[Genealib] addresses on information requests

[Laurie Wilcox]

Thank you everyone for all of your diverse ideas.

On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 3:06 PM, Susan Scouras
<Susan.Scouras at wvculture.org>wrote:

>  I think old-fashioned letters still have a reasonable expectation of
> privacy, although anything in the files of a public agency is subject to a
> FOIA request.  If an institution is making all of its correspondence public,
> it needs to state that policy in its brochures, on request forms, on its Web
> site and in its reply letters.  I treat a research request letter with the
> same "privilege" as I do a research-related conversation with library
> patron.  Staff members may talk about it among themselves and share ideas
> for resources, and may even use the situation as an example when
> helping other patrons with similar problems, but will not provide names and
> contact info without an individual's permission.
>
> Similarly, we award unclaimed West Virginia Civil War medals to descendants
> who can prove their relationship to the original recipients.  We do not
> provide a public list of those who have received medals.  If someone wants
> to know who successfully claimed a specific medal, we send their info to the
> recipient and let the recipient decide if he wants to make himself known.
> Again, a FOIA request can be filed if someone wants to go that far.
>
> I am not an overly private person, but I know many other people who guard
> their personal information closely.  I also think birth, death and marriage
> records are public information, not private, but many county and state
> governments disagree with me these days.
>
> Susan Scouras
> Librarian
> WV Archives and History Library
> The Cultural Center
> 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
> Charleston, WV  25305-0300
> (304) 558-0230, Ext. 742
>
>
>
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>



-- 

Laurie Wilcox
Local History Associate
Oral History Specialist
Boone County Public Library
1786 Burlington Pike
Burlington, KY 41005
lwilcox at bcpl.org
859-342-2665 ext: 8134
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