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Pink Dress Philosophy



....and then there are some of us who have been sitting back
and enjoying the exchange...it is a good "case example" for me
to use in teaching.   Here you have an artifact that is truly still
meaningful for a whole generation, and yet do you display arti-
facts which make folks quesy?   I remember the bullet-ridden
Bonnie and Clyde "death" car that either toured the country
or was in a museum somewhere.   Because many of us recog-
nize the name, the car has some fascination, but because most
of us were not "tuned-in" (I can't think of a better word here) to
their lives and exploits, we don't find a horror in the car as we
do with the pink dress...   Anyway, on to ...

....the very interesting issue of NARA response.  It would have
been helpful if someone from NARA had responded about the
dress, but that also brings up the issue of listservs.   I belong to
a Florida-L genealogy list.  There are monthly hundreds of
messages that say something like "Hi! I'm researching the
Collier family in Florida.  Can anyone help me?"   I have wrestled
with (1) do I stop and check our indexes each time there is a
query?   (2) do I ignore the posting simply because it was not
sent directly to my institution or to me?  (3) do I get any sleep
at night for a guilty conscience?     Aren't we here to do this
kind of service?  Is it any less valid as a posting than as a
direct letter?

I have not come to grips with these.   Sometimes I answer if
I recognize the name or family or personally know of something.
This is not my favorite way of answering questions because I
have been known to date grocery checks as 1900 instead of
2000.   And it sure would make great statistics by answering
every one of them e-mails.   In short, just because someone
posted a question on a listserv, does not mean that someone
in an institution is obligated to answer?   OR have we reached
the point were listservs are the equivalent of the past years
"scattergun" approach where you sent every repository in
America a letter asking if you have any letters of Dr. XYZ?

Dean



Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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