National Records of Scotland services videos released

The National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has released two new videos showcasing its services. 

You can view the first at https://youtu.be/3-r86Ok8_Jw?si=3p8G-GkfH2uIE7Bi, or embedded below.

The second vudeo, about ScotlandsPeople, is at https://youtu.be/TRpIVSeoIjs?si=NTPJ9T10RnyBhIub , and also embedded below for convenience: 

The NRS post announcing these new videos is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/new-videos-showcasing-scotlands-people-services

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Medical Officer of Health Reports from 1891 on ScotlandsPeople

I've just discovered that the Medical Officer of Health Reports for Scotland from 1891, previously available on the now defunct ScotlandsPlaces platform, are in fact available on ScotlandsPeople. They can be found at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/place-page/Scotland/GAZ00185/-/REX01637. 

Medical Officers were appointed for each county in Scotland in 1890 (although many areas had them prior to this), and their reports note the conditions within the various registration districts within which people were residing, as well as the diseases they were suffering from, epidemics, and other health issues. The reports are useful in allowing us to step back and take a wider look at the circumstances in which our ancestors lived, to truly understand the squalor that many experienced

There appears to be no way to actually find them by navigating from the ScotlandsPeople home page, so you may wish to bookmark the above link. Nor is there a guide explaining the records. Has this been overlooked by ScotlandsPeople? (Or am I missing something? Always possible!)

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

UPDATED: ScotlandsPeople Centre ceases half-day bookings

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Changes to booking options for visitors

We want to let you know about a change to our booking options for visitors to the Scotland's People Centre in Edinburgh.

Current legal regulations mean we are unable to continue offering half-day bookings. We know that this option has been popular, so we’re working to reintroduce it in future.

In the meantime, full-day bookings remain available at £15. We are also introducing a limited number of free two-hour sessions for personal research.

Find out how you can visit us at General Register House https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(Source: https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/changes-booking-options-scotlands-people-centre and Facebook)

Comment: 
Where there's a will, there's always a way. 

Update: I messaged ScotlandsPeople to clarify what the issue was, and with which piece of legislation. This was its response:

Hi there: A recent review of the legislation governing our fees indicated that our earlier interpretation should be revised. We’ve now stopped taking bookings for half days while we work to request an update. We’ll highlight here on Facebook and on the Scotland’s People website, if we are able to reinstate our half-day service. You can find the full regulations here  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2006/575/contents?commentary-key-6a0e41cca2699729e0a99d1981758138

(With thanks to ScotlandsPeople)

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople expands prisoner records collection

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has added over 100,000 new prisoner records from Ayr and Inveraray jails from the Victorian era. The addition includes 98,000 entries from Ayr Prison from 1841-1911.

For further details please visit https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/100000-victorian-prison-records-now-online.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Easter - certificate ordering disruption from ScotlandsPeople

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Please note: Certificate Priority Ordering will be unavailable from 1 p.m. on Thursday 2nd April 2026 with all Certificate Ordering unavailable from 4 p.m. on Thursday 2nd April 2026.

All Certificate Ordering will re-commence from 9 a.m. Tuesday 7th April 2026.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople adds new records from 2010

No, it's sadly not the update that you've been waiting for!

ScotlandsPeople, now described by the National Records of Scotland as a 'historical research website', has added Scottish Cabinet records from the year 2010, accessible via its Virtual Volumes section at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/virtual-volumes/cabinet-papers-search.

You can read more about the release at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/latest-news/2010-cabinet-records-released-online/.

Have fun! 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople hints at its 2026 online records releases

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has given a hint on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ScotlandsPeople) about some forthcoming records releases this year:

"Keep your eyes peeled for the annual release of birth, death and marriage records, coming in January.

You’ll also be able to browse new Scottish Women's Land Army records and, later in the year, we'll add new prison registers and church court records."

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople uncovers Christmassy names in the records

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has published a festive article entitled Santa Baby Found in Scotland's Historical Records, noting various Christmassy themed names found by staff members in the archival collections of the National Records of Scotland. 

To read the article visit https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/santa-baby-found-scotlands-history-books.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople adds new maps and plans

From the latest ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) newsletter via email:

New maps and plans

Over 1,000 new maps and plans are now available to search. They range from historic town layouts to architectural designs of iconic buildings like Arbroath Abbey and the National Gallery of Scotland. Discover churches, prisons, railways, estates and industrial sites from Scotland's past. 

