Heather wrote: ... As someone who researches locally and not locally, I find that this information is infinitely useful. Finding the location of the primary resource is half the battle won. Knowing what libraries exist--especially those devoted to special interests (like race, religion, industry, etc.). I think it's unfair to say that only transcriptions provide value and that pointing to resources does not--especially since transcriptions are subject to human error and incompletions. I'd rather go to the source--as many researchers would--and therefore I value the resource location more than the transcription. Not to say I don't appreciate transcriptions, I just appreciate more the original/primary source location. So what's the purpose here? I thought it was to help users who were looking for their ancestor's in XYZ county? Showing them all of the information that exists there for their use? Transcriptions were a bonus--and something I leave to the archives (which I link out to in addition to providing the original source location of the records transcribed--especially since few resources are transcribed in total). Would love to hear everyone else's thoughts... Reply: Thank you, thank you, Heather. While I am not a state coordinator, I do want to say I agree completely. From the beginning it has been about connecting people with genealogical information, and there are many ways to go about that than just transcriptions. A site that is set up with an extended group of look up volunteers may have just as much to offer as a site with a few transcriptions. A detailed list of courthouses, libraries, and other repositories, their holdings, their hours, fees, policies on correspondence and research can be just as helpful as the ability to post queries or surnames. Over the years there has been a growing emphasis on transcriptions as the only thing we are about. I can't imagine anyone wanting to take on counties with large cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore knowing that transcriptions were considered the only objective when it's unlikely that a coordinator could actually get through a transcription of any particular record set in those large cities. Knowing what information exists and how to get it is most of the problem in genealogy, and I don't think the coordinators that have gone out of their way to provide that information should be considered as having "shell" sites for lack of extensive transcriptions. During the time I have been on the Board my counties have been very much neglected, and I am looking forward to soon getting back to work on them soon, but that effort will most definitely be a combination of listing resources and adding links along with transcriptions of some records. Robert Bremer bremerr@oclc.org