VERY well said Jeanne! We are agreed. I'm one of the 'nuts' who loves
cemeteries, libraries, courthouses. Small town, so we don't have a Family
History center, but I'd love to visit one. Our library is small and no
longer has a microfilm reader either, I long to be able to look through some
of the treasures found on those I've heard others talk about. The Census
transcriptions I've done I've ordered on CD.
Sharon
I don't think it has to be an either/or situation. The best county sites
I've seen have BOTH types of info... transcribed data *and* a variety of
other helpful information.
Transcribing and uploading *every record* for our counties is a great goal!
Ideally, we'll all accomplish that one day. But even with an army of
volunteers working on it 24/7, this will take years! In the meantime, we
can direct people to the resources that are not yet online. Let them know
what is available, and where to find it, so they can access the records
themselves.
True, there are some folks who are unable to conduct research from anywhere
other than their home computers. But there are many people who *can* go to
libraries, Family History Centers, or even travel to the county to walk the
cemeteries and snoop around the courthouse. There are even a few nutty
folks out there who actually *like* doing that stuff! :) Until the day
comes when we have every single record online, what's wrong with providing
guidance to the many researchers who can benefit from the information?
This dosen't mean *instead of* uploading data, but *in addition* to data.
And the opposite of "data" doesn't have to mean "links" to other
sites.
There's a lot we can put on our own county pages that can be extremely
helpful, such as: A list of books or published family histories - many of
which can be borrowed through interlibrary loan at any local library. An
inventory of records at the courthouse - many of which can be viewed on
microfilm at any local Family History Center. Information about county
newspapers and where to find historical issues. Tips for conducting on-site
research, for those lucky enough to be able to do so. Combined with the
transcribed records we're all working so hard on, this kind of info will
make our sites all the more helpful.
Jeanne