PABEDFOR-L Archives

From: Robert Dunkle <>
Subject: PA Digital State Archives
Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2001 18:50:58 -0400

Greetings: The following news release may be of interest--

PHMC Announces Historical Records Now Available on PA PowerPort;
`Digital State Archives' to Allow 24/7 Access to Historical Records

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of Pennsylvania
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 Commission's site at www.phmc.state.pa.us.
"With 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," Glass said. "Our 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.'"
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.

"Genealogists are hungry for access to records such as these," said
James
Beidler, executive director of the Genealogical Society of
Pennsylvania. "The
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."
The online archive is just the latest example of how Pennsylvania is
using
technology to cut red tape and improve government services.

This thread:

• PA Digital State Archives by Robert Dunkle <>