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Scope and Content Notes: The County Books are arranged alphabetically by county and contain information collected on each county during Thornburgh's eight years as Governor. These "books" were originally large binders, but for preservation purposes the material is now in folders with the information organized as follows: county information (physical features and facilities, demographics and income, economic profile and employment, quality of life, and history); political information (primary and general election results); gubernatorial appointments; public officials (elected and appointed); budget appropriations; economic profile; media (newspapers, "weeklies," radio, and television stations); state facilities; transportation; P.I.D.A.; Department of Community Affairs (DCA); tourism (money and investment); special issues, unique to county; miscellaneous information; Governor's past visits to county; and resource names (county contacts).
Some counties, particularly the larger ones, contain additional sections of information, including: commerce; Department of Environmental Resources (DER); and education. Many counties have a separate folder containing miscellaneous material, entitled "Additional binder material," that was clipped into the front cover of the binder. This material has been placed in separate folders to preserve the original order.
Regarding dates of the material, it should be noted that while a county book may have been assembled in 1984, for example, the book was also in continuous use throughout the terms of the Thornburgh administration. Most folders are marked with a concrete date, or date range, on or during which the material was assembled or written. In the absence of specific dates the range is given at 1979-1987, the years Thornburgh held office.
In addition to the original books, information was compiled, primarily in 1986, for a final update of each book. These updates included election results, employment statistics, expenditure information, and more. These updates were never interfiled into the original books and now follow the binder material in their original order and format.
The County books also contain one folder documenting the dates of the Governor's visits to Washington. Researchers should recognize the use of "zinger" as a piece of information that was accurate, concise, and a useful expression of a specific administration accomplishment.
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