N E W S R E L E A S E COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Historical and Museum Commission Commonwealth News Bureau Room 308, Main Capitol Harrisburg, PA 17120 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John K. Robinson (717) 783-9882 PHMC ANNOUNCES HISTORICAL RECORDS NOW AVAILABLE ON PA POWERPORT Digital State Archives¹ to allow 24/7 access to historical records HARRISBURG (July 3) -- On behalf of Gov. Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Executive Director Brent D. Glass today announced Pennsylvanians now for the first time -- can access historical records through the PA PowerPort. The Archives Records Information Access System (ARIAS) will enable Pennsylvanians and researchers from around the world to utilize the tremendous resources of the Pennsylvania State Archives right from their homes or local libraries. The records can be accessed through the PA PowerPort at www.state.pa.us or directly at the Commission¹s site at www.phmc.state.pa.us. ³With the click of a mouse, students, teachers, family researchers and history buffs will be able to view online historical records maintained at the State Archives in Harrisburg,² Glass said. ³Our goal is to provide easy, cost-free access to historical records that constitute our most valuable window to the past. We think of it as the 'Digital State Archives.'² Currently, ARIAS offers approximately 200,000 images relating to the participation of Pennsylvanians in the Revolutionary War, Spanish-American War and World War I. The Revolutionary War records are arranged alphabetically by the surname of each soldier, with information on service in the Pennsylvania Militia, Pennsylvania Line, and the Navy; the name and rank of soldier; active or inactive duty; county of residence; battalion in which served; and the archival record from which the information was extracted. More than 300,000 Civil War and Mexican Border Campaign service card images also are being loaded into the system. Eventually, millions of digitized records, ranging from 19th-century county birth, death and marriage dockets to collections of photographs illustrating every aspect of the Pennsylvania experience, will be added. ³Genealogists are hungry for access to records such as these,² said James Beidler, executive director of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. ³The beauty of the resources found in ARIAS is that they will lead researchers to the original source documents, which is what every family historian yearns to find about his or her ancestors.² The online archive is just the latest example of how Pennsylvania is using technology to cut red tape and improve government services. In his May radio address, Gov. Ridge announced that Pennsylvanians now can renew drivers' licenses, photo IDs and vehicle registrations over the Internet. "We¹ve invested over $300 million to bring our state into the Information Age," Gov. Ridge said. "We call it Friction-Free¹ government, and it¹s paying off for customers and taxpayers alike." "It includes our award-winning state website, the PA PowerPort - the flagship of our Friction-Free¹ government. And it recently logged its 2 billionth hit! Gov. Ridge has made technology a key component of Pennsylvania¹s economic- development efforts by such measures as: launching the nation's first-ever ³Tax- Free PC² shopping week to encourage home computer use; signing legislation to make Pennsylvania the first state to enact a uniform Electronic Transactions Act; eliminating the 6 percent sales tax on computer services; creating the research-and-development tax credit; putting the state¹s Web address on Pennsylvania¹s new license plates; leading technology trade missions abroad to increase high-tech exports and high-tech jobs for Pennsylvania; launching the Technology 21 initiative to catapult Pennsylvania into the top 10 states for high-tech business; creating the ³Made-in-PA² database of Pennsylvania-made products; and expanding the Net Operating Loss carry-forward provision to give technology startups a tax deduction.