NARA Archival material is categorized by record groups and series. Take a glance at the table below and you will see that knowing some basic “identifiers” can accelerate your research. Here is a partial list containing the most popular record groups. We hope this helps you see the depth of our “library.”
Here’s a quick example of the sequence which goes from broad to specific.
208 UN 1 (Local ID #)
208 = Record Group
UN = Series
1 = the unique identifier number within this Record Group and Series
| Record Group | Description |
|---|---|
| 16 P | US Dept. of Agriculture Public Information and Training |
| 18 ATC | Air Transport Command of the Army Air Forces |
| 18 C | Combat Film Report - US Army Air Forces |
| 18 CS | US War Department Army Air Forces |
| 18 CWD | Combat Weekly digest (Army Air Forces) |
| 18 SFP | Combat Subjects |
| 26 | Moving Images Relating to Coast Guard Activities |
| 28 | Post Office Department |
| 33 | Department of Agriculture |
| 46 | Records of the US Senate |
| 47 | Records of the Social Security Administration |
| 48 | Department of Interior/National Park Service, etc |
| 56 | US Department of the Treasury |
| 57 | US Department of the Interior: Geological Survey |
| 59 | General Record |
| 65 | Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) |
| 70 | US Bureau of Mines Public Information |
| 77 | Army Corps of Engineers |
| 80 MC | US Dept of Navy - Commercial Works |
| 80 MN | US Navy Motion Picture Film Productions |
| 85 | Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service |
| 87 | Records of the US Secret Service |
| 90 | US Public Health Service |
| 95 | Forest Service Public Announcements |
| 96 | US Department of Agriculture - Farm Security Administration |
| 102 | Department of Labor. Children's Bureau |
| 107 | Secretary of War Records |
| 111 ADC | US Army World War II training & combat films |
| 111 CB | Combat Bulletin, US Army |
| 111 CR | Campaign Report, US Army |
| 111 EF | Educational Films of US Army |
| 111 FB | Film Bulletins, US Army |
| 111 H | Department of Army Historical Films |
| 111 LC | US Army Library Copy Collection |
| 111 M | US Army World War II Miscellaneous |
| 111 OF | US Army Orientation Films |
| 111 SFP | Staff Film Reports, US Army |
| 111 SM | World War II Army-Navy Screen Magazine |
| 111 TF | Training Films, US Army |
| 111 TV | Big Picture Television Program, US Army |
| 111 WF | War Film, US Army |
| 115 | Department of the Interior; Bureau of Reclamation |
| 127 | Records of US Marine Corps - Additional |
| 127 R | US Marine Corps Records |
| 171 | Office of Emergency Management: Civilian Defense |
| 174 | Department of Labor |
| 175 | US Military Chemical and Biological Warfare Program |
| 200. | Gift Record Group |
| 200 CBS-WWI | CBS Collection, rights conferred to US Govt in 1986 |
| 200 FC | Ford Motor Company |
| 200 HF | Harmon Foundation Collection |
| 200 LW | Longines Wittnauer 1950s Television Interview Series |
| 200 MTT | March of Times Outtakes |
| 200 PN | Paramount News-fully restricted. No reproduction without prior permission |
| 200 UN | Universal Newsreels |
| 207 | US Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| 208 | Office of War Info: Propaganda |
| 208 UN | United News |
| 226 | Office of Strategic Services |
| 238 | World War II War Crimes Records |
| 242 | Seized Foreign Property - Emergency Management |
| 242 GPN | German Portuguese News |
| 242 MID | Military Intelligence Div. Seized Foreign Records |
| 255 HQ | NASA Headquarters Series- Aeronautics |
| 255 S | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
| 263 | Intelligence and International Relations |
| 266 | Securities and Exchange Commission Records |
| 286 | US Office of International Development |
| 306 | US Information Agency (USIA) Records |
| 330 DVIC | Military Activities Around the World; Office of the Secretary of Defense |
| 342 APC | Army Pictorial Center Motion Picture Films |
| 342 FC | US Air Force Film Clips |
| 342 NR | US Air Force News Releases |
| 342 SFP | US Air Force Special Film Projects |
| 342 TF | US Air Force Training Film Series |
| 342 USAF | Records of United States Air Force Commands |
| 428 MN | US Dept of Navy - General Edited Works |
| 428 NPC | Department of the Navy |
| 434 | Department of Energy |