.
11. At lunch time Mr. and I briefly visited
25X1A9a in his office. Before we left, Mr.-escorted Mr. - on 25X1A9a
a tour of the Records Center storage and work areas. On the return to
25X1A9a headquarters Mr. said the records problems look to him as they
did 20 years ago; they still need active support in every office. He
seems to feel a Directorate unit should screen files for duplication
prior to retirement. He feels the Offices do not have the competence
at present to identify records permanently valuable to the Agency. He
25X1A9a mused over the possibility of halting the purge. (Mr. also
posed this.) I discouraged such a proposition. I explaine a too
many good things were coming from the current reviews of the files.
Thousands of feet of papers need review and disposal action. Nothing
should be done or said to slaw down momentum of the Purge. The volume
of historical records is small and the Board is developing criteria to
identify such records. If we don't rush into hasty destruction actions
25X1A9a in the offices, then the screening action by - and his Staff
should suffice in the interim. The Center's final analysis before the
25X1A9a furnace should not be discontinued. Mr. - said he would report
to Mr. Stewart and he felt certain Mr. Stewart would be in touch with
Mr. Bannerman.
ie
Records Administration Branch,
Support Services Staff
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