The minutes of Bridgewater’s selectmen meetings had been somewhat difficult for many citizens to obtain.

The minutes had not been posted online. Selectmen had not been leaving them out in the town office unattended, as they said the papers would sometimes get vandalized or stolen. A local group, Bridgewater Community Connection, has pestered the board to make the minutes more easily available.

The group has offered the town a secure glass case in which to place the minutes so they cannot be stolen or defaced. The town has agreed to accept the gift and to begin posting minutes online in the next two months. A hand should go to all involved for reaching a workable solution.

And yet it should not have had to come to this. Even in towns such as Bridgewater, which has no town administrator, posting meeting minutes online ought to be standard practice already. This is so simple that even local elected officials can do it, and it makes the public documents available to everyone. People who lack home computers can download the minutes at the library or from friends.

If your town does not post the minutes of its board meetings online, call and ask that it be done. There really is no excuse for not making electronic copies available online these days.