As of April 1, The Generations Network will discontinue free Ancestry.com access to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' US Family History Centers . A March 16 memo from the church to FHC directors was followed March 17 by a public announcement from TGN, owner of Ancestry.com.
For the past seven years, FHCs have received Ancestry.com access free, without a licensing agreement. Recent efforts between the church and TGN to reach a formalized agreement were unsuccessful.
TGN "still hopes to create an acceptable agreement with the Church," according to its press release. The FHC memo says TGN won't offer FHCs the option to purchase their own licenses. It asks FHC directors
to encourage participation in the church's online indexing projects, which include the 1900 census.
Genealogists' reaction on Internet message boards and an FHC staff mailing list ranges from gratitude to TGN for the years of free service to condemnation for ending the benefit. FHC visitors taking advantage of the last days of free Ancestry.com access have reported coming across online ads offering a 30 percent discount on a personal subscription.
Existing contracts will keep a few Ancestry.com databases available at FHCs, including the 1880, 1900 and 1920 US censuses; 1841 through 1891 census indexes for England and Wales; and WWI draft cards.
About 1,400 public libraries in the United States and Britain subscribe to Ancestry Library Edition, a version of Ancestry.com, and offer it free on site to their patrons.
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Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email Update, copyright 2007
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