MIGenWeb Supports Keeping
The Library of Michigan Intact

 

We, the members of the Michigan GenWeb project, wish to publicly state that we fully support the efforts of the Michigan Genealogical Council to keep the collections from the Library of Michigan from being separated or otherwise removed under Executive Order 2009-36, which disperses the archives amongst different departments and dissolves the Department of Histories, Arts and Libraries. We do acknowledge the financial crisis currently facing Michigan, however, we feel that the amount of money coming into the state from the number of tourists, visitors, genealogists, researchers and future entrepreneurs visiting the Library of Michigan is a revenue stream for the future of Michigan that the Governor should not shut down.

 

In the words of Dr. William M. Anderson, on December 8, 2005, “I believe culture, broadly defined, is an untapped economic resource.  When appropriately engaged, at local, regional, and statewide levels, our state’s cultural resources can leverage significant new tax revenue, provide good paying jobs, and create sustainable enterprise.”

 

Additionally, Governor Jennifer Granholm stated on March 1, 2006, “We are going to base our economy more and more on our intellectual property, on the creative side, the value-added side of what we can offer…The power of creativity in propelling our economy is a fundamental building block of our state’s transformation.”  The resources that the Library of Michigan holds are the stores of Michigan’s intellectual property. Without them, researchers would have nowhere to find:

 

- The largest collection of Michigan newspaper microfilm, which calls the Library of Michigan home.  It covers all 83 counties of the state, over 1700 titles spanning more than 400 cities, townships, and villages. A collection of this scope cannot be found anywhere else.

- The largest collection of Michigan city directories in the state. These directories document places of residence and occupations of Michiganders throughout the years. Patrons of the Library still use this collection for not only for studying genealogy, but also in planning for the future entrepreneurial enterprises and small businesses.

- Ethnic Collections, like the Gorski collection, which focuses on Michigan’s Polish Heritage, are not available elsewhere.

- The Archives of Michigan holds over 300,000 historical photographs. Particularly important holdings deal with Michigan lumbering, Great Lakes shipping, Michigan mining, urban and rural life styles, and Michigan community scenes.

- The collection also covers the entire Great Lakes Region, including New England, the Mid Atlantic, Quebec, and Ontario. Michigan is not in a vacuum. The Governor’s Executive order would dissolve this part of the genealogy collection.

 

Finally in the words of the Michigan Genealogical Council: “Innovation and Reinvention’ can be done anywhere. Our state’s cultural heritage center belongs together, in the Michigan Historical Center.”

 

 Sincerely,

 The Michigan GenWeb Project

 

Jan Cortez,

State Coordinator

 

Patricia Hamp

Assistant State Coordinator

 

Alcona - Jennifer Selbrede

Alger – Colleen Pustola

Allegan - Robin Ellis

Alpena - Concetta Phillipps

Antrim - Margaret Fallone

Arenac – Greg Knopp

Baraga - Patricia Hamp

Barry - Jan Sedore

Bay - Donna Hoff-Grambau and Carol Szelogowski

Benzie - Wayne Summers

Berrien – Deanna West

Branch - Burt Fuller

Calhoun - Sandy Redmond and Ann Heisler

Cass - Deanna West

Charlevoix – Ron Fuller

Cheboygan - Deb Haines

Chippewa – Esther Thompson

Clare - Donna Hoff-Grambau

Clinton - Wayne Summers

Crawford – Ila Miller

Delta – Patricia Hamp

Dickinson - Joe Markovich

Eaton - Jan Sedore 

Emmet - Dannielle Thomas

Genesee - Pat McArthur

Gladwin – Carol Szelogowski

Gogebic – Colleen Pustola

Grand Traverse County - Brenda Wolfgram Moore

Gratiot - Patricia Hamp

Hillsdale - Pat McArthur

Houghton - Patricia Hamp

Huron - Judy Visner

Ingham – Jan Cortez

Ionia - Wayne Summers

Iosco – Shone Brooks

Iron - Dennis and Cheryl Stromberg

Isabella - Donna Hoff-Grambau

Jackson - Steve Shiley

Kalamazoo - Robin Ellis

Kalkaska - Pat McArthur

Kent - Evelyn Sawyer

Keweenaw - Patricia Hamp

Lake - Jan Tripp

Lapeer – Deb Axtman

Leelanau – Gene Nowak

Lenawee - Mary Teeter

Livingston - Emma Winegarner

Luce – Ron Fuller

Mackinac - Patricia Hamp

Macomb - Margaret Fallone

Manistee - Nedra Evans

Marquette - Patricia Hamp

Mason - David Peterson

Mecosta - Jan Cortez

Menominee - Joe Markovich

Midland - Donna Hoff-Grambau

Missaukee - Donna Hoff-Grambau

Monroe - Michael Sandridge and Janet Kwasniak

Montcalm - Pat McArthur

Montmorency - Joe Markovich

Muskegon – Patti Norton

Newaygo - Jan Cortez

Oakland - Joe Markovich and Concetta Phillipps

Oceana - Jan Cortez

Ogemaw - Grace Dooley

Ontonagon – Colleen Pustola

Osceola - Elna Wilder

Oscoda – Meg Fuller

Otsego - Peggy Morey

Ottawa -  Evelyn Sawyer

Presque Isle - Janet Anderson

Saginaw - Patricia Hamp and Donna Hoff-Grambau

Roscommon – Ila Miller

Saint Clair – Kathleen Rodegeb

Saint Joseph - Joel Newport

Sanilac - Judy Visner

Schoolcraft – Ron Fuller

Shiawassee - Pat McArthur

Tuscola - Carol Szelogowski

Van Buren - Joan Jaco

Wayne – Carol Dunn

Wexford - Robin Ellis