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Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 2007-08 > 1188487616


From: "OTTO KRAUSS" <>
Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Humansdorp Baptism Register.
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:26:56 +0200
References: <!~!UENERkVCMDkAAQACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAAAlF1eZWTUnkuqd7B92lo1usKAAAAQAAAA/yISpMPsEkuHNS5Q0XK0EQEAAAAA@elisanet.fi><42852c3f64b92c0d0f7624f1f0642364@audioio.com><3a6c51fcc46e0555b589600dd85c2194@audioio.com><14416690968.20070830115520@ballfamilyrecords.co.uk>


I have just returned from the IFLA conference in Durban, where ownerrights,
copyrights etc. was an item on the agenda, I am waiting for the papers to
reach me, but there is a lot of concern as more and more material are not
going to be "in public domain" Unfortunately I only got a little of the
information, and would hate to give wrong
proposed legislation or rulings through.
Basically, at present:
Archives whether Church, or Government, are custodians or owners of
material, they can place it "in public domain"
or take it "out of public domain.".. plse note the "in"..at any time for
whatsoever reason...that was the ruling until now, I believe that some
records will now not be available for research....but plse let us first see
what the SA Government and other International Instances have in
mind....Some proposals were made, and some Genelaogical delegates were quite
concerned..
The DRC Archives have closed their archives for research, as a result of the
condition of the books and registers.
I bel;ieve as I visit more and more Repositories this will become more and
more the rule.
However light at the end of the tunnel for the DRC records, digital imaging
are taking place at present...and you can access it through Gisa.....we send
the images as we process them on a weekly basis....about 10,000 images per
week.They also have a vast amount of films... of DRC registers, filmed about
10 years ago, .however all material available ' in accordance with the legal
Agreement is for :
personal research....or for prof. genealogists who are doing research for
other people....are conditional...as set out by the custodians and owners of
the original material.
If we could have our way, there would be no conditions, the more people
collect their personal info, or index material, the surer we are that the
records will be preserved for future generations.
May I just make another remark, and off my assignment, as a Genealogist of
44 years standing in SA.
GSU first and foremost preserves records, make it availalble free of charge
worldwide to all ethnic groups all
people, and for the members of the LDS Church TO DO
THEIR OWN RESEARCH..... nobody is going to grab someone elses ancestors,
and claim kinship....or even enter the information on the website...
WE also give all mankind the right and freedom to live their own lives in
accordance to the dictates of their own conscience....thus the remarks about
our standards in the manner it was done, are a little uncalled for, and not
of genealogical value whatsoever.Plse aquate yourselves by using many of our
websites, to know what the LDS stands for....before making statements that
are less than true.
GSU/Familysearch is a legal seperate company funded by the LDS
Church.....through approx. 17,000,000 .members who pay their tithes and
offerings to make this possible....for all to do their research.....
Isebelle.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Ball" <>
To: "Andrew Rodger" <>
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 12:55 PM
Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Humansdorp Baptism Register.


> Hello Andrew,
>
> AR> Old Parish Registers in Scotland are a public record. I believe
> AR> the same is true of Parish Records in England
>
> I believe not. I understand that they are the property of the
> individual churches but that they are encouraged to deposit them with
> the local (usually County) Record Office (archive) for use by any
> visitor to that record office. The Record Offices retain copyright on
> material they store.
>
> AR> in the days before compulsory registration with the Civil
> AR> authorities of all Births, Marriages and Deaths (1855 for Births,
> AR> I forget the dates for other events).
>
> 1855 is the date for Scotland.
>
> Civil Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages was began for
> England and Wales in 1837, but, I believe, not made compulsory until
> the 1880s.
>
>>> All sorts of things that used to be more or less free are now
>>> charged for. Even where information is in the public domain, one
>>> may end up having to pay for it. For example, the Scottish Records
>>> office, under the name of scotlandspeople, charges for on-line
>>> access
>
> Digitization of the records and the housing of those images and
> indexes on a web site where they can be downloaded is anything but
> cheap, the charges are really very modest. And all the documents can
> be consulted free of charge at the General Register Office in
> Edinburgh.
>
> The same goes for the Public Record Office (England and Wales)
> digitization of the Census and PCC (Canterbury) Wills - the charges
> are extremely modest compared even with a rail ticket to Kew from most
> parts of Britain. At Kew the documents can be viewed free of charge
> but photocopies are still charged for.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Richard
> --
> Richard Ball,
> Norfolk, England
>
> http://www.ballfamilyrecords.co.uk
>
>
>
>
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