A Week with ISOO
For Spring Break, I decided to do something a little out of my comfort zone and applied for the week long internship with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Upon being accepted, my placement was with the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) working even more significantly with the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). My main project was to create the Wikipedia page for the PIDB highlighting all of their efforts in declassification policy. I sat in a working group meeting on Tuesday March 15, 2016 which had senior government officials from the CIA, NGA, and NSA all discussing how to work with inter-agency policy to release information to the public. What was being said, is that they do not have enough bodies to complete this and that it is very difficult to go through each document that has a classified, secret, or top secret distinction and determine if any of the information on the record would be harmful for public use.
Later that week, after the completion of the project, I sat in a separate meeting with the PIDB members which were all discussing the actions needed to advise the president on different executive orders. They have previously assisted the president with different tasks that went on to aid in the review of Executive Order 12958. They held a forum asking for input on the matter and even went as far as reaching out to the public. They determined in this meeting that there are many steps needed for declassification of records and documents, and went on to further discuss this matter later that afternoon with other presidential advisors at the White House.
Overall my time in Washington D.C. was absolutely amazing and could not have asked for a better experience. I have met so many different individuals who are still keeping in contact and even going as far to help me form the perfect resume and even aid in a career search for me. I have met so many incredible individuals and am forever grateful to Wayne for giving me this experience! I hope that so many others take the time to do this program!
Jordan Sparks
Wayne State University MLIS Candidate
For further information, please visit the websites below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Interest_Declassification_Board
https://www.archives.gov/declassification/pidb/
