Dec. 14, 2004

Department of History, Arts and Libraries Director Dr. William Anderson today congratulated the State Records Center staff on the facility's 50^th year of operations.

This month is the half-century mark for the center (housed at 3405 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.), which opened in 1954, less than four years after the disastrous State Office Building fire.That February 1951 fire, which burned for several days, destroyed roughly 8,000 cubic feet of the state records.

"It's true that important pieces of our state's history were lost in that terrible event," said Dr. Anderson. "However, important lessons also emerged on how to manage and protect those resources for future generations. Our colleagues at the records center take that responsibility very seriously."

Debbie Gearhart, director of the State Records Center, said that if the State Office Building fire hadn't occurred, the current records management program might not exist as it is today. In response to the fire and a consultants' report, the Michigan Legislature passed Public Act No. 178 of 1952 giving the Department of Administration (now Management and Budget) broad authority to conduct a comprehensive records management program.

Construction of the State Records Center was completed in December 1954, with new additions built in 1969 and 1980. Records analysts were hired in the late 1950s and 1960s to establish retention and disposal schedules, develop filing systems, design microfilm applications and conduct training sessions.

More recently, Executive Order 2002-17 transferred the Records Management program to the Department of History, Arts and Libraries, as an agency within the Michigan Historical Center, thereby consolidating all records management and archives functions within one department. "The reorganization allowed for more efficient administration," said Gearhart, "making it easier for state and local government agencies to get guidance and direction on a variety of records-related issues."

Today the State Records Center provides storage for approximately 368,000 cubic feet of state government records, enough to nearly fill four football fields. Gearhart noted that by storing such records in the center rather than in the state agencies' offices (and taking up valuable office space), the center actually provides a cost savings to Michigan taxpayers.

In 2003, approximately 37,000 boxes of records were transferred to the State Records Center for secure storage, while approximately 27,000 boxes were disposed of under the contract for confidential destruction of records.

The State Records Center is responsible for the storage and control of inactive state records. The records center operation provides storage and retrieval services for security microfilm, backup tapes, optical disks, as well as paper. The cost for inactive record storage and retrieval operations is provided through annual appropriations.

For more information about the State Records Center and the services it provides, visit www.michigan.gov/recordsmanagement.

The Records Management Center is part of the Michigan Historical Center, an agency within the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL). The department seeks to enrich the quality of life for Michigan residents by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity. The department also includes the Library of Michigan, Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Michigan Film Office.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.