As part of a planning process leading up to an election to fund an
expansion of the building and the staff, the library identified local Digitization on a Dime 43
history as a priority for Chelsea area taxpayers and the Family History
Index as a prime candidate for digitization work. At the time, the
professional librarian staff consisted of the director, three department
heads (adult services, youth services, technology services), and a parttime
librarian, leaving few resources to focus on a project of this
scope. In the spring of 2005, the library replaced the departing parttime
librarian with a full-time librarian (the author), adding
additional duties of managing the library’s website and digitizing the
Family History Index.