Dear Dr Seelentag & others interested - Does this alarmingly expensive piece of news also apply if you want to go and view the Famielenschein in person? A couple of years back I went & viewed the books (at no cost, but after several days wait for an appointment!) & was able to transcribe the relevant pages myself. My mother-in-law is returning to Switzerland later in the year and I was hoping to send her on a mission for me whilst there! My canton of interest is Obwalden, and the LDS have not microfilmed ANY church records from there at all. The family books are also of course much more valuable than church records as they group families together so you don't have to "guess" which ones are yours. I traced my RUFER & LANGENSAND families back 5 generations in 10 minutes on my last trip! I wish English records were so wonderful! Thank you for the thorough explanation. Regards - Anna - from New Zealand