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<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>In late July, the National Archives announced they were
planning to cut back <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>the hours of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>
 <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place> area facilities of the
archives.  This would <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>eliminate all evening and Saturday hours and greatly harm
the ability of the <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>average genealogist to access the records.  For full
details, see <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2006/nr06-125.html<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>While the Archivist of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> was at the FGS
conference he <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>reported that they had received very little feedback from
the country's <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>genealogists asking for reconsideration.  He was also
presented with a <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>request from the chair of the FGS Records Preservation
Committee to consider <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>some alternatives and a petition was started to allow
genealogists to <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>express their disagreement with the changes and to endorse
alternatives that <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>will allow the evening and Saturday hours to continue.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>You can see more details about that in Dick Eastman's weekly
newsletter at: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2006/09/quick_please_jo.html<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The petition can be signed at:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> http://www.petitiononline.com/FGS2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The deadline for receiving comments on the proposed changes
by the archives <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>is September 9, so there isn't much time.  And if they
succeed in reducing <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State>
hours, the regional archives will probably follow.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Suzanne Shephard <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>This is from the Carroll county Kentucky list.  I had
the privilege of spending an afternoon in the National Archives.  It was a
lot of fun.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Ronda<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

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