When searching for bits and pieces of history, researchers these days increasingly turn to the World Wide Web, browsing a museum or library collection from afar. Genealogists look for family names.
Historians seek critical documents and personal papers.
Collectors scan long lists for a specific item and then decide whether it's worth the trip to see it. In the last year, that monthly average has grown to 13,000 people, with a peak of 19,000 visits in October. That's more than ten times the number of people on campus that visit the site. Researchers who come to the library after browsing the Web site know exactly what they are looking for and where to find it. Those who live too far away to make the trip can find out what documents can be photocopied and mailed and what is available in electronic copies.