Resource Center

Local Government Archives Project

These resources were produced as part of the Local Government Archives Project and are useful tools in advocating for the support of local government archives.

The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) received a $170,869 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to support a project designed to lay the groundwork for stronger local government archives in each state. The project ran from 2007 through 2011. It analyzed current conditions and identified services, standards, and funding strategies that would help ensure the long-term preservation of and access to local government records.

A nine-member Task Force oversaw the project. Kaye Lanning Minchew, Director of the Troup County (GA) Archives, and Roy H. Tryon, State Archivist and Records Administrator of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, co-chaired the Task Force for the first two years. Jodie Foley, State Archivist of Montana, replaced Tryon in years three and four.

Three Expert Panels supported the work of the Task Force, each representing a sector with a strong interest in improving archival programs for local government records: local government officials, users of local government records, and archivists who work directly with local government records.