The repository for some of the state's most treasured documents is plagued by a leaky roof that has resulted in parts of the collection getting wet at least three times this year.
Officials say they're worried about protecting the archives, which include the state constitution, John Dillinger's prison records and the 1964 contract between the Indiana State Fair Board and the Beatles. But the state budget approved by lawmakers in an overtime session this year did not include money for repairs to the building.
The Department of Administration had included $2.4 million for that purpose in its budget, but Gov. Mitch Daniels nixed the plan.
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I didn't get the job done in making clear how precarious this situation is," said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, who introduced a bill allocating $500,000 for the study. "Unfortunately it got put into the category: 'It'd be nice, but it's not a necessity."
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A 2007 report by the Council of State Archivists shows Indiana's $500,000 annual budget for archives is among the nation's lowest. Only 12 states have smaller staff than Indiana, which has eight archivists. Washington state has a $10 million budget.
Washington archivist Jerry Handfield, who served as Indiana's archivist in the 1990s, said Indiana's building is "an accident waiting to happen."
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