Librarian Pamela J. Cooper of Indian River County surveyed members of five Florida genealogy societies and got over 600 replies. A majority of those replying said they had never used online catalogs -- whether from home, at their hometown library, or elsewhere. (First posted on the Genealib mailing list, mentioned here by permission.)
What do you think this means?
Find out what she thinks at the National Genealogical Society conference next month, Friday morning at 8 am.
Harold Henderson, "What online catalog?," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 15 April 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]
Monday, April 15, 2013
What online catalog?
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4 comments:
I can't believe it. On-line catalogs are my first go-to source when I need to visit a new location to research. I look for repositories, check their collections and make a list of resources I believe will be of help to me. This really surprises me.
Is it possible that some people don't understand what is meant by 'on-line catalogue'?
It obviously means that they have never read "Using the online catalogs of state archives to locate records of interest or "How to conduct a 'reasonably exhaustive search' for relevant records."
I think that Lynn is spot on with her question. There are two things at work here. First, just because we know what we mean by an online catalog doesn't mean that everyone does. Second, we do not know the technological literacy of anyone who completed the survey. Without knowing their level of competency, you cannot assume that they understand the terms being used.
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