I know this subject is about "worn out", but I'm going to add my two cents
worth anyway. The electronic files should be located in a county
directory. You can have as many projects as are needed but the actual
files, the archives, should be located in the same manner libraries locate
them. Go to a genealogical library such as the LDS library in Salt Lake
City, you will find all the books related to a county all TOGETHER, and all
the state books together, etc.
The web allows us to easily maintain many TOC's and web pages to recruit
volunteers. I'm all for that but let the files reside in the most logical
place, organized by county and state. As a county archivist and a CC, I
find it best to have all the files organized in one location, it makes
maintenance easier and helps to keep the county TOC up to date even when
other people are uploading files to the directory (I can easily check the
sub-directories periodically). I don't want to have to track all the
various projects just to find out when a file pertaining to my county has
been uploaded to some other directory somewhere else so I can update my
county TOC. It is also convenient for the researcher who is poking around
a county looking for leads.
Some may say, well census microfilm records are organized by year then
state and county at many libraries. That's because that's the way they
were filmed by the government. Our records are being transcribed one
county and one census at a time, more like the books you'll find in the
library. Seems most of the other microfilm records are filed by
geographical location at the libraries.
There should be one archive and many projects. Let's use our common sense
and follow the example of libraries.
Thanks,
Mike
>>>>>>Ron Reason wrote:
But look at this and I solicit each and everyone of you to tell me why this
can't be so.
1. The USGenWeb Digital Library home page, which would be more or
less a link to and information page should be as such:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/
2. The USGenWeb Archives Project, would have it's pages as maintained
by Linda Lewis, here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/archives/
3. The USGenWeb Census Project, would have the pages as maintained
by Kay Mason, here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/census/
4. The USGenWeb Tombstone Project, would have it's pages here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/tombstone/
5. The USGenWeb Pension Project, would have it's pages here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pension/
Each of these is under the USGW umbrella as well as the "Digital Library"
umbrella, BUT still separate. Their access can be made so that each
Projects FM's can maintain their own work. And there doesn't need to be
access by other Projects.
Now there will be arguments, as there already have been by Linda and others
that the Archives has it's policies and they are set in stone. But that is
just like our projects, it's history and doesn't have to be so today. In
this directory system, the Search Engine should work just fine, despite what
some may say. And also, despite what some think, the Archives Project
doesn't have to be the "Mother Ship" to these other Projects. If they
want,
as the TS Project has chosen, then the Archives FM's can do the FM work for
them. But if the SP's chose not to, then they should not have to. I agree
there should be a logical directory structure, but I disagree as have others
that just because it doesn't follow the archives example, that it won't
work.
<<<<<<
Mike Becker
mike(a)beckerweb.com