Committee on Public Information

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We have received your request and you will receive a response within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Thank you.

January 26, 2024

Sherman McCall

MuckRock News

Dept MR 157298

263 Huntington, Avenue

Boston, MA 02115

Dear Mr. McCall:

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
(24-18634) concerning records of the Committee on Public Information
(Record Group 63). We received it in this office on January 19, 2024.

The "Correspondence of Harvey O'Higgins on Use of the News Services, 'The
Official Facts' and 'The Daily German Life'" fills a single archives box (5
inches wide, containing 400-600 pages). Most of the items in this file are
dated October through November 1918. "Letters of Harvey O'Higgins Giving
Information on German Propaganda Lies" consists of 2 folders (200-300
pages). The files in each series are too unorganized to identify only the
documents dated 27 August to 15 November, 1918, as you requested.

We make reasonable efforts to assist researchers with their work. As a
matter of policy, the National Archives is staffed to assist researchers
with their work, including but not limited to pointing researchers to
helpful finding aids to begin their research. However, given the
limitations on staff resources, we do not generally conduct substantive
research in response to requests filed under the Freedom of Information
Act, except in circumstances where documents are easily locatable.

We will be happy to make the records available to you or your
representative in the Textual Research Room (Room 2000) here at the
National Archives at College Park, Maryland. If you are interested in
hiring a researcher who works for a fee, see the list provided on our
website at https://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help.

If you want the files copied in their entirety (at $0.80 per page), you can
submit a non-FOIA request to archives2reference@nara.gov.

We do not consider this response a denial under the Freedom of Information
Act because the records are open and available for research. However, if
you are not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for
appeal and dispute resolution are outlined in the attachment.

Sincerely,

Tab Lewis

Textual Reference Operations

National Archives at College Park, Maryland

February 7, 2024

Sherman McCall:

Thank you for your message of February 5.

I conducted a cursory examination of the two files that make up the item in
question. I saw two letters dated in September and one letter dated in
November. Most of the contents of both files were dated in October 1918
that is, if they had dates on them at all. The folders contained
numerous undated items. Moreover, the documents in the files were not in
tight chronological order because the dates of the documents jumped around.

Upon request, I will provide you with a written estimate for the cost of
copying the two files in their entirety (500-800 pages at $0.80 per page).
We can only provide an estimate for all of the contents of the files. We
are not adequately staffed to do the detailed research necessary to exclude
those few documents outside of the 23 September-7 November 1918 time
period. We can assist researchers with their work, but we cannot do
substantive research for them.

If you want an estimate, please send a new non-FOIA request with the
particulars to archives2reference@nara.gov. That way it will be properly
entered into our tracking system and, thereby, re-enter the queue of
researchers awaiting responses to their inquiries. Please include a
complete mailing address and a telephone number.

The location information for the box is below.

*RG 63:*
NC-7/Entry 9: Correspondence of Harvey O'Higgins on use of the News
Services, 'The Official Facts" and the "The Daily German Lie'" located at
Stack 130, Row 68, Compartment 4, Shelf 00/Box 1

Advanced pulls ARE accepted -- but they should be submitted to Visit_
Archives2@nara.gov *at least 7 and no more than 14 calendar days* prior to
your visit. Otherwise, the records will be pulled "Ad Hoc" during your
visit.

If you are interested in hiring a researcher who works for a fee, see the
list provided as a courtesy at https://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help on
our website.

If you are interested in making a research visit, the particulars for
making an appointment are below. You cannot request that records be pulled
in advance without an appointment.

The research rooms at the National Archives in College Park, MD (Archives
II) are now using Eventbrite to schedule research appointments for the
Textual Research Room and for the Microfilm Reading Room.

We are scheduling visits no more than three months in advance as
we are closely monitoring local public health metrics due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Research room hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.

Visit the Textual Research Room Appointments page
<https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/textual-research-room-appointments-487599> if
you are interested in accessing textual records. Visit the Microfilm
Reading Room Appointments page
<https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/microfilm-reading-room-appointments-578089> if
you are interested in viewing microfilm.

-

Navigate to Upcoming Events and click on the desired date
-

Click Register and complete the registration process

*If tickets for a particular room do not appear during registration,
appointments for that day are sold out. We recommend checking back in the
event of cancellations.

Please complete the online Researcher Orientation
<https://rise.articulate.com/share/uK5NGkSpg74JHLTOcGPmM4e94MJyxQgD#/> as
well as the online researcher registration form
<https://researchercommunity.force.com/securitycentral/s/kiosk-registration>
before
scheduling an appointment on Eventbrite.

For your information, I have attached our current research guidelines.

I hope this information is of assistance to you in your research.

Tab Lewis

Textual Reference Operations