Wednesday 10 October 2012

Privacy - winds of change?

In this month's Your Family History magazine, the Society of Genealogists's resident genie Else Churchill is interviewed. Amongst her comments is one which may well prove to be prophetic - "I... think the balance between privacy and historical research will tip against family historians".

In the Republic of Ireland at present the issue of a privacy bill that will have serious consequences for access to the vital records of the country continues to rear its ugly head (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/privacy-bill-in-ireland-rears-its-head.html) - but take a look also at Judy G. Russell's latest blog post on The Legal Genealogist, about an important US database called the SSDI index (Social Security Death Index). It's accessible at www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/10/09/what-were-up-against/ and shows that when it comes to such issues, common sense may not necessarily be what rules the day in the end.

One to watch...

Chris

Scottish Research Online - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 26 SEP 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

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