Why there will not be a genealogical Dark Ages

There have been several comments in Blog posts about a news articlereporting a presentation given by Curt B. Witcher, the manager of TheGenealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. Unfortunately, myaccess to Mr. Witcher's comment come only from a Mormon Times article by Michael De Groote.Even though I really enjoy attending the BYU Cofererence on FamilyHistory and Genalogy, my schedule does not give me the opportunity.Normally, I would not comment on a presentation I did not personallyhear, but so far, I have not found a transcription of the presentationanywhere online. As reported however, I do have a number of comments andI heartily disagree with the entire premise.

First, Mr. Witcher is quoted as saying, ""I believe we have a crisis inour midst," Witcher said. "We have left the care of our written recordslargely in the hands of disinterested strangers." He said these recordsinclude everything from birth records to tombstones — and more and morethey are disappearing." Well, I disagree. Our written records havealways been "largely in the hands of disinterested strangers." I also donot buy the assertion that "more and more they are disappearing." Let'stake birth records for an example. Where are birth records disappearingwhere they were previously maintained and available? Prior to the early1900s, very few birth records were created and even fewer of those wereavailable to anyone outside of a persistent researcher. Presently, inmore and more jurisdictions, birth records are available on theInternet, either free or for a price. I am unaware of any state in theU.S. where birth records are not available even if there are some (ormany) restrictions. Where are the birth records disappearing?

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Why there will not be a genealogical Dark Ages

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