As a professional archivist and also a founding Trustee of the Families in British India Society, and co-ordinator of The Anglo-Indian Family History Group I think the use of USER FRIENDLY WEBSITES for family history is beneficial to the COMPUTER LITERATE Family Historian . A lot of FH's I get queries from do not use computers let alone internet. There is something comforting about knowing your research is also contained in a large alphabetcal ledger or card index as you stare blankly at acomputer that refuses to open your family history data or denies all knowledge of the file you data inputed a couple of hrs before - drop a card index you can put it back in order, drop your portable and.....!!!!
The British Ancestors in India web site http://www.ozemail.com.au/~clday/ links to a number of related sites and has a wealth of information for family historians. The Indiaroots site allows exchange of information between family hsitorians worldwide and there is also a surname database.
My forthcoming book for Family Historians tracing people in India & Far East will contain relevant web sites I have found
1. I know this is a heinous topic amongst archivists but still one that most of us have to deal with at some time...I am thinking of getting a tee-shirt done for the next Society of Archivists AGM "Family Historian and proud of it!"
2. How do websites compare to the advice and knowledge of an archivist? - As a family historian i'd say the web site helps me decide if the repository may have records of interest to me , but contacting the archivistswill help me decide whether the records really are relevant
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