The National Archives and Records Service publishes a variety of descriptions and guides to its holdings that are of use to scholars and the general public. These include inventories of record groups, special lists, and reference information papers. Inventories are general descriptions of and guides to documents in a record group. They provide a brief history of the agency that created the records and describe each series of records. Frequently, the National Archives publishes a preliminary inventory of a record group to facilitate access to its holdings. Preliminary inventories are less detailed than inventories but are similar in format.

Special lists are detailed descriptions of a series of records within a record group or of a subject or activity of an agency. Reference information papers describe material on a given subject that may be found in several record groups. As a rule these lists and papers follow no established form but vary according to the nature of the records to which they relate.

Earlier publications are listed in the leaflet Select List of Publications of the National Archives and Records Service. Unless otherwise indicated, new publications listed below can be purchased from the Publications Sales Branch (NEPS), National Archives (GSA), Washington, DC 20408.

MICROFILM PUBLICATIONS

Letters Sent by the War Department Relating to Naval Matters, January 3, 1794-June 14, 1798 (M739, 1 roll), introduction by Garry D. Ryan, reproduces a volume of letters concerning the frigates Constitution, President, United States, Constellation, Chesapeake, Congress, and Crescent that were constructed in 1784 in response to deteriorating relations with the Barbary states. The letters concern the selection, appointment, duties, and discharge of government agents at the navy yards where the frigates were being built; submission of frigate designs and models; obtaining labor and materials; and launching the vessels. The letters contain orders and instructions to the agents, estimates of labor and material costs, vessel specifications, and progress reports to Congress.

War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815-1858 (M848, 14 rolls), introduction by Edwin D. Anthony, reproduces warrants issued to veterans of the War of 1812 that entitled them to parcels of public land. Unlike most such warrants issued by the United States, they could not be transferred to another person except by inheritance, and they were not actually given to the veteran but were retained by the General Land Office.

Records of the United States Nuernberg War Crimes Trials: United States of America v. Josef Altstoetter et al. (Case III), February 17, 1947December 4, 1947 (M889, 53 rolls), introduction by John Mendelsohn, is the sixth in a series of twelve microfilm publications reproducing case records of the U. S. tribunal that prosecuted 185 war criminals at Nuernberg. In the Altstoetter case, popularly referred to as the justice case, sixteen judges, prosecutors, and administrators were tried for perverting justice in the Third Reich by denying due process of law to Germans and non-Germans and participating in extermination, sterilization, and the abduction and ill treatment of individuals under the "night and fog decrees." Reproduced are English and German transcripts of daily proceedings before the tribunals, the prosecution and defense exhibits, document books containing English translations of the exhibits and an indication of the sequence in which they were presented in court, briefs, pleas, the official court file, court orders and judgments, and clemency petitions. Finding aids for transcripts, exhibits, document books, and the official court file are on roll 1.

Records of the United States Nuernberg War Crimes Trials: United States of America v. Friedrich Flick et al. (Case V), March 3, 1947-December 22, 1947 (M891, 42 rolls), introduction by John Mendelsohn, is the seventh in the same series. In the Flick case six defendants, leading officials of the large Flick industrial concern, were tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Reproduced are the same types of records as those in M889; finding aids for transcripts, exhibits, and document books are on roll 1.

Letters of Application and Recommendation During the Administrations of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, 1853-1861 (M967, 50 rolls) and Letters of Application and Recommendation During the Administration of Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877 (M968, 69 rolls), introductions by Kent C. Carter, reproduce requests for appointment to positions in the federal judiciary, territorial governments, and in the diplomatic and consular services. The letters are arranged by surname of applicant and many include recommendations from members of Congress and other public officials and friends. Pamphlets

for each publication list the applicants alphabetically. The letters are a useful source of biographical information.

Law and Appellate Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1790-1847 (M969, 26 rolls), introduction by Mary Joe Minor, continues the publication of federal court records for Pennsylvania. The law records were original civil jurisdiction cases relating chiefly to recovery of debts and damages. The appellate files relate mostly to admiralty cases appealed from the district court.

