Why there will not be a genealogical Dark Ages

There have been several comments in Blog posts about a news article
reporting a presentation given by Curt B. Witcher, the manager of The
Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. Unfortunately, my
access to Mr. Witcher's comment come only from a Mormon Times article by Michael De Groote.
Even though I really enjoy attending the BYU Cofererence on Family
History and Genalogy, my schedule does not give me the opportunity.
Normally, I would not comment on a presentation I did not personally
hear, but so far, I have not found a transcription of the presentation
anywhere online. As reported however, I do have a number of comments and
I heartily disagree with the entire premise.

First, Mr. Witcher is quoted as saying, ""I believe we have a crisis in
our midst," Witcher said. "We have left the care of our written records
largely in the hands of disinterested strangers." He said these records
include everything from birth records to tombstones — and more and more
they are disappearing." Well, I disagree. Our written records have
always been "largely in the hands of disinterested strangers." I also do
not buy the assertion that "more and more they are disappearing." Let's
take birth records for an example. Where are birth records disappearing
where they were previously maintained and available? Prior to the early
1900s, very few birth records were created and even fewer of those were
available to anyone outside of a persistent researcher. Presently, in
more and more jurisdictions, birth records are available on the
Internet, either free or for a price. I am unaware of any state in the
U.S. where birth records are not available even if there are some (or
many) restrictions. Where are the birth records disappearing?

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