The genealogical group advocating Pennsylvania death records online has a website at http://users.rcn.com/timarg/PaHR-Access including FAQ. The National Genealogical Society has provided “People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access” a letter of support.
If you live in Pennsylvania, please contact your state representative and request that death certificates prior to the last 50 years, be available online. For more details and a sample letter see https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/RPAC/Death or contact timarg@rcn.com at People for Better Access to Pennsylvania Historical Records (PBAPHR).
From Jenny Heaps at NARA:
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is seeking public comment on its draft Plan for Digitizing Archival Materials for Public Access, 2007-2016. This draft plan outlines our planned strategies to digitize and make more accessible the historic holdings from the National Archives of the United States.
The plan can be found at: http://www.archives.gov/comment/digitizing-plan.html
Comments due: November 9, 2007
Send comments to: Vision@nara.gov or by fax to 301-837-0319.
The Council of State Archivists received a two year grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to study and analyze the current conditions of preservation of records at the local level and to make recommendations as to the best standards and funding strategies to ensure long term preservation and access to local government records.
RPAC member Jan Alpert served on a user panel.
The recommendations to date can be found at:
http://www.statearchivists.org/lga/index.htm
This is a work in progress; final recommendations should be out soon.
From the August 17, 2007 Federal Register:
“NARA [National Archives and Records Administration] is revising its fees for reproduction of records and other materials in the custody of the Archivist of the United States. This rule covers reproduction of Federal records created by other agencies that are in the National Archives of the United States, donated historical materials, Presidential records, Nixon Presidential historical materials, and records filed with the Office of the Federal Register. The fees are being changed to reflect current costs of providing the reproductions. This rule will affect the public and Federal agencies.”
Effective Date: October 1, 2007
The new fees will be:
Passenger arrival lists (NATF Form 81) - $25.00
Federal Census requests (NATF Form 82) - $25.00
Eastern Cherokee applications to the Court of Claims (NATF Form 83) - $25.00
Land entry records (NATF Form 84) - $40.00
Full pension file more than 75 years old (Civil War and after), up to and including 100
pages (NATF Form 85) - $75.00
Full pension file (pre-Civil War) (NATF Form 85) - $50.00
Pension documents packet (selected records) (NATF Form 85) - $25.00
Bounty land warrant application files (NATF Form 85) - $25.00
Military service files more than 75 years old (NATF Form 86) - $25.00
[NOTE: the fee for the full pension more than 75 years old (Civil War and after) ended up being $75, rather than the $125 which NARA had previously proposed. Genealogists working together can get results!]
Photocopy fees will be:
Paper-to-paper copy made by the customer on a NARA self-service copier in the Washington, DC area - $0.25
Paper-to-paper copy made by the customer on a NARA self-service copier outside the Washington, DC, area (regional archives and Presidential libraries) - $0.20
Paper-to-paper copy made by NARA - $0.75
Paper-to-paper copy made by NARA for full Civil War pension files (NATF Form 85) beyond the first 100 pages - $0.65
Microfilm-to-paper copy made by the customer on a NARA self-service copier - $0.50
The full edition of the entry in the Federal Register can be viewed here.
James Gay of Honolulu, Hawaii, recently agreed to serve as the RP&A liaison for Hawaii. He and his wife Jane usually attend FGS conferences and have been active in preserving access to records in Hawaii for the last thirty years.
According to a post on the Librarians Serving Genealogist mail list, Colorado marriage and divorce indices have been closed and are no longer available in electronic format.
The genealogy collection of the State Library of Ohio has been transferred to the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9am-9pm; Friday and Saturday 9am-6pm; and Sunday 1pm-6pm. Website: www.columbuslibrary.org
25 January 2006 - Jefferson County District Judge Brooke Jackson has closed probate and divorce files to the public. The action was taken after a state directive was issued by the Colorado Supreme Court regarding 23 specific information items that cannot appear in the records. Judge Jackson claims that he does not have the staff to remove the information, therefore the records will be closed to the public. It is unknown whether other counties will adopt similar policies. The RPAC Colorado State Liaison will continue to monitor the situation.