[Genealib] Ethics of digitizing embarrassing material

[Tracy Luscombe]

Just about everybody finds surprises about family members. Unless you
live in a very small town where this information might harm the living
descendants in some way, I can't see an ethical problem. I say publish
as local history if you are within the bounds of copyright laws. 

Tracy E. Luscombe
Genealogy Librarian
McKinney Memorial Public Library
101 E. Hunt Street
McKinney, TX 75069
tluscombe at mckinneytexas.org
972-547-7343
-----Original Message-----
From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
[mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu] On Behalf Of Cynthia Van
Ness
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 1:25 PM
To: genealib
Subject: [Genealib] Ethics of digitizing embarrassing material

Hi, all,

In my new job, I have a startling document--the membership list
of the short-lived KKK chapter in Buffalo, ca. 1924.  How we
booted the Klan out of town is a great story told in this book,
which is based in part on the author's use of this list:

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.cgi?path=19515850795724

As part of fighting the Klan, the membership list was stolen and
published.  We have perhaps the sole surviving newsprint copy
ca. 1924.  So these names were already published once, though
not in Lay's book.

Excerpts appear here:

http://www.buffalonian.com/history/articles/1901-50/kkk/kkk.html

What are the ethics of digitizing it in full and putting it
online?  To compare with other privacy restrictions, it is past
the 72-year rule of the Federal Census, which also has the
potential to surprise or embarrass people.  (Grandpa was 
mulatto?  Or, Grandma lived in the red light district?)

A 21-year old KKK member in 1924 would be 104 now.  Chances are
good that everyone is deceased.


*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-.,_,.-*
Cynthia Van Ness, MLS, bettybarcode AT yahoo DOT com
http://www.BuffaloResearch.com

"Everyone claims to want a city, but no one here wants city living.
City living by its definition is crowded.  It is tolerant of other
people.  It is dependent on a sophisticated population that makes a
hundred compromises daily so that they can benefit from the collective
energy that a city generates."     --Robert N. Davis, Jr. (1955-2007)
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