--part1_a.2da287a1.2b9508df_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part1_a.2da287a1.2b9508df_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <TUCKER-L-request@rootsweb.com> Received: from rly-xj04.mx.aol.com (rly-xj04.mail.aol.com [172.20.116.41]) by air-xj02.mail.aol.com (v90_r2.5) with ESMTP id MAILINXJ24-0303134420; Mon, 03 Mar 2003 13:44:20 1900 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [207.40.200.41]) by rly-xj04.mx.aol.com (v90_r2.6) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXJ46-0303134336; Mon, 03 Mar 2003 13:43:36 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.4/8.12.4) id h23IfVS8012171; Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:41:31 -0700 Resent-Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:41:31 -0700 X-Original-Sender: joanflatt@hotmail.com Mon Mar 3 11:41:30 2003 X-Originating-IP: [208.16.108.136] From: "Joan Flatt" <joanflatt@hotmail.com> Old-To: Tuckers@yahoogroups.com Old-Cc: Tucker-L@rootsweb.com Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 18:41:30 +0000 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: <BAY2-F1846zEUt3wCft0004c2c3@hotmail.com> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 03 Mar 2003 18:41:31.0099 (UTC) FILETIME=[81FCDAB0:01C2E1B4] Subject: [TUCKER-L] DESTRUCTION OF VIRGINIA HISTORY Resent-Message-ID: <MHWnyD.A.-9C.bH6Y-@lists5.rootsweb.com> To: TUCKER-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: TUCKER-L@rootsweb.com Reply-To: TUCKER-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <TUCKER-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/6458 X-Loop: TUCKER-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: TUCKER-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by lists5.rootsweb.com id h23IfVS8012171 X-Mailer: Unknown (No Version) I received this today and thought that I would pass it on to you on the=20 list. I think it is horrid that anyone would consider destruction of our=20 heritage in such a manner. And, perhaps if we all write to the "powers that= =20 be" then we may be able to prevent this from happening. As all of you know,= =20 it is hard enough for us to find original source documents when we are=20 researching. And, to think that some of these legislators want to destroy=20 those that do exist is tragic. >From Virginia Tidewater Genealogical Society "VIRGINIA SENATE BILL 818-E2-80-94-DESTRUCTION OF WILL FILES. January 31, 2003 Virginia Senate Bill 818 Destruction of will files. Allows the clerk to destroy a will's file along with the original will after it is no longer of any value and after it has been microfilmed. Has been reported out of committee. Senator Thomas K. Norment, Jr. of Williamsburg is the only patron. I found it on the internet at the Virginia General Assembly web site. The description of the Bill reads as follows: "Destruction of will files. Allows the clerk to destroy a will's file along with the original will after 5 years have passed since probate or recordation and allows destruction of originals of instruments which have been recorded and remained unretrieved by the recording party after 6 months, if the documents are no longer of any value and have been microfilmed." Go to http://legis.state.va.us/ Virginia General Assembly and type "SB818" (without quotes) in the search box at the top right. You'll get the description and status. This is the web site for the VA General Assembly, http://www.alz-nca.org/vapolicy/assembly.asp I recommend each and every member be contacted and I suggest we all take an active interest and pass this on to other lists and county web pages to start a grass roots effort to stop this senseless destruction of our history. - --------------------------------------------------------------------- I The Senate passed the bill with a 40 - 0 vote and has sent the bill on to the House. I recommend those of us who object to this should send our letters and emails immediately. - --------------------Someone just emailed me with this question: Is our history really destroyed, as long as the records have been microfilmed? This is maybe an even better way of keeping records safe, don't you think? My reply: No, not at all. I have seen microfilmed records with a hand over part of the information, where the page was partially folded therefore covering information, a bent card with a permanent crease that destroyed part of the information or so scratched that it was impossible to read the document. To add my two cents worth, what about the person who does not really know how to microfilm a record and either copies it as too dark or too light and it is unreadable? Or copies only part of the record? This fall I drove from TX to NC to get a copy of a will only to find that whoever copied it make a very dark copy and it could not be read as it was. It was not until I reversed the darkness that I was able to get a partial copy. This will was written in 1689---who would want to destroy that kind of history? Librarians throw book at closing state library By Ron Hayes, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 16, 2003 After Florida's librarians learned last month that Gov. Jeb Bush wants to=20 dismantle the Florida State Library and fire 55 employees, they decided=20 maybe silence isn't always golden. And