Who’s Roy Turnbaugh you might ask? Peter Wong in the Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) explains, but here’s quick rundown of some of the things he’s done as Oregon’s State Archivist:
– Helped get a replacement building for Oregon’s archives (the previous building was a firetrap, and that is putting it nicely), that is climate controlled and open to the public.
– Helped push through a law that official records of state officials, including the state treasurer (very important to future genealogists), become state property.
Most importantly, helped with this:
Oregon led the nation in January 1994, when it became the first to place public archives on the Internet. The Web site now has more than 70,000 pages.
He could be a major part of the reason why so many states now have public archives on the internet.
By the way, the position for Oregon State Archivist is now open – if you are interested, see the link above, and read the bottom of the page.