Gerald R. Ford Library

1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI  48109-2114

www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov

 

 

Domestic Council

 

 

 

 

 

DOMESTIC COUNCIL COMPUTER OFFICE

Files, 1975-76

 

 

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

 

       Domestic Council administrative staff tracked memoranda, letters, and enrolled bills by computer after November 1975.  Document inventories (print‑outs) in box 1 provide awkward access to succeeding boxes of material arranged by control number.  Much of this material is duplicated in collections of Domestic Council staff.

 

QUANTITY

13.6 linear feet (ca. 27,200 pages)

 

DONOR

Gerald R. Ford (accession numbers 77-35, 77-40, and 77-107)

 

ACCESS

Open.  Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

 

COPYRIGHT

Gerald Ford has donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.  The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them.  Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

 

Prepared by Barbara J. White, August 1982

 [s:\bin\findaid\domestic council computer office - files.doc]

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

             The Computer Office provided the Domestic Council staff with correspondence control, priority tracking, enrolled bill status and coordination, along with the White House staff, of Presidential ‑ Congressional mail.  In the fall of 1975, the Council began to organize its paperwork by computer.  After January 1976, the computer functioned to control correspondence and track the status of enrolled bills.  Kathleen D. Meehan operated the Domestic Council terminal of the White House computer; she was assigned to the administrative staff and was supervised by Judith Johnson, staff secretary of the Domestic Council operations.

 

The Computer Office files document the Domestic Council's administrative computer operations from the fall of 1975 through 1976.  As incoming material was received, a computer ID number was assigned and a Domestic Council Correspondence Profile form was attached to the material.  Information from the form was then entered into the White House computer and included control number, type of document, correspondents, subject and action taken.  The Computer Office kept track of the documents as they progressed through the Domestic Council offices and closed out each document case as the action was completed.  Near the end of the administration, the computer printed out entries, arranged by year and thereunder by control number.

 

The Computer Office files are divided into three series: document inventories (print‑outs), correspondence, and Computer Office working documents.  They consist largely of letters, memoranda, studies, congressional recommendations and Executive Orders originated by congressmen, federal agencies, private citizens, the President, and White House and Domestic Council staffs.  They often concern congressional topics such as legislation, appointments, special interest lobbying, and meetings, appearances and other appointments.  Incoming documents and supporting material are covered by the Correspondence Profile forms and arranged by their assigned number.

 

The usefulness of the Computer Office material is limited.  The numerical arrangement makes it difficult to locate specific materials.  The majority of the documents controlled by the computer can be located elsewhere in the Domestic Council staff files, usually under more convenient subject headings.  The remainder of the Computer Office working file is routine and narrowly focused.

 

 

Series Descriptions

 

1                      Document Inventories File, 1975-76.  (0.4 linear feet)

Computer print‑outs which inventory materials in the Correspondence File.  The print‑outs indicate type of document, correspondents, brief subject, action taken, closure.

Arranged by year and thereunder by control number.

 

2‑33         Correspondence File, 1975-76.  (12.6 linear feet)

Letters, memoranda, studies, congressional recommendations, executive orders.  This file contains incoming correspondence, presidential ‑ congressional mail, enrolled bills, and attached related materials.  A Correspondence Profile form covers each document case.  Numerical order approximates chronology.

Arranged by year and thereunder by control number.

 

Review on request ‑ Identify your request from the print out inventory.

 

33‑34       Computer Office Administrative File, 1975-76.  (0.6 linear feet)

Printout sheet changes, log sheets and tracking forms; Domestic Council status index; and presidential ‑ congressional mail duplicates.  Many handwritten notes of updates and changes appear.  This working file consists of documents used to track correspondence and enrolled bills, and log worksheets used to program the computer.  Domestic Council status index to the magnetic computer tape, on which is stored the Domestic Council Correspondence Profile information, is included; the tape is part of the audio‑visual collection.

Arranged alphabetically by subject and thereunder chronologically.

 

Container List

 

Box 1     Document Inventories

1975 (7500001 ‑ 7501605)

1976 (7600001 ‑ 7602705)

Completed Record Actions for 11/09/1976 ‑ 12/02/1976

 

Box 2     Correspondence File

7500001 ‑ 7500112

 

Box 3     Correspondence File

7500113 ‑ 7500235

 

Box 4     Correspondence File

7500236 ‑ 7500349

 

Box 5     Correspondence File

7500350 ‑ 7500446

 

Box 6     Correspondence File

7500447 ‑ 7500569

 

Box 7     Correspondence File

7500570 ‑ 7500700

 

Box 8     Correspondence File

7500703 ‑ 7500805

 

Box 9     Correspondence File

7500806 ‑ 7500912

 

Box 10   Correspondence File

7500913 ‑ 7501060

 

Box 11   Correspondence File

7501061 ‑ 7501226

 

Box 12   Correspondence File

7501227 ‑ 7501330

 

Box 13   Correspondence File

7501331 ‑ 7501480

 

Box 14   Correspondence File

7501481 – 7501588

 

Box 15   Correspondence File

7501589 ‑ 7600100

 

Box 16   Correspondence File

7600101 ‑ 7600222

 

Box 17   Correspondence File

7600223 ‑ 7600349

 

Box 18   Correspondence File

7600350 ‑ 7600466

 

Box 19   Correspondence File

7600467 ‑ 7600601

 

Box 20   Correspondence File

7600602 ‑ 7600721

 

Box 21   Correspondence File

7600722 ‑ 7600848

 

Box 22   Correspondence File

7600849 ‑ 7600979

 

Box 23   Correspondence File

7600980 ‑ 7601109

 

Box 24   Correspondence File

7601110 ‑ 7601265

 

Box 25   Correspondence File

7601266 ‑ 7601399

 

Box 26   Correspondence File

7601400 ‑ 7601548

 

Box 27   Correspondence File

7601550 ‑ 7601730

 

Box 28   Correspondence File

7601731 ‑ 761865

 

Box 29   Correspondence File

7601866 ‑ 7602023

 

Box 30   Correspondence File

7602024 ‑ 7602184

 

Box 31   Correspondence File

7602185 ‑ 7602349

 

Box 32   Correspondence File

7602350 ‑ 7602573

 

Box 33   Correspondence File

7602574 ‑ 7602704

Computer Office Administrative File

Congressional (1)‑(2)

Domestic Council Correspondence Profile

Enrolled Bills (1)‑(2)

 

Box 34   Computer Office Administrative File

Enrolled Bills (3)

Interim Reports (1)‑(4)

Presidential Mail from Congress (1)‑(5)

Printout Sheet Changes (1)‑(3)