The new maps and plans are accessible via https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-records?tab=maps_plans#search_records, but I can't see a listing anywhere of what has actually been added.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPeople releases Napier Commission records

A major release from ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) for those with ancestors in the Highlands and Islands:

Find your ancestors in the Highlands and Islands

Extraordinary records of Victorian crofting life are available to search online for the first time. They offer exciting new clues for your family history search. 

The new records list over 16,000 crofters and cottars on Scotland’s estates across the Highlands and Islands. 

They were collected for the 1883 Napier Commission, a public inquiry set up to investigate crofters’ claims of unfair treatment by landlords. 

Following the Highland Clearances, the records reveal how people survived and maintained traditional ways of life tied to the land. 

Discover fascinating details such as household names, extent of land, rents and animals kept. The records also reveal how families made a living through seasonal work like weaving and gathering whelks.

As those who attended my recent talk on "Gaelic Scotland for Family Historians" will have heard, the Napier Commission, which started in 1883, was officially known as The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands), with the published returns freely accessible via www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/cultural/centre-for-history/research/resources/the-napier-commission/. 

The collection on ScotlandsPeople is oddly located under the Poor relief and migration records category (surely this needs to be renamed?!), and entitled Crofters and Cottars (Napier Commission). To view a record via the search box will cost 2 credits per return - although the records can also be browsed freely via the site's Virtual Volumes function. When using the search box, the More Info button will show brief details for a candidate, before you decide to purchase, to make sure you have the right person. 

There are three detailed collections available within the set:

• AF50/6: Returns by proprietors or factors of estates in the counties of Argyll, Caithness, Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland giving: rentals and areas of deer forest, farms, crofters' holdings, shootings, fishings and house property for the years 1853 and 1883. 
• AF50/7: Returns by proprietors or factors of estates in the county of Argyll respecting crofters and cottars. These include information such as the names of crofters/cottars, the number of families and dwellings, their rent, obligations in labour or service, the extent of holdings, arable, pasture and stock.  
• AF50/8: Returns by proprietors or factors of estates in the counties of Argyll, Caithness, Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland giving: names of cottars, whether they are resident on a croft or not, what their rent was and who it was paid to, and their occupation or other means of subsistence.   

A detailed guide on the records is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/help-and-support/guides/napier-commission. 

To search the records visit https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-records/poor_relief/napier_commission.

The significance of the Napier Commission to history is that three years later, in 1886, the first Crofting Act came into being, effectively ending the Highland Clearances (Na Fuadaichean) by giving tenants security of tenure. For the family historian, they provide detailed insights into ancestors, as well as another effective census substitute.

10/10 to ScotlandsPeople for this one - happy hunting! 

(With thanks to ScotlandsPeople via email) 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Doors Open Day at the National Records of Scotland

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) via email:

Visit us for Doors Open Day

Join us at National Records of Scotland for Doors Open Day on Saturday 27 September, 10:00-16:00. 

We have planned a fun day packed with exciting activities. 

Book a free ticket for one of our ‘Behind the scenes’ tours of General Register House. Walk in spaces will also be available on the day.

Drop-in for a free family history taster sessions with our expert team.

This will be the last day to visit our summer exhibition ‘Scots on the Move: Railways and Tourism in Victorian Scotland’.

For further details visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/doors-open-day-general-register-house-public-tours-tickets-1620249733569?aff=oddtdtcreator

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Napier Commission returns to be added to ScotlandsPeople in November

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has announced that the late 19th century Napier Commission returns are to be added to ScotlandsPeople in November.  

"Two fascinating new record sets are landing this autumn. The Napier Commission returns arrive in early November, offering a unique window into Highland crofting life in the 1880s. In December, we’ll add over 1,000 maps and plans, giving you new ways to explore the places your ancestors called home." 

The Napier Commission from 1884, more formally known as the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands, and reporting to Lord Napier, was set up in response to demand for land reform in the predominantly Gaelic speaking Highland and Islands of Scotland. It led to the subsequent Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) of 1886, providing security of tenure for crofters, although this was only the first step.