Letters Received by the Department of Justice From the State of Mississippi, 1871-1884 (M970, 4 rolls), introduction by Henry J. Wolfinger, reproduces unbound letters with enclosures, a register of correspondence, and several series of miscellaneous letters, telegrams, and newsclippings. The letters and enclosures formed the source-chronological file of the Department of Justice and were received from federal officers of the two Mississippi judicial districts, state and local officials, and private citizens. They cover Reconstruction conflicts, civil and voting rights, internal revenue and customs, regulation of trade and transportation, and protection of U. S. rights and property.

Reports and Correspondence Relating to the Army Investigations of the Battle at Wounded Knee and to the Sioux Campaign of 1890-1891 (M983, 2 rolls), introduction by John S. Ferrell, includes the report of an army court of inquiry, conducted by Maj. J. Ford Kent and Capt. Frank D. Baldwin into events surrounding the battle at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890, and reports of two other investigations, one by Maj. Peter D. Vroom of circumstances surrounding the shooting of an Indian woman and three children near Wounded Knee, and another by Col. Edward M. Heyl of Col. James W. Forsyth's fight with Indians near the Drexel Catholic mission on December 30, 1890. Included are transcripts of testimony, letters, telegrams, and maps detailing events at Wounded Knee and documenting Sioux unrest and army activity during 1890 and 1891. There are also letters sent by Colonel Forsyth to the secretary of war defending his conduct and that of his troops.

Navy Department General Orders, 1863-1948 (M984, 3 rolls), introduction by Geraldine N. Phillips, reproduces orders issued in seven series, those for 1863, 1900, 1905, 1909, 1913, 1921, and 1935, which contain policy statements, administrative instructions, notices of deaths and honors to be paid to deceased officers and to statesmen, and commendations. Subject indexes precede each series. Because a large number of orders were changed or canceled prior to the discontinuation of the series of 1913, 1921, and 1935, lists are included that show which orders were so affected.

INVENTORIES

Records of the American Commission To Negotiate Peace (Inventory Series, no. 9), compiled by Sandra K. Rangel (172 pages, Record Group 256).

PRELIMINARY INVENTORIES

Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the 1969 Inaugural Committee (PI 176), compiled by Henry J. Wolfinger (41 pages, Record Group 274).

Preliminary Inventory of Records Relating to International Claims (PI 177), compiled by George S. Ulibarri (73 pages, Record Group 76).

Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Office of Education (PI 178), compiled by Carmen Delle Donne (65 pages, Record Group 12).

SPECIAL LISTS

Special List no. 35: Printed Hearings of the House of Representatives Found Among Its Committee Records in the National Archives of the United States, 1824-1958, compiled by Buford Rowland, Jose D. Lizardo, and George P. Perros (197 pages).

Special List no. 37: Inspection Reports on Foreign Service Posts, 1906-1939, compiled by George T. Brent and Kent C. Carter (83 pages).

REFERENCE INFORMATION PAPERS

Reference Information Paper no. 70: Audiovisual Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to World War II, compiled by Mayfield S. Bray and William T. Murphy (41 pages).

Reference Information Paper no. 71: Cartographic Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians, compiled by Laura E. Kelsay (35 pages).

MISCELLANEOUS

The new Guide to the National Archives of the United States has been published by the National Archives and Records Service and may be obtained from the U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, at $12.30 per copy. Superseding the long out-of-print guide published in 1948, the 884-page volume describes government records accessioned through June 30, 1970. However, it does not contain descriptions of personal and other papers and manuscripts in presidential libraries. The nearly 1 million cubic feet of records cataloged include more than 1.5 million maps, 201,000 rolls of microfilm, 43,000 reels of motion pictures, about 4.5 million still pictures, 2.4 million aerial photographs, and 66,500 sound recordings. Collectively the records document the functioning of the federal government since its founding.

Guide to Materials on Latin America in the National Archives of the United States, by George S. Ulibarri and John P. Harrison, is also now available and may be obtained from the Government Printing Office at $7.85 per copy. This 489-page volume supersedes a 1961 volume, with new and expanded descriptive entries, name and subject index, and appendixes that list pertinent microfilm publications and the diplomatic and consular post records and despatches from U. S. posts in Latin America that are in the National Archives.

