As noted from the SAGHS email newsletter distributed last week, the SAGHS has an increasing number of online data bases available. These have been negotiated with the data base owners, such as Ancestry and FindMyPast, often at some cost to the Society. However, in all cases they are only available to those who access the data base from the Society Library. Generally the data base owners are not prepared to allow off-site access. It has to be remembered that these data bases have been created by commercial organisations, not be philanthrophic agencies, and they firstly have to recoup their indexing investment and secondly make a profit for their shareholders. Its part of the capitalist economy in which we live. Family history is no longer a non-commercial hobby. Andrew G Peake