Extremely well put - thank you! Diane Smith - Tennessee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Agnes E. Cloninger" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2000 2:19 PM Subject: [Catawba-West] record preservation > Malinda and Emma and all of you, > > Ladies, ladies please be a bit more circumspect - nothing we get alarmed > about now will help preserve records ruined by the uninformed. They will > always be with us. Some of the things that are destroyed by understaffed > libraries, however well educated that staff may be, would make your blood > run cold. Our only salvation through the years has been the volunteers who > rush to such scenes of disaster and rake through the ruins to preserve > anything they can fine. > > We - you and I and anyone else who reads these messages are the ones > responsible for salvaging and preserving records. We do not pay civil > employees at the librarian level enough money to allow them to do such > archival chores. Most archivists (small places may not even hire one) have > a full time job just keeping up with the day to day obligations. Preserving > records that are waterlogged and in danger of contaminating everything else > in sight is not possible, in most areas. > > Incensed as we may be at the staggering amount of lost records, we > absolutely must place the blame where it belongs: On a general public who > do not give a hoot, and who would refuse to raise their own taxes enough to > hire more staff for the area archives, so as to assure there are enough > bodies to cope with disaster. > > Please - enough finger pointing, support your local genealogical society, > become active in that society, pay your dues, offer your help, give them > some cash, whatever it takes - the internet is great for sharing > information but no matter how hard we try there is no way to preserve > records without being where they are and helping HANDS ON. > > End of lecture > > Agnes E. Cloninger > > > > > ==== CATAWBA-WEST Mailing List ==== > 781,000+ surnames =|= Archives =|= 16,100 discussion listss > Your gracious donations to RootsWeb makes this all possible. > RootsWeb Gen. Data Coop. Box 6798 Frazier Park, CA 93222 > > ____________NetZero Free Internet Access and Email_________ Download Now http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html Request a CDROM 1-800-333-3633 ___________________________________________________________