The database contains:
- Patent number
- Current U.S. Classification
- Name of patentee
- Patent date
- Patent place
In addition there are images of the patent documentation when available.
A search on Canada as a keyword found 14,180 hits.
30 September 2009
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patents, 1790-1909
Ancestry has made available a database contains invention patents granted from 1790-1909 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Scottish business archives - link
Chris Paton on his SGNE blog posts on a presentation he attended on Scottish business archives for family historians.
Barnardo's Family History Service
The October issue of Ancestors magazine includes an article by Karen Wicks "Every Child Regardless" about the Barnardo's archive at Barkingside. Approximately one in three of the more than 100,000 home children sent from England to Canada between 1869 and the Second World War came with Dr. Barnardo's Homes.
I have previously heard reports of people being led a merry chase in trying to get access to an ancestor's Barnado's record. It appears there is now more of a routine procedure, described in the article and on the Barnado web site at www.barnardos.org.uk
A basic record search costs a non-refundable £15. This will establish if your relative was a ‘Barnardo’s boy or girl’ and if there are records; in most cases if there was a child there will be records.
There are three packages available for purchase:
I have previously heard reports of people being led a merry chase in trying to get access to an ancestor's Barnado's record. It appears there is now more of a routine procedure, described in the article and on the Barnado web site at www.barnardos.org.uk
A basic record search costs a non-refundable £15. This will establish if your relative was a ‘Barnardo’s boy or girl’ and if there are records; in most cases if there was a child there will be records.
There are three packages available for purchase:
- Admission Package - £70, comprising admission history, placement details, individual photograph, precis and homes information sheet.
- Full History Package - £85, comprising admission history, placement details, individual photograph, precis, homes information sheet, record book entry, situation book entry (boys only), and location photographs.
- Photograph Package - £20, comprising a photograph of the child and the home(s) they lived in.
29 September 2009
Is more researcher identification needed?
The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have published a proposed rule, here, that would require all users of their facilities to obtain a researcher card. At present researchers who only access microfilm resources do not need such registration.
Researchers at Library and Archives Canada, and at the Archives of Ontario, are required to have a researcher card to access all documents held. That applies to microfilm just as much as original records or those accessed through in-house computers. By contrast, in my most recent trip to the UK I found no requirement for a reader card, or even to sign in, to access substantial online, microfilm and library materials at The National Archives. A reader card is required to view original records. At the London Metropolitan Archives you are required to sign in but there is no serious identity check, even to access and handle original documents.
NARA's rationale for the enhanced requirement is to "strengthen our security to
protect buildings, people, and the records we hold" and also "help ensure more accurate counting of researchers to measure our performance in customer service delivery and to effectively allocate resources."
This change seems rather strange given another part of the proposed rule at NARA that would eliminate a three hour limit on the use of microfilm readers. The rationale is that there are no longer waits for microfilms. Apparently as the use of this equipment goes down regulation of its use needs to go up!
Researchers at Library and Archives Canada, and at the Archives of Ontario, are required to have a researcher card to access all documents held. That applies to microfilm just as much as original records or those accessed through in-house computers. By contrast, in my most recent trip to the UK I found no requirement for a reader card, or even to sign in, to access substantial online, microfilm and library materials at The National Archives. A reader card is required to view original records. At the London Metropolitan Archives you are required to sign in but there is no serious identity check, even to access and handle original documents.
NARA's rationale for the enhanced requirement is to "strengthen our security to
protect buildings, people, and the records we hold" and also "help ensure more accurate counting of researchers to measure our performance in customer service delivery and to effectively allocate resources."
This change seems rather strange given another part of the proposed rule at NARA that would eliminate a three hour limit on the use of microfilm readers. The rationale is that there are no longer waits for microfilms. Apparently as the use of this equipment goes down regulation of its use needs to go up!
Beware - at LAC
Don't leave anything of value in your locker on the ground floor at Library and Archives Canada. On Monday I had a coat, bag and hat stolen from a locker. It was locked, but evidently even new locks recently put on the lockers were insufficient to deter this thief. Fortunately there was nothing irreplaceable taken, my most valuable materials were with me, but that has not always been the case. It will be from now on. Beware.
I've also heard reports recently of concern on the part of ladies regarding men lurking, and security saying its a public building and there's little that can be done until something happens!
Is there is sufficient and obvious security camera coverage of the public areas?
I've also heard reports recently of concern on the part of ladies regarding men lurking, and security saying its a public building and there's little that can be done until something happens!
Is there is sufficient and obvious security camera coverage of the public areas?
28 September 2009
The oddest baby names in Canadian history
The following is a press release from Ancestry.ca
ANCESTRY.CA REVEALS THE ODDEST BABY NAMES IN CANADIAN HISTORY
Toronto, ON – September 28, 2009) In honour of the birthday today of two of the most absurdly named children the world has ever known – Pilot Inspektor, son of actor Patrick Lee, and Moon Unit, daughter of legendary musician Frank Zappa – Ancestry.ca has dug deep into its historical records to reveal some of the worst baby names in Canada’s history, and discovers that giving children strange names is neither a new trend, nor one reserved for Hollywood celebrities.
Some of the most unusual names in Canada can be found as far back as the 1840s and prove that when looking for a unique name for a child, parents took cues from almost anywhere. From the palace to the barnyard and from fruit orchard to the heavens above, here are some of the finest, funniest and often times most unfortunate historical Canadian names.
ANCESTRY.CA REVEALS THE ODDEST BABY NAMES IN CANADIAN HISTORY
Toronto, ON – September 28, 2009) In honour of the birthday today of two of the most absurdly named children the world has ever known – Pilot Inspektor, son of actor Patrick Lee, and Moon Unit, daughter of legendary musician Frank Zappa – Ancestry.ca has dug deep into its historical records to reveal some of the worst baby names in Canada’s history, and discovers that giving children strange names is neither a new trend, nor one reserved for Hollywood celebrities.
Some of the most unusual names in Canada can be found as far back as the 1840s and prove that when looking for a unique name for a child, parents took cues from almost anywhere. From the palace to the barnyard and from fruit orchard to the heavens above, here are some of the finest, funniest and often times most unfortunate historical Canadian names.
Names of Divine inspiration:
- Jesus Christ Long - born in 1879 to Samuel, a watchmaker, and his wife Isabella in Middlesex County (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
- God Moses Fleshman - born in 1883 to parents Hannah and Joseph, Russian immigrants, in Lanark County, Ontario. Moses would later move to the Prairies – or as some people like to call it – God’s country (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
Canada’s ‘Royal’ family:
- King Farrell - born in 1886 to parents William and Frances, Irish immigrants who raised King as a Methodist (from 1911 Census of Canada)
- Queen Brittain - born in 1900 in Brant County, Queen grew up in a house with seven siblings, none of whom were named after royal titles and no doubt felt aggrieved (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909 and 1901 Census of Canada)
- Prince Hutchison - born in 1842 to John, a farmer, and grew up in a house in the Maritimes with six other children (from 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia)
- Princess Orth - born in 1881 to parents John and Alice in Oxford County, Ontario (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
The SPCA Wing:
- Horse Love - this 17-year old worked, perhaps predictably, as a farm labourer, earning a meagre $180 in 1910 (from 1911 Census of Canada)
The Gwyneth Paltrow/Chris Martin Wing:
- Apple Coutts - born to Alfred, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth in 1904 in Elgin County, Ontario (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
- Festus Apple Ryder - born in 1881 to his wagon-maker father, Hugh, and wife Sarah. Festus would grow up to become a labourer and marry at the age of 27 in what one can only imagine was a festive ceremony (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
Everyone Loves the Holidays:
- Merry Christmas James - not born to Jesus Christ Long, but in fact to parents John and Jennie in 1867 (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
- Happy Newyear Kerwenyee -born on New Year’s Day in 1877 to John, a farmer, and his wife Louisa (from Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909)
The Joke’s on You!
