In a message dated 1/13/2004 3:25:35 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes:
> There is also an
> increasing trend towards the "photocopy researcher", who seems incapable of
> writing with a pencil and wants anything and everything
> photocopied. Is
> transcription a a dying art?
no it isn't necessarily a dying art rather I suspect it is a result of the time compression that most of us are suffering from today, ie too much to do and to little time in which to do it.
as an example years ago I was compiling addresses from 19th century city directories (not phone directories) for the city of Dallas texas into a database. The information was on microfilm. it was easier and more expedient for me to make paper copies and take them home then it would be to sit in the library once a week for 8 hours transcribing into a database on a laptop. I could print out the pages needed take them home and enter a portion each night.
For the reasearcher who has traveled a great distance to your facility it is easier to photocopy as much as they can, take the material home and be able to work in a more leisurely manner ie not in a rush. this may be especially true if the researcher is from overseas and has extremely limited time.
Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
Richmond, Va
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