Houston County Researchers: I spent most of the day at the Houston County courthouse. Upon reviewing several of the record books in the Probate Court, I noticed that the one that I have been abstracting for the past few weeks, now has the cover and spine torn from it. Also, Marriage Book "B" was laying on the counter with the majority of the pages torn loose from the spine. I took a thorough inventory and appraisement of the record books at the courthouse last year, and less than a year later, many of them have been seriously man-handled. I believe that the damage is being done when the old and fragile record books are put on the photocopy machine, and also during removal and replacement on the shelves. Many Probate Courts won't allow you to photocopy their original old record books if they are in poor condition. The Houston County Superior Court won't allow *any* of their record books to be photocopied. I'm afraid that if the damage continues to occur at the Probate Court, that we won't be able to continue making photocopies of the records. Also, on several occasions, the courthouse staff has called me to try to help them locate a particular record book. It seems that researchers are removing the record books from one location, and then placing them back in another. Since I started to write various articles about doing research at the Houston County courthouse last summer, the staff has noticed an increase in the amount of researchers that visit there each week. It is my intention to help to make your research visit more productive and efficient. If any of you see other researchers mishandling the old record books at the Houston County courthouse, please let them know that they stand a chance of not being able to make copies of the original records as a result of the damage being done. William A. Mills Perry, GA [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.