My husband and I had business in Washington DC. Of
course, one of my first stops was at the Archive building for Civil War
pensions records. While their website gives good information about procedures
and rules, I learned a couple of things that might be helpful to future
visitors. I can’t stress enough to read the website first before you go, but
here are some tips.
1)
While the library opens at 8:45 a.m. the lobby
doors open at 8:30 a.m. and you can get a lot done in those 15 minutes. To your
right as you enter, you will go through the same security you follow at an
airport.
2)
Next you’ll go to the center desk, show an ID,
and the guard will fill out a form, and ask you to sign. You’ll be given a gold
“Temporary Researcher Pass” to clip on. There is plenty of lobby seating, and a
large area to stand if the library has not opened. If opened, you go straight
in, walking to the right of the desk.
3)
You walk
to the room directly behind the center lobby desk where there is an information
desk with attendants. You may have to wait in line. If this is your first time,
they will direct you to a computer on your left to see a five-minute PowerPoint
on using the library. There are four computers for this, in the corner, not those
near the information desk.
4)
After you’ve seen the instructions, go through a
glass door on your left to a desk. You’ll be asked to fill out a short form,
and show ID. They will take your photo and issue you a Research Card, which is
like a plastic library card. It’s good for one year. (If you have an expired
Research Card, bring it with you. It will be updated and save you time.) Now go
back to the information desk and scan this card.
5)
In this first-floor room, coats, backpacks,
purses, hats, and pens were allowed. I travelled light, but still had some
restricted items with me, including a small purse. My husband had a hat.
6)
There is a bank of eight computers where you may
use ancestry or fold3 to find information. Fill out the half page
record request forms available in duplicate on the computer table. It’s best to
fill out in pen, then bring to the information desk where the forms will be
reviewed and signed. Then place them in a small wooden box. Records will be
pulled according to the schedule listed on the website, starting at 9:30 AM.
7)
You may place any prohibited items in the
lockers located through the glass doors to the left of the information desk,
past the desk where you received the Research Card, at the end of the hallway. You
will need a quarter for this! There are no change machines. This is much
like other libraries, where the quarter is returned when you open the locker
with your key. These are roomy lockers and there are plenty. The bathrooms are
in this hallway.
8)
Next take the elevators outside the room
upstairs to room 203, where all the personal items on the list are prohibited. I
had a couple of pieces of paper which were stamped. I could not carry a
sweater, but I wore one. Pockets were not examined. You will be carefully
inspected, and you’ll scan your Research Card. For us, within about 30 minutes after
the pull time, the records were available. As you walk into the room, the
records are at a small tall desk on the very far left wall. You’ll walk past a
line of tables in a beautiful room filled with books from floor to ceiling. The
desk clerk will ask you to sign the pink page to take one envelope. There is a
clock on the left side of the desk for the time. You will use one of the room’s
tables.
9)
My husband and I each had an envelope. We sat
next to each other with a four-inch tall glass partition between us. He was not
allowed to touch mine, and I was not allowed to touch his. We both viewed the
records, but he turned “his” pages for me, and I turned “mine” for him. These
are original records, and you must keep them in exactly the same order. They
watch you very carefully.
10) There
are plenty of pencils and paper next to the “pull” desk for taking notes. You may
take photos with your cellphone, without flash. The light is good. Or you may
choose to go through a 20-minute process to copy pages on their copiers. We
used our phones.
11) The
veteran’s pension file is in the same envelope as the widow’s pension. Write
down the numbers for both when you order. This is great, you get two for one! I
ordered files, I’d previously received by mail from the NARA but found more
papers, with very interesting family information, not included in the mailed
information.
12) If
you leave the building, but plan to return the same day, let the guard at the
exit table know. There’s a short cut for returning researchers.
13) If
you have time, you may want to get your research card, and order your paperwork
the night before, to save time in the morning. We did this for the second day
(yes, I geeked out and spent two days there). We went directly to the second
floor to look at records. Once you’ve ordered the record to be pulled, it is in
room 203 for three days, unless you specifically sign for its return.
14) The
workers including the guards are very nice and extremely helpful, but they are
strict about any rules.
I hope this helps any visitor navigate the NARA. I was told that NARA II was very
similar. Hope you find interesting information on your
trip to the NARA!
