We are sad to learn James W. “Jim” Moore, a longtime, former National Archives employee, passed away on January 21, 2019.
Moore worked for the National Archives for 42 years, from 1956 to 1998. Before coming to the National Archives, Moore worked for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Post Office Department, and he served in the U.S. Army.
Moore began his career with the National Archives as an archivist in the old military reference section. He later served as a supervisory archivist and then became Chief of the Military Service Staff, which handled all military service and pension files reference requests.
As chief he was honored in 1963 with the Meritorious Service Award for his outstanding leadership and exceptional achievements in streamlining the administration of that section.
He then spent two years as an appraiser in the Office of Records Appraisal, becoming Chief of the Audiovisual Branch, and then Director of the Audiovisual Archives Division. While there he helped promote the use of the under-used National Archives audiovisual collections, including incorporating movies as part of our public programming.
Moore was a constant advocate for film and other nontextual record preservation. In this capacity he had the unfortunate responsibility to serve as the public spokesperson for the devastating Suitland Nitrate film vault fire, which destroyed 12.6 million feet of Universal Pictures newsreel footage in 1978.
In 1981 Archivist of the United States Robert M. Warner appointed Moore to be Assistant Archivist for the National Archives. In 1984, when the National Archives was becoming an independent agency, Warner gave Moore new responsibilities as Assistant Archivist for the newly created Office of Records Administration. That office handled decisions on retaining Federal Government documents.
Under Archivist John Carlin, Moore became a Senior Policy Adviser for the Office of Records Services in Washington, DC. He was instrumental in creating and improving programs for employee development and training, including the Career Intern Development System Program and the Archives’ Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.
Moore retired from the National Archives in 1998. He is remembered fondly by staff who worked both for and with him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his surviving friends and family.