Saving history from a hurricane, The Christian Science Monitor

["Paul Messier" <pm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Saving history from a hurricane
Byline:  Marilyn Gardner Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Date: 09/28/2005

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0928/p12s01-lihc.html 

"When two feet of water flooded the basement of the New Orleans 
courthouse a month ago, archivist Stephen Bruno faced a huge problem. 
All the books on the bottom shelves were wet. He knew the soggy 
volumes, containing important public records, must be put in freezers 
to halt the growth of mold until they could be dried out.

"I made a public plea for help," says Mr. Bruno, custodian of notarial 
records for Orleans Parish. "Once they finished saving people, I became 
deeply concerned that we had to save records."

"Books, documents, and photographs in public and private collections 
remain an invisible part of rescue operations in the aftermath of 
hurricane Katrina. From courthouses, libraries, and businesses to 
lawyers' offices and homes, the need is the same: to dry out papers and 
save as many documents as possible." 

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