The dismembering of the Genealogy Collection of the Michigan Department of
History, Arts and Libraries is an outrage! Here is what Executive Order 36
does according to Marti Link of
Freep.com :
"Among other assaults to history, Executive Order No. 36 turns the Library
of Michigan over to the Department of Education and essentially halts
circulation of the collection to the public. The State Archives will be
turned over to the Department of Natural Resources. The state's genealogical
collection, the 10th largest in the nation, will be moved to Michigan State
University, but only the Michigan records; records from other states will be
parceled out all across the country."
If you have not contacted your representative, please do so now. Here is a
link to the site that will allow you to locate your rep.
http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp
Though this legislation has been signed by the Governor, we must find a way
to prevent losing this valuable resource. I can not believe that we can't
find a way to creatively pay for this resource. Here are some ideas that
should be pursued:
1. Michigan State University to receive and make available to the public,
the COMPLETE genealogy Collection of the Library of Michigan.
2. Create a non profit organization funded by donations & admission fee (to
access records) to house & caretake the existing collection.
Retract Executive order 36 & fund the $2.0 million budget shortfall by
charging admission and selling corporate sponsorships.
I am no expert on this subject, but come on folks there has to be a way to
resolve this issue.
Call and write your representatives and ask them to get creative!
Thanks,
John Field