their roar has been growing ever since. Wednesday evening, about 50 area librarians -- city, county, academic, legal= =20 and corporate -- gathered in a meeting room at the Palm Beach County=20 Library's main branch on Summit Boulevard in suburban West Palm Beach. Two hours and a lot of questions and complaints later, they had unanimously=20 adopted a resolution calling on the governor to spare the institution, which= =20 was founded in 1845 when Florida became a state. Now, 158 years later, Bush wants to scatter it here and there to save $4.7=20 million out of a $54 billion budget. "Tell your legislators, 'Stop!' " Palm Beach County Library Director Jerry=20 Brownlee urged the crowd. "We need to reconsider this right now. It doesn't=20 mean there can never be any changes to the Florida State Library, or we=20 can't do what needs to be done to balance the budget, but this is a serious=20 matter." Artifacts are volatile issue The Florida State Library is 120 employees on 1 1/2 floors of the R.A. Gray=20 Building in Tallahassee, 11 miles of shelf space and a million books,=20 documents and microfilms, all about Florida. But it's also a 1589 map of Sir Francis Drake's attack on St. Augustine. And= =20 the diary of Gen. Thomas Jesup, who captured Chief Osceola in the Seminole=20 Wars of the 1830s. And photographs of Key West in the 1840s. And the=20 original plans for Disney World from the 1960s. Under Bush's plan, that map, the diary, those photographs and everything=20 else in the library's Museum of Florida History and the State Archives would= =20 be transferred to the state's Park Services under the Department of=20 Environmental Protection. "Putting archives in a recreation and parks department, I take offense at=20 that," said Virginia Farace, director of the Boynton Beach Public Library=20 and president of the Palm Beach County Library Association. "I respect them,= =20 but I don't believe I can do their job, and I don't believe they can do my=20 job." The Bureau of Library Development, which coordinates summer youth programs=20 and steers federal grant money to develop local libraries, would be moved to= =20 the newly created Department of State and Community Partnership. Most drastically, though, the circulating collection of about 500,000 books=20 and documents also would be moved -- as soon as the state can find a place=20 to put it. Florida State University had been approached about accepting the collection,= =20 but FSU President T.K. Wetherell balked when he was told the books would=20 arrive with neither staff nor budget. "We're not playing a game," Wetherell told The Tallahassee Democrat. "We're=20 out of it." Other universities are being approached, with Nova Southeastern University=20 in Fort Lauderdale often mentioned as a candidate, but librarians argue that= =20 any university -- especially a private one, like Nova -- will always put its= =20 students ahead of the public. "If push comes to shove between serving the general public and serving their= =20 students, they'll serve their students," Brownlee predicted. Changing of the guard Wednesday's meeting had been postponed from December, when State Librarian=20 Barratt Wilkins was to have been the guest speaker. But Wilkins begged off=20 with vague apologies and suggested the later date. And then, on Jan. 6, he=20 resigned after 26 years on the job. "The first I learned of the plan was on November 22," Wilkins later wrote to= =20 the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic=20 Development, which will consider the budget request in March. "I was sworn=20 to secrecy. At that time I decided to retire. Of course, I do not agree with= =20 the Governor's plan." Local librarians had hoped the new state librarian, Judith Ring, would=20 appear instead. She didn't, but sent a four-page letter defending the plan. "The Governor is fully aware of the history of the Division and its=20 importance to Florida's citizens," Ring assured them. On Friday, Florida Department of State spokeswoman Jenny Nash emphasized=20 that Bush's proposed budget includes $45.6 million for libraries. Nash could not cite any money specifically set aside to support the state=20 archives but said 15 of the department's 19.5 employees (one part-timer)=20 would be transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection, along=20 with the museum collection. Nash declined to identify specific sites where the circulating collection=20 may find a home but noted that Nova Southeastern receives about 50 percent=20 of its development money from Broward County taxpayers. And, she said, it is possible the circulating collection may be split among=20 several different depositories. "I don't know if it will be moved or divided between libraries," Nash said.