A week in Family History 1 - Dr Nick Barratt

Hi, and welcome to my weekly blog! The big news in the genealogy world at the moment relates to the news that the Chief Executive of The UK National Archives is leaving to take up a new position at the Financial Ombudsman.

The question on everyone's lips is what direction the institution will take under her successor? Given the upheavals witnessed recently, it is to be hoped that the emphasis on access to online collections is coupled with a return to core archival values, and a prioritization for cataloguing, specialist knowledge and onsite services.

I'm also involved in a campaign to retain public access to electoral lists, which is under threat from a government review. Hopefully I'll have more on this next week.