This is a beautiful, and significant historic building that clearly has a need for funding. Please fix the railings, because the pipe rail is ruining the integrity of the structure. 

To allow me to score your application more fully tell me how many visitors and community folks use the archives, give measurable data. If a photo is in the newspaper, how many impressions is that. If it is on the web, how many impressions there?

Public Use or Benefit:  What's your press plan for this money? A plan for signage and thanking the State on the web, in social media and by other means will go a long way to increase public attention. Economic benefit is measured in the jobs created for workers working on the project.

I wondered about the railings on the building and if you were going to address them with a preservation architect. There may be a better and less intrusive way to protect safety while preserving the historic integrity visually.

Good luck and keep going.