This decision meant significant labor for library staff members
and volunteers. In May 2005, the library applied for a grant from the
State of Michigan to fund the digitization, which would have allowed
for the hiring of contractors, but the application was turned down.
Luckily, the library already had a well-established volunteer services
program. Lacking any funding beyond $5,000 committed by the
library, the project manager developed a volunteer-driven plan and
made the choice to seek an open source solution for the database,
resulting in savings on the equipment side. An RFP was opened to
competitive bidders in the fall of 2005, with selection of a contractor
and design and testing of the database completed by early 2006.