To the editor:

On Jan. 9, the Lawrence Journal-World reported on the transfer of Gov. Bill Graves’ official records, political papers and other materials to the University of Kansas’ Dole Institute of Politics. As the assistant state archivist at the Kansas State Historical Society, I would like to clarify an issue raised in the article about the historical society’s ability to process gubernatorial records.

The reporter stated that the historical society “didn’t have the money to hire an archivist to organize the papers as it usually does for outgoing governors.” The state government budget shortfall has adversely affected the historical society, requiring a hiring freeze, some layoffs, a reduction in operation hours and the establishment of new user fees. Despite this retrenchment, the historical society’s experienced staff of professional archivists remains capable of fulfilling its statutory obligation to take custody of the governor’s official records and to organize, preserve and make those records available to researchers.

The historical society views processing gubernatorial collections as a high priority and consistently accomplishes this task in a timely manner without hiring additional staff. I can assure Kansas citizens that the records of the Graves administration will receive excellent care at the Kansas State Historical Society.

Matthew Veatch,

Lawrence