The Newsletter of the Family Records Centre (FRC) - Issue 15 Summer 2001 (2nd
online edition)
General News from the FRC
Closure Dates in 2001
Monday 27 August (Bank Holiday)
Saturday 22 to Wednesday 26 December (Christmas)
Tuesday 1 January 2002 (New Year's day)
Evacuation on May 17
The management of the FRC would like to thank all our customers for their
cooperation and patience during the evacuation of the Centre on Thursday,
May 17. The evacuation resulted from a major power failure in the
Islington/Clerkenwell area and the decision to evacuate was taken for
health and safety considerations. At the time we had been informed that
the power cut would last at least four hours and in the event power was
not fully restored until 7:15 pm. Following this incident we are reviewing
our procedures for incidents of this kind.
Teething Problems
We experienced a few teething problems with the launch
of the electronic Family Record in April, but
hopefully all those who subscribed will have received
something by now. As a reminder, if you would like to
receive an electronic copy of future editions of the
Family Record it couldn't be simpler. Just
send an email to: FRC-Newsletter@nationalarchives.gov.uk
with the word 'Subscribe' in the subject heading.
The FRC on the road
The Family Records Centre has been well represented
at three major family history fairs in the past few months.
We were at the Society of Genealogists' London fair in May, at York
in June and then spent a day at the seaside in Weston-super-Mare
in July.
All three events were very well attended and the staff were kept busy
answering questions from members of the public, as well as exhibitors
from other stands. We've got one more event this year (October 27
at Preston) before we start planning our programme for 2002.
We have also been present at two recent conferences:
firstly, at the 'National Genealogical Society Conference in the
States' in Portland, Oregon in May, and in July we had a stand at
the 'Locating the Victorians' conference hosted by the Science Museum
in London.
Family History talks at the FRC
There are just two more talks to go in what has turned out to be
a very successful series of talks on Family History
sources. If you have been able to attend any of the
talks we'd love to know what you thought about them.
What did you enjoy? What improvements could we make?
What other sources would you like to hear about? If
you have any comments, please write to Dave Annal at
the above address or email him at: david.annal@pro.gov.uk
The two remaining talks in the series are:
- 31 July, WW1 Royal Naval Ancestry at the PRO
- 7 August, WW1 Army Ancestry at the PRO
The talks will take place in the Meetings Room at the FRC, starting at
2pm and lasting roughly one hour. Tickets are available on the day
from the New Customers Desk on the first floor and will be issued on a
first-come first-served basis. No advance bookings can be taken.
News from ONS
Certificate applications
95% dealt with on time!
During April,
May and June, 95% of all applications for certificates made either at the FRC
or direct to GRO Southport were produced within our published target turnaround
time. For certificates ordered for collection at the FRC, the 4th
working day target was met in over 99% of cases, with 92% of certificates ordered
at the FRC for posting to customers on the 4th working day also despatched
on time.
We are delighted to be in a position where we
are consistently meeting our target turnaround times (and hopefully
meeting customer expectations). In this respect we genuinely
welcome feedback on the level and quality of service provided at
the FRC and by GRO Southport. If you have any comments do
please complete a "Your views matter to us" form
at the FRC or write to Gwyn Hughes, Head of Certificate Services
Branch at GRO, Smedley Hydro, Southport PR8 2HH or email gwyn.hughes@ons.gov.uk.
Communications Review
One
of the findings of the Communications Review undertaken by Certificate Services
Branch last year was that customers would like the opportunity to have more
face to face contact with staff involved in the certificate production process.
On Tuesday 26 June Certificate Services held an Open Forum for PSR customers.
The event was held in the Scottish Link area of the search room and representatives
from both the Southport and London office were on hand to discuss all aspects
of the service the branch provides.
The
feedback received was very positive with regards to certificate turnaround targets,
the quality of certificates and the standard of service provided to customers.
Some
frequently asked questions are listed below together with the responses made:
Q.
Can we see samples of the register pages at the FRC to explain why several entries
have the same GRO reference?
A.
Yes. We have taken copies of the register pages and have laminated them for
display in the Public Search Room.
Q.
