I appreciate the argument Melsia makes. I have on occasion had to draw 
attention to archivists that items need conservation treatment. Even if the 
companies pay the costs of digitalising presumably the copyright should 
still rest with the archive/library, and therefore a proportion of the 
charge to individual researchers should be made a royalty/copyright fee 
thereby increasing the income for archive/library to support their other 
work. The complex issues of accesss she raises are not going to seriously 
addressed unless there is a strongly backed demand for free access. 
Therefore we need as many people to sign the petition as possible.

Sean




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melsia Tomlin-Kraftner" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: ACCESS TO SLAVERY RECORDS - SIGN THE PETITION


I agree that we should not have to pay to access these records because as a 
researcher I know how difficult it is to abstract slavery records for 
research purposes. The National Archives and other places that hold such 
original records have not digitised the material thus they have only a 
limited life span. The books are fragile and each time that a book is used, 
fragments of it remain on a desk where we researchers just sweep it of with 
our hands and throw these pieces in the bin. The pages often crumble in our 
hands. These records are of our ancestors. They are not just enslaved 
people - they have a name and very soon those names will wear of the pages 
and those books discarded.

My personal preference would be to pay for access if they are digitised now, 
as it takes time and money to extract every page that is crumbling from 
every archive that stores each of these books. However, the companies 
pursuing this task need to be passionate about this work as it is no easy 
task, they need to be reputable and thorough whilst giving us who are 
serious genealogical researchers the chance to not only save time but to 
preserve the records for our posterity.

There is also the concern about where does this company get their funding? 
If from the government/lottery, then we definitely should not be paying for 
access to the records. This should be a project the government ensures we 
receive for free just like a library book or from the National Archives etc.

However, if privately funded, surely we do not expect access to be 
absolutely free!!


Melsia Tomlin-Kräftner MA DipM MCIM PGCE
Chartered Marketer and Lecturer
Southampton Solent University

&

PhD Researcher Genealogical Historian
Caribbean Ancestral Journey


________________________________

From: The Black and Asian Studies Association on behalf of Angela Allison
Sent: Sat 23-Feb-08 09:31
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ACCESS TO SLAVERY RECORDS - SIGN THE PETITION


ACCESS TO SLAVERY RECORDS - SIGN THE PETITION
Following a recent Editor's comment on Colourful Network titled "Why African 
descendants should have free access to slavery records" ( 
http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/comment/, 30/04/2007 ), a petition was set up 
to demand access records pertaining to enslaved ancestors as well as slave 
owners.

A UK company is currently placing online colonial records of 3.000.000 
Africans, relating to their enslavement. This is a corporate attempt to cash 
in on the increased interest during the bicentenary year.

African people and descendants of slaves should not have to pay for such a 
service. This should be a free to view document, with all records being made 
public so the history can be known by all.

Please sign this petition to get all government records made available free 
of charge to everyone. Pass it on to others.
Go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/freeaccess/ to sign the Petition.
ONLY: 1,677 have signed the petition so far

Deadline to sign is 04 May 2008
Many thanks

Angela Allison
Coventry, UK