County-level research is exhausted or the record may have been created by a state agency.
Put the protocol to work.
Start with the official archive.
Find the state government’s archives website. Read its genealogy or family-history guide and distinguish the archives from a state library or historical society; their collections may overlap without being identical.
Search by agency and subject.
Try record types, institutions, places and time periods, as well as surnames. Government records are often organized around the agency that created them.
Read the finding aid.
Check the collection’s dates, scope, series descriptions and box or volume list. A short catalog description may point to a much larger body of undigitized material.
Ask a focused reference question.
Give staff the collection or series identifier, relevant dates and your research question. Ask whether the series includes the people or place you need, and how to request access or copies.
Connect the archive record to your timeline.
Save the archival reference exactly. Compare names, places and dates with independent sources before assigning a record to your ancestor.
Don’t mistake a clue for a conclusion.
An online catalog entry is not the same as a digital image. Check whether material is online, available by request or accessible only in a reading room.
Your research checklist
Check items during this visit, or print a copy for your research file. Checks reset when you reload.