Records of German Field Commands: Divisions (141st-187th), Part VIII, which is no. 68 of the series of guides to German records microfilmed at Alexandria, Virginia, has been published.

NEWS AND NOTICES

The International Council on Archives has accepted an invitation from the National Archives and Records Service and the Society of American Archivists to hold an international congress on archives in Washington, September 28October 1, 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration. The congress will attract archivists, records managers, information specialists, and historians from most countries of the world, and will hold four plenary sessions on various aspects of its theme "The Archival Revolution of Our Time." For further information write Frank G. Burke, Assistant to the Archivist, National Archives (GSA), Washington, DC 20408.

Filip I. Dolgikh, director general of the USSR archives and president of the International Council on Archives, recently toured the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the records centers in Chicago and St. Louis. Other recent visitors to the National Archives have been archivists Norio Iwakura of Japan, P. A. Alsberg of Israel, Alberto Lopez of Colombia, Francois Koanda, chief librarian-archivist of the Ministry of Public Service in Upper Volta,

Jay Atherton, Jerry O'Brien, and Andre Martineau of the Public Archives of Canada, and Miss T. Exley of the Australian archives.

The National Archives and the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., have signed an agreement to establish an archives of television news broadcasts that will be available nationwide early in 1975. Videotapes of news broadcasts on the CBS television network will be available for research at the National Archives, its eleven regional archives branches, and the six presidential libraries. Additionally, the National Archives plans to make copies of the broadcasts to fill requests from libraries operating under the American Library Association's interlibrary loan code. CBS is furnishing videotape cassettes to the National Archives, which has a license to make copies for research use and publish indexes of the broadcasts. Archivist of the United States James B. Rhoads said that the National Archives is open to similar arrangements with other networks.

Copies of sound recordings in the National Archives are now available for use by research

The National Historical Publications Commission will hold its spring meeting April 29, 1975, at the University of Iowa. Following the meeting, the commission and the university will sponsor a two-day conference on publication of American historical manuscripts. About eighty participants will be members and staff of the NHPC, editors of letterpress editions of papers in progress, and observers from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Council on Library Resources. Another seventy persons will be accepted as participants upon payment of an inclusive fee of $100 at the time of registration. The conference coordinator is Leslie W. Dunlap, dean of library administration, the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.

The 93d Congress, which adjourned on Friday, December 20, 1974, passed or considered a number of bills relating to archival or records management activities. The following is a summary of eight bills and their status on December 31.

PL 93-502. Passed by the Senate November 21 over President Ford's veto, it amends the Freedom of Information Act. The amendment clarifies the old act, provides for publication of uniform fee schedules, sets strict limits on the amount of time in which an agency must reply to requests under the act, and permits incamera judicial inspection of classified records to which access is being sought.

PL 93-526. Within the past year, over twenty bills have been introduced in Congress that would declare the papers of elected officials public property. One of these, introduced by Sen. Gaylord Nelson, passed the Senate on October 4. Shortly before this, Rep. John Brademas had introduced a bill in the House to establish a national commission to examine the public papers question and make legislative recommendations. The House Committee on Administration combined the Nelson bill with the Brademas bill, and this passed and was signed into law December 19.

Title I authorizes the administrator of general services to take possession of the Nixon tape recordings and presidential historical materials. It is left to the courts to decide whether compensation will be paid for such property. The Nixon materials may not be destroyed, must be maintained in the Washington, D. C., area, and are to be available to the Office of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, the former president or his designee, and any federal agency. Also, the administrator is required to prepare regulations that permit eventual public access to the material. The regulations must be presented to the Congress by March 19, 1975. If approved, they will take effect in 90 days.

Title II, the "Public Documents Act," establishes a national study commission on records and documents of federal officials. The membership of the seventeen-person commission by law must include persons from the three branches of government, the historical and archival professions, and the public. A staff is authorized, and the commission is required to submit its report by March 31, 1976.