[BITList] Petition to Number 10

[HUGH]

John,

I'm happy to sign this petition.

I take it we are talking here about on-line access to BDM from a computer in a home, internet cafe, or other non-official place, and not in some national archive .... or are are we?  I can't work out why researchers make so much of getting copies of certificates south of the border, unless they are restricted to the indexes.  Is this so?  I am reminded of the time I came up against a brick wall doing research in some Canadian records. I was trying to find if someone was related to me, but to access the records I first had to show a relationship. Catch 22. In Scotland, access to national BDM at New Register House, Edinburgh has always been open, the latest dates being 12 to 18 months before the present.  At satellite repositories, such as Glasgow City's Park Circus facility, the same applied, with up to date microfiche and on-line access to the national indexes.  When the Scotlandspeople website opened a few years back, run by the Edinburgh repository, access to BDM was under the 100 year rule, 30 credits for £6, 1 credit to see the index, another 5 to see a certificate - not a bargain, I only use it in emergency.  I believe they have now relaxed the 100 year to some extent. At Park Circus, however, access is now given to up-to-date BDM certificates on-line and on-screen from Edinburgh, the microfiche being there for back up. This is run by completely different system from Scotlandspeople. The moral of the story is, where possible, have Scottish ancestors.

Hugh.
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