Advocacy Alert: Archives at Risk!
- Jan Dougall
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Several reports have come out since late June about plans to close National Archives facilities in San Bruno, California, and Chicago, with records to be consolidated and relocated elsewhere. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has announced plans to close the National Archives at San Francisco, located in San Bruno, within the next few years.
These regional archival research facilities house records essential to genealogists, historians, and the communities whose histories they preserve. A letter-writing campaign is underway.
The California Genealogical Society wrote:
“Among these 100,000 cubic feet of documents are hundreds of thousands of immigration and naturalization materials for people from over eighty countries, including extensive Chinese Exclusion case files; German, Italian, and Japanese American internment files; Public Health records; Mexican Land grant cases; Hawaiian Birth Certificates and citizenship cases; and arrival case files for Russian Jews and other immigrants from throughout the world.”
Less than 1% of the records held by the National Archives have been digitized, making access to original records and in-person research essential.
The Organization of American Historians and other historical and genealogical organizations have expressed concern that closing regional facilities would undermine the original purpose of maintaining archives in the communities whose histories they document. Asian American genealogical and historical societies have written letters opposing the closures, as have tribal governments and other organizations.
The August 24 Press Conference in San Bruno
On Monday, August 24, U.S. Representative Kevin Mullin held a press conference outside the National Archives at San Francisco in San Bruno, California, where he was joined by historians, researchers, genealogists, and community advocates working to prevent the closure.
The San Bruno facility contains more than 750,000 records and historical documents relating not only to California but also to Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, other Pacific territories, and Native American tribes. Among its holdings are Angel Island immigration records, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, Japanese American incarceration records, Native American and Indigenous history records, and federal court and military records.
The collection also includes records of extraordinary historical significance, including the Wong Kim Ark case files associated with the landmark 1898 Supreme Court decision concerning birthright citizenship, as well as records relating to Alcatraz and its inmates.
But for genealogists, the importance of these records is often much more personal.
At the August 24 press conference, historian and UC Berkeley lecturer Anna Eng described how her family had long known through oral history that her great-great-grandfather had died in a mining accident. Research at the National Archives eventually uncovered documentation detailing her great-great-grandfather that her family had never known.
Stories like this demonstrate why physical access matters. The records are not simply historical artifacts. They can provide the evidence that connects families to their ancestors and turns family stories into documented history.
Congress Takes Action
There is now a significant congressional effort to stop the closures.
On August 19, Representative Mullin and Representative Judy Chu led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 37 members of Congress in asking NARA to reconsider the closure and provide information about the decision. The lawmakers are seeking answers about the cost of operating the San Bruno facility, the anticipated savings from closing it, the cost of moving the records, and whether alternatives could preserve the facility and its collections in the region.
The lawmakers also raised concerns about the physical relocation of more than 100,000 cubic feet of permanent records and the possibility that the collections could be divided among several facilities across the country. Some of the documents date to the nineteenth century and are fragile.
Representative Mullin has also introduced the National Archives Protection Act (H.R. 10131). The legislation would require congressional approval before NARA could close a National Archives facility, federal records center, or research room. The bill was introduced on August 21 and is now before Congress.
Local government has also joined the effort. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution on August 11 calling on NARA to halt the closure of the San Bruno facility and the relocation of its records and artifacts, specifically citing the importance of maintaining local access to materials documenting the histories of the communities they represent.
Why This Matters to Genealogists
The issue is about more than the future of a building.
Regional National Archives facilities were established to make historically important federal records accessible to the communities whose histories they document. The San Bruno collection encompasses immigration, naturalization, military, naval, court, land, Native American, and other federal records covering a vast geographic area.
For genealogists, these records can provide the evidence that connects families to their past. Families whose ancestors immigrated through Angel Island can trace their lineage through immigration records; descendants of people who served in the Navy and were stationed in the Pacific can learn more about their military service; and Native Americans can research records documenting their families, communities, lands, and history. As Rep. Mullin noted, these archives are not simply boxes of paper—they contain the stories, memories, and history of generations of Americans
Digitization is valuable, but it cannot replace the physical archive.
Researchers sometimes need to examine original documents, associated files, photographs, maps, annotations, or other materials that may not have been digitized. Archivists and researchers also benefit from the knowledge of staff familiar with the collections and the regional history they represent.
According to the congressional letter, approximately 500 researchers visit the San Bruno facility each year, using roughly 3,000 original records in the research room, while NARA staff respond to nearly 2,000 written reference requests annually.
Moving these collections thousands of miles away could make research more difficult and expensive for the people whose families and communities are represented in the records.
These are not simply boxes of government paperwork. They contain evidence of our ancestors' immigration, military service, naturalization, land ownership, occupations, legal problems, movements, communities, and everyday lives.
Once access to those records is diminished, some family histories may become considerably harder—and in some cases impossible—to reconstruct.
What Can You Do?
Individuals are invited to voice their opinions.
Save Our National Archives is spearheading the letter-writing campaign, and its website provides information about the proposed closures and how to contact decision-makers.
If these records matter to your research, your family history, or the history of your community, now is the time to speak up.
Help preserve our regional National Archives and keep these records accessible to the communities whose stories they tell.
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