Especially in small towns, the public library may serve multiple roles
as library, museum, archives, and community center. In many cases,
libraries accept donations of rare or unique historical material from 42 Digitization on a Dime
families in the area with little thought for long-term maintenance.
Technological advances in the last few decades have given libraries
new options for preserving local history collections and making them
more accessible through digitization. While even the smallest libraries
have staff educated in reference and circulation procedures, however,
relevant training in archival methods and technology is rare, making
the prospect of a digitization project overwhelming. At the same time,
small public libraries often have little or no funding for such projects.
Chelsea District Library is a single-branch public library serving
14,000 people in southeast Michigan, about 50 miles west of Detroit.
The library was established in 1932 by the local Women’s Club and, in
1999, became a district library system serving both the town of
Chelsea (population 5,000) and surrounding townships. The earliest
settlements in the Chelsea area date back to the 1830s and many local
families can trace their roots back to the town’s founders, resulting in
a rich history. From its earliest days, the library served as a repository
for local historical and genealogical material, housing a local history
room on the cramped third floor of the McKune House, its location
from 1959-2000. In 2006, after extensive renovations and additions
to the McKune House, the library moved from temporary quarters
back to its historic home on Main Street in Chelsea, leading to
renewed interest in the local history collection.
A collection of about 50,000 index cards known as the Family
History Index made up a major component of the local history
material. A retired lawyer and amateur genealogist named Harold
Jones started the collection as a hobby, clipping obituaries from the
local Chelsea Standard newspaper and other sources and pasting them
onto 4 x 6 index cards, along with cross references that allow women
to be located by maiden name. Upon his death in 1987, Jones’ family
donated the collection to the library, where it received extensive use
by local and visiting genealogists. Library staff and volunteers
completed a project from 2000-2002 to clean up and update the
collection, since then volunteers have continued adding new clippings.