Can you read cursive?
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Even if you know cursive, the version of cursive used in Revolutionary War times probably looks a bit different.
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Seems like they want free labour.
I've read manuscripts of pretty much all ages and it becomes pretty easy to strip away the flourishes of copperplate, even in documents 400 years old.What is difficult, or rather I should say, takes time to become familiar, is the person's writing.
My father wrote in cursive using all the less familiar capital letter forms, but in a sloping, quite tall and very narrow style that is simply difficult to read.Could be very interesting archive work as you really never know what the next document might contain. Imagine finding an unknown Whittier poem, or correspondence of a famous musician with their musical ideas.
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@AndyD said in Can you read cursive?:
Seems like they want free labour.
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” -
Are the National Archives at war or a charity?
Citizen archivist
Personally I think a National Archive ought to be offering properly paid & pensioned temporary/part time jobs; and looking for employees interested in a career.
Of course it's a choice people will make. Who will these free workers be do you think? Bored older retirees?
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I was trained in the Palmer method in grade school but now my hands are kind of stiff so I print everything.
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If people don’t write in cursive, what are graphologists going to do?
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My grandfather was a printer and typographer by trade. He had the most exquisite handwriting. I cherish his many letters and cards to me, not just for their content (which was often wonderful), but for the beauty of the letterforms themselves.
Andy, there is nothing wrong with a government agency seeking the help of volunteers. Most agencies have volunteer opportunities--for example, I was a volunteer wilderness ranger for the US Forest Service for a couple of decades. Don't you do any volunteer work in your community?
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Pique, I assume you had other income and were in a position of strength to give of yourself so generously.
Little rant follows:
Point is, if the work needs doing, then surely it is worth paying for, providing someone a proper job. Give a youngster a chance.I've seen creative accounting in practice. Long term commitment to employing staff with all their overheads is least desirable. Instead, pay for agency workers, pay for sub-contractors. And ask for volunteers to do little jobs requiring only basic skills as work experience.
Pay is the acknowledgement of your time and ability. And fundamentally your need for food and shelter.
I'm not talking about helping out at your local Sally Army thrift shop, playing at church, or cutting your old neighbours' hedges.
Perhaps the national archive thinks the job is of such little real worth that only old folk with time on their hands are worth using.
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Andy, the reality is, government agencies don't get enough money in appropriations to pay for every desireable program. If non-essential programs are to happen, they need the support of volunteers. Don't want to volunteer? Nobody is making you. But the fact is, you aren't creating paid jobs by eliminating volunteers. You are eliminating valuable programs that Congress didn't fund.