=20 "We hope to maximize the use of the interlibrary loan service so no matter=20 where it ends up, it will be accessible anywhere in Florida." Nash noted that the state library's annual circulation is only about 60,000,= =20 comparable to a small branch library. But librarians say it's unfair to=20 compare a sophisticated historical library filled with important but arcane=20 works to that of a library that offers Stephen King and Danielle Steele. "This is a library that serves librarians, not that many people go in off=20 the street," conceded Annie Kaklamanos, librarian for the 4th District Court= =20 of Appeal in West Palm Beach. "But they help me a lot. They not only loaned=20 me a document that's very rare, they overnighted it to me for the court to=20 use. Now I'm going to have to chase around and find out where all these=20 documents land." Ed Nordine, library director at Palm Beach Atlantic University, said the=20 state library helps smaller libraries such as his develop. "As PBAU grows, we have more faculty doing specialized research," Nordine=20 said, "and when the littler libraries get left out of the picture, we lose=20 access to those materials." Office emptying? The $4.7 million saved would be a very minor benefit for such a major=20 upheaval, the librarians agreed. "No one believes money is the reason for this particular decision," Brownlee= =20 said, and Wednesday's meeting was spiced with fearful speculation from=20 librarians who began by saying, "I don't want to sound like a conspiracy=20 theorist, but... " One librarian who wasn't afraid to speculate was Jane Terwillegar, director=20 of the Lake Park Public Library. "The governor said in his inaugural speech that he really wanted to empty=20 the offices in Tallahassee, and I see this as a part of that effort," she=20 said. On Jan. 30, Terwillegar, Brownlee, Farace and about 100 other members of the= =20 Florida Library Association met with Ring, interim Secretary of State Ken=20 Detzner and Deputy Secretary of State Frank Mann at the Leon County Public=20 Library in Tallahassee. "They outlined what they were planning to do, and we booed and hissed,"=20 Terwillegar recalled. And then they came home and started "Save Your State=20 Library," issuing resolutions, writing letters, raising money and calling=20 legislators to rally support. They are not alone. The national American Librarian Association, the=20 American Association of Law Libraries and the Florida State Genealogical=20 Society have written Bush opposing the plan. On Monday, the Florida Historical Society established an online petition=20 protesting the closing. By Friday, more than 4,500 signatures had been=20 attached, with another 1,100 awaiting verification, according to Nick Wynne,= =20 its executive director. ______________________________ Family History Radio announces eGenConference The first global Genealogy Conference offered on the Internet Scheduled for June 10-12, 2003 Salt Lake City, Utah =96 (February 18, 2003) Family History Radio, LLC=20 (www.familyhistoryradio.com) announced today the debut of the first Internet= =20 based genealogy conference, eGenConference. Scheduled to be online from=20 June 10-12, the conference will be sponsored by Genealogy.com=20 (www.genealogy.com), Genealogy Research Associates (www.graonline.com) and=20 the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) (www.fgs.org ). Open to the=20 general public, the conference full registration will only cost 69.95 for=20 the entire event Karen Clifford, President of Genealogical Research Associates Inc. and=20 curriculum director of the Family History Radio Genealogy School is the=20 program director for eGenConference. =93eGenConference will bring together leaders from the genealogy industry fr= om=20 all over the world to share their expertise,=94 said Clifford. =93The=20 conference will provide professional and amateur genealogists alike the=20 opportunity to learn about the latest new products, research tips and much=20 more =96 all from the convenience of their home.=94 =93The Federation of Genealogical Societies is very excited about being part= =20 of the first Internet Genealogical Conference and feels that it will help us= =20 in meeting our goal of providing services for our member societies and their= =20 individual members. Every opportunity to further education in the community= =20 grows the community as a whole,=94 said Dean J. Hunter, President of the=20 Federation of Genealogical Societies. eGenConference is a virtual genealogy conference which offers benefits=20 unique to the world wide web. Imagine strolling through exhibit areas=20 without aching feet and learning from proven genealogy instructors without=20 the worries of long delays at airports, lost luggage, or room cancellations.= =20 Conducted entirely on the Internet, the June 10-12, 2003 conference will=20 feature genealogy speakers and presenters, round table discussions with=20 industry professionals, exhibitors, and Genealogy School social events, not=20 to mention a virtual store with family history related products and=20 services. For those who cannot participate in the live events, the conference will=20 remain open with archived content for an additional 30 days. During the=20 live and near-live presentations, participants from all over the world will=20 be able to ask questions via email as well as listen to the presentation and= =20 view visual presentations using the Internet. . =93We have found that people throughout the world want to attend genealogy=20 conferences; however the cost of participation, travel and time, prohibit=20 them from going. This conference will provide an opportunity for these=20 people to attend at their convenience for a very moderate price from their=20 own home,=94 states