Skip to main content

Access to New York records under threat

Access and use of records held by the New York City Municipal Archives is being threatened by proposed amendments.

The New York City Municipal Archives is a key gateway to access records from the 1600s to the present day include birth, marriage, and death records for New York City, and “comprises the largest local government archive in North America … the Archives hold the records depicting the daily work of city government, including paper records … still and moving images, ledgers and docket books, vital records, cartographic materials, blueprints, and sound recordings.”

However, existing rules require licensing fees—in addition to reproduction (copy) fees—to use materials these materials.

The proposed amendments limit personal use. The changes mandate licensing fees to use these public records for educational, scholarly, non-profit, and media purposes.

As proposed, this general statement limits individuals, genealogists, biographers, historians, members of the press, and other researchers from sharing or publishing these public records.

Your voice is needed to support continued access and use of these public records. 

The need to pay a reasonable fee for the reproduction of a record is reasonable; however, any limitations or restrictions on the rights to use and share these public records is unreasonable.

What you can do

  • Submit your comment opposing licensing fees for public records by October 23, 2020, to DORISrules@records.nyc.gov.
  • Sign the public comment at https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/access-alert.
  • Participate in the online public hearing, October 23, 2020, at 11:00 AM ET. Learn more at https://rules.cityofnewyork.us/rule/32136/.
  • Share this important information with others.

Learn more at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society’s page at https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/access-alert.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JewishGen announcement: Dr. Dan Hirschberg - Kraków Collection

JewishGen announcement: "We are pleased to announce a partnership between JewishGen.org and Dr. Dan Hirschberg, resulting in the Dr. Dan Hirschberg - Kraków Collection.   As a result of this agreement, records that have been transcribed and compiled by Dr. Hirschberg will be made freely available to JewishGen researchers.   All of the records are from Kraków, Poland (in the Austrian province of Galicia before WWI), including Kazimierz and Podgórze (today, districts of Kraków). Thus far, more than 160,000 records have been uploaded, which include census records, vital records, marriage intentions/banns records, along with progressive and religious marriage records.   Images of most of the records are available online, although search results do not currently link to the images. Prof. Hirschberg's website ( https://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow ) contains many images and links to images on other websites. Vital records can also be viewed on the Polish State Archives'
Post a Comment
Read more

Sephardic World: David Baruch Louzada - A Sephardic Life - Sunday Jan 3, 2021

From Ton Tielen and David Mendoza: David Baruch Louzada - A Sephardic Life Happy New Year! Our first talk of 2021 showcases what we can all achieve through innovative research. David Baruch Louzada (1640–1699), like other Sephardim of his generation, was an ordinary person living in extraordinary times. His life has been researched by his descendent, Julian Land. Julian will discuss not just David's family and commercial life, but also his social and communal activities. David Baruch Louzada travels took him to Livorno, France, Amsterdam, and across the Atlantic to Barbados at a time when most people rarely went more than a day's walk from home. Julian's research illustrates available resources. Time: Sunday Jan 3, 2021. 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Amsterdam/Paris, 9pm Jerusalem. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88626569678 Thanks to everyone who supports our work. If you are not already a patron, please consider a small monthly donation. As little as $5/
Post a Comment
Read more

Sephardic World - The Dutch Pimentel family - History and Holocaust - Sunday 10 Jan 2021

From Ton Tielen and David Mendoza: "This week we bring you three expert speakers. The Pimentel are one of the oldest Sephardic families in The Netherlands. Henk Dijkman will discuss the family history, stretching back to Medieval Spain. Fokko Weerstra tells the story of Jacques Pimentel during the Shoah. Along with some other Sephardim, he tried to use his distant Catholic ancestry to escape deportation to Poland by the Nazis. Esther Shaya discusses Henriette Pimentel - one of the unsung heroes of the Holocaust - who saved the lives of six hundred children being held prisoner at the Hollandsche Schouwburg-theatre. We are hoping to trace people saved by Henriette and their family members. If you know anyone, please forward this message. Sunday Jan 10, 2021. 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Amsterdam/Paris, 9pm Jerusalem. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86549610494 Thanks to everyone who supports our work. If you are not already a patron, please consider a small monthly
Post a Comment
Read more