>I think you are right that a microfilm copy could be cheaper than (or at >least about equal cost to) buying fiche copies and that photocopying adds up >to an astronomical amount.  But I don't think Northants RO (or Bucks RO for >that matter) will sell film copies.  I have a feeling I asked Bucks this >when I enquired about fiche copies, but I can always check again - or maybe >other listers know the answer to this. A number of years back I enquired at the Bucks Record Office re. getting copies made of some of the microfilms for myself. The answer at the time (as best I can now remember) was that the vast majority of the microfilms were produced for the Record Office either at the expense of the Latter Day Saints, or by them (not sure which it was). These films, the Record Office did not have the rights to duplicate for private individuals, so it was not possible to get copies made at all. There were a very few places where the Record Office had been responsible for producing the films themselves, and they were in principle willing to get duplicates made (note this is duplicate rolls not converting film to fiche), but before they could do so, permission first had to be sought from the relevant parish council. It just happened that one of the Parishes I was interested in fell into this category and I applied for a copy - it was very nearly a year later by the time the Parish Council had considered the application and the duplicate was produced (perhaps I was unlucky with the council concerned re. the time it took). Of course this may not be the situation now as it was a number of years ago, but I would not be surprised if the same restrictions applied. Kevin Quick

Hi Kevin This is very interesting info too. I suspect nothing much has changed at Bucks RO as my enquiry about getting copies of PRs was made only a few months ago. But do listers have any comments on the possibility of asking LDS if they would ease up their restrictions on copying the Bucks PRs?? Of course they may be restrained by parishes or dioceses too, but maybe it's worth asking... Celia In Chesterfield -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Quick [mailto:k.a.quick@open.ac.uk] Sent: 19 April 2005 18:02 To: BUCKS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [BKM] Parish registers on fiche >I think you are right that a microfilm copy could be cheaper than (or at >least about equal cost to) buying fiche copies and that photocopying adds up >to an astronomical amount.  But I don't think Northants RO (or Bucks RO for >that matter) will sell film copies.  I have a feeling I asked Bucks this >when I enquired about fiche copies, but I can always check again - or maybe >other listers know the answer to this. A number of years back I enquired at the Bucks Record Office re. getting copies made of some of the microfilms for myself. The answer at the time (as best I can now remember) was that the vast majority of the microfilms were produced for the Record Office either at the expense of the Latter Day Saints, or by them (not sure which it was). These films, the Record Office did not have the rights to duplicate for private individuals, so it was not possible to get copies made at all. There were a very few places where the Record Office had been responsible for producing the films themselves, and they were in principle willing to get duplicates made (note this is duplicate rolls not converting film to fiche), but before they could do so, permission first had to be sought from the relevant parish council. It just happened that one of the Parishes I was interested in fell into this category and I applied for a copy - it was very nearly a year later by the time the Parish Council had considered the application and the duplicate was produced (perhaps I was unlucky with the council concerned re. the time it took). Of course this may not be the situation now as it was a number of years ago, but I would not be surprised if the same restrictions applied. Kevin Quick ==== BUCKS Mailing List ==== As of 30 December 2004: 386 list subscribers 175 digest subscribers 561 total subscribers

There are parishes in Cornwall, as well as at least one of which I'm aware in Notts (the one I need, of course), where the CofE (possibly the local parish council) would not grant the LDS the right to film. However, the registers have been filmed by the archives/record offices and formatted to fiche, but they will not sell duplicates for love or money. Bottom line: the only access is in person at the archives/records office, or by hiring someone near that records office. Sadly, for a great many people these logistics and/or costs are prohibitive to undertaking family history research. -Sandy On Tuesday, April 19, 2005, at 12:01 PM, Kevin Quick wrote: > The answer at the time > (as best I can now remember) was that the vast majority of the > microfilms were produced for the Record Office either at the expense of > the Latter Day Saints, or by them (not sure which it was). These films, > the Record Office did not have the rights to duplicate for private > individuals, so it was not possible to get copies made at all. There > were a very few places where the Record Office had been responsible for > producing the films themselves, and they were in principle willing to > get duplicates made (note this is duplicate rolls not converting film to > fiche), but before they could do so, permission first had to be sought > from the relevant parish council.