Al Jensen, President of Family History Radio. In addition to the presentations, eGenConference will also have a virtual=20 exhibit area where participants can visit virtual booths, view and demo=20 products and purchase items online. There will be rooms to pick up press=20 materials, view presentations and obtain literature. There will be an online= =20 school called =93The Genealogy School=94 where participants can take lessons= on=20 a variety of genealogy topics. During the conference visitors can visit the= =20 eGenConference Virtual Social Hall where they can interact with other=20 genealogists, visit discussion rooms on special topics of interest and learn= =20 more about genealogy societies, products and services. "We are very excited to participate as a major sponsor for eGenConference=20 and to reach out to a worldwide genealogy audience. The conference offers=20 participants the opportunity to share in the wealth of information available= =20 only at major genealogy conferences, which up to this time have realized=20 only limited audiences due to travel expenses. I am sure that the benefit=20 to the genealogy community will be felt for years to come,=94 said Rob=20 Armstrong, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Genealogy.com. About Family History Radio Family History Radio provides online genealogy training, news and events. =20 This is done through the =93Genealogy School=94, =93The Karen Clifford Show= =94 and=20 GenConference. The Genealogy School provides lessons from beginners to=20 advanced genealogists. The Director of Curriculum is Karen Clifford a=20 renowned genealogist with over 30 years professional genealogical=20 experience. =93The Karen Clifford Show=94 is an online Family History talk=20 radio show that answers people=92s genealogy questions, give the latest=20 genealogy news, teach research skills, and introduce notable guests from the= =20 genealogy community. Recently The Karen Clifford Show has added =93Genealogy= =20 News and Technology with Dick Eastman=94. Dick Eastman is recognized for hi= s=20 genealogy expertise especially in the field of technology. eGenConference=20 is an online genealogy conference allowing those who cannot travel to=20 conferences the ability to participate and receive professional training in=20 family history on the internet through their own computers. More information= =20 can be found about Family History Radio at www.familyhistoryradio.com About Genealogy.com Genealogy.com is a subsidiary of A&E Television Networks. The company=20 enriches the lives of its customers by providing the tools, resources, and=20 community that empower them to uncover and share their unique family=20 stories. Headquartered in Fremont, CA, Genealogy.com designs, develops, and= =20 markets genealogy software applications and online resources that enable=20 family history enthusiasts to research, organize, and document their=20 heritage at home or away. Broderbund distributes its software programs at=20 retail. Developing software since 1984, Genealogy.com continues to be the= =20 leader in the genealogy technology space, producing the1- selling family=20 tree software-Family Tree Maker-for more than a decade. The company=20 provides extensive online genealogy resources, including subscriptions that=20 give researchers continuous, easy access to valuable family history=20 information. Additional information about Genealogy.com can be found at=20 www.Genealogy.com. About FGS The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), founded in 1976, is a=20 national organization representing genealogical societies throughout the=20 United States. FGS has three major purposes: serving the needs of its=20 member societies, providing products and services needed by member=20 societies, and marshaling the resources of its member organizations. They=20 work together to provide society management training, genealogical=20 education, and to support strong records preservation policies and=20 practices. Additional information about The Federation of Genealogical=20 Societies can be found at www.fgs.org. Additional information about The=20 Federation of Genealogical Societies can be found at www.fgs.org About Genealogy Research Associates, Inc The mission of GRAonline.com has been to 1) simplify the research process;=20 2) provide practical genealogical educational training; 3) help clients find= =20 and preserve their family records; and 4) create innovative information=20 technologies. Family History Radio and eGenConference.com goals are totally= =20 in agreement with these objectives. For additional information about=20 GRAonline go to www.graonline.com Go to www.familyhistoryradio.com to register. For further information, go to www.familyhistoryradio.com or email us at=20 info@familyhistoryradio.com _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. =20 http://join.msn.com/?page=3Dfeatures/featuredemail =3D=3D=3D=3D TUCKER Mailing List =3D=3D=3D=3D To unsubscribe, type in subject area "unsubscribe" send to: TUCKER-L-request@rootsweb.com or from Digest TUCKER-D-request@rootsweb.com =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go= to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3D571&sourceid=3D1237 --part1_a.2da287a1.2b9508df_boundary--