Secretary of State Cathy Cox presents Georgia Historical RecordsAdvisory Board Award for Excellence to Deborah Davis

ATLANTA, GA Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB) Chairman R. Lee Kinnamon presented the Award for Excellence in the Educational Use of Historical Records to Deborah Davis during the Second Annual GHRAB Archives Awards Ceremony held on Monday, October 4th.

The GHRAB awards recognize outstanding efforts in archives and records work in Georgia. GHRAB selected the award winners for their historical records activities over the past eighteen months.

Deborah Davis of Valdosta joined Dr. Catherine Badura at Valdosta State University to develop a joint project between the Department of History and the University Archives to integrate Archives? records into the curriculum. Seventy undergraduate students were introduced to the University Archives and a range of primary source materials. Many of these students opted to work for extra credit in the Archives as student archival apprentices and helped to preserve and process archival holdings.

The students worked a total of 469 hours, processed 40 boxes, and added over 11,000 records to the vital records index of the Valdosta Daily Times. The students had an opportunity to work with historical records and help develop guides to make primary documents accessible. As part of an on-campus collaboration program, the project was evaluated thoroughly with encouraging results. Ms. Davis plans to repeat the project in future semesters and hopes to encourage other faculty to adopt the practice. The project also has great potential to be disseminated and adopted at other academic institutions.

Additional winners in the category of Educational Use of Historical Records included Bryan-Lang Historical Library, Sarah L. Shearouse, and the Vienna Historic Preservation Society.

GHRAB works to promote the educational use of Georgia's documentary heritage and to support efforts to improve the condition of records statewide. The Board is charged with advising the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Georgia Archives on records and policy issues.

The Georgia Archives hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Directions are available at www.GeorgiaArchives.org. For additional information about GHRAB, please contact Elizabeth Aloi Barr at 678-364-3718 or ebarr@sos.state.ga.us.