[SOA] Help Turn Around Disinvestment in State Archives of Ohio

[Jane Wildermuth]

Dear SOA Members,

I am posting the following message on behalf of Jelain Chubb, State 
Archivist.  

Thank you,

Jane Wildermuth
President
Society of Ohio Archivists



Dear Ohio Records Advocates, 
The Ohio Historical Society is very pleased to share with you the 
editorial (see below) that appeared in today’s Columbus Dispatch. We 
believe this an excellent step forward in getting the word out about 
the need to substantially increase Ohio’s investment in its historical 
records and adequately fund the State Archives. However, we also need 
your assistance is communicating these needs to members of the Ohio 
General Assembly who will be working on the state budget over the next 
few months. 

Please visit http://capwiz.com/ohiohistory/state/main/?state=OH and 
click the Take Action button to “Help Turn Around Disinvestment in 
State Archives.” The next page will help you compose either an email 
or letter to your representative. You may cut and paste some of the 
text and talking points provided, but we also encourage you to add 
your own thoughts. 

In addition to sending letters to your local representatives, you are 
also encouraged to write to members of the House and Senate Committees 
that are hearing budget testimony as well as those that hear 
legislation concerning public records. I have added links to those 
committees below:

        Senate (Budget) Finance and Financial Institutions Committee 
(http://capwiz.com/ohiohistory/directory/committees.tt?
state=OH&lvl=state&commid=OH007 )

        Senate (Public Records) Judiciary – Civil Justice 
(http://capwiz.com/ohiohistory/directory/committees.tt?
state=OH&lvl=state&commid=OH007)

        House (Budget) Finance and Appropriations 
(http://capwiz.com/ohiohistory/directory/committees.tt?
state=OH&lvl=state&commid=OH027)

        House (Public Records) Civil and Commercial Law 
(http://capwiz.com/ohiohistory/directory/committees.tt?
state=OH&lvl=state&commid=OH003)

If you have questions about the budget proceedings or using Capwiz, 
please contact Todd Kleismit at tkleismit at ohiohistory.org or 614-297-
2355. 

Thank you for your continued support! 
Sincerely, 
Jelain Chubb 
State Archivist 
Ohio Historical Society 
1982 Velma Ave 
Columbus, OH 43211-2497 
Ph: 614-297-2589 
Fx: 614-297-2546 
Email: jchubb at ohiohistory.org 
www.ohiohistory.org 

Improve Ohio's archives 
State's attention to keeping records of recent history is woefully 
inadequate 
Monday, April 2, 2007 3:36 AM 
While considerable attention has been paid to keeping state records 
open to the public, little focus has been placed on improving the 
collection of official documents. 

State Archivist Jelain Chubb says the Ohio Historical Society's 
maintenance of earlier historical records is far superior to the 
cataloging of data from the past two decades. Her office in the Ohio 
Historical Center will be struggling to examine, sort and preserve the 
stacks of records from Bob Taft's eight years as governor.

She worries that, unless her department is beefed up, data from the 
era when state offices became fully computerized could be permanently 
lost, inhibiting future historical research. The State Archives' 
library on the third floor of the center is open to the public just 24 
hours a week, the least of any state.

The society is pressing the legislature for a major increase in 
funding for archives. The society's executive director, William K. 
Laidlaw Jr., says that by any standard, Ohio ranks dead last 
nationally in state support for the archiving of records.

The society wants its records-management funding to jump from $250,000 
annually to $850,000. That would enable the State Archives to boost 
the staff to 13, from 3 ½. The funding increase would allow the 
department to acquire the staff and equipment to preserve electronic 
records that otherwise might be lost, to assist local governments in 
complying with the state's open-records law and to keep the library's 
reading room open 44 hours a week.

The archives situation wasn't always so bleak. However, while 
computerization expanded the amount of records that could be 
considered for preservation, staffing in the archives office declined 
sharply, as state money was shifted.

Ohio's funding for archives is puny compared with neighboring states. 
While $600,000 sounds like a lot of money, it's a relatively small 
amount in a proposed biennial budget of $52.9 billion.

Ohio's rich and diverse history must be preserved for future 
generations. Part of that is keeping well-managed collections of 
documents that are accessible to the public.