------------------------ Hello All, < My husband had been a member of this Society for several years. When we went to use the library I could not see anything but the index files and could only ask for one book at a time and then brought out of the library area to use it. Bruce was having problems reading so I needed to be with him. We were "forced" to pay for a family membership in order to use the library effectively. We had found letters Mr. Hartman had written to many of the County Historians all over the state of new York and even to Louise Blanchard Bethune--whose boxes of unpublished material is also in boxes in the Buffalo-Erie County Library!> This post above, which I just received along with a few others from yesterday got me to thinking...I can understand a big city genealogical society library having to put some restrictions on the access to their materials in the name of security and preservation of its holdings, but I am hard pressed to believe that the officers of the society are satisfied that several boxes of valuable source material lie in boxes, unavailable to researchers. I mean, what the heck are genealogical societies for anyway, if not to help people research their genealogy? Perhaps, being a "volunteer" group they are hard pressed to find the time and personnel to get to work on the Hartman BLANCHARD files. Does it make any sense to have someone from our list-group with "credentials" that might impress the N.Y. Society (Genealogical, that is) approach, officially, the officers of the society with a request to work on the Hartman BLANCHARD papers? Perhaps a deal could be struck that a local person, "sanctioned" by our list-group and under the supervision of the librarian of the day, could organize and photocopy the Hartman BLANCHARD papers...this in exchange for a certain sum of money which would be supplied by our list-group. I, for one, would be happy to chip in $10-$20 for the project. Considering what I have spent on my genealogy hobby over the years on fruitless research efforts, this project seems to me to be a sure-bet, and well worth the price of a lunch for two at a fast food restaurant. If there is sufficient money left, each of the list-group could get our own photocopy, perhaps. I don't know about any copyright restrictions that would have to be considered. Maybe the N.Y. Gen Society has the name of someone in the Hartman family who could be asked for permission to photocopy the papers, not for sale, but for private research among this BLANCHARD research group. I can't foresee a problem doing this, as the papers are there to be viewed, are they not? Perhaps the N.Y. Society plans on publishing the Hartman BLANCHARD papers themselves...then maybe the fact that we are out here showing an interest will spur them on. Anyway, These are just some thoughts I had tonight. I will be willing to chip in some money,and and I will be willing to help with the duplication of photocopies. Albert Belanger skipb@nh.ultranet.com _______________________________________________________________________________ HARTMAN PAPERS 12 17 97