On 02/07/2011 12:02, Edwina Higgins wrote: > No one likes paying for access to archives - me included. But I have to > say I would rather pay my pennies to support the actual ERO itself than > to support a commercial company. Lesser of two evils? I completely agree. And there's another point in favour too - until very recently, the only way to see copies of the actual pages of these parish registers was to make a trip to Essex Record Office. I'd hate to guess how much that would cost Jennifer in Canada, but even for me in Waltham Abbey, that means maybe £20 on fuel, parking and lunch, and a day taken which could have been put to some other use. It's all too easy to compare plans for pay-per-view with the free offering which recently appeared, but when compared with going to the record office, I'd happily pay quite a lot to be able to access this material at home. I dare say it also eases the pressure at the office too, the staff not having to deal with my constant cries for attention! If that also means maintained standards of service for visitors who have to go to see the more esoteric or undigitised records, then that's yet another benefit. I'd also like to congratulate ERO for the high standard of their images - I bet the scanning equipment didn't come cheap! Lawrence a member of Waltham Abbey Historical Society (though this is a personal opinion)