The newly released records include previously withheld records of the Warren Commission, records of the Office of the Archivist, previously opened and newly released materials from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Ford Presidential Libraries, records of the House Select Committee on Assassination, records of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a small amount of material from a variety of other agencies, including the Office of Naval Intelligence. See the Kennedy Collection Register for a complete list of all of the record groups and series in the Kennedy Collection.
To research records specifically regarding Kennedy’s administration, please visit the John F. Kennedy Library.
The JFK Assassination Collection Database: What is it?
The database is a document level index of over 260,000 documents. Each document has a unique document identifier, called a record number, and a record identification form (RIF) that tells such information as the date of the document, the "to" and "from", any title associated with the document, brief subject identifiers, and finally the access status of the document. The database does not link to digitized images of records.
What's in the JFK Assassination Collection database...What's not in it?
The database documents only those records opened pursuant to the Kennedy Act. Not included are documents open prior to 1992, most prominently the records of the Warren Commission, documents donated by private individuals, and the records of the ARRB. Records not in the database are documented via folder title lists available on-line.
What is the significance of the Record Number in the JFK Assassination Collection Database?
The Record Number consists of three sets of numbers (example 180-10001-10123). The first number signifies the agency. All HSCA records are 180, all FBI records are 124, etc. The next number group signifies the data disk on which the data was entered. 10001 signifies disk 1, 10231, signifies disk 231 etc. The last number is the number of record on that disk 10000 is the first record entered on the disk, 10233 is the 234th document entered etc. These all have no significance regarding arrangement of the documents in the file. The more significant information on the record identification form (RIF) is the agency, the series, and the agency file number. However, the record number is the only unique identifying number.
Where is the Zapruder Film? Can I get a copy of it?
The original Zapruder film is part of the Kennedy Collection and is in the custody of the Motion Picture Sound and Video staff, at the National Archives at College Park. NARA may make a single fair-use copy of the film and sell it to any researcher. However, the copyright for the film is owned by the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas Texas. If a researcher chooses to publish the film in any way, he or she will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders.
It should be noted that the Zapruder family created an enhanced version of the film that is much clearer than the original film in NARA's custody. At one time, you could rent this film from local video rental outlets. We believe this film is still available for purchase.
I am interested in acquiring some of the archives of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. What is the process to do so?
You may view the records here at the National Archives at College Park and make your own copies. If you cannot make the trip to the Washington area, we can make copies for you and send them through the mail.
See our fees for self-service and mail order copies
Generally, researchers advise us via e-mail, fax, phone call or letter which documents they wish to have reproduced and we mail them a quote for the cost of reproduction and instructions for payment to the National Archives Trust Fund. Once we have received notification of payment from the Trust Fund, the order goes into our reproduction queue and is processed in turn.
Are the photographs and documents digitized?
A small portion of the five million pages in the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are digitized and available on line through the National Archives Catalog. Unfortunately, the prohibitive costs of scanning, indexing, and maintaining digitized images on line means that the great majority of JFK Assassination Collection records are not available on NARA’s web site.
However, there are numerous finding aids to the records of the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection available through NARA's website. Among the resources is the JFK Assassination Collection database, which provides an item level description of over 260,000 documents in the Collection. These documents consist of reports, memorandum, and evidence collected by the FBI, the CIA, and the various official governmental investigative organizations, such as the House Select Committee on Assassination. If you are interested in conducting research in the Collection, we urge you to examine the various links within the Collection homepage. If you can locate a specific document or folder that interests you, you can either view the records here at the National Archives at College Park or request a quote for the cost of reproducing the documents and having them sent to you.
I have a school/work/personal project pertaining to the JFK Assassination Collection. How do I begin?
Before conducting research at NARA, it is helpful to read all of the published information on a particular topic. We recommend that you begin with your local library where you should be able to check out books about the assassination written by individuals who have investigated the topic. The Warren Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations both published multi-volume reports. The volumes consist not only of the reports themselves, but also exhibits and testimony, which describe how each of these organizations came to their conclusions. These reports are available at U.S. government depository libraries, which are located all over the United States. You can locate a depository library near you by visiting the GPO website.
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