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Research Indiana Catalog
The Research Indiana Catalog simplifies the process of searching the Archives’ collection by providing listings of more than a quarter of a million holdings.

Indiana Digital Archives


Indiana Electronic Records Program
Welcome to the Indiana Archives and Records Administration
The Indiana Archives and Records Administration assists State and local governments in the cost-effective, efficient and secure management of governmental records, by providing services throughout the life cycle of records, including creation, use, storage, and disposition.
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Search Archives Holdings
The Indiana State Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for public use historical and evidential materials relating to Indiana. In all, the Archives houses over 110,000 cubic feet of permanently valuable materials containing millions of individual items. These records date from the territorial period to the present.
Visit the State Archives
Visit the State Archives in Indianapolis to see original documents or records. Entrance is free to the public.
2018 Preservation Week Road Show
Saturday, April 21, 2018 | 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center
Consult with those who specialize in appraising and preserving historic family treasures! Bring an example from your collection to find out about the value and condition of your items and how to best preserve them.
You can meet with the Indiana Archives' conservator, Elizabeth Hague who specializes in manuscripts and document conservation!
To learn more about this event, visit Preservation Week Road Show.
Indiana's World War I Centennial
The Indiana Archives and Records Administration is proud to partner with the Indiana World War I Centennial Committee to commemorate the centennial of World War I in the state of Indiana.
Over the coming years, the Committee will serve as the lead organizer for the state's commemorative events and will coordinate the activities of individuals and institutions to raise awareness of and give meaning to the events of a hundred years ago.
You are encouraged and invited to participate whether as an individual, an organization, municipal or educational group.
Learn More About the Indiana World War I Centennial Commemoration
Treasures at the Indiana State Archives
1917 Fort Benjamin Harrison Postcard
This postcard shows soldiers performing field maneuvers at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 1917.
Thanks to the State Archives of Florida, the Indiana State Archives can add some Indiana postcards to our collection. While doing an assessment of their holdings, the State Archives of Florida discovered records that did not fit their collection policy. They identified institutions that would get better use of the items, and donated them to the appropriate place.
The postcards, part of the Harold and Geraldine Haskins Postcard Collection, depict a wide range of Indiana life. One postcard shows soldiers performing field maneuvers at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 1917. Other Indiana landmarks and buildings featured include Union Station in Indianapolis, the Methodist Episcopal Hospital in Indianapolis, Abraham Lincoln’s Home, and the Wyandotte Cave.
Archives use collection policies, also referred to as accession policies, to ensure that consistent decisions are made when forming the archives’ collection. Having a strong collection policy allows the archives to identify a clear mission and to focus resources on those records that will best serve the constituents.
Here at the Indiana State Archives, our collection policy is to preserve and make accessible records of state and local governments that document public and private rights, actions of state and local government officials, and the institutional character of state and local governments. Exceptions are made for records that have permanent legal and research significance, or document the history of the state. In this case, the postcards, while not created by a government unit, document key Indiana landmarks and scenes.
Explore All Featured Treasures At the Archives