 |
| Google Books Result for "Virgina's Eastern Shore" |
One of our members mentioned she USED to have a copy of "Virginia's Eastern Shore," but no longer had it due to lending it to a relative. Taking that as a challenge, I decided to find a copy. As it turned out, the book was published in 1951 and is still under copyright. What's more, while available via Amazon Books, eBay, and "bookfinder dot com," all of those places wanted over $200 for the large, 2 volume set that had over 1500 pages. For something in good condition that included both volumes, the price was $5000.First Step
The first step was to check the title via Google Books and via the FamilySearch Library. Those two checks revealed two things. The first thing was that the book was not easily available in "e" form, and the second was that there are very many references about Virginia's Eastern Shore. Those two results are at the top of this post and immediately below.
 |
| FamilySearch Result for "Virgina's Eastern Shore" |
Second Step
From the first search, I went to "find in a library" and quickly discovered that there were paper copies in the main branch of the Seattle Public Library, as well as other libraries in Western Washington.
Third Step
Not wanting to travel as far as Seattle, I went to the Internet Archive and searched the title. Quickly, I discovered they had a "ebook" version that could be borrowed by the hour. A screenshot from the Internet Archive follows. Due to the copyright restrictions, printing and downloading are not allowed, but, as you may see, screenshots can still provide crucial information including names and/or specific page numbers for reference purposes. At this point, the price was down from $5000 to FREE.
 |
| Internet Archive Screenshot of "Virgina's Eastern Shore" Index Page |
 |
HathiTrust might have a copy,
but I couldn't find it |
Similarly, Worldcat suggested that there was a copy available via HathiTrust, as shown at left. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a copy there via various search strategies. The lesson here is to check all the "usual suspect" sites before giving up. Since I'd found a copy electronically, HathiTrust wasn't essential - checking further, unlike the Internet Archive, HathiTrust wants its users associated with one of its affiliate organizations.Final Step
At this point, I became more curious about the plethora of results that FamilySearch came up with about Virginia's Eastern Shore. The FamilySearch LIBRARY catalog came up with 102 results, of which 54 were allegedly available online. In truth, while not all of the 54 could be accessed via the links provided due to copyright, most of them were freely available online.
A sampling of the FamilySearch results, restricted only to Virgina and available to access online, follows below. At this point, I'll turn things over to our interested members. Discoveries to be shared are always welcome.
 |
| Sample of items on Virgina's Eastern Shore from FamilySearch Library Catalog |
