In 2006 and 2007, Chelsea District Library, a small public library in
Chelsea, Michigan, digitized a collection of 15,000 obituaries on a
small budget by using a staff of nearly 50 volunteers and open source
software. The author describes the research and planning that led up
to the project; unique aspects of the staffing and technology for the
project; and the resulting database, which contributed to the library
being named “Best Small Library in America” for 2008 by Library
Journal. The database continues to be updated, expanded, and
improved, and the use of volunteers as the primary workforce has had
long term rewards for the library. The chapter demonstrates the
accessibility of digitization projects to libraries, even those without
pre-existing expertise, large staffs, or big budgets.