Thanks for your thoughtful note. My point is not about capitalism or convenience (I have no problem there); it’s that these particular documents are part of our national heritage and so NARA has a special obligation to go out of its way to provide unrestricted access (at least, as the post notes, for students like you).

Dan

I’m a History undergradute and recently purchased a yearly “59.95″ (not $100.00) all-access subscription to Footnote.com which, having spent considerably more than that over a years’ time on microfilms, is a remarkable bargain (not to mention the time involved with waiting for said MFs to arrive, to go to the library to use the viewer, etc) No one is forcing anyone to use Footnote.com and having it availble still doesn’t compromise anyone’s right or ability to order microfilms from NARA which, as you surly know, does not loan MFs gratis. I still do a lot of MF viewing, but one has to go to D,C, or to a Regional center, to view NARA films for free. (calculate the costs in time, travel expences, again to determine the cost-benefit ratio)
“Public access” is a relative term in a free-market capitalist society. We pay for water; we pay for electricity, which are naturally occuring. Why not free??! Well, they are, in the utopian sense, if I would but go to the expense of crafting — for my personal use — the technology needed to make use of them for free. Will I? No. Thus, my “access” to them, in a convenient, usable form, is conditional; I pay some sort of cost, and don’t have to dig a well, lug pails of water, or buy gas for a generator. Just a thought.

P.S. I use Zotero. Nice idea.