Delete comment from: Boston 1775
That Waltham facility is scheduled to close for renovation later this year, but then reopen. I don’t know what its new configuration will be. There are still some paper records there, and not everything on microfilm has been digitized yet.
I’m sure N.A.R.A. is rethinking how it works in a digitally connected age, and how it can best fulfill its mission. The librarians at Waltham were very helpful to a couple on their first visit, and that sort of help wouldn’t have been so available online.
In addition, we’ve long thought that democracy requires the public to have access to government records; such access is even mentioned in the Declaration. While putting government data online makes it more available in one way, adding a paywall makes it less available in another. A locale for free access might be a constitutional necessity.
Aug 25, 2010, 1:08:23 PM
Posted to The Archives Just Aren’t the Same