Digital Access to Historical Documents and Finding Aids from the Office of the Secretary of State (1900-1990)
Statewide Historic and Cultural Grants. $5,250,000 the first year and $5,250,000 the second year are for history programs and projects operated or conducted by or through local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations; or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources.
Expected short-term impact [from the initial grant application]:
"Enhanced preservation: Once the card files are scanned and stored digitally by the Legislative Reference Library and the Secretary of State, the immediate goal of preservation of the information will be strengthened."
The short-term impact of preservation of the card files has been met.
Expected intermediate-term impact [from the initial grant application]: "Enhanced access once the portal is complete at the end of the project."
The intermediate-term impact to provide enhanced access has been met.
Expected long-term impact [from the initial grant application]:
"Genealogists will be delighted by details gleaned on the lives of their
relatives. Researchers of information about past state administrations will find verification of task forces or appointments. Librarians at the Legislative Reference Library will be able to answer more questions about earlier executive orders, or provide more information about legislators of the past. Based on the relatively low expense of this project for unlocking a trove of historical information, other agencies may undertake similar projects. Researchers will use the index files in unexpected ways."
The long-term impact will be difficult to measure. Already Legislative Reference Library librarians have used information regarding a special election to verify an uncertain date in the Legislators Past and Present database.
(Members of the Library Subcommittee for the 2013-2014 legislative session are not yet appointed.)