It is unclear at present precisely what ScotlandsPeople is preparing to put online, but the published version of the records can be accessed at present in PDF format via the University of the Highland and Islands website at https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/cultural/centre-for-history/research/resources/the-napier-commission/. The published version contains oral testimony from many witnesses, although these have been translated into English from Gaelic.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

ScotlandsPlaces hosted tax rolls and OS Name Books to join ScotlandsPeople

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has added an update to say that the Ordnance Survey Name Books, as well as the tax rolls currently hosted on ScotlandsPlaces (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk), will be made available on the ScotlandsPeople website from June 25th, following the plug being pulled on ScotlandsPlaces on June 24th (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/05/plug-to-be-pulled-on-scotlandsplaces.html).

Unfortunately there will be some charges introduced:

Records can be searched and viewed free of charge. There will be a small charge to save copies. Additionally, we have created a new name index of male and female servant tax rolls, for which there will be a small charge to view records. 

Further additions to ScotlandsPeople's maps and plans section will follow later on this year, with content from ScotlandsPlaces.

The full announcement is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/more-records-coming.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Ancestry adds Dunbartonshire Valuation Rolls 1855-1930 collection

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added the following collection, albeit it is a bit strange in the way it has been done:

Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Valuation Rolls, 1855-1930
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62870/
Source: Valuation Rolls. Dumbarton, Scotland: West Dunbartonshire Council Arts & Heritage Service.

About Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Valuation Rolls, 1855-1930

This collection contains valuation rolls for Dunbartonshire, Scotland, dated between 1855 and 1930. Valuation rolls record property ownership information for use in assessing local taxes. The rolls were produced annually to provide ownership, tenancy, and occupancy information for every property in a county or city, including houses, apartments, churches, schools, and businesses. Information may be limited in the documents from the earlier years covered by this collection.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Occupation
• Name of tenant
• Name of occupant
• Address
• Parish name

In addition to the information listed above, valuation rolls normally state the type of property and its monetary value or rent charged. The information in each valuation roll provides a snapshot of where your ancestor owned property or lived at a specific time. You may be able to establish a timeline of your ancestor’s residential mobility and occupational history by searching for them in registers produced over several years.

Although they don’t have as much information as a census, the rolls are useful to research your ancestor’s life between the census years. The valuation rolls also may have information about buildings that a census wouldn’t account for because there was no one living there at the time of the census.

For further information visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62870/

Comment: After a few initial tests on this collection, I am a bit confused about the coverage. On the browse area to the right, it shows only the following as browsable registers, with images available:

1913-1914
1914-1915
1915-1916
1916-1917
1917-1918
1919-1920
1920-1921
1921-1922

Test searches prior to 1913 and after 1922 using common surnames such as Smith and MacDonald, do indeed return records as far back as 1861, athough I've not seen any yet going as far back as 1855. However, these are in transcript form only, with no images available. Records do indeed continue after 1922, and go up to 1930, but again in transcript form only. 

I don't know if more images are to be made available, I suspect not, as it is quite an odd way to gio about releasing them if so!

Note that valuation records for the same period can be found on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), with images for all in the coverage available (every tenth years from 1855-1915, every 5th year thereafter up to 1940).

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Annual ScotlandsPeople BMD records update

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has updated its birth, marriage and death records by a year, as follows:

- Birth records from 1924

- Marriage entries from 1949

- Death records from 1974

There are 245,000 new records.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople adds Barlinnie Prison records

The ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has added 180,000 records of admissions to Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, from 1882-1899. The release also includes a prisoner photograph album with images of 2000 inmates.

For more on the story visit https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/exploring-hmp-barlinnie

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople launches new look website - review

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has relaunched with a new look website.

One immediate thing I can see is that you cannot easily switch from births to marriages or deaths in the search screens, as you used to be able to do at the bottom left of the screen after a search - they are now individual screens, and you now have to click on the Statutory Registers link at the top to get to a menu displaying other events. 

There's a news release at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/welcome-new-look-scotlands-people.

I will provide a full review this evening!

Update: So I've now had a proper chance to look over the site. After I queried it, ScotlandsPeople has kindly informed me that the issue I've raised above about not apparently being able to switch to other life event search screens after a search in another life event category is incorrect - they've introduced a further button called Refine search, located just above the list of results, when you can then choose to do a search in other categories for the same person, as before. So the same thing, but now an extra click away.

