Clio in the Courthouse: North Carolina's Local Records Program at Age Twenty-Five

Recent archival literature decrying the worsening condition of local government records offers little practical advice for the alleviation of the problem, which remains a fundamental responsibility of local governments themselves. State archival agencies, however, can and should develop programs in partnership with the counties and municipalities. North Carolina's local records program, which observed its silver anniversary in 1984, remains unique in the country. While it is not reviewed here as a model for emulation, this program does suggest that a state-financed local records program both feasibly and effectively conquers the paper mountains that have accumulated over the centuries.