DOMESTIC COUNCIL COMPUTER OFFICE FILES, 1975-76

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.