In fact, that fairly well sums up the new ScotlandsPeople site. Nothing has really changed, apart from the branding - but there is a little more effort now required to do what you could before. The font is much larger, meaning more scrolling down pages to fill in all the fields needed, or to see more results, and there are a few extra clicks in place for a few functions. That's potentially going to prove tiresome when doing a long search session.

The NRS has tried to spin this as "We have redesigned the site to make accessing Scotland’s records easier than ever with quick, simple searching of our birth, marriage, death and census records." But throughout this afternoon, several genealogists I know have asked a simple question - how? The search processes have seemingly not changed, the site has had a lick of paint, but that seems to be it. 

For the site user, this is not an evolution, it's just a corporate rebrand. There are no new records, no new enhanced indexes (there are still many birth and death records that have no mother's maiden surmane listed in the index, for example). There is still no list of what kirk session material is actually available, and you still can't expand Virtual Volumes to fill the screen when using it. And what has happened to the 1921 census enhanced index that Queen's University Belfast was supposed to be creating as part of the contract to create the main index - is that arriving, and if so, when?

To look on the bright side, the fees have not gone up, and the site does seem to be working - albeit with heavy usage earlier at launch, I did occasionally come across a few 'page inaccessible' messages. There are still some unfinished touches - the site's Our charges page at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/our-charges is showing an error 404 message, for example. I've also read a comment on the ScotlandsPeople Facebook page that one user suggests she can no longer use the platform on her old iPad, so there may be compatibility issues for some users with older devices. 

Overall, I would suggest that I am relieved that that there has not been a disaster today, but quite disappointed that very little has actually happened. It would be nice to see the site be pushed to get more from the records available, with further enhanced indexes, and perhaps even new fields created (witnesses at marriages, for example?).

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople Centre closures in September

The Dundas Room and Reid Room at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh will be closed next Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd September, as the centre prepares to launch the new version of the ScotlandsPeople website.

Please note also that the ScotlandsPeople Centre and National Records of Scotland will be closed on Monday 16th September for a local public holiday. A full list of holiday closure dates is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/visit-us.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Glasgow registrars advise people not to attend ScotlandsPeople bookings next week

From the Glasgow Registrars Serrvice:

Scotland's People Refreshed Website - Launching 3rd September 2024

To prepare for these exciting changes, the website and Scotland's People service will be unavailable from 00.01 BST on Sunday, 1 September, to 12.00 BST on Tuesday, 3 September.

We would like to reassure you that users will be able to log in with their current details and previous saved information will continue to be available. Existing secure access controls and permissions will also be maintained.

Customers who have booked a space in our Family History Centre on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 September should not attend and are advised to contact us to re-book.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your continued support.

(Source: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/familyhistory)

Note that the waiting time for bookings remains at 8 weeks.

** Users intending to visit other ScotlandsPeople access centres in Hawick, Alloa and Inverness should eprhaps also check with the respective cnetres next week as to availability. 

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Unreliability of Burns Monument Centre continues

According to its website at https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/BirthMarriageAndDeath/Scotlands-People/ScotlandsPeopleCentre.aspx, there will be no ScotlandsPeople access at the Burns Monument Centre in September:

"Due to circumstances outwith our control the ScotlandsPeople Centre will be closed for the month of September."

Apparently this is due to, yup, you guessed it, "staffing issues". 

For some time the Burns Monument Centre has been jokingly informing folk via its website that it offers three days a week access to ScotlandsPeople - this is how it states it on the site:

"Opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 9am to 3:30pm (where available)." 

The "where available" caveat covers the fact that for many months the centre has been only open one day a week, and not necessarily the same day each week - and you can only find out when that day will be on the Friday before. The centre is only four miles from where I live, but it would make no difference if it was based on the moon - it is a completely unreliable set-up, so much so that I have reverted to using the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh again in recent weeks and months. Not only does the centre in Edinburgh have better screens, it also has longer opening hours, and a library of monumental inscriptions and other useful resources.

Coincidentally, there will be a new ScotlandsPeople platform launched on September 3rd (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2024/08/new-scotlandspeople-site-launch.html). I have heard that the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh has been informally advising folk to pehaps wait until the week after the launch to attend, in case there are any bugs to iron out. 

Hopefully all such issues should be resolved before staff in Kilmarnock can resume operations in October.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.