As of November 1, the Georgia State Archives are closed to the public. Open access hours aren’t being reduced, mind you—they’re being eliminated entirely. You’ll need an appointment to use a state’s main archival repository. Appointments will be limited, of course, based on the availability of the remaining staff.
I don’t know the ins and outs of Georgia’s fiscal situation, but I’d imagine $30 million would go a long way toward helping the public servants at the archives keep their jobs. That’s the amount Delta Airlines got in tax breaks authorized by Gov. Nathan Deal last year. Two weeks after Deal signed off on that, he and his wife received preferred customer benefits from Delta worth some $8,000 consisting of “free upgrades when seats are available, Sky Club membership, bonus miles, priority check-in and boarding, fee waivers and more,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A spokesman called the perks a “contribution to the state of Georgia.” Deal will only utilize his seat upgrades and priority check-in while traveling on official business, you see. Georgians who are unable to access their public records can thus take comfort in knowing that the governor’s check-in at the Delta counter has been expedited.
Past in the Present 