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Authors Guild Denounces Removal of National Archivist Dr. Colleen Shogan
February 13, 2025
The Authors Guild has joined a bipartisan coalition of civil society groups in opposing the reported removal of Dr. Colleen Shogan as Archivist of the United States. For authors, journalists, and researchers, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an irreplaceable resource—a vast repository of primary sources that enables us to tell accurate, compelling stories about our nation’s history.
The independence and professional management of NARA is crucial to our work. Authors rely on the institution’s forty-three facilities across 17 states, including its network of presidential libraries, to access original documents, photographs, and records that form the backbone of historical research. Without proper stewardship and professional, non-political leadership, this essential access is compromised.
NARA is already struggling with insufficient funding while facing urgent demands to digitize records and modernize access systems. “Dr. Shogan, who is eminently qualified to lead the National Archives, was implementing important reforms to address these challenges,” said Marie Arana, the president of the Authors Guild Foundation, “Her abrupt removal threatens this essential work.”
As an organization representing writers who rely on archival research to craft histories, biographies, investigative works, and other forms of literature, we view an independent and professionally managed National Archives as essential to the future of American letters. The preservation and accessibility of our nation’s historical record must be protected from political interference.