The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository has now launched.

Let’s say you’ve got some electronic government documents of some kind – documents that you think ought to get a wider readership.  You might be someone who has executed a Freedom of Information Act request. Or you might be a city councilmember who has an interesting staff report.

Whoever you are, if you’ve got docs, there’s now a place to store and share them with others: The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository.

Or let’s say you’re looking for some documents. Would you like to look at the drawings for the Stadium Boulevard bridge replacement project? Or maybe you’d like to see that Request for Proposals put out by the city of Ann Arbor for the Library Lot. Or maybe you’d like to see the old  income tax study commissioned by the city back in 1997. Maybe you’d like to look at the collected digital scans of doodles made on the back of napkins by city planning commissioners at a March 23, 1964 meeting with out-of-town developers.

You’re already in luck … except for that last item – The Chronicle is not aware that any such meeting took place. By “in luck,” we mean someone has already uploaded to AAAGDR the exact documents you’re seeking.

What is the goal of this document repository? From the AAAGDR website:

The Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository is a place to upload documents relevant to local governance.

You can use this site to share PDFs, Excel files, PowerPoint documents, raw data, and other files produced by local governmental bodies, including the City, County, and School District. Uploaded documents are given a clean URL that — among many uses — can be shared via email, posted in online forums, and contributed to local newspapers.

This site is free to use. There is no registration process, but you must provide a valid email address. Your email will not be published.

We reserve the right to moderate submissions.

Who are the people behind the “we”? One of them is Matt Hampel, who developed the project. Technical consultation and refinement was provided by Brian Kerr of Different Chairs, which is also hosting the project. AAAGDR is part of the ArborWiki Project, a general collection of local Ann Arbor information.

In this initial launch phase of the AAAGDR, not all of the functions that might eventually be developed have been included. Feedback can be sent directly to info@arborwiki.org.

Both Hampel and Kerr might be names already familiar to Chronicle readers as folks who will occasionally post a comment here on The Chronicle. We encourage the development of projects like the document repository and extend our thanks to Matt and Brian for their work.