The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is open for research by appointment. It also publishes the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...

'' and ''

Oregon Administrative Rules ''Oregon Administrative Rules Compilation'' (OAR) is the official compilation of rules and regulations, having the force of law in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the regulatory and administrative corollary to Oregon Revised Statutes, and is publi ...

''. The position of State Archivist was authorized by the state legislature in 1945, though not filled until 1947, and was originally a staff position within the

Oregon State Library The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabil ...

. The duties and functions of the archivist were placed under the purview of the Secretary of State in 1973, when that office was deemed the chief records officer of the state government by the legislature. it comprises the state archivist, a reference unit, a publications unit, an information and records management unit, and the State Records Center. Before the division was established, Oregon's record keeping had been delegated to various agencies resulting in disorganization and loss. Following a fire at the capitol building in 1935 and in the face of possible air raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the need for a state-level archivist became clear. The first state archivist was David Duniway. In 1991 the two-story Oregon State Archives Building was opened, providing two vaults, climate-controlled storage, and 50,000 sq. ft. of space. Its exterior is

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. Cecil L. Edwards (1906–1995), who served as chief clerk of the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

in 1963 and as state legislative historian from 1975 to 1993, died on December 22, 1995, after which the building was renamed in his honor.

List of state archivists

* David C. Duniway (1946–1972) * James D. Porter (1972–May 1984) * Dale Hildebrand (''interim'') * Roy C. Turnbaugh (1985–Sept. 2005) * Mary Beth Herkert (Dec. 2005–May 2019) * Stephanie Clark (2019)

References

* *

External links

* Archives, Oregon State State archives of the United States Buildings and structures in Salem, Oregon Culture of Salem, Oregon 1947 establishments in Oregon {{library-stub