Dear Listers, Here is what I found out about the two archives mentioned above. I'll post another message later about the municipal archives I visited in this area. Nord Department Archives The Nord Department Archives at Lille are open Monday through Thursday from 9 am to noon (closed noon to 1 pm) and from 1 pm to 5:30 pm. On Friday, they close at 4:30. On Saturday, I think they are open from 9 to 12. They were closed for summer vacation, July 1-15, 2000. I believe this is an annual closure. The Archives telephone is (33) 03 20 93 87 17. The address is 22 rue St. Bernard. This is in the southern part of Lille. It's off of Metz Avenue. They have microfilm, books, journals, and other assorted reference materials. Some can be referenced by yourself, but most need to be signed out. Supposedly, you can only check out about eight things for the day, but I don't think that was enforced very much. There are a limited number of seats. I would get there early to make sure you get one, or at least a good one. Pas-de-Calais Department Archives The Pas-de-Calais Department Archives are located in the city of Arras in the Place (Plaza) de la Prefecture. Look for #12 over an arch in the Plaza. Go through the arch and there will be a kind of blue building down the alley. This is the Centre Georges-Besnier where the Archives are located. The address is 12 place Jean-Moulin (or Place de la Prefecture), 62018 Arras Cedex 09. The telephone is 03 21 21 61 90 and the fax is 03 21 21 62 98. Hours are 9-12 and 1-5 Monday through Friday. It is also open on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays of the month from 9-12 except on holidays and school vacations. There is no annual closure. They mostly have microfilm of church records here. You can access these by yourself. That makes things easier. Books along the back wall tell you, in general, what is on the microfilm, but many of the films are not indexed and would be very hard to decipher for the beginner in French research. However, along the back wall are books of records that have been organized by individuals and genealogical organizations. These are transcriptions of some of the church records with some indexing. They're a big help if the town you want to research happens to have been transcribed. Hope that helps someone, Dave Bodine