(CCing NY Wikimedians: College Park is doable by BoltBus or car if you would like to come.)
This Saturday, we have the special treat of being hosted by David Ferriero, Archivist of the Unites States, at the National Archives for a backstage pass tour into the stacks, free lunch, and scanning party. This is an all-day event, but you can come for as much as you like. We have lots of space, and we could accommodate 40 or more people. If you can possibly come, please do! There are two buses that run infrequently by the Archives, but we'll also try to match anyone who wants ride with someone coming from their area, just ask. Everyone is welcome, no matter your skill level at Wikipedia. As the AOTUS will be there, the event should be of particular interest to many of us, but also to people within NARA and other institutions who will be interested to hear his impressions. If you can remember, please sign up on the meetup page before coming so we have an accurate idea of the attendance.[1]
So, what is this about?
This event will closely mirror the NARA event in August.[2] We will be given a tour of the facility, including an opportunity to go in the closed stacks and see some documents. Last time, people really enjoyed this; we'll try to make it interesting for last time's attendees by focusing on a different collection (but you could also spend this time in the research room, if you prefer). We are also getting a free, catered lunch this time, courtesy of the Wikimedia Foundation. Afterward, we will head to the research rooms and scan documents (or whatever else you'd like to, including editing and transcribing). Please get in any final requests for documents to scan by Friday at noon.[3] Scanned documents will not only get to be uploaded to Commons, but your scans will become part of the National Archives' digital collection and go in the online catalog. You might want to read my follow-up blog post from last time: <http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=5819>. Feel free to respond here with questions.
Dominic