Information on tens of thousands of county records is conveniently packaged in the new edition of Guide to County Records in the North Carolina State Archives, from the Historical Publications Section of N.C. Office of Archives and History.

Last revised in 1997, this 12th edition of the Guide to County Records contains an exhaustive list of all of the original and microfilmed county records housed in the State Archives as of March 1. It describes more than 13,000 bound volumes; 22,000 boxes of loose records and 24,000 reels of microfilm. Included for the first time are the C.R.X. records—county records that came to the State Archives from a source other than an official county custodian. Also new to this edition is a detailed index plus a 20-page glossary of record types and related terminology.

Founded in 1903, the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh is the third oldest state archives in the United States. Its County Records Collection includes extensive sets of municipal and court records from each of the state’s 100 current counties and from the state’s five defunct counties.

Guide to County Records in the State Archives (paperbound; pp. viii, 394; index, 2009) sells for $28.02, which includes tax and shipping. Order from the Historical Publications Section (N), Office of Archives and History, 4622 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4622. For credit card orders, call (919) 733-7442, ext. 0, or visit the section’s secure online store at http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/. “Guide to County Records” is also available through local bookstores and Amazon.com.

The Historical Publications Section (www.ncpublications.com) is administered by the Office of Archives and History, part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.