Our heritage online

The Smithsonian Institute in Washngton D.C. houses some of the nation's most important artifacts. Anyone who visits there and walks through the halls, learns something about how America started and how it has made its way through the years. Many children are frequent visitors, especially those who live nearby, and many families from all over the country visit the museum at least once, but others never have an opportunity of going to D.C. Now the museum has decided to make its treasures available to everyone with access to the Internet. This is no short-term project, and librarians can expect to wait for years to have all, or most of the items scanned and made acessible. Still, it's a prospect worth waiting for and when the task has been accomplished, every library in the country--and in many other countries--will be able to see not only the artifacts themselves but the curators' commentaries about the meaning and importance of the items. This is a step to be applauded--and funded--so let your representatives know that you support it.