primary source media's world government documents archive. declassified documents reference...
TRANSCRIPT
Book Reviews
Primary Source Media’s World Government Documents Archive. Declassified
Documents Reference System: The United States.
Primary Source Media. Available: http://www.ddrs.psmedia.com. Accessed December 12,
2000. Tiered pricing.
In this age of undercover exposBs, 24-hour news channels, and paparazzi-divulged
scandals, one may wonder if there are any issues sifting through the hallowed halls of
Washington, DC, on which the American public is not fully versed. The answer to this query
is classified. Classified documents are items the U.S. Federal Government has deemed
confidential because distribution of their contents might compromise national security. The
three levels of classified documents are confidential, secret, and top secret. However, the
passage of the Freedom of Information Act in 1967 guarantees the public access to these
federal government files. From use of the Act, the public is able to access such specific
classified documents as governmental correspondences, memoranda, cabinet minutes,
national security policy statements, intelligence reports, and technical studies.
In an attempt to organize this new deluge of once-classified governmental information,
Primary Source Media (PSM) created the Declassified Documents Reference Service (DDRS)
in 1982. This service offers indexing, abstracting, and full text microfiche to selected recently
declassified U.S. federal documents, covering post-World War II to present. Originally
obtained from presidential libraries, the documents were issued from all levels of the Federal
Government. Subject topics fall into the typically assumed classified genres: Castro and
Cuba, the Kennedy assassinations, Khrushchev, and Vietnam, to name a few. PSM still
currently produces this paper and microfiche service for a competitive price to those
institutions interested in extending their services to include declassified topics.
In 1998, PSM began to digitize their service and began offering the DDRS via the Internet.
By 1999, the entire DDRS archive was digitized and available for purchase from PSM. The
Internet version of the DDRS offers the same solid declassified material as the paper version
but presents it with a Web-based interface. As part of the World Government Documents
Archive, the Internet DDRS is the first segment to PSM’s international government
documents Internet services.
The World Government Documents Archives Web page (http://www.ddrs.psmedia.com/) is
the entry point to access the DDRS service. This initial page presents description of both the
World Government Documents Archives and the DDRS service, as well as a link back to the
Government Information Quaterly 22 (2005) 122–138
PSM homepage. The description of the DDRS service is useful for new viewers as it gives a
thorough description of what declassified documents are, why they are useful to research, and
what level and magnitude of declassified documents are included in the DDRS database.
Presently, the DDRS database contains over 70,000 documents, constituting more than
250,000 pages of material. Subscription and contact information are also presented at this
site. The homepage also offers a free trial search, but you are only allowed access to eight
sample documents.
The pricing of the database is tiered and specific to the size of the querying institution. The
first breakdown occurs by type of institution (academic, public, nonprofit, and not-for-profit
special libraries), and then by size (small, medium, and large). Sample costs for a year’s
subscription for DDRS for academic institutions are small US$2,576, medium US$3,869, and
large US$5,152. Specific pricing and ordering information is available from PSM at 1-800-
444-0799, or [email protected]. A 30-day free trial is allowed for all PSM products.
Once you purchase access to the database, you have full access to it. There are two main
search functions: standard and advanced. Typically, bStandard searchingQ allows for simple
phrases (e.g., bRoswell, New MexicoQ), while bAdvanced searchingQ allows for a more
limited search, including being able to narrow the search to a specific department of the
government, limit by date, or even narrow by level of classification (e.g., bRoswell, NewMexicoQ and Department of Defense and Top Secret). There are also search functions where
you can search by bDate Declassified,Q bIssue Data,Q and bDocument ID.Q The interface is
easy to use, and a bHelpQ screen is provided for any search questions viewers may have. The
database is not immense, so the interface is relatively simplistic. This is refreshing
considering the aptitude it takes to utilize some of the other current Internet databases.
When hits are produced, there are two ways to view them: in the original text (usually
fuzzy, sometimes sloppily handwritten, often covered in bConfidentialQ or bSecretQ stamps),
or the transcribed digital facsimile of the text. Both versions are useful to research, and it is an
invaluable service to have both presented for comparison value. The transcribed text version
also retrieves the section of the document where your search term exists and highlights it in
red, to pinpoint your search term exactly. The results screen allows easy access inside a
produced documents (some of which are quite lengthy), access between the various hits, and
quick links back to perform a new search.
In summation, the DDRS database is easy to use and useful for in-depth research into
specifically once-classified governmental topics. Compared to other current Internet
databases, it is user-friendly and joyfully simple to comprehend and utilize. One must
realize, though, that this is a very specific database. For large academic research institutions,
the DDRS database would be a welcome addition, specifically institutions with extensive
political science, journalism, international studies, and history departments. For smaller
institutions, including public libraries and smaller academics, the DDRS database, albeit a
very thorough and decent resource, would probably remain untouched for months at a time.
For smaller institutions, current usage of declassified topics should be taken into
consideration before this database is purchased. For larger academic institutions, the DDRS
will fill an obvious gap in the research collection in the area of once-classified U.S. Federal
information.
Book Reviews 123
Jeffrey M. Wilhite
Associate Professor of Bibliography, Government Documents Reference Librarian,
Bizzell Memorial Library, The University of Oklahoma,
401 West Brooks, Norman, OK 73019-0528, USA
E-mail address: [email protected].
27 September 2004
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.09.003
The September 11 Digital Archive. Visited Thursday, March 25, 2004. Managed by the
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, City University of
New York and the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
Available: http://www.911digitalarchive.org.
With the events of September 11, 2001, being played out in the course of the 2004
Presidential election, this Internet site helps to remind and educate researchers of the human
tragedy of that day. Although the site includes a wealth of information on the political and
military aftermath of the September 11 attacks, its true strength is the personal content
submitted from individuals that describe their experiences and reactions to the events of
September 11, 2001. If this was by accident or design is unclear, but the fact that the personal
side of the events does predominate among the resources on the site provides historians and
researchers important components for telling the whole story of that day. That future
historians will be able to make use of the content on this site, at least in some fashion, is
assured by the fact that the Library of Congress has acquired all of the content for their
collection along with a commitment to preserve this material.
The site’s mission statement sums up the expansive goals of the project: bthe September 11
Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve and present the history of the
September 11, 2001 attacks.Q That the project has already been successful in this effort can be
seen by the number and variety of participants who have agreed to contribute to the project.
This includes the already mentioned Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the
National Park Service, the American Red Cross, National Public Radio, and the thousands of
individuals affected by (or just interested in commenting on) the events of that day.
Divided into nine sections, the site is easily navigated with simple, quickly loaded graphics
on the initial page. A short list of bsectionsQ appears on the left portion of the screen while thecenter of the site is devoted to listing major supporters and the site operators with links out to
their specific 9/11 content. The first section—Stories—offers visitors an opportunity to add
their experiences to the site. On the day the site was visited the section included, among other
submissions, a moving story from bJerry,Q a survivor of the WTC, and a disturbing (to this
reviewer) contribution from a prison inmate. Both stories, along with the other contributions,
included a link to a policy page—bhow do I know this item is factualQ—that helps to explain
the process of how material is added to the site and verified. The bE-Mail RepositoryQ sectionencourages visitors to contribute their own e-mails from September 11. This solicitation for
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