Bill McNitt's Page

In January 1969, while still an undergraduate student, I began working part-time for the Michigan Historical Collections of the University (now housed in the Bentley Historical Library). That led me to get master's degrees from UM in both History and Library Science and started me on a career as an archivist, initially at the Bentley Historical Library and, since 1977, at the Gerald R. Ford Library.

The Ford Library is located on the North Campus of the University and is one of the presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. In addition to President Gerald R. Ford's papers and audiovisual materials from throughout his career, the Library houses the working papers of the White House staff during 1974 to 1977, closely-related federal records assigned by the National Archives and the personal papers of various administration officials and Ford associates.

Although I have always been interested in the processing of manuscript collections and working with researchers in using them, during the last dozen years I have gradually gotten more and more involved with automation activities. Currently I am system administrator for a Local Area Network that is part of the Wide Area Network run by the National Archives and Records Administration. I also serve as database manager for the Ford Library's PRESNET collection description database, which provides researchers with information about which collections and folders contain information on their topics.

I married Marilyn in 1978 and we have two daughters, Sarah and Rebecca.  When I am not at work, I am often gardening (in the appropriate seasons) or working around the house and yard. I am also involved in Ann Arbor Public School activities, including my work as editor of The Huron Arch, the newsletter of the Huron High School Parent-Teacher-Student Organization. Other interests include genealogy and University of Michigan sports, especially football and ice hockey.