Ferriero was confirmed as the 10th Archivist of the United States on Nov. 6, 2009. He previously served as the Andrew W. Mellon director of the New York Public Libraries. Ferriero and his staff have been busy preparing for the Fourth of July celebration in D.C. — the National Archives’ signature event.
What should people heading into town know about?
This year, we’re having the first-ever National Archives float. And Congressman William “Lacy” Clay Jr. from St. Louis will be joining me on the float … [along with] Thomas Jefferson.
You’ve been here for about seven months. What have been some of the more enjoyable things about heading up the National Archives?
You’re sitting under a reproduction of the US Constitution, which was launched in 1797. I grew up in Boston, so I spent a lot of time [around] the ship as a kid.
What are some of the challenging things about the job?
Another interesting experience I’ve had recently is overseeing the release of over 170,000 pages of Elena Kagan documentation for her confirmation hearing, so that was an interesting learning experience.
Compare the Fourth here to holidays or celebrations at your old job in New York.
This is bigger than St. Patrick’s Day in New York City … we had to lock the front doors [there]. What better place to be celebrating the Fourth of July than the home of the Declaration of Independence?
Have you seen everything there is to be seen in D.C. yet?
No — not at all. Not at all. It’s like New York, you know — you only do those things when you have visitors.
So what’s still on your list?
I have an obligation to do all the Smithsonian institutions. I have [not] done all of them yet, so that’s huge on my list.
— David Sherfinski
