National Archives, << AHR kyvz, >> and Records Administration is an independent federal agency that preserves and makes available for public use the permanently valuable records of the United States government. The archives, established in 1934, include most of the nation’s presidential libraries (see Presidential libraries ).
The National Archives and Records Administration takes care of millions of records, including maps, sound recordings, still pictures, and motion pictures. These records date from 1774 to the present. Many of the records are kept in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. The temperature and humidity of the building’s many stack areas are carefully controlled. Millions of people have visited the Exhibition Hall to see such historic documents as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. These charters of American freedom are displayed in airtight cases filled with argon gas.
