Hello Listers, Below is a letter dated July 1st, from the Cincinnati Library explaining their latest procedures for requesting obituaries. This was sent to me from someone subscribed to another Ohio mailing list. Marilyn - List Mom ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Reynolds, Marianne" <Marianne.Reynolds@cincinnatilibrary.org> > To: <Maggie_Ohio-L-request@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 4:52 PM > Subject: Obituary requests from Cincinnati Library > >Hi. >I am the contact person for obituary copies at our library. First of > all, it has been several years since Richard Ryan has been our department > head. He now holds a higher position, and obit request mail is sometimes > mistakenly misrouted to him. Also, due to huge budget reductions and staff > cuts, our obit copy service has changed. Copies have been only 25 cents per > page for some time now, but as of this month, we have been forced to place > limits on the number of requests per person per month. Please read our new > policy statement below, and if possible, adjust your website to reflect > them. We would appreciate it if you would inform others, especially persons > who may have similar outdated information posted, of our new policies. > Below is the response we have been sending out to recent requests Thank > you. > > > > > We have received your request for photocopies. PLEASE RESUBMIT YOUR REQUEST > WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS LISTED BELOW, REMEMBERING TO PROVIDE US WITH YOUR > COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION (NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND IF > APPLICABLE, FAX NUMBER), SO THAT ANY ARTICLES CAN BE SENT. > > As a result of a reduction in funding from the state of Ohio, the Main > Library is experiencing a reduction in staff as well as a reduction in hours > of operation. This decrease in staff led to a re-evaluation of the reference > and research service that the Magazines & Newspapers Department provides to > its patrons via e-mail, letter, and fax. Input was gathered in discussions > with staff and by surveying patrons. > > The result is that the decision has been made to place limits on the number > of requests for information that can be made by patrons so that more patrons > can be served in the most timely manner possible. Having no limits on the > number of requests per patron is simply not possible any longer. FROM NOW > ON, EACH PATRON WILL BE LIMITED TO 3 REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION PER MONTH. > THIS DOES NOT MEAN 3 E-MAILS OR LETTERS PER MONTH PER PATRON, BUT SIMPLY 3 > REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION (3 death notices/obituaries, 3 articles, etc.) per > month per patron. We deeply regret having to make this change, especially as > it is such a major change to a service for which we have a great amount of > pride. We will continue to monitor the effects of this change in service and > will modify it if circumstances warrant it. > > All requests are normally put into a queue in the order received. We > generally receive 300 - 500 requests per month, which are handled by regular > departmental staff when they are not scheduled on the reference desk, along > with their other off-desk duties. There is no one assigned exclusively to > this task. Fulfilling requests, therefore, will take approximately 8 - 16 > weeks, depending upon request volume, staff availability, and other > departmental projects. > > We do not give full or partial obituary information over the telephone > except in the case of an upcoming funeral. If an item is needed by a certain > date for an important reason, you need to make us aware of this, so we can > let you know if we have the staff time available to process your order by > that deadline. In order for us to place your order ahead of others in the > queue, your request must be time-sensitive, and you must have an important > reason other than personal preference (business, legal, etc.). > > Beginning in 2002, charges are .25 per page for all copies, regardless of > destination. PLEASE DO NOT SEND PAYMENT IN ADVANCE. We do not accept > credit cards, and the cost cannot be charged to your library card. (An > invoice is included with the completed request and payment can be made via > cash, check, or money order.) > Please be aware that requests that do not include complete references to > specific publications may require considerable time to research. Also, when > an exact citation is not supplied, it is possible that we will not be able > to locate the material requested. A few generations ago, it was not > uncommon for families to forgo today's more common practice of placing a > family member's obituary in the newspaper. Hence, many persons who died in > the 1800's or earlier and even quite a few who died in the earlier part of > the 1900's may not have ever had any sort of obituary or funeral notice > published in the newspaper. Even nowadays, a published funeral/death notice > is at the discretion of the family, although most families choose to include > this sort of public announcement, for which there is usually a charge. > We thank you for your continued use of our department and hope that we can > satisfy your information needs. > > Marianne Reynolds > Reference Librarian, Magazines & Newspapers Dept. > Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County > 513-369-6973 > marianne.reynolds@cincinnatilibrary.org > > >