David Ferriero Confirmed by U.S. Senate as 10th Archivist of the United States

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Senate
voted to confirm David Ferriero as the 10th Archivist of the United States.
Mr. Ferriero was the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public
Libraries and is a leader in the field of library science. Mr. Ferriero, who
was nominated by President Obama on July 28, 2009, will succeed Professor
Allen Weinstein who resigned as Archivist in December 2008 for health reasons.
Deputy Archivist Adrienne Thomas is serving as the Acting Archivist until Mr.
Ferriero assumes his duties.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090501/NALOGO)

As the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL), Mr.
Ferriero was part of the leadership team responsible for integrating the four
research libraries and 87 branch libraries into one seamless service for
users, creating the largest public library system in the United States and one
of the largest research libraries in the world. Mr. Ferriero was in charge of
collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research
services; and education, programming, and exhibitions.

Among his responsibilities at the NYPL was the development of the library's
digital strategy, which currently encompasses partnerships with Google and
Microsoft, a Web site that reaches more than 25 million unique users annually,
and a digital library of more than 750,000 images that may be accessed free of
charge by any user around the world.

Before joining the NYPL in 2004, Mr. Ferriero served in top positions at two
of the nation's major academic libraries, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge, MA, and Duke University in Durham, NC. In those
positions, he led major initiatives including the expansion of facilities, the
adoption of digital technologies, and a reengineering of printing and
publications.

Mr. Ferriero earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature from
Northeastern University in Boston and a master's degree from the Simmons
College of Library and Information Science, also in Boston. After serving in
the Navy during the Vietnam War, he started in the humanities library at MIT,
where he worked for 31 years, rising to associate director for public services
and acting co-director of libraries.

In 1996, Mr. Ferriero moved to Duke University, where he served as University
Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs until 2004. At Duke, he raised
more than $50 million to expand and renovate the university's library and was
responsible for instructional technology initiatives, including overseeing
Duke's Center for Instructional Technology.

As Archivist of the United States, Mr. Ferriero will oversee the National
Archives and Records Administration, an independent Federal agency created by
statute in 1934. The National Archives safeguards and preserves the records of
the U.S. Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn
from this documentary heritage. The National Archives ensures continuing
access to records that document the rights of American citizens, the actions
of federal officials, and the national experience.

Its 44 facilities include the National Archives Building in Washington, DC,
the National Archives at College Park, 13 Presidential libraries, and 14
regional archives nationwide. The National Archives also publishes the Federal
Register, administers the Information Security Oversight Office, the Office of
Government Information Services, and makes grants of historical documentation
through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Among the National Archives' approximately 9 billion pages of materials that
are open to the public for research nationwide are millions of photographs,
maps, and documents, thousands of motion pictures and audio recordings, and
millions of electronic records. Every subject relating to American history is
covered in the records of the National Archives: Revolutionary War pension
files, landmark Supreme Court cases, international treaties, legislative
records, executive orders, public laws, records relating to all U.S.
Presidents and the papers of Presidents Hoover through George W. Bush.

SOURCE National Archives

National Archives Public Affairs Staff, +1-202-357-5300