- Jester MacNut - lived in Colchester, Nova Scotia (from 1891 Census of Canada)
- Ruby F. Hoax - claim that she was related to Colchester’s own Jester MacNut is currently being investigated... (from 1911 Census in Colchester, Nova Scotia)
- John Joke - a jovial Finnish immigrant that had settled in Kindersley, Saskatchewan (from 1916 Census of Canada)
Be My Valentine?
- Love Peace Joy - a 25-year old who was born in India and came to Canada to work in the Bible industry (from 1911 Census of Canada)
- Amor Figydt - this 35 year-old lived in a small house on St Paul Street in Toronto, Ontario with his three children and his mother (from 1911 Census of Canada)
- Romance Clark - born in the US, this 15-year-old lived with her family in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan in 1911, after immigrating to Canada the previous year (from 1911 Census of Canada)
- Myholy Cupid - a 24-year-old recent Polish immigrant to Canada, working 40-plus hour work weeks as a street labourer, sharing a lodge with other Polish immigrants (from 1911 Census of Canada)
- Valentine Couture - a 3-year-old with a love of fashion? (from 1851 Census of Canada)
Karen Peterson, Marketing Director for Ancestry.ca comments: “Searching through historical records has never been more fun or easy, thanks to the online preservation and indexing of family history records such as censuses, birth and marriage records, passenger lists and immigration records.
“If you’re lucky, you just might find that you are a descendent of Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ Long that is.”
To find out more about your family history visit Ancestry.ca and let the journey begin.
Registrar General Annual Reports on births, deaths and marriages
We all know there's nothing more fascinating than sitting down and getting tucked into reading a good annual report. Yeah!
Apparently there are enough of us looking for context for our family and history studies who find this sort of thing interesting for the company Anguline Research Archives to find it worthwhile reproducing on CD the Registrar General's Annual Reports for 1901. Isn't the long tail wonderful!
The company describes it thus:
That's only one year. I wondered if there are other issues available so turned to Google books. Unsurprisingly the answer is yes -- it wouldn't make much of a blog posting otherwise!
Google books have free full view versions of the Registrar General's annual report of births deaths and marriages for England from 1856, volume 17, which happens to include considerable discussion of the cholera outbreak of 1853 - 54, volumes 20, 26, 28, 36, 37, 42, and 47 which is for 1886.
The Internet archive only have a few issues but they do include the fourth report dated 1842.
Depending on the search terms you choose your search may also turn up other similar reports from Scotland, Ontario, and several Australian states.
Apparently there are enough of us looking for context for our family and history studies who find this sort of thing interesting for the company Anguline Research Archives to find it worthwhile reproducing on CD the Registrar General's Annual Reports for 1901. Isn't the long tail wonderful!
The company describes it thus:
The contents of this report includes population (census & estimated). Detailed statistics of Births, Marriages and Deaths including causes. Offences against the Registration Acts, Literacy. A Meteorological Report for the year 1901.
There are also included many interesting abstracts of Births, including number, rates, sex, illegitimate; Marriages, including number, rates, forms of marriage, ages signatures in marriage register etc. etc.; Deaths including number, general death rate, sex, ages, infantile mortality, urban and rural mortality, causes of deaths and deaths in public institutions etc.
Also covered is strength and mortality of the Army & Navy ; Births & Deaths at sea and a tabulation of causes of death due to disease, both general and local. Etc.
Plus an index of Registration Districts, Sub-districts and Urban Districts.
A useful reference guide for family and local historians which could be used to good effect in conjunction with the 1901 census.
That's only one year. I wondered if there are other issues available so turned to Google books. Unsurprisingly the answer is yes -- it wouldn't make much of a blog posting otherwise!
Google books have free full view versions of the Registrar General's annual report of births deaths and marriages for England from 1856, volume 17, which happens to include considerable discussion of the cholera outbreak of 1853 - 54, volumes 20, 26, 28, 36, 37, 42, and 47 which is for 1886.
The Internet archive only have a few issues but they do include the fourth report dated 1842.
Depending on the search terms you choose your search may also turn up other similar reports from Scotland, Ontario, and several Australian states.
27 September 2009
One Man, Two Names, Three Families, And Much Intrigue
During her memorable visit to Ottawa a week ago for the BIFHSGO conference Colleen Fitzpatrick asked if people had read her articles in Ancestry Magazine [the US version]. Not many had. I did get the magazine for a while, there was a special promotion with an ancestry.com subscription, but because it was so US-centric it didn't really appeal to me.
Surfing around on the Internet I came across one of her recent articles from the magazine which appealed to me. It involved a man who hid his past, something I'm wrestling with at the moment, and a breakthrough with the aid of DNA analysis.
There's a web version of the article from July of this year here, which includes a link to a PDF version of the more complete article, all free.
Surfing around on the Internet I came across one of her recent articles from the magazine which appealed to me. It involved a man who hid his past, something I'm wrestling with at the moment, and a breakthrough with the aid of DNA analysis.
There's a web version of the article from July of this year here, which includes a link to a PDF version of the more complete article, all free.
26 September 2009
DAWESROOTS
A couple of days back I commented on how OGS is missing the boat by running old-fashioned essay competitions rather than a 21st-century equivalent which would appeal more to the younger generation.
M. Diane Rogers pointed out that "it's not only the young working with the 'new media' either. Some of us grandparents aren't paper bound anymore."
Diane's point was reinforced for me when Bob Dawes, one of the leaders in Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, drew my attention to his new blog at www.dawesroots.blogspot.com/ "intended for those who are interested in the genealogy of Thomas DAWES / DAWS / DAW who was born in Hadlow, Kent, England about 1809 and married Ann LANGRIDGE in Lewes, Sussex, England on 10 November 1834."
We all know it's a good idea to write our family history but that can be quite daunting when you think about completing a whole book. Writing a blog for your family history is one way to cut the challenge down to size, and makes the information available for Internet cousins to find.
With increasing effort to archive the Web it's also a way you can preserve your family history research for that time, perhaps decades in the future, when one of your descendants or members of your extended family become curious about their roots.
As a bonus, Bob tells me it has already stimulated some of his UK Internet cousins to research common lines.
M. Diane Rogers pointed out that "it's not only the young working with the 'new media' either. Some of us grandparents aren't paper bound anymore."
Diane's point was reinforced for me when Bob Dawes, one of the leaders in Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, drew my attention to his new blog at www.dawesroots.blogspot.com/ "intended for those who are interested in the genealogy of Thomas DAWES / DAWS / DAW who was born in Hadlow, Kent, England about 1809 and married Ann LANGRIDGE in Lewes, Sussex, England on 10 November 1834."
We all know it's a good idea to write our family history but that can be quite daunting when you think about completing a whole book. Writing a blog for your family history is one way to cut the challenge down to size, and makes the information available for Internet cousins to find.
With increasing effort to archive the Web it's also a way you can preserve your family history research for that time, perhaps decades in the future, when one of your descendants or members of your extended family become curious about their roots.
As a bonus, Bob tells me it has already stimulated some of his UK Internet cousins to research common lines.
Internet Genealogy Oct/Nov 2009
The new issue of Internet Genealogy magazine landed in my mailbox on Friday. I saw it last weekend while in conversation with Ed Zapletal and Rick Cree from Moorshead magazines. It contains a lot of good stuff including my most recent article "Newsworthy Genealogy: British newspaper archives" which discusses the increasing number of online sites for accessing archives of British newspapers.
Lisa A. Alzo contributes five articles "Help! My ancestors are hiding!", "Old photos on the 'net", "Fancy Footnote pages for your ancestors","Fast, frugal fixes for your old photographs", and "A Cuil search engine!"
Susanna De Groot, from Windmill Genealogy and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies writing on "Searching for ancestors in the Netherlands," and Rick Norberg on "Irish genealogy: getting started online" are both of direct interest for my family history. I'll probably look later at Michael John Neil's article on "The US Census: more than meets the eye!"
