Release Date: May 30, 2012
For immediate release
The Federal Reserve System is preparing an inventory of historical materials (PDF) to enhance transparency through improved web access to records of the Federal Reserve's past. The initiative is motivated by the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Federal Reserve Act in December 2013 and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Federal Reserve Banks in November 2014. The inventory will serve as a resource for researchers, academics, and others interested in studying the history of the nation's central bank.
The initial inventory captures the Federal Reserve's first efforts to create a single point of access to historical records, documents, and other materials such as photographs and audio and video recordings related to the Federal Reserve System and its leaders. This inventory identifies materials that are currently available from a variety of sources, including the websites of the Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research , websites housed at universities, and other private collections. It also includes information about material that is not yet available online that will be considered for digitization and posting.
To continue expanding the inventory, the Federal Reserve is asking historians, scholars, and other members of the public to identify additional sources of Federal Reserve history. The Board and the Reserve Banks have established a submission form where readers may provide information about historical records, collections, or artifacts that should be listed in the inventory. The inventory as well as additional information about the Federal Reserve's centennial are available on each Reserve Bank's website and the Board's website under the "About" link (links provided below).
Further educational outreach will be conducted during the centennial period to make the Federal Reserve's history more accessible. A planning committee chaired by Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, has been formed. In addition, former Federal Reserve Chairmen Paul A. Volcker and Alan Greenspan are honorary co-chairs of a Centennial Advisory Council that includes representatives from a range of private and public sector organizations.
To learn more about the history of central banking in the United States, view a timeline at http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/about-the-fed/history/ .
To access the inventory, use any of the following links:
For media inquiries, call 202-452-2955.