National Archives at Atlanta

National Archives at Atlanta
Name	National Archives at Atlanta
Established	1953
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Type	Regional archives, Federal records center

Contents

National Archives at Atlanta is a regional facility of the National Archives and Records Administration serving the southeastern United States, housing textual records, microfilm, photographic holdings, and archival collections relating to federal activities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and U.S. jurisdictions in the Caribbean. It supports research on topics including civil rights, military service, immigration, and federal programs by preserving records from agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The facility participates in regional collaborations with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia.

History

The facility opened during the post‑World War II expansion of the National Archives and Records Administration system to decentralize custody of federal records and respond to growing archival needs in the American South. Early collecting priorities reflected records transferred from the War Department, the Department of Commerce regional offices, and Veterans Affairs case files generated after the World War II and Korean War. During the Civil Rights Movement, the center acquired holdings related to litigation involving the Civil Rights Division (United States Department of Justice), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and cases reaching the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In the 1970s and 1980s the facility expanded holdings from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration regional records. Post‑9/11 federal reorganization brought additional transfers from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration.

The Atlanta facility maintains climate‑controlled stacks, special media vaults, and onsite conservation labs to store millions of textual documents, millions of photographs, aerial imagery, and microfilm reels originating from agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency (declassified liaison transfers), the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notable series include military personnel files from the Selective Service System, pension and bounty-land records tied to the Spanish–American War, immigration case files related to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and records documenting the Great Depression programs of the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Cartographic and architectural collections include maps associated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and planning documents from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Photographic holdings cover campaigns like World War II home‑front documentation, Civil Rights Movement events, and Hurricane Katrina federal responses.

Researchers use the public research room to consult accessioned records, request military personnel files such as those from the Department of Defense, the National Personnel Records Center transfers, and case files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The center provides reference services modeled on standards set by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and collaborates with legal scholars from the American Bar Association‑affiliated clinics, historians from the Organization of American Historians, genealogists associated with the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and journalists from outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press for investigative projects. Access policies reflect statutes including the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, and archival declassification guidance from the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel.

Conservation staff apply treatments informed by standards from the American Institute for Conservation and use environmental guidelines promoted by the National Park Service and the Library of Congress. Preservation efforts prioritize stabilizing acidic paper from the 19th Century, removing corrosive fasteners from correspondence linked to figures in the Progressive Era, and rehousing brittle maps from the Era of Reconstruction. The facility employs cold storage for audiovisual formats in danger of acetate deterioration and participates in digitization programs following protocols established by the Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative and partnerships with the Digital Public Library of America. Disaster preparedness draws on lessons from recovery operations after events like Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina, coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for risk assessment.

The archives conducts public programming in partnership with cultural organizations such as the Atlanta History Center, the High Museum of Art, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, and universities including Emory University. Educational initiatives include primary‑source workshops for teachers aligned with standards from the National Council for the Social Studies and digital learning modules shared via collaborations with the Smithsonian Learning Lab and the Digital Public Library of America. Traveling exhibits and online galleries interpret records related to the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, New Deal programs, and regional topics like the history of the Appalachian Trail corridor and the development of Atlanta metropolitan area infrastructure, while special events feature speakers from organizations such as the American Historical Association and the Society of American Archivists.