Library of Michigan to Lose Genealogy and Federal Document Holdings

Sad to hear --  The Library of Michigan, transferred last year to the Michigan Department of Education and facing severe budget cuts is now forced to narrow its scope and lose its support for genealogy and federal documents, as reported on LibraryJournal.com, "Library of Michigan, Facing Cuts, To Drop Genealogy and Federal Documents." The library is "committed" to finding good stewards, but some are worried the move will limit access, if nothing more than owing to space limitations.

"While most state libraries have genealogy collections, non-state collections are more rare, and Robertson described Michigan’s as one of the top ten in the country, with more than 44,000 volumes of book materials and close to 100,000 volumes of microform."

I have a personal affection for Michigan records. In doing one branch of our family line, I was delighted by the extent of Michigan records available on FamilySearch Labs. While it certainly cannot substitute for a library full of records, it's a good place to start.