The indexes prior to 1881 are heavily used. With the release of the 1901
census there is likely to be a similar demand for the corresponding indexes.
Have we made plans in anticipation of this increased demand?
A.
We are currently reviewing the Public Search Room floor plans, including
a re-allocation of the Customer Service Desk, and a review of the Scottish Link
area. As part of this review, we will be looking to create more space around
the 1901 indexes by the time that the 1901 census is released in January 2002.
Q.
Why can't the Scot Link cards carry credits like a telephone card? Researchers
have to pay for the standard 30 minutes when they only want to use the service
for a couple of minutes each day.
A. The pre-payment machine
which is in use in the Centre is unable to award credit for time not used.
We based this system on the manual system as closely as possible, to make the
transition from a manual to a machine system easy for our customers. The
only time a credit has and would be given is if the computer system crashed
and access was denied.
Q.
General feedback about the 'wrong reference' checking that is undertaken at
Southport was raised.
A.
Each GRO number is checked against the microfilm tape to which the reference
relates. If the details on the application form do not agree with the GRO reference
quoted a paper copy is provided by the operator and passed to a supervisor for
a further check to be made. We are committed to constantly improving the quality
of the service that we provide and ensuring that only the certificate that relates
to the entry requested is provided.
Q.
Why can't letters that accompany a refund be clearer in their explanation?
A.
The refunds procedure is currently being reviewed. The letters that
accompany refunds are being redrafted to ensure that customers are provided
with a clear and detailed explanation.
Q.
Can we have FRC staff walking around the search room helping with enquiries
rather than customers having to go to the Customer Service desk?
A.
During quiet times
as and when staffing levels permit, the staff on the Customer Service Desk will
be walking through the search room offering assistance to our customers
Next open forum
The
next forum will be held on Saturday 22 September in the Public Search Room from
11am to 3pm.
Space in Search Room
Since the removal of the electoral registers, we have been
considering how best to use the space. We are looking at various
options, which include moving Overseas and Adoption Indexes into
this area to free up space in the main search room. Whilst
considering the best use for this space we have placed tables and
chairs in the area for use by our customers.
Staff News
We are delighted to welcome
Mike Saunders to the FRC. Mike is the new ONS FRC Centre Manager and by
way of introduction he has written the following profile:
-
Background
- from HM Customs & Excise, worked in audit assurance, customer
advice services, and yes a little bit of anti-bootlegging!
-
Hobbies
- squash, football, watching sport
-
Bad
Habits - supporting Queens Park Rangers FC, watching sports rather than
participating
- The one thing in life I find most annoying - bigotry
- The one thing in life I find most pleasing - open minds
We are also pleased to welcome
Laura Urwin who has joined the ONS management team. Laura has worked as
an Inspector of Registration for the past 6 years covering the North West London
and East Anglia region. Her role is Projects and Quality Manager.
News from PRO
Possible disruption on the
first floor
With
the release of the 1901 census returns now just five months away, we are beginning
to prepare for the installation of forty six computer terminals at the FRC.
The machines will have to be accommodated within the confines of the existing
first floor reading room and as a result we will have to reduce the number of
film and fiche readers available. You will start to see the effects of
this activity from late September onwards and we will keep you informed of developments.
We will endeavour to keep the disruption to an absolute minimum. Should
you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Clive
Hawkins at the FRC.
National Burial Index
The National Burial Index is now available for
consultation at the FRC. This is the first edition of a new computerised
index to burials produced by the Federation of Family History Societies.
It is by no means comprehensive but it does include the records
of 5.4 million entries, extracted from over 4,000 burial registers.
Like the International Genealogical Index (IGI) which it complements,
the NBI is at its most useful for the early part of the nineteenth
century (i.e. about 1800-1840). Although the covering dates
are given as 1538 to 2000, there are very few entries from the twentieth
century. The extent of its coverage also varies greatly from
county to county, with some counties very well covered (e.g. Lincolnshire,
Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Suffolk) and some not
covered at all (e.g. Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Nottinghamshire and
Cumberland).
Why not ask about the NBI on your next visit to the FRC -
you might just find that vital clue you've been looking for!