Internet Genealogy is published in Toronto and sold throughout North America. I've never seen it on a newsstand in England. It is in the collection of the Society of Genealogists. In Ottawa it's available at the Main and Nepean Centrepointe locations of the Ottawa Public Library and, likely, several public libraries across Canada.
Lisa A. Alzo contributes five articles "Help! My ancestors are hiding!", "Old photos on the 'net", "Fancy Footnote pages for your ancestors","Fast, frugal fixes for your old photographs", and "A Cuil search engine!"
Susanna De Groot, from Windmill Genealogy and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies writing on "Searching for ancestors in the Netherlands," and Rick Norberg on "Irish genealogy: getting started online" are both of direct interest for my family history. I'll probably look later at Michael John Neil's article on "The US Census: more than meets the eye!"
Internet Genealogy is published in Toronto and sold throughout North America. I've never seen it on a newsstand in England. It is in the collection of the Society of Genealogists. In Ottawa it's available at the Main and Nepean Centrepointe locations of the Ottawa Public Library and, likely, several public libraries across Canada.
25 September 2009
Changes to service at TNA
The UK National Archives have announced their decisions regarding changes in services in order to meet budget requirements. In brief:
Although the main thrust of their proposals is unchanged in implementation there does appear to have been a bit of tweaking around the edges in response to the consultation comments
Read the TNA release here, and additional information from Chris Paton here.
For those of us who only visit TNA infrequently the impact may be minimal, as long as we remember not to try and visit on a Monday. However, the building was already quite crowded during my last visit, and it could become a zoo when six days worth of visitors are shoehorned into five.
On the positive side there could be benefits for online users if more effort is directed to enhancing web services.
- Moving to a five-day week (Tuesday to Saturday), from 4 January 2010, with an extension of opening hours and document ordering times for the remainder of the week
- Charging for use of the public car park, with an annual season ticket available for frequent users (based on vehicle emissions, in keeping with government guidelines)
- Changes to copying and microform services, with the aim of simplifying the process for users
Although the main thrust of their proposals is unchanged in implementation there does appear to have been a bit of tweaking around the edges in response to the consultation comments
Read the TNA release here, and additional information from Chris Paton here.
For those of us who only visit TNA infrequently the impact may be minimal, as long as we remember not to try and visit on a Monday. However, the building was already quite crowded during my last visit, and it could become a zoo when six days worth of visitors are shoehorned into five.
On the positive side there could be benefits for online users if more effort is directed to enhancing web services.
24 September 2009
OGS student essay competitions
The following is an announcement from the Ontario Genealogical Society.
The Ontario Genealogical Society has established two essay competitions for students. Both require a paper to be written on a topic within family history. Both carry a prize of $500 and publication in Families.
The Dr. Don Brearley Genealogical Essay Prize is open to secondary school students in grades 11 and 12. For this, the first year, it is open to Toronto District School Board students only. In future years it will be available to students in other Ontario school boards. See the Guidelines for complete information. Submission deadline is February 26, 2010.
The Mike Brede Genealogical Essay Prize is open to any full-time student in a university or community college who is either a resident of Ontario or attending an Ontario university or community college. See the Guidelines for complete information. Submission deadline is February 26, 2010.Warning. The following is opinion.
With this initiative the management and Board of the OGS miss an opportunity and demonstrate lack of imagination. Another essay competition is something their grandparents would have felt comfortable with, familiar territory for them. Students today, on the other hand, are interested in expressing themselves through less staid means, multimedia and web content. It would have been eye opening for the Society if they were faced with evaluating YouTube videos, blogs, maybe even a series of tweets
23 September 2009
PRONI temporary closure
There was mention of a temporary PRONI closure at an Ottawa Branch of OGS Irish Group meeting last evening.
According to the BBC the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, is moving to headquarters in Belfast's Titanic Quarter in May/June 2011.
The records will be not be available for physical access between September 2010 and May 2011.
There is more detail at Chris Patton's SGNE blog.
According to the BBC the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, is moving to headquarters in Belfast's Titanic Quarter in May/June 2011.
The records will be not be available for physical access between September 2010 and May 2011.
There is more detail at Chris Patton's SGNE blog.
Useful websites for UK family history
While at the UK national archives (TNA) a couple of weeks ago I picked up the March 2009, the latest, edition of the information sheet "Useful Websites for Family History." It doesn't seem to be on their website in its entirety and I'm reluctant to reproduce the whole thing. Here are just a few I hadn't come across before:
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html - listing of names of occupations found in the census
www.arbeia.demon.co.uk/museums/location/uk/ukmilmus.htm - a guide to UK military and regimental museums
www.pcansr.net - Boer War nurses
www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/lifeandleisure/leisure/localarchives/georgian/default.htm - search the Bath Chronicle newspaper 1770 - 1800
www.canalmuseum.org.uk/collection/family-history.htm - canals and canal families
www.open.ac.uk/ou5/Arts/chemists - British Chemists (1880 - 1970)
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html - listing of names of occupations found in the census
www.arbeia.demon.co.uk/museums/location/uk/ukmilmus.htm - a guide to UK military and regimental museums
www.pcansr.net - Boer War nurses
www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/lifeandleisure/leisure/localarchives/georgian/default.htm - search the Bath Chronicle newspaper 1770 - 1800
www.canalmuseum.org.uk/collection/family-history.htm - canals and canal families
www.open.ac.uk/ou5/Arts/chemists - British Chemists (1880 - 1970)
22 September 2009
Being close to the user
Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland, who was a speaker at the recent BIFHSGO conference, impressed me.I was not enthusiastic when I first heard that someone with that title was coming to the conference. Over the years I've become accustomed to hear people at top levels in the public service in various countries give presentations full of bureaucratize.
Macniven was refreshingly different. His two presentations were substantive. He actually sat down in the computer consultation room and helped participants one-on-one, something I also understand he had done at the major Homecoming event in Scotland earlier in the year.
When I queried him about access to their records for local history studies, which can be prohibitively costly on the pay-per-view basis of the Scotland's People website, he indicated that GROS were open to making special arrangements on a case-by-case basis. He pointed to a case with the University of Guelph where such an arrangement is in place.
21 September 2009
Drouin Collection returns to Ancestry
Following resolution of a dispute between Ancestry.com and the Drouin Genealogical Institute the previously available records from Drouin have now reappeared on the Ancestry website.
Drouin had previously asked that the records be withdrawn as Ancestry had failed in its contractual obligation to properly and fully index the database prior to the original publication, a contention that was upheld by a judge in an arbitration hearing. It isn't clear what Ancestry.com is doing to remedy its contractual failure.
This news was welcomed at the BIFHSGO conference this past weekend by genealogists with Catholic relatives in Eastern Canada and parts of the US.
Drouin had previously asked that the records be withdrawn as Ancestry had failed in its contractual obligation to properly and fully index the database prior to the original publication, a contention that was upheld by a judge in an arbitration hearing. It isn't clear what Ancestry.com is doing to remedy its contractual failure.
This news was welcomed at the BIFHSGO conference this past weekend by genealogists with Catholic relatives in Eastern Canada and parts of the US.
History of the site of TNA at Kew
In the most recent TNA podcast, recorded earlier this month, GIs and POWs: Kew in the Second World War, historian Christopher May reveals the wartime history of The National Archives' Kew site. The presentation focuses on the site user by American servicemen stationed there created the maps used in the Normandy landings of 1944, and the use of the same buildings to house Italian prisoners of war who helped to clear bomb damage in London.
The site was taken over by the UK Public Record Office in 1972.
Not much of family history interest in the presentation, interesting local history.
Find it at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/gis-and-pows.htm
The site was taken over by the UK Public Record Office in 1972.
Not much of family history interest in the presentation, interesting local history.
