Genealogy Chat

Ive contacted various RECORD OFFICES in the last few months, all over the country, so its not one particular area in question. Send a letter, make a telephone call, send an email with a request, and you always get the same answer 'YOU WILL HAVE TO LEAVE IT WITH ME, AND I PROMISE TO GET BACK TO YOU, WE ARE VERY SHORT OF STAFF, BUT WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS' This seems to be a problem not only with RECORD OFFICES but also with REGISTRY OFFICES when applying for certificates, theres alway a delay due to staff shortages. Wouldnt you think with the amount of money generated through GENEALOGY which must amount to £millions each year that that these departments would take on extra staff or at least keep enough staff to do the job properly. if the demand for info and documents is so great, why dont they have enough staff to cope. I wouldnt mind but this kind of business will never die off, pardon the pun. TED.

They are not all like that. I contacted one in Kent for my great grandparents marriage certificate, the first place I contacted said it was the wrong one for the area I wanted, something to do with a change of boundaries, but they tracked down the right place for me. When I contacted this one, they even checked the records before sending me the certificates, not at all usual and also pointed out a couple of unusual bits on it, 4 witnesses and no vicar.

Ted, this has always been the case. A scare story about the threatened closure of our local studies library brought the troops out. We are assured it will not close, but hours are cut and posts are dropped. Our council regularly asks what is important to the residents. Do we want high council tax? No Are libraries and the arts at the top of our priorities? No There is a current boom in family history, but it will not last. We get incredible value from record offices and libraries. If we actually paid to cover the costs of the building, the staff, the equipment, the conservation on a per visit basis then family history would only be enjoyed by the richest members of society. Please be grateful for what we have, and be nice to the staff, for they often have a thankless task.

The amount of money generated by family history at Record Offices is a drop in the ocean. Archives as a whole do not make any profit. It costs more to pay the wages of someone to supervise the searchroom all day than the RO makes from visitors. The reason many close for the odd week during the year is so that the staff can get some work done without being hassled by the public!