When you need a discharge paper, ship manifest, census schedule, or agency file reference, the National Archives is the federal starting point rather than a general genealogy site. It brings together archival descriptions, digitized records where available, request instructions, and research guides for records created by the US government.
For a Public Records listing, the main test is boundary clarity: whether the site explains what NARA actually holds, when a catalog entry is only a description, which forms or supporting details a requester may need, and when another federal office, state archive, or county clerk is the real destination. It is most useful when you already know the event, agency, or date range you are trying to document.