Find it at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/gis-and-pows.htm
The future of family history
On Sunday, in the final session of the annual British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa conference, I had the privilege of being a panelist, with Bryan Cook, Colleen Fitzpatrick and Glenn Wright, in a session on the future of genealogy. Here are my opening remarks:
Most of us start out our family history investigation using the information we have ourselves, orally from our family, from documents and family artifacts. It’s a surprise to me that some people don't go much beyond that and still manage to develop interesting family stories. They use their family network, increasingly with the help of Internet cousins.
It doesn't take long for most researchers to move beyond, to government records. Recent years have seen that becoming easier with the tremendous strides in the ability to access these resources using indexes and transcriptions on the Internet, often linked to images of original records. Now you can pretty well get access to all civil registration and census information, at least that not subject to privacy restrictions, either the complete record or an index online. It's wonderful progress.
In addition you can access records online which were only talked about in somewhat hushed tones when I started. They were unindexed - difficult sources to deal with. I'm thinking of the US St Alban`s border crossing records and ships passenger lists. Plenty more are being tackled or remain to be tackled: land records, probate, military, criminal, poor law, burial. Then there are religious records. There’s plenty of work for indexing volunteers and indexing companies in China, India and Sri Lanka to be getting on with.
But human indexing in 19th, and online availability 20th, century technology. What is exciting me these days is machine transcription being used in book and newspaper digitization projects.
Perhaps you saw my article in the latest Anglo Celtic Roots where I wrote about finding my great-grandfather being convicted in 1879 of embezzling 30 pounds from his employer, a bank on London’s Oxford Street, where he'd worked for 10 years. The newspaper article said his salary was 155 pounds a year, he was recently married, and had a first child on the way. Despite his lapse his employer asked that in view of his good employment record he be dealt with leniently.
My information was from a digitized newspaper in the 19th Century British Newspaper Library project. I’d never have found it if the newspaper hadn’t been digitized and word-searchable. Although it's not exactly information I would have chosen to find about one of my ancestors it did turn a man who I previously knew only from a series of government records into someone I got a more visceral feeling for. That's the stuff of family history, and not the sort of thing you’re likely to learn from preciously conserved family-held records -- that type of record is usually deliberately forgotten!
If civil registration and census online was wonderful progress, digitized newspapers are, or will be, a revolution. No human intervention was involved for that newspaper – that’s a 21st century revolution.
The magnitude of achievement these newspaper digitization projects represent isn’t well appreciated. The 19th Century British Newspaper Library project comprises two million pages, containing 10 billion words or 50 billion letters.
Compare it to the rightly much heralded Human Genome project. The human genome contains three billion letters, and only four unique ones, A C G T. The British Library Newspaper Project is much richer, 50 billion letters, perhaps 94 of them unique if you count lower and upper cases, numerals and symbols, and they’re in different fonts and cases.
True, much of a newspaper is junk for your family history, but that’s just like DNA most of which is not ancestry informative.
With such richness I feel confident that extending the digitization of information sources, especially newspapers, through machine interpretation of text will provide the biggest breakthrough for family history in the next few years. Perhaps we will also see progress on machine transcription of handwritten documents. For those who doubt it just look at the improvement on the quality of the machine interpretation of newspaper text during this decade.
Here in Ottawa we’re particularly backward, none of our major newspapers have been digitized. As perhaps some of the biggest beneficiaries of newspaper digitization we, the family history community, should be vocal and active in promoting newspaper digitization.
Most of us start out our family history investigation using the information we have ourselves, orally from our family, from documents and family artifacts. It’s a surprise to me that some people don't go much beyond that and still manage to develop interesting family stories. They use their family network, increasingly with the help of Internet cousins.
It doesn't take long for most researchers to move beyond, to government records. Recent years have seen that becoming easier with the tremendous strides in the ability to access these resources using indexes and transcriptions on the Internet, often linked to images of original records. Now you can pretty well get access to all civil registration and census information, at least that not subject to privacy restrictions, either the complete record or an index online. It's wonderful progress.
In addition you can access records online which were only talked about in somewhat hushed tones when I started. They were unindexed - difficult sources to deal with. I'm thinking of the US St Alban`s border crossing records and ships passenger lists. Plenty more are being tackled or remain to be tackled: land records, probate, military, criminal, poor law, burial. Then there are religious records. There’s plenty of work for indexing volunteers and indexing companies in China, India and Sri Lanka to be getting on with.
But human indexing in 19th, and online availability 20th, century technology. What is exciting me these days is machine transcription being used in book and newspaper digitization projects.
Perhaps you saw my article in the latest Anglo Celtic Roots where I wrote about finding my great-grandfather being convicted in 1879 of embezzling 30 pounds from his employer, a bank on London’s Oxford Street, where he'd worked for 10 years. The newspaper article said his salary was 155 pounds a year, he was recently married, and had a first child on the way. Despite his lapse his employer asked that in view of his good employment record he be dealt with leniently.
My information was from a digitized newspaper in the 19th Century British Newspaper Library project. I’d never have found it if the newspaper hadn’t been digitized and word-searchable. Although it's not exactly information I would have chosen to find about one of my ancestors it did turn a man who I previously knew only from a series of government records into someone I got a more visceral feeling for. That's the stuff of family history, and not the sort of thing you’re likely to learn from preciously conserved family-held records -- that type of record is usually deliberately forgotten!
If civil registration and census online was wonderful progress, digitized newspapers are, or will be, a revolution. No human intervention was involved for that newspaper – that’s a 21st century revolution.
The magnitude of achievement these newspaper digitization projects represent isn’t well appreciated. The 19th Century British Newspaper Library project comprises two million pages, containing 10 billion words or 50 billion letters.
Compare it to the rightly much heralded Human Genome project. The human genome contains three billion letters, and only four unique ones, A C G T. The British Library Newspaper Project is much richer, 50 billion letters, perhaps 94 of them unique if you count lower and upper cases, numerals and symbols, and they’re in different fonts and cases.
True, much of a newspaper is junk for your family history, but that’s just like DNA most of which is not ancestry informative.
With such richness I feel confident that extending the digitization of information sources, especially newspapers, through machine interpretation of text will provide the biggest breakthrough for family history in the next few years. Perhaps we will also see progress on machine transcription of handwritten documents. For those who doubt it just look at the improvement on the quality of the machine interpretation of newspaper text during this decade.
Here in Ottawa we’re particularly backward, none of our major newspapers have been digitized. As perhaps some of the biggest beneficiaries of newspaper digitization we, the family history community, should be vocal and active in promoting newspaper digitization.
20 September 2009
Scottish News
At the BIFHSGO conference this weekend the Society was pleased to welcome Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland since 2001. He gave two informative talks, on Scotland's Demographic History since Victorian Times, and How to Find Your Own Scottish Ancestors.
During the presentations he made it known that the Scotland's People website will soon be adding Catholic records, and that records of the Kirk Sessions will become available next year. Images from Valuation Rolls, at first for years intermediate between census years, are also planned to be added. The 1911 census will become available in 2011.
He also mentioned that there is some potential for extra Scottish information to be made available by suppliers other than Scotland's People, including Ancestry, although negotiations are at an early stage.
During the presentations he made it known that the Scotland's People website will soon be adding Catholic records, and that records of the Kirk Sessions will become available next year. Images from Valuation Rolls, at first for years intermediate between census years, are also planned to be added. The 1911 census will become available in 2011.
He also mentioned that there is some potential for extra Scottish information to be made available by suppliers other than Scotland's People, including Ancestry, although negotiations are at an early stage.
19 September 2009
FreeBMD September update
The bulk of new FreeBMD entries in the 13 September 2009 update were from 1932, to 1940 for births, to 1949 for marriages, and to 1937 for deaths.
18 September 2009
Ancestry adds London vitals
Ancestry have added new and additional London information.
London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906
Birth and baptismal records from Board of Guardian Poor Law records and Church of England parish registers in the greater London area. The Board of Guardian records cover the years 1834-1906 while the parish registers cover the years 1813-1906.
