Museums, libraries and archives – these are my happy places. True, I love a long walk in the great outdoors, but there is something about these hallowed spaces where history, questions and curiosity combine that just makes me fundamentally happy. Casually mention John Cotton Dana or Ennigaldi-Nanna (fun research tangent for you all) to me, and we have a conversation started.

So, when I was offered the opportunity recently to sit down over coffee with a man who started his career back in the 1960s as one of the first archivists for the then newly created State Archives, and went on to serve as a national archivist, I jumped at it.

This is a man who has seen – and held – history. After all, the National Archives is the caretaker of our Constitution itself.

I had questions. He had stories. It was great. However, in depressingly short order, curiosity gave way to concerns.

Colleen Shogan, national archivist, had just been fired by the president. No reason was given for her abrupt and immediate dismissal, but it was widely understood as personal retribution, or, as The New York Times put it, “her affiliation with an agency despised by Mr. Trump appeared to be all the justification he needed.”

When most people, self included, think about the role of the National Archives, it’s the documents that leap to mind. And, yes. Those matter. A lot.

Here in Maine, in addition to some really cool online education programs, the archives include rare maps, historical documents, treaties, and vital and important records.

Lucky for us, the Maine State Archives are under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state and in this pivotal moment, that person is Shenna Bellows. Bellows has a long and distinguished track record, both in the Maine state Legislature and at the ACLU, of defending our rights – often under extreme pressure. So I feel secure that our historical records are in good hands.

At the national level, though, things are scary – and complicated.

Documents are only part of what hangs in the balance. With thanks to Dominic Byrd-McDevitt and everylibrary.org, where you may find full details and sign a petition, let’s look at an abbreviated list of the other roles that fall to the national archivist, or the archives. I think you will find them interesting.

Administering the Electoral College process; providing official instructions to states on how to carry out their Electoral College voting, and receive and validate the certificates before public viewing and permanent preservation.

Publishing the Code of Federal Regulations, the official document codifying all regulations of federal agencies, and the Federal Register, where the government gives notice of presidential actions, public meetings, and any proposed changes to federal regulations before their required public comment period.

Administering the constitutional amendment process.

Maintaining mandatory rules for agencies about how to retain records and, when these are violated, investigating and conducting oversight.

Housing the National Personnel Records Center for the federal government. This is where all the personnel files of all federal employees are transferred after they separate from the government.

Important roles in the classification process, including housing the Information Security Oversight Office and the National Declassification Center.

Receiving classified documents from the government for retention, as was widely reported during the president’s related criminal indictment.

Ombudsman for the federal Freedom of Information Act program, receiving public complaints about violations of the law and producing compliance reports on agencies.

Did you know all that? I didn’t.

Clearly, the stakes are even higher than I had thought. I care, deeply, about the welfare of the original Constitution, the document which lays out the foundation of our democracy.

But I care even more deeply, by a lot, for the welfare of the actual democracy itself. That is what is in jeopardy here.

To be honest, I don’t love the Electoral College. I think there are better ways. But, regardless, that is the system we have. Controlling the process of how a president is elected, to say nothing of the oversight of our records – safeguarding documents and the historical record – is not something which should ever fall under partisan, or personal, sway.

We might not agree on which candidate will have our vote, but surely we can all agree the decision ought to be based upon an actual vote, not a pretense.