ATLANTA (AP) - Scholars,
amateur genealogists and others are protesting the state's decision to
limit public access to the Georgia Archives.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/PvdbBE) thousands of people signed online petitions and Facebook pages over
the weekend after Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced only limited
public appointments to the archives will be available starting Nov. 1.
Kemp says the change was necessary to help trim more than $730,000 from
his office's budget.
The Georgia Archives house
the state's collection of its most important and historical records
dating to 1733, the year Georgia was founded as the 13th British colony.
Emory University historian
Leslie Harris, who's upset by the change, calls the state archive "the
attic for all of us, where memories are stored."
Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution http://www.ajc.com
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