This has been expected for some time, but it looks like the ScotlandsPlaces website at www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk is to be ended on June 24th. The following message is currently being displayed on the websites:
Scotlands Places will switched off on
24th June 2025, however users will be able to access the materials
directly from each of the contributing bodies.
HES material can be
found on trove.scot.
NLS
material can be found at nls.uk and
maps.nls.uk.
NRS records will
be accessible through scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Further
information about the closure can be found on the HES website:
Retiral
of HES web services | Historic Environment Scotland.
ScotlandsPlaces was launched in October 2009 (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2009/10/scotlandsplaces-website-online.html), and has provided a variety of resources free of charge for Scottish genealogists and historians for over 15 years. But the priorities of the founding institutions - the NRS, Historic Environment Scotland (previously RCAHMS), and the NLS - have changed massively since then, each now developing their own separate platforms and doing heir own thing. Whilst the message on the website states that material will be ytransfered to these platforms, it does not say that ALL the material will be transferred, and whether it will continue to be offered on the free basis that it always has done. Whilst Trove and the NLS platforms are free, ScotlandsPeople is not; fingers crossed the NRS will soon tell us how to access records such as the 17th and 18th century land and tax records currently available on ScotlandsPlaces.
It's a sad day, and having seen the poor version of the new replacemernt NRS website in recent months, I donlt have a lot of faith in the institution, but as always, remain open to be convinced that they have their users interest at heart. In the meantime, you have just over a month to use the site whilst it still exists.
RIP ScotlandsPlaces.
Chris
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While the information there will still be available, for people to now have to visit several different sites is hardly the same thing at all. I have used this site and am sad to learn it is closing down.
ReplyDeletePerhaps all the content WILL be on those 3 sites (fingers crossed), but not conglomerated as it is now. And that will be a loss.
ReplyDeleteNews item from ScotlandsPeople : https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/more-records-coming
ReplyDeleteOh no, this is terrible news. I hope they don't charge - everything is getting so expensive - genealogy has become an expensive hobby.
ReplyDelete