Jane Jacobs

This is an automated reply to inform you that National Archives and Records Administration received your e-mail.

Thank you for your email. Congress has restored funding of appropriated activities and NARA is in the process of resuming normal operations. We are currently working on logging in the requests received during the government shutdown. Please be patient as responses to emails and requests may be slower than usual; please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190.

Thank you.

Dear Ms. Farkus:

This is in response to your February 14, 2019, Freedom of Information Act
request (RD 60503) about all records on Jane Jacobs. We received your
request on February 19.

Your request consists of a stated topic rather than describing specific
documents, and therefore is not reasonably specific enough for us to be in
a position to easily locate documents responsive to your request. In
order to search for records, you need to specify the agency or agencies in
question, indicate the period of time covered, and provide some context for
the search.

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 do not consider this response a denial under the Freedom of Information
Act because we cannot determine without more specific information whether
the records you have requested exist

This concludes the processing of your request.

If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for
appeal and dispute resolution are as follows:

You have the right to file an administrative appeal in writing via regular
U.S. mail or email. Your appeal should be received within ninety (90)
calendar days from the date of this letter and it should explain why you
believe this response does not meet the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi
Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope
should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” You may also
submit your appeal to FOIA@nara.gov also addressed to the Deputy Archivist.
All correspondence should reference your internal case tracking number
noted above.

In addition to your right to file an administrative appeal with the Deputy
Archivist, you may seek assistance from our FOIA Public Liaison (FPL), Ann
Cummings, Access Coordinator. Contact information for the FOIA Public
Liaison at the National Archives, Washington DC area is as follows:
FOIA requester Service Center telephone number: 301-837-3190
Acting FOIA Public Liaison: Britney Crawford
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone number: 301-837-3190
E-mail address: DC.FOIA.LIAISON@NARA.GOV

Finally, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers
mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal
agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to administrative appeals. Using
OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue an administrative
appeal. The contact information for OGIS is as follows:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
Room 2510
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Facsimile: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448

Sincerely,
DAVID A. LANGBART
Textual Records Division
National Archives at College Park, MD

david.langbart@nara.gov
www.archives.gov

RDT2 19-19413

Ms. Farkus:

We are going to log this in as a regular reference inquiry. That will
expedite the process as a FOIA is not necessary for the records in question.

DAVID A. LANGBART
Textual Records Division

Dear Ms. Farkus:

This is in response to your recent inquiry to the National Archives about
records of the Department of State and of the Office of War Information.

The primary source for documentation on U.S. foreign policy and events in
various countries is the Department of State central files, part of RG 59:
General Records of the Department of State. More detail is at:
https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/state-dept/rg-59-central-files
.

We searched the NAME CARD INDEX to the 1930-39, 1940-44, 1945-49, and
1950-54 segments of the Central Decimal File. We located no references to
Jane Jacobs.

There is a small series of records in the decentralized file relating to
Amerika magazine:
●RG 59 Entry P-316: Records Relating to Amerika Magazine, 1943-1952 (6
boxes). These records are declassified and you may search them yourself.

The records of the Office of War Information (OWI) constitute RG 208. The
records have largely been declassified and are available to researchers.
The OWI records are arranged in various series under the heading of the
unit that maintained the files. National Archives Preliminary Inventory
(PI) NC-148: Records of the Office of War Information, prepared in 1967 and
updated in 2018, describes the records of OWI and predecessor agencies in
more detail. It is available in the Research Room and online at:
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/foreign-policy/related-records/rg-208-owi-preliminary-inventory.pdf.
You can search the on-line catalog for entries from RG 208 or see a
description in the Guide to Federal Records. Finding aids are available in
the Research Room.

We will be pleased to make the finding aids and records available in our
research room at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The facility
is located at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, near the University of
Maryland--College Park campus.

►Textual Research Room (Room 2000) hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday
through Friday, except legal holidays.
►Our consultation room hours are 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, except legal holidays. No appointment is necessary.
►A specialist on foreign affairs records is available for consultation
Tuesday mornings from 9-10am. An appointment is unnecessary.
►Records are retrieved Monday through Friday for use in the Textual
Research Room at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:00
p.m. We do not pull records in advance.
►Prior to your visit, please consult our web sites at
https://www.archives.gov/college-park
https://www.archives.gov/college-park/research
https://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/self-service-copying.html, and
https://www.archives.gov/research/start/getting-started.pdf.

Official Personnel Files for Department of State and Foreign Service
employees whose service ended before 1952 are located in the National
Archives at St. Louis. Visit this website [
https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/archival-programs/civilian-personnel-archival/index.html]
for more information.

Official Personnel Files for Department of State and Foreign Service
employees whose service ended after 1951 are located in the National
Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Those records are in the legal
custody of the Office of Personnel Management which controls access. Visit
this website [
https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/index.html] for more
information.

Sincerely,
DAVID A. LANGBART
Textual Records Division
National Archives at College Park, MD

david.langbart@nara.gov
www.archives.gov

RDT2 19-21335

---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: <requests@muckrock.com>
> Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 2:45 PM
> Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Act Request: Jane Jacobs
> To: David A. Langbart <david.langbart@nara.gov>
>
> February 20, 2019
>
> This is a follow up to a previous request:
>
> Hello David,
>
> To clarify my request, I am looking for U.S. Department of State files on
> Jane Jacobs, who worked there from approximately 1939-1952. She was a
> writer for the State Department's publication "Amerika," and also worked
> for their Office of War Information. Her loyalty to the U.S. was questioned
> during her time working there.
>
> Please let me know if you need further clarification. I look forward to
> hearing back from you.
>
> Thanks,
> Mackenzie Farkus
>
> Filed via MuckRock.com
> E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
> Upload documents directly:
> https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/national-archives-and-records-administration-archival-or-special-access-15767/jane-jacobs-68857/?email=david.langbart%40nara.gov&uuid-login=d6e4130e-2563-4a48-929a-5193184aeac2#agency-reply
> Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the
> above link to let us know.
>
> For mailed responses, please address (see note):
> MuckRock News
> DEPT MR 68857
> 411A Highland Ave
> Somerville, MA 02144-2516
>
> PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also
> note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than
> "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as
> undeliverable.
>
> ---
>
> On Feb. 14, 2019:
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
> records:
>
> All files on Jane Jacobs (1916-2006), the influential journalist,
> activist, and former U.S. Department of State employee. Proof of death is
> not required, as Jacobs was born over 100 years ago and her death was
> widely reported.
>
> The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
> this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
>
> In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
> me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
> the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
> CD-ROM if not.
>
> Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
> look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
> days, as the statute requires.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Mackenzie Farkus
>
> Filed via MuckRock.com
> E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
> Upload documents directly:
> https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/national-archives-and-records-administration-archival-or-special-access-15767/jane-jacobs-68857/?email=david.langbart%40nara.gov&uuid-login=d6e4130e-2563-4a48-929a-5193184aeac2#agency-reply
> Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the
> above link to let us know.
>
> For mailed responses, please address (see note):
> MuckRock News
> DEPT MR 68857
> 411A Highland Ave
> Somerville, MA 02144-2516
>
> PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also
> note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than
> "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as
> undeliverable.
>
>