Last chance to speak out
You may have read, earlier this week, that the Arizona State Library’s genealogy collection is under major and imminent threat of being lost.
The Legal Genealogist reported on Monday that: “Unless something changes — and fast — the Arizona State Library Genealogy Collection — a vast collection of more than 20,000 volumes, many of them irreplaceable — is about to be lost to public access.”1
The genealogical community was asked to step in and speak out on behalf of this collection, by emailing Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan (www.azsos.gov/contact), Arizona State Librarian Joan Clark (www.azlibrary.gov/contact), Digital Content Director Laura Stone (
If you did, you may have gotten a response assuring you that nothing really was going to be lost, that the collection was just being moved, and that genealogical access would continue in a new location — business as usual.
And if you believed that, I have a bridge to sell you.
Please go to this link — an article in the Arizona Republic by staff writer Mary Jo Pitzi. Read what’s really going to happen to this collection:
a small portion of the 20,000-item collection will open to the public at the Genealogy Center at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building. … The new center will have fewer tangible materials than the current collection. Most of the new Genealogy Center will consist of online databases available for free to the public at three computer terminals. The library staff is moving the most-used reference books, such as a collection of volumes on Mayflower families and materials covering territorial days. But the bulk of the items now readily available in the 77-year-old library will be either placed in archival storage, offered to outside groups or otherwise disposed of…2
Read that last sentence again, and tell me this is a good thing for Arizona.
The move is scheduled for tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
July 31st.
If you care, if you want to be heard, today is the day to act.
This is literally a “speak now or forever hold your peace” moment for this collection.
Again, you can email Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan (www.azsos.gov/contact), Arizona State Librarian Joan Clark (www.azlibrary.gov/contact), Digital Content Director Laura Stone (
But do it today.
Today.
SOURCES
- Judy G. Russell, “Raising Arizona,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 27 July 2015 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 30 July 2015). ↩
- Mary Jo Pitzi, “Researchers lament Arizona genealogy library’s sudden downsizing, relocation,” The Arizona Republic, posted 29 July 2015 (http://www.azcentral.com/ : accessed 30 July 2015). ↩
Ms. Atkins,
Here is the response I received from the Governor’s office yesterday: Feel free to call the phone number below!
Thank you for contacting the Governor’s Office regarding the recent changes to the State of Arizona’s new Genealogy Center. As you may know, Secretary of State Michele Reagan is responsible for the state library and its operations. Secretary Reagan has indicated to my office that they are moving the division to a modern facility that is more accessible allowing more citizens to visit the facility. If you have any questions on this matter please contact the Genealogy Center at genealogy@azlibrary.gov or Secretary of State’s office at (602) 542-4285.
That response is … um … perhaps the word “disingenuous” applies here.
You think?
🙂
Ms. Atkins,
Here is the response received from Governor’s Office yesterday. Feel free to call the telephone number for the Secretary of State.
Thank you for contacting the Governor’s Office regarding the recent changes to the State of Arizona’s new Genealogy Center. As you may know, Secretary of State Michele Reagan is responsible for the state library and its operations. Secretary Reagan has indicated to my office that they are moving the division to a modern facility that is more accessible allowing more citizens to visit the facility. If you have any questions on this matter please contact the Genealogy Center at genealogy@azlibrary.gov or Secretary of State’s office at (602) 542-4285.
Here’s the latest – lots of complaints about lack of transparency but no change in plans http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/07/29/arizona-genealogy-collection-state-library-move/30859015/
Since Arizona has a huge LDS commmunity you would think there would be more of an uproar
That’s the story referenced in today’s blog post.
I was afraid that was BS when I received it. Typical. And, points to the reason people remain disenfranchised and disillusioned by our leaders.
Sigh… 🙁
Even more interesting is that the Arizona Republic article reports why the change is being made, “It also will free up space in the wood-paneled library to house staffers who report to Reagan, such as Capitol museum and law-library personnel, said Matt Roberts, spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan.” In a meeting yesterday between 33 Arizona genealogists and Joan Clark there was NO mention of the SOS wanting to move her staffers into the space. We were told that it was because of budgetary concerns of staffing two locations and lack of use. As you said, “disingenuous” to say the least.
Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. 🙁
All I got was “Your comment has been received.” I suppose they’re tired of hearing from the public they’re supposed to be serving.
I wish I would have saved the letter I got but apparently it got deleted all the way forever. Only one reply out of 3 letters emailed.
I had been in contact with Mary Jo Pitzl who wrote the article for the Arizona Republic. I thanked her for her help and told her “Know that we are not done.” Her reply, “I totally believe you when you say you are not done. Please keep me advised.” Nice to have someone of her caliber in our corner.
Unfortunately, the Arizona Republic has published an editorial praising the decision:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2015/07/30/arizona-genealogy-library-michele-reagan/30911747/
Sadly, genealogists have shot ourselves in the foot by not using the collection on a regular basis, and the outcry while loud has been (supposedly) small. There are many reasons this has occurred, including the fact that there were no evening or weekend hours and most people who live in Arizona do not have Arizona ancestors and are not aware the collection includes far more than Arizona materials.
Thank you Judy for supporting these efforts. While I’m in no way giving up, I think we must now turn to saving what remains of the collection and trying to prevent its wide dispersal. Eventually the Archives will run out of storage space and given a choice between storing original records and storing published materials, which do you think an Archives will (and should) choose?
For whatever it may be worth, here are the comments I posted to the editorial (the Comments button is small but it’s there for anyone choosing to use it):
“The issue is not that they are consolidating; the community understands and would have supported that need.
