Hello All, It has come to my notice that a large number of Libraries within Lancashire are to close, due to a Lancashire County Council directive. I am not at liberty at present to divulge my source, but I am sufficiently concerned to bring it to our List's attention. The current situation sees approximately 74 libraries within Lancashire with a possible 40 closures suggested due to monetary constraints. Amongst these wonderful assets available to everyone is an area which used be called LOCAL STUDIES, it is now called COMMUNITY HERITAGE. The History of Lancashire and its' people is found in the documents currently stored in these areas, yes, some works have been shared with Ancestry and others and are available online now, but much of the original documents, original maps, transcriptions of original records which has been diligently researched and kept for posterity and future generations by the Library Staff of these Local Studies Departments, is being threatened. No one yet knows how these cuts, forced by governments austerity measures, will affect the community heritage service but it has already been impacted by staff cuts. Who knows what will happen to priceless stock? It's time to show how much the service is valued if we are to avoid losing it altogether. Please if you are as concerned as I and if you live in the UK, ask your local Member, ask your local Library, ask your Family History Society/Association, what can be done to preserve these wonderful works which up to now have been held within these Libraries. Thank you for reading this, Cheers, Robyn Australia --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

While in no way wishing to diminish the work done by libraries, any original documents, maps, etc., belong in the Record Office at Preston - indeed it's parish registers, etc., from the Record Office that are up on Ancestry. The Archives Service (running the Record Office) and Library Service are not the same thing. Adrian On 20 November 2015 at 12:46, Robyn Clarke via <[email protected]> wrote: > ... The History of Lancashire and > its' people is found in the documents currently stored in these areas, yes, > some works have been shared with Ancestry and others and are available > online now, but much of the original documents, original maps, > transcriptions of original records which has been diligently researched and > kept for posterity and future generations by the Library Staff of these > Local Studies Departments, .... >

I think original records have to be stored in an archive are which meets a British Standard (can't remember the number) to ensure correct temperature, humidity and resistance to fire for a minimum period. Here in Scotland there is a policy of moving records to the near their origin. So when the modern archive was built in Inverness they had some records transferred from Edinburgh. Similarly when we got a local archive down here, once they passed the tests to show they met the British Standard then they had some records transferred here. I doubt whether many local libraries have approved storage so not likely to have much of the important archive material. Martin Briscoe Fort William [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Adrian Bruce via Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 11:45 PM To: LancsGen Mailing List <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [LAN] Future of Lancashire Library Material While in no way wishing to diminish the work done by libraries, any original documents, maps, etc., belong in the Record Office at Preston - indeed it's parish registers, etc., from the Record Office that are up on Ancestry. The Archives Service (running the Record Office) and Library Service are not the same thing.