I just received a very disturbing letter about a county in West Virginia and how it is preserving its original records. I'm not sure this is the place to post it, so if anyone is interested, I will be glad to forward it on. The county has contracted to have its original records moved to Iron Mountain, PA. The writer is questioning why the county did not preserve its own records in the first place. I'm wondering if this group thinks the decision is appropriate or if we should get on the bandwagon along with genealogical societies to make sure our own records are safe. I don't know if all the records have been microfilmed. I do know that a book was published on the wills in that county and my great-great grandfather was listed as leaving some thing to his "nieces." When I was able to see the original record, these "nieces" were identified as his daughters - another reason to be sure you do your own research and look at original records and not depend on the Internet or other's transcriptions. We all know that microfilm gets brittle and scratched and may not be a good copy to begin with. And we know that if original census records had been saved, today's technology could answer a lot of questions for us. Should we be leery of other counties doing this or do you think that preservation in Iron Mountain is a good idea?? Connie Street [email protected] Remember the three Rs - Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for your actions.

Connie- Did you read the article correctly? Iron Mountain may be a place, but it is also a records management and preservation COMPANY. I wish Belmont County, Ohio, would do the same thing. Happy Valentine's Day Dick Kinkead ----- Original Message ----- From: "Connie Street" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; "Cedar county list" <[email protected]>; "IALouisa list" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 10:06 AM Subject: [IALOUISA] Preservation of records >I just received a very disturbing letter about a county in West Virginia and >how it is preserving its original records. > > I'm not sure this is the place to post it, so if anyone is interested, I will > be glad to forward it on. > > The county has contracted to have its original records moved to Iron > Mountain, PA. The writer is questioning why the county did not preserve its > own records in the first place. > > I'm wondering if this group thinks the decision is appropriate or if we should > get on the bandwagon along with genealogical societies to make sure our own > records are safe. I don't know if all the records have been microfilmed. I do > know that a book was published on the wills in that county and my great-great > grandfather was listed as leaving some thing to his "nieces." When I was able > to see the original record, these "nieces" were identified as his daughters - > another reason to be sure you do your own research and look at original > records and not depend on the Internet or other's transcriptions. > > We all know that microfilm gets brittle and scratched and may not be a good > copy to begin with. And we know that if original census records had been > saved, today's technology could answer a lot of questions for us. > > Should we be leery of other counties doing this or do you think that > preservation in Iron Mountain is a good idea?? > > Connie Street > [email protected] > Remember the three Rs - Respect for self, Respect for others and > Responsibility for your actions. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.0.386) > Database version: 5.11710 > http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/

While I don't know the specifics of the Iron Mountain storage, the query brings to mind how recent records are only recorded electronically. The format used today may not be available in the future. For example, in the past 25 years I have seen data stored on tapes, 8" disks, 5" disks, 3.5" disks, CDs, and the internet. Some of these formats are not compatible with current technology and what happens when a website disappears? Have genealogy societies addressed this? Sincerely yours, Tom Myles Sayville, NY -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Connie Street Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 10:06 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Cedar county list; IALouisa list; [email protected] Subject: [IACEDAR] Preservation of records I just received a very disturbing letter about a county in West Virginia and how it is preserving its original records. I'm not sure this is the place to post it, so if anyone is interested, I will be glad to forward it on. The county has contracted to have its original records moved to Iron Mountain, PA. The writer is questioning why the county did not preserve its own records in the first place. I'm wondering if this group thinks the decision is appropriate or if we should get on the bandwagon along with genealogical societies to make sure our own records are safe. I don't know if all the records have been microfilmed. I do know that a book was published on the wills in that county and my great-great grandfather was listed as leaving some thing to his "nieces." When I was able to see the original record, these "nieces" were identified as his daughters - another reason to be sure you do your own research and look at original records and not depend on the Internet or other's transcriptions. We all know that microfilm gets brittle and scratched and may not be a good copy to begin with. And we know that if original census records had been saved, today's technology could answer a lot of questions for us. Should we be leery of other counties doing this or do you think that preservation in Iron Mountain is a good idea?? Connie Street [email protected] Remember the three Rs - Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for your actions. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message