Keep availability images for only at FHC

LegacyUser

Megan June Hillyer said: Why does this show as only available in microfilm? It should be available only at Family History Centers (image of camera with key). Is this due to covid? It would be nice to still be able to see what records are viewable at FHCs, even if we can't view them currently.

LegacyUser

Paul said: You should still be able to do this. Go to the Catalog and find the microfilm / area of your interest. Then scroll through the drop-down menu (headed Location) to see if the film is still held at your local FHC.

Example at https://www.familysearch.org/search/c... of Monkwearmouth films held at the Society of Genealogists' (affiliate) Library in London:


Lack of a camera icon probably means a film has been digitised, but not yet uploaded for viewing on the FamilySearch website - either from home or at a FHC, etc.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Why does this show as only available in microfilm?

The DGS number refers to the digital folder containing the images from the film. However, contractual, data privacy, or other restrictions prevent access. FamilySearch makes every effort to enable access dependent on decisions of record custodians and applicable laws.

LegacyUser

Paul said: Yes, I responded a little too quickly! In SOME cases the situation is as I described - i.e. film digitised but not yet put online. In others, as Tom says, due to contractual agreements the film might NEVER be put online. This is where you have to hope your local FHC not only has a "hard" copy of the microfilm, but still has a working reader so you can view it. I am fortunate in that my local "affiliate" has thousands of FamilySearch microfilms, many of which relate to my areas of interest - and lots of working microfilm readers, too! Hopefully, will be able to return there soon.

LegacyUser

Megan June Hillyer said: Thanks, yes I understand that not all images are available online. I'm mostly wondering why a month ago this item had the camera with the key image (meaning it's available online at our FHC) and now it has the microfilm image. When the page first loaded it showed the camera key image and then switched to the film wheel. I just wondered if FS did this because FHCs aren't open right now?

LegacyUser

Paul said: It's good you've come back to detail exactly what you experienced. Hopefully, a FamilySearch employee will read this and pass it on to the correct team, so the true position can be confirmed. We need to establish if this is a bug, a withdrawal of viewing rights for a specific film or maybe, as suggested, a temporary action to reflect the current inability to view films at a FHC and/or affiliate library.

LegacyUser

A van Helsdingen said: FHCs and Affiliate Libraries are reopening, even in the more affected countries, so it would be extremely unhelpful if FS has stopped disclosing which records are viewable only at FHCs and ALs.

LegacyUser

A van Helsdingen said: Could you give a film number, or a description of the records that are affected?

As Paul says, there is a good possibility that this is not a bug, and is due to the owner of the records and FS renegotiating their contract about who can view the records, and where and how (microfilm or online) they can do this.

LegacyUser

Megan June Hillyer said: Thanks. They are for Probate records in New Brunswick, Canada . Author is the New Brunswick. Probate Court (Queens County). I can't remember exactly which record set I was looking at last month that was available only at FHCs. Here are some of the film numbers: 851177-851188, 1419903-1419907, 1437508.
Thanks for all your help.

LegacyUser

A van Helsdingen said: When I looked at films 851177, 1419903 and 1437508, they were available from FHCs and Affiliate Libraries. That was with my non-LDS account from New Zealand. Sometimes there are geographical restrictions on who can view records on FS, but I believe these are rare.

I think we should wait and see if a FS Staff member responds and confirms that this is not a bug.

If there are geographical restrictions, you'd need to speak to the New Brunswick Archive and local politicians and ask why New Brunswick citizens and taxpayers cannot access these records but those from overseas countries can.

LegacyUser

Megan June Hillyer said: Interesting! I live in Canada, so you would think I would be able to view them at a FHC. Maybe I will try clearing my cache and try again.

LegacyUser

A van Helsdingen said: It would be highly odd for the Archives to let non-Canadians have greater access than New Brunswicker's to these records. It could be politically embarrassing if it become known.

But then I have seen a similar situation where a Catholic diocese (Augsburg in Germany) let Latter Day Saints ("Mormons") view their records without restriction, but Catholics and members of other religions could not view the records even from a FHC. And that is despite Catholic policy saying Latter Day Saints should never be given access to their church records.

And also both Catholic and Lutheran dioceses in Germany have asked that their records, both microfilms and online copies, not be distributed to users in Germany and Europe, but only to people from other parts of the world- because they expect those in Europe to visit the archives in person and pay.

If you can rule out a bug, or other technical issue, I would definitely contact the archives in New Brunswick and ask what is going on. Why would they treat citizens of other countries better than their own?

LegacyUser

MaureenE said: I believe that there must have been a recent change of policy about films which can be viewed at Family History Centres. Either that, or a bug which is only affecting some films, because some films still are showing (for me, non-LDS church member) that they are viewable at Family History Centres or Affiliate Libraries. Given what I write below, there seems to a contradiction between the Catalog page and an indexed record (Historical record), so perhaps there is a BUG affecting SOME but NOT ALL records available only at Family History Centers and Affiliate Libraries. The other alternative is that the individual record details for a person are wrong.

On film which I definitely know was previously available at Family History Centres and Affiliate Libraries and is now only showing the microfilm icon is
Parish register transcripts, 1875-1878 Church of England in Iran. Anglican Chaplaincy (Julfa) film 574493 Item 2, or DGS 4337152
https://www.familysearch.org/search/c...

Although it says on the catalog page that there records have been indexed, I know that only other records on the microfilm have been indexed, not this particular set of records.

However if I look at another set of records from this microfilm
Parish registers : Church of England, Lisbon, 1721-1807
film 574493 Items 5-9 or 4337152 and click on the magnifying glass icon (for the index collection), one of the results available, as an example, is

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/619...
Thomas Edward Andresen
GS Film Number 574493
Digital Folder Number 004337152
There is a box which says "This record came from this set of images. You will need to look through several images to find this record. Browse the film" If you click through to the film you see

Film # 004337152
Source Box
Images Available
To view these images do one of the following:
Access the site at a family history center.
Access the site at a FamilySearch affiliate library.

So there is a clear CONTRADICTION between the catalogue details and the record details. One of them must be incorrect. Which one?

Looking at another large group of records from the British Library with which I am very familiar, I see that the ones still showing the locked key icon that they are available at Family History Centres etc are ones where I know from past experience that the records are available to LDS members on their home computers.

The British Library records which now show a microfilm icon I think (although I cannot definitely say) were never available to LDS Church members on their home computers.

So perhaps the current changes being experienced is a BUG which is related to LSD church member access.