This letter was written by one of the 41 current volunteers at the Indiana State Archives. Last year we contributed volunteers hours to equal 2 1/2 paid employees. There are 7 Archives employees. I did not write the letter, but I support this position totally. Please act if you value or use the Archives. Sharon Mills WARNING! Records For Your Genealogical Research and historical documents that chronicle indiana history Are At Risk Background: During his term, Governor O’Bannon appointed Co-Directors of the Indiana Commission on Public Records (ICPR). Dr. Alan January was placed in charge of The Indiana State Archives and Records Center. The other Co-Director (CD2) was placed in charge of Forms Management and Micrographics (basically the downtown operation) as well as budget matters. They were jointly responsible for Records Preservation. (See for more info.) While overseeing the operation of the Archives, Dr. January has nurtured a volunteer program that has allowed researchers the opportunity to access records, both on site and via the internet, that were previously not available - primarily because the bare-bones Archives staff did not have the time to process those records. Under Dr. January’s guidance, the volunteers have broken records each year for the number of hours worked toward making this information available to you. When Governor Daniels took office, one of the demands placed on him was to appoint directors of many State agencies and offices, including the ICPR. Until such time as he made those appointments, the current directors remained in place. Apparently at some time this year (probably in January) CD2 was appointed as Acting Director over the entire ICPR operation. I say ‘apparently’ because at no time was anyone at the Indiana State Archives, employee or volunteer, officially notified of this change in leadership. Why should this change concern you? CD2 has made some decisions since acting as interim director that potentially have a negative effect on your genealogy research: · CD2 denied the acceptance of a delivery of confidential state records. These records were consequently left on an open receiving dock at the Government Center downtown until the Governor’s Office was asked to intervene. · CD2 had planned to destroy more than fifty skids of historic and valuable newspapers even though the ICPR had previously made a signed agreement to store them for the Indiana State Library. · CD2 has asked State Archives employees (purportedly in an effort to get caught up with the backlog created by the lack of sufficient employees) to “sample” records. CD2’s intent, in one example, is to randomly pull complete records from the Indiana Dept. of Corrections, while keeping only the photo and record cards (not the entire record) for the remainder of the prisoners. Imagine if the full records of notorious figures like John Dillinger, Stephen Judy and Mike Tyson – just to name a few – were not part of those “sample” records. imagine if the full records of one of your relatives was not included in those samples. Because of the interim appointment, CD2 seems to be the obvious candidate for permanent appointment to the Director position. The State’s fiscal year begins July 1st, which means the funds may be available to fill the position permanently, so the clock is ticking. As volunteers who devote time to preserving these historic records, it is most discomforting to imagine a director who does not place the necessary value on the retention of this priceless information. Remember, these are PUBLIC records, which means they are YOUR records. Are these examples of how you want your records maintained? What can you do? If this issue is important to you, please take the time to write, e-mail or call any or all of the following contacts and request that the current Acting Director of the ICPR NOT be selected as the permanent Director. In addition, if you have knowledge of Dr. Alan January’s dedication to preserving our past, please feel free to ask that he be placed in the position of permanent ICPR Director. Contacts: Mitch Daniels, Indiana Governor: Phone: 317-232-4567 US Mail: Office of the Governor Indianapolis, IN 46204-2797 Indiana General Assembly: Internet: www.in.gov/legislative/contact/index.html Betsy Burdick, Director of Cabinet & Agency Affairs: Phone: 317-233-9997 Address: c/o Governor’s Office Room 206 200 W. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204-2728 Internet: bburdick@gov.IN.gov Jon Vanator, Assistant to Intergovernmental Affairs: Phone: 317-233-4198 Address: c/o Governor’s Office Room 105 200 W. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204-2728 Internet: jvanator@got.IN.gov