We support Web Access to Archive Records The petition can be viewed and signed at this address: http://www.petitiononline.com/ethan/ There are at least 18,000,000 family history researchers in the United States alone and it has become the 2nd most popular hobby. But access to research materials for family history buffs is woefully lacking. The records needed for this research are being held by the State and Federal Archives, and has become either overly expensive to access or unavailable for access due to distance. Ancestry.com is the leading genealogy web site in the world and signs up tens of thousands of new subscribers each month. To subscribe to all of their databases per year, the costs are outrageous for fixed income persons. That is minimum $79.95 and maximum $239.70 per person per year. With 700,000 subscribers that comes to $ 55,996,500.00/$167,790,000.00 per year. However, their databases lack original documentation, needed for research. Our plan even with a nominal subscription of $20.00 per year based on 700,000 people is $14,000,000.00 which would well afford archival records to be made available electronically, that otherwise, would remain unavailable to out of state and electronic researchers and genealogists. This could also help the records online be self supporting. I direct you to the BLM website as well for an example of what has, can and could be done for Free Access to Archive Records: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ We would further propose the work of the archives be contracted out at a reasonable cost, for scanning and making available these precious records electronically, if the archive is unable to accomplish the task. We are hoping you will see our proposal as a solution for all state archives and the federal archive. I refer you to our petition and the many opinions and pleas of the genealogists and concerned others who have signed it. Please think of it as a long term investment and not a cost, by providing funding for these projects making records available online, you give us a richer history of our past. Charlotte Coats 12341 Lampson Garden Grove, CA 92840 714-534-2355 [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963