London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980
Death and burial records from Board of Guardian Poor Law records and Church of England parish registers in the greater London area. The Board of Guardian records cover the years 1834-1906 while the parish registers cover the years 1813-1980.
London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
Marriage records and marriage banns dating from 1754-1921 from Church of England parish registers from parishes in the greater London area.
The above records are name indexed. Apparantly information from Bishops Transcripts is to be added "soon."
London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
Baptism and burial records from 1538-1812 and marriage records from 1538-1753 for Church of England parish registers from parishes in the greater London area.
Names in these latter records have not yet been indexed. However, images can be searched by record type, parish, and year
London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906
Birth and baptismal records from Board of Guardian Poor Law records and Church of England parish registers in the greater London area. The Board of Guardian records cover the years 1834-1906 while the parish registers cover the years 1813-1906.
London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980
Death and burial records from Board of Guardian Poor Law records and Church of England parish registers in the greater London area. The Board of Guardian records cover the years 1834-1906 while the parish registers cover the years 1813-1980.
London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
Marriage records and marriage banns dating from 1754-1921 from Church of England parish registers from parishes in the greater London area.
The above records are name indexed. Apparantly information from Bishops Transcripts is to be added "soon."
London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
Baptism and burial records from 1538-1812 and marriage records from 1538-1753 for Church of England parish registers from parishes in the greater London area.
Names in these latter records have not yet been indexed. However, images can be searched by record type, parish, and year
17 September 2009
WJM on copyright
Wallace J McLean, who make frequent comments on this blog, has provided input to the federal consultation on copyright. I am especially pleased to see him address the orphan publication question. Here are the main points of the intervention, available in full at www.scribd.com/doc/19737102/CR-Submission
1. There should be no extension of any copyright term currently provided for in the Act.
2. Crown copyright should be abolished, or…
3. … at very least the perpetual copyright in unpublished Crown works should be abolished, and
a. with a shorter term than the one adopted in the United Kingdom.
b. without a ―transitional‖ period, so that a public domain in historical government records will come into being immediately.
4. Address the growing orphan works problem
a. by clarifying the rules concerning copyright term in marginal cases.
b. by providing that there is no copyright in the absence of a copyright owner.
c. by extending the scope of the existing ―unlocatable‖ licensing regime.
d. by removing the collectives from the administration of ―unlocatables‖
licensing
5. Close the discrepancy in the copyright term between published and unpublished works by the same author earlier than the currently-provided transition date of 2049. Canada should also urge the United Kingdom, and any other country which inherited a similar problem from British copyright law, to do the same.
6. Recognize, and address, the very real problem of determining the ownership of copyright, and its very subsistence, in respect of photographic works.
7. Recognize, and address, the legitimate interests of the subjects or commissioners of domestic photographs to not only estop the use of the resulting image, but to positively use those images.
8. Allow for, and encourage, the collection and preservation of digital cultural materials, by removing any doubt about the copyright legality of such curatorial activities by cultural institutions.
9. Attach any legal recognition and protection for technological protection measures to the protection of copyright itself, so that there is no infringement of TPMs unless there is infringement of copyright (or a copyright to infringe).
1. There should be no extension of any copyright term currently provided for in the Act.
2. Crown copyright should be abolished, or…
3. … at very least the perpetual copyright in unpublished Crown works should be abolished, and
a. with a shorter term than the one adopted in the United Kingdom.
b. without a ―transitional‖ period, so that a public domain in historical government records will come into being immediately.
4. Address the growing orphan works problem
a. by clarifying the rules concerning copyright term in marginal cases.
b. by providing that there is no copyright in the absence of a copyright owner.
c. by extending the scope of the existing ―unlocatable‖ licensing regime.
d. by removing the collectives from the administration of ―unlocatables‖
licensing
5. Close the discrepancy in the copyright term between published and unpublished works by the same author earlier than the currently-provided transition date of 2049. Canada should also urge the United Kingdom, and any other country which inherited a similar problem from British copyright law, to do the same.
6. Recognize, and address, the very real problem of determining the ownership of copyright, and its very subsistence, in respect of photographic works.
7. Recognize, and address, the legitimate interests of the subjects or commissioners of domestic photographs to not only estop the use of the resulting image, but to positively use those images.
8. Allow for, and encourage, the collection and preservation of digital cultural materials, by removing any doubt about the copyright legality of such curatorial activities by cultural institutions.
9. Attach any legal recognition and protection for technological protection measures to the protection of copyright itself, so that there is no infringement of TPMs unless there is infringement of copyright (or a copyright to infringe).
LAC What's New? Improving Services
Here's an announcement from LAC about recent service improvements, some already posted on this blog.
=============================
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) would like to advise you of recent improvements in the delivery of its services. These improvements were made following comments and recommendations received from users and from members of the Services Advisory Board.
- User Agreement
- Information about user cards, the use of research areas, conservation and copying of items from the LAC collection are combined in a single document called the User Agreement.
This new agreement authorizes you to photograph certain documents in the LAC collection during evening and weekend hours. However, you must obtain authorization to do so during service hours. See the User Agreement
- Information about user cards, the use of research areas, conservation and copying of items from the LAC collection are combined in a single document called the User Agreement.
- Orientation tools for on-site users
- Orientation tours take place every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. to introduce clients to the various services at LAC.
- A brochure provides information to help with searches.
- A floor plan of the public areas indicates the location of services.
- Display cards list service and opening hours.
- New signs installed on the ground floor provide better directions.
- Kiosks installed in the lobbies of the 2nd and 3rd floors display important announcements about services and information on various activities at LAC.
- Self-registration
- You can register or renew your user card online at one of the two self-serve workstations installed on the ground floor. You can update your personal information there as well.
- Web pages
- Some pages about service delivery are updated, specifically those relating to the User Card Registration Form and the page on Self-Serve Copying.
- A new form allows you to order documents in advance.
- Other news
- An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you automatically to confirm that we have received your electronic request.
- There are no longer any charges for downloading digitized images from microfilm reels onto a USB key or CD-ROM on a self-serve basis.
16 September 2009
Lots of genealogy choice on Saturday
For those not able to get to the BIFHSGO conference this coming weekend there are plenty of other choices on Saturday which may be closer to home for you.
Quinte Branch of OGS welcomes Sean Smith, Senior Reference Archivist, Public Archives of Ontario, speaking on How to do Research at the Archives, and How to Access the Archives from a Distance. The meeting starts at 1 pm at Quinte West City Hall Library in Trenton. There`s more information here. While there you might want to check out their October speaker!
A bit further east along the 401 highway Kingston Branch hosts three local speakers in a combination presentation I Appeared on Ancestors in the Attic. They will discuss their experience on the History Television show. Branch meetings are held in the Wilson Room of the Central Branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Meetings start at 10:00 a.m.
Quinte Branch of OGS welcomes Sean Smith, Senior Reference Archivist, Public Archives of Ontario, speaking on How to do Research at the Archives, and How to Access the Archives from a Distance. The meeting starts at 1 pm at Quinte West City Hall Library in Trenton. There`s more information here. While there you might want to check out their October speaker!
A bit further east along the 401 highway Kingston Branch hosts three local speakers in a combination presentation I Appeared on Ancestors in the Attic. They will discuss their experience on the History Television show. Branch meetings are held in the Wilson Room of the Central Branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Meetings start at 10:00 a.m.
15 September 2009
OGS Ottawa Branch September meeting
"In Our Defence: The Veterans & Military Heritage of Historic Osgoode Township" is a new book by Coreen Atkins-Sheldrick, speaker for the Ottawa Branch of OGS today, Tuesday, September 15th at Library and Archives Canada.
More information at www.ogsottawa.on.ca.
More information at www.ogsottawa.on.ca.
14 September 2009
Subscriptions to the 1911 census of England and Wales
One of the pluses of visiting The UK National Archives is free access to the 1911 census of England and Wales.