The issues are:
(1) Most of the collection was donated by individuals or private organizations with the intent and belief that the donated items would be readily available to the public on the shelves of a public library,
(2) The decision was made in secret with less than one week’s notice without input from those who built and use the collection – what happened to the concepts of public input, public/private partnerships, and open, transparent government?
(3) The Polly Rosenbaum Archives was not built as a library; there is a huge difference between an archives and a library. There is insufficient space in the public areas of the Archives for most of the materials. Instead, items will be stored in limited access areas available only by written request. This potentially requires more, not less, staff time, and
(4) We have been unable to obtain consistent information as to what items will be disposed of, i.e. sold or thrown in the trash, or what criteria are being used to make those decisions. We were told repeatedly at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon that items would not be disposed of without input from us; however, the quotes from Matt Roberts in your Thursday edition appear to directly contradict what we were told at that meeting.
You are in error to believe that this collection has outlived its usefulness. If that is true, then books and public libraries have outlived their usefulness, but that is a discussion for another day.
Despite our shock and anger at the way this decision was reached, we in the family history and genealogy community remain hopeful that the Secretary of State’s division of Library, Archives, and Records will now work with us to ensure that whatever remains of this valuable collection is saved in a manner that allows for both reasonable public access and fiscally responsible government. As a former long-time state employee myself, I am confident that can occur, but it will require a willingness to listen to and work with the constituency the Library and Archives was created to serve. I saw the beginnings of that type of public/private partnership on Wednesday, and I hope it continues.”
Connie Sheets, M.Ed.
Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board (AzGAB) Secretary and
West Valley Genealogy Society (WVGS) First Vice President
The reply I received this morning after I addressed my concerns as a native Arizonan born to a native Arizona whose grandparents played a historical role in this state.
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the new Genealogy Center opening across the street from the Capitol at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building. I appreciate you sharing your concerns about the genealogy collection with us. Rest assured we are practicing responsible stewardship of these reference materials.
As you may have heard, the new Genealogy Center will located within the modern, climate-controlled State Archives Building on 19th Avenue. The ADA accessible facility will provide improved access to important records through the consolidation of the collections under one roof and free access to popular web-based databases like Ancestry and HeritageQuest.
To help clear up any confusion regarding access to these historical documents, we are currently working with experts within the research community to remove duplicates and evaluate the rest of the collection based on usage, online accessibility, and whether the material is readily available in another Arizona library.
I hope you have the opportunity to visit the new Genealogy Center to enjoy the rich portfolio of resources at your fingertips!
Sincerely,
Michele Reagan
Secretary of State
I received the following response from the Secretary of State this morning, and it doesn’t say much. I’m not thrilled about the “evaluate the rest of the collection based on usage” statement. The answer to someone’s brick wall might just be in one of those rarely-accessed documents.
==========
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the new Genealogy Center opening across the street from the Capitol at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building. I appreciate you sharing your concerns about the genealogy collection with us. Rest assured we are practicing responsible stewardship of these reference materials.
As you may have heard, the new Genealogy Center will located within the modern, climate-controlled State Archives Building on 19th Avenue. The ADA accessible facility will provide improved access to important records through the consolidation of the collections under one roof and free access to popular web-based databases like Ancestry and HeritageQuest.
To help clear up any confusion regarding access to these historical documents, we are currently working with experts within the research community to remove duplicates and evaluate the rest of the collection based on usage, online accessibility, and whether the material is readily available in another Arizona library.
I hope you have the opportunity to visit the new Genealogy Center to enjoy the rich portfolio of resources at your fingertips!
Sincerely,
Michele Reagan
Secretary of State
Here’s the latest from the State Librarian:
A word from
State Librarian Joan Clark
The State Library is a division of the Secretary of State
There’s been great interest in our genealogy collection plans and an outpouring of ideas, expert advice and dedicated volunteer support. We are most appreciative and thank all who have contacted us. Here’s an update on collection plans.
The new Genealogy Center at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History Building opened last week with a ready-reference collection of the most used reference materials along with additional computers in the Reading Room. Any titles not in ready-reference that concern Arizona are being moved to the State Archives’ Arizona Collection. They will add to the existing 75,000-item Arizona Collection enhancing an outstanding resource for researchers.
Representatives from the genealogy community have been lending their expertise and experience to the project. They are working with staff to review the remaining items in the collection of 20,000 items. We have made tremendous progress thanks to volunteers from the genealogy community like Suzanne Brayer, Katie Gertz, Roseanne Hein, Connie Sheets and Dee Snook. We’re also working on a soon-to-be-announced plan to digitize about 5,000 of the titles. Sites like FamilySearch, HathiTrust, Google Books, Internet Archive already have digital copies of these books as well.
Representatives from the Family History Society of Arizona, Arizona Historical Society, Arizona Genealogy Advisory Board, Museum Association of Arizona, West Valley Genealogy Center, Northern Arizona Genealogy Society, Irish Cultural Center and other genealogy researchers provided guidance on next steps. We are working with them to develop options for the collection based on usage, online accessibility, and whether the material is readily available in another Arizona library.
We are very pleased with the ideas we have heard from individuals and organizations statewide – and even out-of-state in regards to digital access to records outside Arizona.
Thank you again for your interest in this valuable Arizona resource and special kudos to our wonderful volunteers!
The Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History Building; 1901 W. Madison St., Phoenix; is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Our knowledgeable staff can be reached at 602-926-3720.
Access to Gale Genealogy Connect is available 24 hours, seven days a week through the Digital Arizona Library. Even more online resources can be found at on the State Archives Ancestry and Genealogy page. Access to research databases such as HeritageQuest and Ancestry is available both at the State Library, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix; and the Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History Building.
Sincerely,
Joan Clark
We can all be deeply grateful to the State Library. As for the Secretary of State… well, that’s a whole ‘nother story.