Since Nelson invoked my name I will weigh in on the discussion even though I shouldn’t take the time to do so as I am working on Burlington Bulletin #50 as we speak (about halfway done). I am also copying this to the CBQ yahoo list as not all are on both lists.
In my professional work I have had occasion to request information from a number of railroad historical societies and the experiences with their archives have varied from free immediate online access to no response whatsoever for material.
The History of the Burlington Route is not the property of the Burlington Route Historical Society. While there may be costs involved in obtaining and processing material, I believe the Membership expects part of their dues to be applied to such activities. While past BRHS donations to repair or paint pieces of surviving equipment are well and good, I would much rather see our dues going to preservation of material that would otherwise end up in a recycling center, as so much has due to our not being in a position to receive it.
As to the danger of diminishing the value of Society Publications by making material freely available I would strongly disagree. A finished print document with text, photos, data in a complete package is an entirely different product from individual drawings or other bits of information.
We need only to look at the more successful railroad historical societies to see what works. The PRR group has a professional quality free online modeling magazine that publishes quite a bit of archive material and it only furthers interest in the PRR and their society. I suppose that they could have made it a print publication (exposing the society to the costs risks of printing and processing for mailing and holding an inventory of back issues that have proven to be an albatross for the BRHS) but I seriously doubt that “protecting” information would have been a net gain in membership or revenue.
Given the fact that in the entire history of the BRHS no board has been able to provide a full accounting or inventory of material donated to the society or any disclosure of what and where such material exists, I am not confident that an archives will benefit the membership or the preservation of the history of the Burlington.
As much as I envy other railroad historical societies that have long-established physical archive facilities, I believe the time to establish a physical archives has come and gone. We have not had the leadership in place in the BRHS that have the skill sets to establish a physical archive…..to attract outside funding, locate a secure facility, establish free access for members and other researchers, staff the archives to make the collection accessible (both paid and volunteer), and to find and attract donations of material.
I have belonged to a number of Model Railroad Clubs where the stresses of a physical location have precipitated political, financial, and legal problems that caused the destruction of the organization.
There is no history to support that this would not happen with the BRHS.
The BURLINGTON BULLETIN, ZEPHYR, and any other print publications of the BRHS rely on their own merits, not exclusivity of availability. Membership in the BRHS is partially attractive because of the discounted rate for the BURLINGTON BULLETIN and getting the ZEPHYR, but also for the Meets and other perceived benefits of belonging to the organization. A prime one would be a perception that the BRHS is actively preserving the history of the railroad and it is worth supporting as a member.
Preservation of the History of the Burlington Route is best accomplished by making the surviving material easily and widely available. Some railroad historical societies have archives that are controlled by a tight knit group of cronies that hold the material at ransom and make access very difficult for those outside the inner circle. I know that as a professional Model Railroad Industry researcher potential projects that meet such roadblocks are set aside for ones that have more reasonable, timely access to the necessary information. This is why some railroads get more models produced for them that generate more interest in those railroads.
It is critical that we move the BRHS into the electronic age. A valued sizeable percentage of our membership …..former CB&Q employees….. will not be able to be replaced as they pass on. We will have to attract Modelers and Railroad Historians to make up their numbers. To attract more people we need to make the history of the Burlington Route accessible to as wide an audience as possible. If we do that well membership in the BRHS will grow. If we do not we will surely wither away and much of the history will die with those holding it.
Charlie Vlk