NARA declassifies 8 million pages

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NARA declassifies 8 million pages

The newly-created National Declassification Center has processed and published 2% of the documents it is tasked with releasing. The center released a status rep...

Federal News Network Staff

July 27, 2010 4:54 pm

< a min read

By Rachel Stevens
Federal News Radio

The National Archives and Records Administration’s National Declassification Center has processed and published nearly 8 million pages of formerly-classified data.

In its first status report, the NDC says it has gotten through about 2% of the 400 million backlogged pages it is tasked with releasing.

President Obama created the NDC in his December Executive Order on Classified National Security Information in order to streamline the declassification process.

“The NDC is ushering in a new day in the world of access, allowing the National Archives to make more records available for public scrutiny much more quickly,” says David Ferriero, the Archivist of the U.S.

The NDC also has created a prioritization system for documents most in-demand by researchers, held public forums and trainings, launched a new website, completed preservation efforts on numerous documents and developed a classified special media lab.

The report covers the period between Jan. 1 and June 30. Future status reports will be issued biannually in July and January, NARA says.

Rachel Stevens is an intern with Federal News Radio.