On September 29th, 2022, the Arizona Memory Project will be changing to a new, upgraded platform. The home URL azmemory.azlibrary.gov will remain the same. During the transition to the new site, however, you may notice that some links on azlibrary.gov, outside pages, and some of your bookmarks may no longer work. We apologize for the inconvenience. For assistance or information, contact azmemory[at]azlibrary.gov

Research at the Archives

Arizona State Library, Archives & Records COVID-19 Response

  • Our number one goal is to keep the public and our employees safe
  • The situation related to COVID-19 is rapidly developing, as is the response from this office and the state. Please check back regularly for updates
  • We are committed to providing continuity of services while reducing exposure risks
  • In-person trainings for ALL divisions are on hold until further notice. Divisions will hold trainings by webinar as needed.
  • Department staff will attend community meetings virtually or by phone, when available.
  • Services impacted:
    • In-person Patent and Trademark Resource Center consultations
    • In-person retrieval and immediate checkout of materials to patrons of Arizona Talking Book Library
    • Walk-in reference service for Archives & the Research Library. Research & reference services are now offered by appointment only. Please contact us here to request an appointment. 

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Records at the State Archives are open for use except those specifically restricted by law; most materials must be used in person, although some collections are available online through the Arizona Memory Project. Reference assistance is available on-site, by telephone, mail or email.

What to expect when visiting at the State Archives

Online Resources

Arizona State Knowledge (ASK):  ASK is an online catalog of resources available in our archival collections.  We are in the process of implementing this catalog so not all of our holdings are currently represented in it.  If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact the Archives to see if we have what you need.  Need help using ASK?  ASK Help Guide

Arizona Memory Project:  The Arizona Memory Project provides access to the wealth of primary sources in Arizona libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions. Visitors to the site will find some of the best examples of government documents, photographs, maps, and objects that chronicle Arizona's past and present. The items in the Arizona Memory Project represent only a small percentage of the materials held by contributing institutions. Please feel free to contact any of the Arizona Memory Project contributing institutions for more information.

Archive-it: The Arizona State Archives actively archives over 500 websites pertaining to the State of Arizona through Archive-It. Our web collections date back to 1996. They are organized alphabetically by agency and the executive, legislative and judicial websites each have their own collection. We are currently expanding our holdings by archiving county and city websites, as well as creating historical collections. We also archive social media. The entire collection is searchable by text. Websites are available as standalone digital files in WARC format by contacting the Electronic Records Archivist.

Archival Collections

The Archives houses permanently valuable records that begin with the creation of the Territory in 1863. Territorial and State agency records include:

  • Legislators' Papers
  • State and Local Government Records
  • Private Manuscript Collections
  • Maps

Photograph Collections

The photograph collections at the Arizona State Archives consists of 180,000 images, with more than 33,000 digital images available online as a part of the Arizona State Archives Historic Photographs on the Arizona Memory Project.

Oral Histories

The Arizona State Archives holds a number of oral history collections available for use in the Archives. These collections include:

  • Equal Rights Amendment: Interviews with people who either worked for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment or against it.
  • Arizona Legislators: This collection contains interviews with Arizona legislators regarding their term(s) in office and the key issues facing their legislative sessions.
  • Sun City Oral History project.

Fees

Photocopy Fees

The Archives charges for photocopying of records (cash or check only).  These fees apply to paper copies of non-photographic material only.

Staff makes all copies and we reserve the right to refuse to copy materials we deem too fragile.

On-site patron photocopy fees

  • 1-10 copies, $0.10 cents per copy
  • 11-50 copies, $0.25 per copy
  • 51-100 copies, $0.50 per copy
  • 101+ copies, $1.00 per copy

On-site patrons can print copies of microfilm from coin-operated readers or from the public access computer.

On-site fees for microfilm prints and public access computer

  • $0.10 cents per copy (machines ONLY take DIMES)