The National Archives at San Francisco, which holds more than 75,000 cubic feet of historical records dating back to the 1850s, plans to close its facility within the next few years.
According to a news release from advocacy group Save Our National Archives, the San Francisco facility — actually located in San Bruno — as well as one in Chicago are planned to shutter within three years. The group said the moving process can begin as soon as this August.
“The loss of access to these artifacts and community and genealogical history would be a terrible blow to historians, researchers, families, and students, and ultimately be detrimental to our communities and overall American History,” Save Our National Archives said in the release.
The National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA, did not immediately respond for comment.
No future home identified
The publicly accessible facility in San Bruno contains records of the landmark birthright citizenship case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Chinese exclusion era, the internment of German, Italian and Japanese Americans, various Alcatraz inmates and the Mexican land grant cases. It is unclear where the historical records may go after the pending closure.
Sandra Wong, a descendant of Wong Kim Ark, said she frequented the archives to learn about his life after learning that he was related to her father.
“I wanted to learn more about him, not a distant historical figure but as part of my family’s history. I went searching at the National Archives at NARA, unfortunately who is being threatened today of closure,” Sandra Wong said. “I went searching in records and learned about the challenges he faced while he was detained. This fight wasn’t just for himself, it was for me, it’s for my family and for generations to come.”
Save Our National Archives also said this isn’t their first time preventing an imminent closure of the San Bruno archive facility. In 1998, the group formed to protest the closure and has since worked to champion research, public access and American history.
Now, advocates are once again protesting the closure by launching an immediate letter writing campaign to congressional representatives and officials heading NARA.
