Yesterday Thomas MacEntee posted a link to the news that Georgia was about to become the first state without a publicly accessible state archives. You'll find the article here: http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/sep/13/breaking-georgia-closes-state-archives-ar-4538200/.
The hours were already down to only a few on Fridays and Saturdays. Now it will be by appointment only (and those will be limited). I immediately realized that I needed to prioritize a weekend trip to Georgia to do some research in the next 6 weeks. Three weekends are already out -- one I have to work, one I'll be in Mississippi, and another I have a meeting.
I also realized that I need to make the most of the few hours I'll have on the weekend I go. It's only about a 3.5 to 4 hour trip down to Atlanta. I'll want to go down the evening before so that I can be there when the doors open.
I will also want to have my research plans in order. That means that I'll be reviewing my notes on about 3 families who made brief stops in Georgia en route to Alabama so that I can attack the problems efficiently and locate what I need quickly.
Now I just have to identify which weekend I'll be heading down for an overnight trip.
It's a shame that they are closing instead of entering a partnership with a state university such as University of Georgia to provide access to their collections. I realize that UGA is not in Morrow, but it seems that a partnership is what is needed, even if it means relocating the archives.
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