Users Praise NNY Historical Newspapers Web Site
Liz Dodson of Boise, Idaho wrote the Northern New York Library Network with the following message:
"So, here I am sitting at the kitchen table facing the snowy foothills on a cold (28 degrees brrr)
morning in Boise, Idaho, in my PJ's, with my laptop, taking advantage of a few quiet moments before the
busy day gets going to do some work on the ‘Parsons, Pollard and Pattengill’ side of the family. They are
from Watertown, Jefferson County, New York! Viable information from Google on Watertown is trickling in
and looking pretty slim, until BLAM, I hit pay dirt. Yep, it's your site! Oh please, let this be a good
one, pleeeeese.
"My eyes scan the information on your home page, and fall upon the magic words ‘Historical Newspapers.’
My heart skips a beat as I move my trusty little quivering mouse toward the link," Ms. Dodson continued.
"My eyebrows furrow as I think about how many times I have followed a link only to be directed to something
not even remotely close to what I was looking for, or taken to a directory, or a list of newspapers for a
given geography. I click through the link for ‘Watertown Herald.’ Holy Cow! There it is, right in front of
me! A search engine for the ‘Watertown Herald.’ In my excitement I can barely get my fingers to type
‘Parsons.’ But, I finally get it right, and up pops a whopping 457 search results! I can hardly breathe
now! I click one of the links and to my shock and surprise, not only is your scan readable, but it even
highlights (correctly) my family surname (I felt so proud!). I sat and just gazed at the page for a few
minutes to let it all sink in, to think about how fortunate I was to find your site and bask in the gems
that await me. Rarely do I find a site that gives me what I am looking for and MORE!
"Yes, I found my people, and for about seven hours (seemed like only one hour) now, I have gotten to
know them, and I am hoping a few of them are not really related to me. I was able to go back in time, and
for a time live with these people who I have searched for, for a very long time," Ms. Dodson added.
"I really am at a loss of works to express my gratitude to you folks. For your organization to have
the foresight, the determination, and the generosity to not only maintain the records, but to put it
online, is mind-boggling. What an exemplary example of how to do things, do them well, and then
over-deliver. Well, you did! Congratulations," she said. "So from lil’ ole me in Boise, thank you so
much!!! I will spread the word about you guys!"
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Mrs. Joyce Ranieri told the NNYLN the following:
"This is such a wonderful project! I really enjoy being able to search for my ancestors from the
comfort of my home," Mrs. Ranieri said.
"I find the newspapers so much easier to read online than the old microfilm. On the computer, I can
enlarge the text as much as needed to make it clear. My eyes never tire like they did with
microfilm, nor do I get queasy watching microfilm spin by," she added. "Keep up the good work!"