New York State Department of State Archived Websites

This series consists of archival copies of the publicly accessible websites of the New York State Department of State.

B2087-07: This accretion contains a copy of the main Department of State site that was produced on April 6, 2007. Researchers should note that, owing to the site's structure and the limitations of Web archiving technology, this copy consists solely of the home page of the main DOS site as it existed at the time of copying. As of 2007, none of the other information contained within this sites could be captured successfully.

This accretion also contains a December 30, 2006 copy of the DOS Quality Communities Clearinghouse site, which provides information about state agency programs and services that promote community development and revitalization. Researchers should note that, owing to the structure of the live site and the limitations of Web archiving technology, most of the information contained within this site was not captured properly.

Researchers also should note that repeated attempts to capture the department's Applications site in 2006 and 2007 proved unsuccessful.

B2087-08: This accretion includes a copy of the main Department of State site produced on June 5, 2008, shortly after the resignation of Governor Eliot L. Spitzer (2007-2008). It contains press releases and media advisories (2007-2008), newsletters, and electronic copies (2003-2008) of the New York State Register, a weekly compilation of newly proposed amendments to State agency rules and regulations. Also included is information about several commissions for which the Department of State provides administrative services: the State Committee on Open Government, the State Athletic Commission, and the Watershed Protection and Partnership Council. This copy also contains publications, reports, and other information concerning virtually every aspect of the department's operations, which include a wide variety of licensing, regulatory, record-keeping, municipal assistance, and planning functions: incorporation of businesses and non-profit organizations; registration of charitable organizations; occupational, professional, and business licensing; services, technical assistance, and grant programs for local governments; fire prevention and control; coastal management programs; supervision of cemetery corporations; and development and enforcement of building codes.

Researchers should note that, owing to the site's structure and the limitations of Web archiving technology, the appearance of some sections of this copy differs from that of corresponding sections of the live site. Moreover, some of the navigational links that appear on the copy's home page do not work properly; however, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the "About Us" link will provide access to all of the site's contents.

This accretion also contains a May 9, 2008 copy of the Quality Communities Clearinghouse site, which provides information about state agency programs and services that promote community development and revitalization. Researchers should note that, owing to the structure of the live site and the limitations of Web archiving technology, most of the information contained within this site was not captured properly. This site was removed from the live Web some time after it was copied.

Researchers should also note that repeated attempts to capture the department's Applications site in 2008 proved unsuccessful. This site was removed from the live Web some time after these attempts were made.

B2087-11: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of State site produced on January 4, 2011, shortly after Governor David A. Paterson (2008-2010) left office. It contains background information about the department, press releases and media advisories (2010), listing of public meetings of the department (2010), a quadrennial report (2010) and electronic copies (2003-2010) of the New York State Register. Also included is information about several commissions for which the Department of State provides administrative services and publications, forms, reports, and other information concerning virtually every aspect of the department's operations. In addition, a Kid's Room section contains educational activities and publications for children concerning the state's history, symbols, and culture.

Researchers should note that, owing to the site's structure and the limitations of Web archiving technology, the Communities and Waterfronts and eAccessNY sections and some information contained within other sections of this site could not be captured properly. Moreover, the navigational links to the left of the search bar are not legible but working drop-down menus will appear when these links are moused over. Owing to this problem, it may be easier to use the "A-Z Index" link that appears at the bottom of each page to navigate through this copy.

This accretion also includes two other Department of State websites. The December 28, 2010 copy of the Department's New York State Smart Growth website contains information about the history and organizational structure of the Governor's Smart Growth Cabinet, the cabinet's relationship to the Dept. of State, and the creation of the site itself. Newsletters (2002-2006), a Smart Growth Brochure (2010), and a frequently asked questions section are also included. This site was removed from the live Web some time after it was captured. The January 13, 2011 copy of the Department of State's Twitter feed contains links to department press releases (2010); however, owing to the site's structure and the limitations of Web archiving technology, these links do not work properly.

B2087-15: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of State site produced on January 23, 2015, shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo (2011- ) completed his first term of office. It contains background information about the department, press releases and media advisories (2011-2015), information about the New New York Leaders program, and a Kids Room. Also included is information about several commissions for which the Department of State provides administrative services and publications, forms, reports, and other information concerning virtually every aspect of the department's wide-ranging operations; some of this information is included in older copies of the site. Of note is information relating to the department's Division of Consumer Protection, which was created in March 2011 as a result of the merger of the formerly independent New York State Consumer Protection Board into the department, and its Division of Coastal Resources, which formerly maintained its own website.

This accretion also includes copies of two Twitter feeds maintained by the Department of State as of January 2015. The Department of State's Twitter feed (copied February 6, 2015) contains information about news and events related to the Department of State, and the Division of Consumer Protection Twitter feed contains information about news and events related to the division. Researchers should note that, owing to the limitations of Web archiving technology and the structure of the live sites, most of the content in these feeds could not be captured properly.

Researchers should also note that, owing to the structure of the live site and the limitations of Web archiving technology, repeated attempts to capture the Department's Facebook and Youtube pages in early 2015 were unsuccessful.

B2087-19: This accretion consists of a copy of the Committee on Open Government section of the Department of State site produced on June 26, 2019, two days after the dismissal of its longtime director, Robert J. Freeman. It contains information about the committee's membership and mission, annual reports (2011-2014, 2016, 2018) and news items (2006-2019). It also contains information relating to the state's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) including the text of the legislation, regulations issued by the committee, case law summaries (1974-2019), a timeline (2014) of significant developments relating to the law, and information about how to file FOIL requests and request advisory opinions from the committee. Also present is information relating to the state's Open Meetings Law, including the text of the legislation, case law summaries (1977-2019) the text of model rules for public bodies.

Researchers should note that, owing to the structure of the live site, only some of the FOIL and OML advisory opinions were captured properly. However, the January 13, 2020 copy of the Department of State site does include all of the advisory opinions.

B2087-20: This accretion consists of a copy of the Department of State site produced on January 13, 2020. It contains background information about the department; media releases and advisories (2011-2020); information about several commissions for which the department provides administrative services; and publications, forms, reports, and other information concerning virtually every aspect of the department's operations. Some of this information is included in older copies of the site.

B2043Series B2043, New York State Commission on Public Integrity Archived Websites, contains a September 23, 2007 copy of the State Ethics Commission section of the main Department of State site. The copying process inadvertently captured almost all of the information contained within the Department of State site, and this copy is thus the oldest copy of the main Department of State site

B2201Series B2201, New York State Consumer Protection Board Archived websites, contains copies of the websites maintained by the board prior to its March 2011 merger into the Department of State

B2130Series B2130, New York State Division of Coastal Resources, contains copies of a site maintained by the Department of State's Division of Coastal Resources. Some time after this site was captured in December 2010, it was removed from the live Web and its content was incorporated into the main Department of State site.

The New York State Archives used Web archiving software to copy these websites in order to preserve the information they contain.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.