Colleagues,
I have sent variations of the following letter to Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick
's office (mayor(a)mayor.ci.detroit.mi.us ),
the Archdiocese of Detroit ( archives(a)aod.org) and Letters to the Editor at
the Free Press ( letters(a)freepress.com ). I urge you to do the same.
Ceil
Letter to the Editor: Fee to use the Burton Historical Collection
I urge The Detroit Public Library to explore other options to generate
revenue during these tight financial times.
The proposed Aug. 1st fee of $100.00 to use the Burton Collection only
further serves to divide Detroiters and non-Detroiters and exclude more
suburbanites from one of the city's institutions.
It is my understanding that the Archdiocese of Detroit has an agreement with
the Burton to be the only library holding the older metro Detroit Roman
Catholic Church records on microfilm. I have accessed them numerous times
and am required to sign a statement of use for each session. I am contacting
the Archdiocese to see if they agree with the fee of 100.00 and urge them to
place the microfilms at a new user friendly location. Regional genealogists
feel welcome at local Family History Centers, the Library of Michigan in
Lansing and the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN.
Cecile Marie Wendt Jensen, CGRS*
Michigan Polonia
http://mipolonia.net
*CGRS, Certified Genealogical Records Specialist