There is disturbing news in this month’s issue of “Out of the Archives,” the newsletter from the Washington State Archives which comes from the Office of our Secretary of State:  The Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) has proposed selling the National Archives facility in Seattle. The decision was made without public  meetings or soliciting comments from stakeholders in the four Pacific Northwest states which are being impacted by the closure.

The facility contains important federal historical archival records from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington including military records, census information, documentation of Indian treaty rights, tribal reservations, salmon recovery etc.  Researchers who use the archives include the news media, authors, attorneys, historians, genealogists, and many government agencies at all levels.  In the future, these researchers would need to travel about 1,000 miles south to Riverside, California to access Pacific NW federal archival records.

As for active (as opposed to archival) records, they are currently being sent to the Seattle NARA facility which is a short drive from the storage facility for archival records.  In the future, the active records will be shipped over 2,000 miles to a National Archives Records Administration (NARA) records center in Kansas City.

Archives Building, Seattle

Of course, it’s all about money.  According to National Archives, they have been underfunded for years and they do not have money for critical building repairs  ($30 to $60 million.) Meanwhile… the Washington State Secretary’s office is in the planning stages for the new State Library-State Archives building in Olympia.  They have suggested that NARA consider relocating next to their new facility, pointing out that doing business in Olympia would be a considerable savings all the way around.

Considering that we are “the other Washington” and that the decision concerning that proposal will ultimately be made by the Feds, what is your best guess as to the outcome?