According to a posting on the GENBRIT newsgroup "an FMP representative at yesterday's (Saturday's)National Family History Fair at Gateshead Stadium, FindMyPast will take over the 1911 census from 1911census.co.uk in October. They will then introduce
a "1911 census only" subscription of around £39, and existing "Explorer" subscribers will be able to pay an additional fee of around £30 ($54 Cdn) to upgrade their subscription to include the 1911 census."
According to a posting on the GENBRIT newsgroup "an FMP representative at yesterday's (Saturday's)National Family History Fair at Gateshead Stadium, FindMyPast will take over the 1911 census from 1911census.co.uk in October. They will then introduce
a "1911 census only" subscription of around £39, and existing "Explorer" subscribers will be able to pay an additional fee of around £30 ($54 Cdn) to upgrade their subscription to include the 1911 census."
13 September 2009
Ulster Street Directories go online
If God was/is Irish what denomination? That's a question plaguing Chris Patton, obviously a troubling issue for someone in his position!
The post on his Scottish Genealogy News and Events Blog is worth reading, not only for the comment, but for the news and information about Ulster Street Directories. Go to his blog posting for the PRONI directories link.
The post on his Scottish Genealogy News and Events Blog is worth reading, not only for the comment, but for the news and information about Ulster Street Directories. Go to his blog posting for the PRONI directories link.
12 September 2009
250 years ago today
Today marks the 250th anniversary of what is arguably the most significant event in Canadian history, the victory of British forces under General James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
The life of the victor is recorded in The Life and Letters of James Wolfe in the Internet Archive.
The life of the victor is recorded in The Life and Letters of James Wolfe in the Internet Archive.
11 September 2009
WW2 videos from TNA
From the UK National Archives
The Second World War has inspired Hollywood since the start of the war itself, with classic films portraying heroic deeds and iconic battles.
The National Archives holds a large number of records about the events featured in six of the most popular war films of all time. In our ‘War on Film’ videocast series William Spencer, one of our military records specialists, explores the true stories behind these films and uses original records to depict actual events.
The first videocast looks at the Blitz and the evacuation of children from large cities, as shown in the film 'Hope and Glory'.
The link is here.
10 September 2009
Change at LAC
Two pieces if news from LAC have reached me across the ocean.
The Ottawa Citizen has an article about the demise of the National Portrait Gallery. The item is here.
Second, a think piece is posted from Daniel Caron, National Librarian and Archivist. Read it here, or in full below. I've posted a preliminary comment following that text.
Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada: Modernization
The news about the Portrait Gallery is disappointing. The organization had visionary leadership in Lily Koltun.
I've been wondering when we might hear something from the new National Librarian and Archivist. Six months silence is a long time.
What we're served up here is an analysis of the situation, an incomplete one. It makes mention neither of the Portrait Gallery decision nor budget realities.
Early in the piece we are promised leadership, that it will "share with you what path I think our institution should follow." It doesn't. We are told that "We have access to extraordinary talent, both in our institution and in society at large, that we can call upon to design and construct the requisite new approaches." Unfortunately there is no vision from the top, no indication of even that refuge of the PS manager, a process.
Having just visited the UK National Archives again and seeing the building buzzing with clients in house, and perhaps 200 times more online, I can only reflect on the saying that is now becoming hackneyed "the future is here, it's just not widely distributed." How is LAC going about learning from how other organizations are tackling very much the same challenges and opportunities LAC has?
The Ottawa Citizen has an article about the demise of the National Portrait Gallery. The item is here.
Second, a think piece is posted from Daniel Caron, National Librarian and Archivist. Read it here, or in full below. I've posted a preliminary comment following that text.
Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada: Modernization
September 9, 2009 - Last April, I accepted with great pleasure my appointment as Librarian and Archivist of Canada. Now, after some months at the helm of the institution, I would like to take the time to share with you what path I think our institution should follow in order to play the crucial role that Canadians expect of it. The challenge is colossal. Today, digital technology has radically changed our practices and expectations and, to remain relevant, we will need to tackle the issues, communicate and collaborate more than ever before with others who share our goals. Creating strategic alliances will become increasingly essential for all stakeholders, particularly in light of the migration to digital, which, as we all know, does nothing to reduce the challenges we continue to face. We still have unanswered questions regarding the best way to preserve such things as documents on acid paper, nitrate photos and films, masses of audio-visual material, or simply to ensure access to all the records that are still on analogue media. We cannot switch from one world to the other – we are condemned to live in both worlds, analogue and digital, at the same time. That is our biggest challenge. It will require a lot of compromise, imagination, innovation, daring and dialogue all around. However, I believe that our path into the future is realistic. I also firmly believe that we will all be farther ahead if we walk together and that, in the end, Canadians will be all the better served.
The institution now known as Library and Archives Canada has a brilliant past. We have been leaders in several key areas of collective memory management and we have played a significant role in the development of better national and international practices in the fields of library science, archivistics and records management. Founded in 1953, the National Library of Canada has contributed significantly to the development of copyright and description practices and undertaken the herculean task of building a collection of publications better known as Canadiana. Since its foundation in 1872, the National Archives of Canada has made it possible to constitute an impressive fond comprising multiple collections that are used today by the government to support its daily business, genealogy experts across the country and historians and researchers, among others, as sources of solid and authentic information. This brilliant past shone bright again in 2004 when the institution became one of the first in the world to initiate a promising media convergence project by proposing to fuse the two institutions responsible for national records. Such a program was ambitious and it has not yet come to full fruition, to be sure. Among other things, we need to refine it and continue ongoing work, with a view to reconciling and harmonizing the paradigms that guided the two founding institutions up to their fusion.
The current environment is far from stable. Whether we are called library, archives or records centre and whether we are local or national, we are affected by all of the social transformations around us and the daily challenges they put in our way. The world of acquisition, preservation and access has been totally turned on its head. The foundations we have taken for granted for a long time are getting shakier by the day. Our relevance in the medium and long term is also called into question in this new environment. If we have so far been able to understand and control, at least up to a point, the acquisition of published material, it is a different story today when everyone is their own publisher. The notion that personal and government archives could, up to now, be potentially housed in a more or less limited and finite fond has been exploded by digitization, and archival fonds have less and less "territorial status." They are, day by day, becoming more virtual and elusive in a physical world. Publications on paper and publications on canvas have had the same fate - they no longer come in a hard-copy, physical format, necessarily.
At the same time, this new environment is very promising. Material has never been so accessible to and from every corner of the country, as demonstrated by our virtual portrait collection, the portal to the New France archives developed in cooperation with France and Quebec, and the online Irish census developed in cooperation with Ireland. We are less and less constrained by the need to travel to another physical location to access other elements of our collective memory. By the same token, we can now have access to what Canadians are saying and thinking by simply accessing their blogs and using other social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Such a sampling will give us a better idea of what Canada is and who Canadians are.
These are unprecedented and dizzying opportunities because, when possibilities are multiplied, new issues and new challenges arise. Nobody can claim to be able to harness this environment successfully on their own. Everyone needs to get into the act because society and knowledge institutions in general, and information managers and professionals in particular, all have increasingly bigger stakes in common, above and beyond their more specialized, specific and immediate interests. The issues and the challenges we face are far too complex and too crucial for us to ignore the urgency of uniting our efforts to tackle them and deal with them. How do we remain relevant in an increasingly fragmented and to a certain extent uncontrollable environment? How do we make sure that we continue building a memory for tomorrow from what is today an amalgam of analogue and digital, with the digital increasing exponentially? How do we choose? What do we choose? How do we preserve the old and the new? Are our copyright policies adequate? Do they allow us to collect what is essential for building this part of the collective memory? How do we make what we collect accessible? Users and fields of interest have multiplied. Knowledge and access to it have become more democratic, and the passion for memory and its artefacts keeps growing day by day. How do we rationalize our choices in the face of this torrent of specialized demands? These questions merely scratch the surface of our challenges.
