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| Etched
in History:
The Process New Mexico's
archaic documents documents go through when being made
available to researchers —
from an inside viewpoint. |
I am
one of many names in New Mexico history. I started out—many,
many years ago—just a handwritten word inked into a
very large book. The writing was very elaborate and many
abbreviated terms were used. I was joined over the weeks,
months and years by more and more pages of names and events.
Eventually the book I was in was stacked with many others
on shelves in a storage room, all but forgotten.
Several hundred years later, the information
in these books was being sought after, and we were taken
out of storage. The names were hand–copied and other
information extracted with them, then translated and put
into a readable form for the 20th century. I found myself
coming alive as more and more people were excited to
learn about (and make contact with) me and others like me.
But, I've gotten ahead of my story.
There
was much more time–consuming work to be done, just
to get to this place in time. All of the information had
to be entered into a computer in a special, readable format,
taking untold hours by many people. An index was needed.
(Never has an index been a more valuable tool.) And then—more
double–checking and proofreading. A lot of time and
effort were expended to make these books as useful and accurate
as humanly possible.
When you purchase one of these books or
look at them in a library, think about all the dedicated
people who volunteered their time so you could connect with
me, my parents, grandparents, and all the others whose names
were placed in these books so many years ago. This
work has been going on for over three decades by volunteers
of the New Mexico Genealogical Society. Because there is
no "payroll" involved, this is definitely a labor
of love.
Muchas gracias
to past, present and future volunteers!
. . .by Rose Holte
The New Mexico Genealogist,
December, 1998, p. 156. |
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New Mexico Genealogical
Society
PO Box 27559
Albuquerque, NM 87125-7559
USA |
NMGS Web Editor: Patricia Black Esterly
Copyright 1998-2008 New Mexico Genealogical Society and NetChannel Inc. |
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