I don't think the general public is necessarily interested in *historical government documents*, unless your a reporter or history buff or doing a thesis....hence no real general public interest...general is the key word here.... Now, on the other hand...the general public sure would be interested in all those old county deeds and wills...:) And remember, we have an internet...why should I visit an archive say in the east that would cost me well over $5,000.00 say for maybe a 3 or 4 day trip...when with a click of my mouse I could explore what you have in image form....:) You see, when you can relate to them, they are interested....but I think most of us think of a state archive as the repository for old *government* documents, not necessarily anything that would be of interest to them...remember, us babyboomers are looking for a hobby....:) Sorry, just had to push for all us family historians that are locked out of so much research at the state archives because we live so far from them....:( MicroSoft coined a good word...User Friendly....ok, so I don't know if Microsoft coined that but let's face it, whatever Bill Gates did, sure made him wealthy...a true American story....:) Charlotte Coats Archive http://www.coatsarchive.us A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>