Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington
The indexing of the records varies also with different file-rooms. In general the indexes make any particular letter or paper easily accessible, but do not aid in finding the papers of any one class or on any particular subject, and hence are of slight service in preparing a general description of the records. The older indexes are of little value for any purpose what soever; and the index-books that were in general use until a few years ago are so complicated that their use by the uninitiated is extremely difficult. The system of indexing by means of cards is, however, rapidly coming into use.
Another difficulty encountered was the inconvenient or even inaccessible location of a part of the material. In several offices the earlier records are boxed up and stored in vaults or attics; in others they are hidden behind piles of lumber or large cases. In still other offices, while the records are actually accessible, considerable physical discomfort is attendant upon an examination of them.
The mere mass of these records of the government is well-nigh appalling. It is impossible to form an estimate of the aggregate space occupied by them; in a single office of the Treasury Department, for example, they cover over ten miles of shelving; the volumes of diplomatic and consular correspondence in the State Department are to be numbered by thousands; a few years ago the Adj utant-general reported that in addition to several tons of Confederate records already described there were over ten tons of books and papers, the character of which had not as yet been ascertained. In some departments entire buildings are rented for no other purpose than that of filling them from cellar to attic with records and files that are not in immediate demand in the prosecution of current work.
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