I arrived in Raleigh, NC yesterday. I was scheduled for two days of research at the NC State Archives followed by the NGS Conference in the States. Sadly I have "finished" the research portion of the trip due to too many negative results (and very crowded facilities because of the impending Conference). I would like to tell you a bit about the NC State Archives, though.
I had previously lived in Raleigh and visited the State Library (in the same building but open on Saturdays, which is why I could use it at that time). This was my first visit to the actual Archives. I am very impressed and found the NC Archives very user friendly. It's not the most technology friendly research room because of lack of power sources but aside from that it had everything I look for in a repository.
The online finding aids for the NC Archives are pretty useful. One of the things I like is a partial collection of Estate Record Indices. These are for the loose estate papers, not wills (those are indexed, also, although I don't know if it's complete for all counties). These finding aids make it very easy to plan your trip so you can hit the ground running when you arrive. There are more printed finding aids available in the Archives Search Room.
There are so many original county records available at the Archives it makes research very convenient. I have often researched at the Georgia Archives and wished some of the original county records were there rather than having to go to the county (and they may or may not be there).
A great thing about the original records available at the NC Archives is that they pull them when you request them rather than you having to wait. It also helps in case there are any problems or miscommunications since you are speaking to the person that pulled the record. The Search Room is fairly small but if you're carrying large record books to a table you'll be glad!
I'm looking forward to going back to the NC Archives when I have more time to prepare my research and when there isn't a genealogy conference in town!
