Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Delivering Da Goods
I was reminded the other day of another way in which Ohio Public Libraries simply deliver the goods. A letter to the editor complained--at length-- about a Web site supported in part by public money that lured visitors to indexes on the Web but required that they send a check--snail mail-- in order to receive print copy of a record. You have to wonder why they can't just deliver da goods.
A number of my favorite digital library projects leapt to mind. Preble County Public Library for example, has a searchable index of obituaries, vital records, court records, court and military records and other primary source material associated with the county that delivers the actual record. Grandview Heights Public Library manages a searchable index of Grandview High School yearbooks from 1915 to 2000 that delivers that actual page on which the reference is found.
The micro-historian in me is delighted with the wealth in local collections that can be made available directly to Ohio residents--and the World--by our public libraries. (OK, the ugly truth is out, Roddy is a genealogist. ) The public manager in me is more sober. The costs and the policy issues associated with digitizing any given set of records can be prohibitive. We do our humble best, and our best can be pretty darned good.
A number of my favorite digital library projects leapt to mind. Preble County Public Library for example, has a searchable index of obituaries, vital records, court records, court and military records and other primary source material associated with the county that delivers the actual record. Grandview Heights Public Library manages a searchable index of Grandview High School yearbooks from 1915 to 2000 that delivers that actual page on which the reference is found.
The micro-historian in me is delighted with the wealth in local collections that can be made available directly to Ohio residents--and the World--by our public libraries. (OK, the ugly truth is out, Roddy is a genealogist. ) The public manager in me is more sober. The costs and the policy issues associated with digitizing any given set of records can be prohibitive. We do our humble best, and our best can be pretty darned good.
