tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post2981836271570280694..comments2024-03-26T21:29:07.190-07:00Comments on Rejoice, and be exceeding glad...: The Impact of the Microfilm IssueJames Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-81479248939241677442017-08-13T09:45:53.755-07:002017-08-13T09:45:53.755-07:00I'm in the minority that uses vault films ofte...I'm in the minority that uses vault films often that are not browsable online.<br /><br />To confirm this is true you can look up the EWZ collection at this link. If you do find these images online please let me know. https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/252070?availability=Family%20History%20Library<br /><br />We use several collections of European migration and family registration records that are mostly vault-only. We even find church records we need at times that are vault-only scattered among various church entries in the catalog.<br /><br />We have people at the main library, but our problem is they are telling us they have no way for us to access these after the end of the month, not even at the main library. Maybe they'll be digitized in 3 years, but waiting that long will majorly impact our daily work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09108246378388789103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-66968538210947609962017-08-13T09:40:59.567-07:002017-08-13T09:40:59.567-07:00Thanks for the insightful response. I might note, ...Thanks for the insightful response. I might note, for those who were working with microfilm on a regular basis, we were already aware of the quantity that had been digitized. The bloggers, Dick Eastman in particular, have been talking about the end of microfilm for years. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-9001234620271423032017-08-13T09:18:35.398-07:002017-08-13T09:18:35.398-07:00The alarm is because people have always "know...The alarm is because people have always "known" that the microfilm was available whenever they wanted, so they could easily procrastinate that more difficult work while picking the low-hanging fruit online. Now, suddenly, that resource is going away, and very soon. Now the procrastinators no longer have enough time to order and dig through the microfilm, the opportunity is lost. Many newer genealogists may not even have known that resource was available, as everything for the last decade has been all about the digital online resources. Now those people won't even have the chance to look in the old microfilms that are not digitized.<br /><br />It might be different if the entire contents of the microfilms would be digitized and available online in relatively short order, but as you yourself have pointed out, for various reasons many of the microfilms cannot or will not be placed online, ever. That's a practical loss of those records for researchers, as most people have neither the time nor money to spend traveling to where the films are kept to do their research, assuming they will even be available for research at any location.<br /><br />I'll count myself in that group above, although I'll admit it was rather unlikely I would do much with microfilm. I'm a hobbyist, I lack the time and money to travel much, and I am strongly technically oriented. I haven't even come close to exhausting my online resources. I'm a bit disappointed by the decision, but not outraged. In my opinion, it would have been better to plan and announce a cutoff date several years in the future, but I am not privy to the reasoning. There may be very good reason to cut it off in this short time frame, but I can't see it.<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15407854481964964535noreply@blogger.com