WA State Archives Debut, Seek to Halt Lost Data

-- Library Journal, 10/22/2004

The state of Washington’s digital archives were officially opened to the public on October 4, housed at Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, and designed to salvage critical public records born digital from local and state governments. The Digital Archives Archival Management System was brought online the same day, offering an easy search interface. Records ranging from county marriage records to historic census and naturalizations records databases are now searchable. Secretary of State Sam Reed called the archive’s development "a four-year crusade to rescue modern history." A statement from Reed's office says the state is missing more than half of its electronic records--and that many will never be recovered, including email and electronic documents from elected officials and some genealogy records. The archive eventually will hold 800 terabytes worth of material, including birth, marriage, death, census, military, and naturalization records; as well as historic records like the State Constitution, and the first election results in Washington Territory.