There is nothing really new in all this, but we do need to resolve these issues so we need to work at them until we can come up with practical and functional solutions. This is a challenge we have to face together. I myself hope to be able to work with all others who also seek to resolve these issues practically and constructively, through collaboration and mutual respect for each other's obligations and mandates. To this end, we will need to properly understand our missions, define and communicate our priorities and determine what we can do best with the means we have. And we should take this opportunity to rethink our approaches, where necessary.
Thus, we should aim to work together to come up with the best way to use the skills and the abilities we can muster, with a view to tackling the challenges presented by acquisition in an environment that combines our analogue past with our digital present in an increasingly complex society. We must not forget that the digital images created today are the Winkworths and the Karshes of tomorrow, and that the rare book of tomorrow is the last online version of Didier von Cauwelaert's serial story entitled Thomas Drimm. The significance we assign to our past must be weighed against the value we place on creation in the present, so that we can make sure that our acquisitions are an accurate reflection of what Canada is and who Canadians are. We do not want to discover, twenty years down the road, that there is a "blank in our memory."
Acquisition, preservation and accessibility, they all hang together: what will be accessible tomorrow is the acquisition that is properly preserved today. What is properly preserved today is the acquisition that was selected yesterday. We cannot keep everything. We cannot keep everything in one place. One institution cannot preserve everything. We face huge challenges involving technical and technological collaboration, as well as task-sharing. We belong to a huge network and we need to capitalize on this strength to make sure we know what is acquired, how it is preserved and where it is stored in order to make it accessible. The ultimate aim is, after all, to make accessible the records of our heritage in all its various forms: documents, books, maps and portraits. Even here, our relevance depends on our ability to implement the best work procedures and marshal the most effective and efficient combinations of available expertise. The place of knowledge in our lives and the places where knowledge is stored have been profoundly transformed and we have to recognize this. More and more, we have to go where the people are - to the extent possible. Virtual vaults and presentations by experts in classrooms, online, via podcast and webcast - these are the ways of tomorrow. More traditional research environments and exhibition rooms will undoubtedly remain an appropriate approach for several more years but, even here, we face a dual world of physical access and virtual access. Solutions will need to be balanced to suit this new order and they should not lose sight of the fact that the institution's fonds must, above all, be accessible to as many people as possible over a vast territory, and yet allow experts to access the more esoteric sections.
Lastly, we have to make sure that we do what we were set up to do: preserve the collective memory and make it accessible. This is our role. Our institutional and professional needs and identities notwithstanding, we have to work together to identify our common interests and form alliances to tackle the modern challenges we need to deal with to fulfil this role. We have access to extraordinary talent, both in our institution and in society at large, that we can call upon to design and construct the requisite new approaches.
Daniel J. Caron Ph D.
Librarian and Archivist of Canada
The news about the Portrait Gallery is disappointing. The organization had visionary leadership in Lily Koltun.
I've been wondering when we might hear something from the new National Librarian and Archivist. Six months silence is a long time.
What we're served up here is an analysis of the situation, an incomplete one. It makes mention neither of the Portrait Gallery decision nor budget realities.
Early in the piece we are promised leadership, that it will "share with you what path I think our institution should follow." It doesn't. We are told that "We have access to extraordinary talent, both in our institution and in society at large, that we can call upon to design and construct the requisite new approaches." Unfortunately there is no vision from the top, no indication of even that refuge of the PS manager, a process.
Having just visited the UK National Archives again and seeing the building buzzing with clients in house, and perhaps 200 times more online, I can only reflect on the saying that is now becoming hackneyed "the future is here, it's just not widely distributed." How is LAC going about learning from how other organizations are tackling very much the same challenges and opportunities LAC has?
BIFHSGO September Monthly Meeting
The first BIFHSGO monthly meeting of the season starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, 12 September 2009 at Library & Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street. The title of the presentation by Brian Glenn is Circling the Wagons Around Jack Fraser.
You can also pick up the new edition of Anglo-Celtic Roots, register for the conference and take advantage of the Discovery Tables.
Further information at www.bifhsgo.ca
You can also pick up the new edition of Anglo-Celtic Roots, register for the conference and take advantage of the Discovery Tables.
Further information at www.bifhsgo.ca
Keeping it in the family
The following announcement sees Scottish company owned Brightsolid, parent of Findmypast, extending its relationship with the General Register Office of Scotland.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 00.01 HRS, Tuesday September 8th 2009
Online publisher brightsolid wins new deal to manage
ScotlandsPeople online family history service
Online publisher brightsolid has won a three-year deal to manage the
hugely-successful family history site, www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk.
The site, with almost one million registered users and growing currently
by more than 10,000 per month, is run in partnership with the General
Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The contract, awarded by
competitive tender, will run for three years from September 2010.
brightsolid is among the major online publishers specialising in family
history and genealogy sites. It has operated the ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk
site since 2002 and also owns the genealogy site findmypast.com. Last
month brightsolid completed the acquisition of FriendsReunited,
including GenesReunited, from ITV plc (subject to approval by the
competition authorities).
"This new contract to manage ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk in partnership with
GROS is a significant one for brightsolid," commented brightsolid chief
executive Chris van der Kuyl.
"We have developed an unparalleled expertise in processing, managing and
presenting information for online audiences as well as providing hosting
and customer service support.
"ScotlandsPeople is a world-leading web site that has built a real
community of users worldwide, with that number rapidly approaching one
million people.
"We look forward to continuing to build on that success with GROS with
this new contract. We will continue to invest in providing enhanced
services to the site, in partnership with GROS."
The site contains more than 50 million records dating back to when
national records of births, deaths and marriages began in Scotland in
1855. It also includes parish records, dating back as far as 1533, as
well as other data including wills and testaments.
Mr Paul Parr, Deputy Registrar General of the General Register Office of
Scotland, commented: "We are very proud of ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. It is
one of the leading sites of its kind worldwide, and has helped bolster
the interest of the Scottish diaspora in the history of their country or
the country of their ancestors, as well as providing a popular service
for the Scottish public.
"This contract has been awarded after a keenly competitive tenders
process and we look forward to continuing the site's progress and
further development in partnership with brightsolid."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 00.01 HRS, Tuesday September 8th 2009
Online publisher brightsolid wins new deal to manage
ScotlandsPeople online family history service
Online publisher brightsolid has won a three-year deal to manage the
hugely-successful family history site, www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk.
The site, with almost one million registered users and growing currently
by more than 10,000 per month, is run in partnership with the General
Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The contract, awarded by
competitive tender, will run for three years from September 2010.
brightsolid is among the major online publishers specialising in family
history and genealogy sites. It has operated the ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk
site since 2002 and also owns the genealogy site findmypast.com. Last
month brightsolid completed the acquisition of FriendsReunited,
including GenesReunited, from ITV plc (subject to approval by the
competition authorities).
"This new contract to manage ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk in partnership with
GROS is a significant one for brightsolid," commented brightsolid chief
executive Chris van der Kuyl.
"We have developed an unparalleled expertise in processing, managing and
presenting information for online audiences as well as providing hosting
and customer service support.
"ScotlandsPeople is a world-leading web site that has built a real
community of users worldwide, with that number rapidly approaching one
million people.
"We look forward to continuing to build on that success with GROS with
this new contract. We will continue to invest in providing enhanced
services to the site, in partnership with GROS."
The site contains more than 50 million records dating back to when
national records of births, deaths and marriages began in Scotland in
1855. It also includes parish records, dating back as far as 1533, as
well as other data including wills and testaments.
Mr Paul Parr, Deputy Registrar General of the General Register Office of
Scotland, commented: "We are very proud of ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk. It is
one of the leading sites of its kind worldwide, and has helped bolster
the interest of the Scottish diaspora in the history of their country or
the country of their ancestors, as well as providing a popular service
for the Scottish public.
"This contract has been awarded after a keenly competitive tenders
process and we look forward to continuing the site's progress and
further development in partnership with brightsolid."
