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Georgia Archives Expands Public Hours

July 29th, 2013

The Georgia Archives’ current facility is more than a decade old.

But when its doors open to the public later this week, there will be a ribbon cutting and celebration.

In late 2012, the state Archives almost closed to the public because of funding problems.

But after strong grass-roots lobbying, the state moved the Archives’ supervision from the Secretary of State’s Office to the University System of Georgia and restored $300,000 in funding. Starting this week, the Archives will be open to the public four days a week instead of just two.

Christopher Davidson, the Georgia Archives Director, says, “The programs that were cut, we’re going to be able to start adding some of those soon and then grow from there.”

One of the lobbyists is Vivian Price Saffold who co-chaired the campaign to save the Georgia Archives. For her, it is a time of rejoicing. “Once you get into genealogy research, you see that the puzzles, the questions, the quest for the answers of how your ancestors lived, who they were.” Saffold laughs as she says, “That can really become an obsession.”

Last year, about 5,500 people visited the Archives. Back in 2006, before funding cutbacks, it was more than 9,000.