Interesting finds
We have been delighted with the response to requests for strange
names, interesting occupations and other items found in the census
returns - please keep them coming. Regular visitors to the
FRC will know that we have set aside a noticeboard to display the
most interesting finds and thanks to your contributions we have
been able to change the display regularly and keep it fresh and
diverting.
If you have found something you would like to share with fellow users of the
FRC, please send us a note quoting the reference (or
a photocopy of the document) marked for the attention
of Dave Annal (email david.annal@pro.gov.uk)
or hand the details to a member of staff on the first
floor enquiry desk.
1901 Census Project
1891 Norfolk Pilot
Successful launch on 1
May
The 1891 Pilot went live on
the Internet on 21 April and was launched officially on 1 May. On that day Margaret
Brennand was at Norfolk Record Office in her special Census Online polo shirt
ready to deal with the crowds coming in to view the pilot. In the event
most users accessed it in the comfort of their own homes and had clearly logged
on in the pre-launch period. On 1 May Margaret was interviewed on BBC
Radio Norfolk along with colleagues from Norfolk Record Office. They conducted
live searches over the Internet for callers seeking their Norfolk ancestors.
Live demos at Family History
Fairs
A team of staff
from the PRO and QinetiQ (formerly called DERA) attended fairs in London on
5 and 6 May (hosted by the Society of Genealogists), York on 23 June (hosted
by the Yorkshire Family History Society) and Weston super Mare on 7 July (hosted
by the South West Group of Family History Societies). We did free searches
on the 1891 Pilot database live on the Internet on behalf of the public.
It was quite a surprise to find that at all these venues we found people with
Norfolk ancestors keen to have a go on the pilot. Overall the response
from visitors was very positive; most of you are eagerly awaiting the 1901 service
to find those long lost ancestors.
Live demo to family historians
in the USA
One of the
most exciting venues for the PRO was at the USA National Genealogical Society's
family history fair and conference at Portland, Oregon from 14 to 19 May.
We gave demonstrations of the 1891 Pilot and conducted searches for the public.
American family historians are just as keen as their UK counterparts and cannot
wait to access the 1901 online service.
Usage
Since going live we have been very pleased with the use you
have all made of the pilot. Just under 600,000 pages have
been accessed and of these around 10% were charged pages.
Users have come from all parts of the world with the USA, Australia
and Canada topping the user list.
Feedback
Getting views
and comments from users has been the most important part of the 1891 Pilot.
The overall response has been very positive and we have received lots of feedback
and comments. The most frequently asked questions were published on the
site along with our answers. A number of changes have been made to the
site following your feedback so please keep visiting the site and let us know
how you find the changes. Look out for full details of all the changes
which will go forward into the 1901 online service in a future issue of the
Family Record.
DERA
becomes QinetiQ
On 2 July 2001 our partner DERA (the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency)
split into two separate organisations with the larger part - now called
QinetiQ - entering the private sector. The smaller proportion remains
within the Ministry of Defence.
The
private status gives QinetiQ the advantage of greater commercial freedom with
which to exploit its extensive range of new technologies for civil benefit.
The name is a literal reflection of the scientific term "kinetic", capturing
the organisation's spirit of energy, innovation, creativity and progress.
Pilot ends 3 August
The pilot closes
at midnight on Friday 3 August so you only have a few more days to try out the
site if you have not already visited it. For technical reasons we cannot
continue to run the pilot while we are working on the 1901 service which must
take priority over the next few months. The pilot data will not be lost
forever and we will let you know when it will reappear.
census.pro.gov.uk
Although the
pilot will disappear after 3 August the census website will still continue
and we will use it to update you on progress with the 1901 online service.
We also hope to have some of the new search screens on the website which we
are developing as a result of user feedback from the pilot.
General Information
Regular information is available on the census website census.pro.gov.uk.
If you would like to join our mailing list please send
your details to Public Record Office, Kew, TW9 4DU or
email 1901census@pro.gov.uk
If you wish to speak to someone about the project contact
Margaret Brennand (tel: 020 8392 5350).
Further information
If you would like more information about any of the items in this newsletter
please telephone 020 8392 5300.
General information about
the FRC
The Family Record is jointly produced by the Office for National
Statistics (General Register Office) and the Public Record Office
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