The first thing that you should know about this place that it has a museum, you would be surprised how many people don't know that there is a museum there, they think that it only houses records and documents. The museum is actually a very extensive collection of artifacts and collections that tell the history of Alabama. When you are visiting the museum make sure that you take note of the bronze map that is on the lawn. It is located on the north lawn or Washington Avenue. It's a map of the state of Alabama with events and landmarks marked on the map. There is a photo of the map and a key to this map is on the official website if you would like to see what is located on the map.
The building itself is a very nice building and when you go inside it might seem a little quiet and you might be inclined to be quiet yourself, this is more than likely a good idea. You don't have to be perfectly quiet but it is not a place that you should go running through yelling or laughing really loud. It is more than a museum and inside the building sound can travel well. The museum itself is actually a very nice museum with seperate rooms that are dedicated to different events and timeframes in Alabama's history. The museum won't take a very long time for you see all of but at least a couple hours should be allotted and perhaps more than that depending on how much time you want to take to see everything.
The other thing that you can do while you are visiting here is go to the research room. This room is designed for people to be able to look up information on Alabama. It can be information that is relating to your past or your town's past or information on a certain subject or event. For instance when I went to the research room I was able to get a printout of all the historic cemeteries and their names in Alabama. There are rules that you will need to make sure that you know when you are visiting the research room. There is no food or drink at all, and no bags this does include purses, laptop cases, and briefcases, and coats are not allowed either, and no ink pens should be brought in. You can bring in your cell phone but you must turn it on silent or off and step outside to take any calls. If you have any items that are not allowed in the research room lockers are available for rent. Laptops, binders, pencils, and folders are all allowed in the reserach room. Please note that if you want to take a break to have a snack or drink they do have another room available.
The Archives Building itself is open Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30
The Research Room is open Tuesday through Friday and the second Saturday of each month 8:30-4:30
The Museum is open Monday -Saturday 8:30-4:30
All of these are closed on State Holidays.
Please visit the official website for more information.
