Hi All I must admit that the access to documents can vary from archive to archive. I have used the LDS Family History Centres although do charge a nominal amount. They now allow digital cameras so one can get permanent records of parish records and peruse at leisure. Some archives allow the use of digital cameras (without flash) and this has proved extremely valuable. Others don't allow any electronic aids but allow original documents to be handled without gloves and allow The staff to photocopy them for you. One significant library tried to prevent us from accessing my wife's grandfather's journals from WWI on the basis that they were an academic library. The did relent eventually but only after we produced university staff id. I am sort of lucky that the State Library in Melbourne has the GRO and one can access free sources for the GRO on line. Both sources have been extremely useful. However I do envy those in the UK with easy access to original documents. All part of the fun though. Jim Hill