National Archives and Records Administration

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the successor agency to the National Archives Establishment, which was created in 1934 and subsequently incorporated into the General Services Administration as the National Archives and Records Service in 1949. NARA was established as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Government by act of October 19, 1984 (44 U. S. C. 2101 et seq. ), effective April 1, 1985. NARA safeguards and preserves the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage; establishes policies and procedures for managing U. S.government records; manages the Presidential Libraries system; and publishes the laws, regulations, and Presidential and other public documents.