09 September 2009
Copyright is important
The Canadian government is conducting ongoing public consultations on copyright reform. In a guest post for TorrentFreak Prof. Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa explains why Canadian Internet users should speak out on copyright today. Please consider making a submission.
08 September 2009
AIM25 for research and learning in London
AIM25 is a major project to provide electronic access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over one hundred higher education institutions, learned societies, cultural organisations and livery companies within the greater London area.
According to an announcement here the project is nearing completion, near its tenth
anniversary, and has been substantially upgraded.
Improvements include a doubling of the number of descriptions, new partners including the London Metropolitan Archives and Wiener Library and cross-searching with books held by the M25 Libraries Consortium. Date searching has been introduced, and the website refreshed with a clearer design.
According to an announcement here the project is nearing completion, near its tenth
anniversary, and has been substantially upgraded.
Improvements include a doubling of the number of descriptions, new partners including the London Metropolitan Archives and Wiener Library and cross-searching with books held by the M25 Libraries Consortium. Date searching has been introduced, and the website refreshed with a clearer design.
Ancestry adds British extracted parish records
Ancestry announces they have updated the extracted records they have online for various English, Scottish and Welsh counties. Here's their list:
Unfortunately they don't specify exactly which records have been added, but there is a more detailed list of the contents by following the "For more information about this database, click here." link. It can get quite long. Here's the list for Suffolk.
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1755-81
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1782-1814
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1815-39
Suffolk: West Stow, Wordwell - West Stow Parish Registers 1558-1850 and Wordwell Parish Registers, 1580-1850 (Christenings, Marriages, Burials)
Unfortunately they don't specify exactly which records have been added, but there is a more detailed list of the contents by following the "For more information about this database, click here." link. It can get quite long. Here's the list for Suffolk.
Suffolk: - Hearth Tax Returns, 1674
- Various Lists (Houses with 20 Hearths and Upwards, Houses with a Name, Peers, Baronets, Knights and Dames, Military and Naval Officers, Doctors, Clergymen, and Parsonages)
- Marriages at Hoxne, 1548 to 1837
- Marriages at Syleham, 1538 to 1837
- Marriages at Mendham, 1678 to 1837
- Marriages at Metfield, 1559 to 1837
- Marriages at Withersdale, 1660 to 1837
- Marriages at Fressingfield, 1554 to 1837
- Marriages at Weybread, 1687 to 1837
- Marriages at Somerleyton, 1558 to 1837
- Marriages at Ashby, 1553 to 1837
- Marriages at Risby, 1674 to 1837
- Marriages at Dunwich St. Peter, 1549 to 1658
- Marriages at Grundisburgh, 1539 to 1837
- Marriages at Mickfield, 1558 to 1837
- Marriages at Thrandeston, 1813 to 1837
- Babberghe Hundred
- Hundred de Blackeborn
- Hundred of Blything
- The Hundred of Bosmere and Claydon
- Villa de Burye Sancti Edmundi
- Hundred of Carlford
- Hundred de Colnes
- Cosforde Hundred
- The Hauffe Hundred of Exninge
- Hundred de Hartismer
- Hundred de Hoxne
- Ipswich
- The Hundre de of Lackford
- Hundred de Loes
- Hundred Del Lothinglande
- Hundrede Del Mutford
- Hundred De Plomesgate
- Hundred de Risbridge
- Samfforde Hundred
- Stowe Hundred
- Thedwardystre Hundred
- The Hundrede Of Thingo
- Hundrede de Thredlinge
- Hundred Del Wainford
- Hundred de Wylforde
- Denham Parish Registers
- Monumental Inscriptions in Denham Church
- Denham Tombstones
- Lewkenor Wills
- Denham Wills
- Inquisitiones Post Mortem
- Denham Tax Payers
- Denham Valuations and Returns
- The Feudal Lords of the Manor
- Denham Abbots
- The Under-Lords
- Great Whelnetham Parish Registers
- Little Whelnetham Parish Registers
- Monumental Inscriptions in Great Whelnetham Church
- Tombstones in Great Whelnetham Churchyard
- Monumental Inscriptions in Little Whelnetham Church
- Tombstones in Little Whelnetham Churchyard
- Whelnetham Tax Payers
- Valuations and Peturns
- Whelnetham Wills from between 1350-1724
- Inquisitions Post Mortem. from between 1312 and 1590
- The Manors and Their Lords
- Church Briefs
- Monumental Inscriptions within Horringer Church
- Monumental Inscriptions in Horringer Churchyard
- Rectors of Great and Little Horringer
- Poll Tax Payers of 1381
- Subscribers to the Suffolk Ship
- Horringer Voters
- The Curates of Horringer
- Ickworth Parish Registers
- Tomb Stones in Ickworth Churchyard
- Monumental Inscriptions in Ickworth Church
- Deeds Relating to Ickworth Parsonage
- Rectors of Ickworth
- Monumental Inscriptions Within Little Saxham Church
- Monumental Inscriptions in Little Saxham Churchyard
- Lost Inscriptions
- Taxpayers in 1327
- Jurymen in 1341
- Poll Tax Payers 1381
- Taxpayers in 1522
- Hearth Tax Payers in 1670
- Thingoe Hundred Taxes, 1454
- Ecclesiastical Return, 1603
- Subscribers to the Suffolk Ship
- Some Wills and Inquisitions Post Mortem
- Rectors of Little Saxham
- Curates of Little Saxham
- Little Saxham in 1638
- Monumental Inscriptions Within Rushbrook Church
- Monumental Inscriptions in Rushbrook Churchyard
- Rushbrook Lay Subsidies
- Suffolk: - Registers of Marriages (Various Parishes), 1538-1837
Suffolk: - Subsidy Returns, 1524
Suffolk: - Subsidy Returns, 1568
Suffolk: Bury St. Edmunds - Biographical List of Boys Educated at King Edward 6th Free Grammar School, 1550-1900
Suffolk: Denham - Parish Registers (Christenings, Marriages, Burials) with Historical Notes and Notices, 1539-1850
Suffolk: Horringer - Parish Registers with appendices and biographical notes, 1558-1850
Suffolk: Little Saxham - Parish Registers (Christenings, Marriages, Burials) with Appendices, Biographies, etc., 1559-1850
- Rectors of Rushbrook
- Curates of Rushbrook
- Rushbrook Wills
- Raw Materials (Fines, Inquisitions, Wills, Shotley Taxpayers).
- The Parish and its Hamlets.
- The Visdelou Family.
- Mosell and Felton.
- The Strattons of Kirkton Manor.
- Gleanings From the Kirkton Manor Rolls.
- The Clergy.
- Shotley Parish Registers
- Monumental Inscriptions in Shotley Church
- Tombstones in Shotley Churchyard
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1755-81
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1782-1814
Suffolk: Sudbury - Marriage Licences, 1815-39
Suffolk: West Stow, Wordwell - West Stow Parish Registers 1558-1850 and Wordwell Parish Registers, 1580-1850 (Christenings, Marriages, Burials)
- Monumental Inscriptions in West Stow Church
- Monumental Inscriptions in West Stow Churchyard
- Lay Subsidies for West Stow and Wordwell for the years 1327, 1341, 1539, 1543, 1544, 1549, 1550, 1566, 1576, 1581, 1598, 1599, 1620, 1625, 1627, 1639, 1640, 1641, 1675
- Rectors and Curates of West Stow
- Rectors and Curates of Wordwell
- Christian Names
- Wills
- Inquisitio Post Mortem Edmundi Crofts. 1558
- Lost Tombstones
- Lucas Family
- Crofts Family
- Edward Proger
- The Proger Brothers
- The Fowke Family
- The Edwards Family
- Lessees of the Hall
- West Stow Hall
- The Sale
- Roman and Saxon Antiquities( A Roman Kiln, A Saxon Cemetery, Celtic Remains)
- The Owners of Wordwell
- Tenants of Wordwell Hall Farm
- Captain Booty Harvey