WHAT IS IN THE ARCHIVES? THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS THAT THE MAINE STATE ARCHIVES IS THE OFFICIAL REPOSITORY FOR THE PERMANENTLY VALUABLE RECORDS OF THE LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF THE STATE OF MAINE'S GOVERNMENT. SOUND DULL? INTIMIDATING? YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO LEARN JUST HOW INTERESTING ARCHIVAL RECORDS CAN BE! THERE ARE EXTENSIVE INDEXES AND OTHER FINDING AIDS IN OUR RESEARCH ROOM AND ON THE INTERNET THAT WILL GIVE YOU INSIGHTS INTO THE EXTENT AND BREADTH OF THE RECORDS WE ARE PRESERVING HERE.
BUT THIS EXHIBIT IS DESIGNED TO DISPLAY A FEW EXAMPLES FROM OUR HOLDINGS THAT MAY AMUSE OR ENTERTAIN YOU, OR JUST AROUSE YOUR INTEREST ABOUT MAINE'S DISTANT OR NOT-SO-DISTANT PAST. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING ASPECTS ABOUT WORKING WITH MANUSCRIPTS, MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS IS WHAT THESE ITEMS CAN TELL YOU, IF YOU STUDY THEM CLOSELY. A DOCUMENT MAY BE UNDATED, BUT THERE MAY BE CLUES WITHIN IT THAT CAN TELL YOU WHEN IT ORIGINATED. A PHOTOGRAPH MAY REVEAL MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN A SCENE THAN THE PHOTOGRAPHER INTENDED TO CAPTURE WHEN HE TOOK THE IMAGE. THIS KIND OF DETECTIVE WORK - EXAMINING ALL KINDS OF DOCUMENTS TO FIND CLUES ABOUT THE WHO, WHY, WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE BEHIND THE OBVIOUS - IS PART OF THE FUN OF BEING AN ARCHIVIST.
WE HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THIS SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN FIND HERE IN THE ARCHIVES, AND THAT YOU WILL BE INTRIGUED BY THE INFORMATION THAT WE LEARNED IN STUDYING THESE ITEMS.
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