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"Publishing" used to mean collecting information, putting it on paper, and selling the printed
paper. And for it to count as "history" it had to be published, of
course!
Even when history -- particularly local
history -- was published, most information was inaccessible to many who needed
it. Local history was almost by definition published in tiny editions that
rarely circulated outside the immediate area covered. Furthermore, there was no assurance that even published
local history, genealogy and Americana would remain available after initial
publication. Many local history books and pamphlets were sold only on a subscription basis, in fact.
So, local history has had to pass major hurdles to be
handed down to us in printed form. Sometimes it's amazing that as
much has survived as we still have!
The Internet was supposed to change all that,
making all the knowledge in the world -- including local history, genealogy and
Americana -- freely available to everyone.
The technology supports this laudable purpose, but the missing link is the same one that
restricted publishing on paper in the "old days" -- economics.
Basically, somebody has to do
the work! Whether it's collecting and interpreting previously unpublished
information, or locating and digitizing local history, genealogy, and
Americana that was previously published,
or even making the world aware that the information is now available, there
is still plenty of human work to do.
Between the Lakes Group does this
work. We currently publish the local history, genealogy and Americana
that we recover -- or discover -- on CD-ROM. (that's the technology of the moment; there's no reason to expect that
we will still be publishing on CD-ROMs ten years from now).
Frequently, you will discover that you are
receiving more than you had expected -- that's our hope! Usually you'll
discover that we have added finding aids to the original material. Often
you'll find postcards (or other visual representations from our collection)
picturing aspects of the subject at hand. Sometimes you'll find extra
material that was not part of the original book -- ephemera that is too small to
be republished by itself but which makes your research task easier.
Occasionally, you'll see this
label:
It means simply that
the material it references has never been published previously in any form.
We hope you find one or more
of our publications of interest!! We also hope that you find the free
material we offer on this website to be of use.
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