In the world of archivy, where I dwell, there is a controversy brewing. John Carlin, Archivist of the U.S. since New Archivist of the U.S. since 1995, has announced his plans to retire. Initially Carlin was an unpopular choice to with most professional archivists in the United States as a person to head the nation's archives. This was primarily due to a total lack of any background in archives or training in the field of history. Before being tapped to head up NARA, he was an academic and administrator with a background in agriculture. Archivists are not known for their political clout, so not surprisingly, the protests went unheeded. As it turned out, Carlin exceeded most of their expectations.
Apparently, a while back, Carlin made known his intention to retire in 2005, so it took some people by surprise when the news came out recently that he is planning to retire this Fall, or as soon as his replacement is hired. There is speculation that he was coerced into retiring sooner, so that Bush could put his successor into place before the end of his presidential term, presumably so he could ensure that person would prevent the disclosure of certain records (such as the records of his father, which are scheduled to be released in January) he wants to keep secret.
Whether this concern is valid, I really don't know, but this time around, archivists are kicking up a fuss and getting a bit more media attention than the last go round. It's kind of ironic, because in many ways Bush's nominee, Allen Weinstein, has a lot more going for him as a candidate than Carlin. He is a professional historian, for one thing. The fact that he has publicly declared himself a Democrat suggests he's not that likely to be in Bush's back pocket. The main criticism levelled against him personally seems to be that he refused to make the notes for his controversial book on Alger Hiss public, and therefore he is inclined to be secretive.
A lot of the angst is really about the invisibility of archivists as professionals in this country. Bush nominated Weinstein without consulting with professional organizations of archivists or historians, as has traditionally been the accepted procedure. But Bush was arrogant. He didn't play by the rules, and now there is opposition to the nomination that could probably had been avoided. And the archival profession is getting its 15 minutes of fame.
Maybe the media exposure will bring archives out of the dark basement and into the light a bit more. Maybe the next Archivist of the U.S. will be Chosen by the miracle of modern reality tv.