ERO going Pay-to-Browse for online PRs etc

[stonechat]

Going it alone may be a risky strategy

[geno500]

you seem to be right diblet,well as this saga has unfolded,you get the feeling the council has over reached themselves,maybe they should let the people who collect the council tax online get the system up and running,I feel it has to be the pay part of this thats giving problems,but who knows,whenever I asked at ERO over the last two years when they were going to put more records online you got a faint smile and the words we are working on it,as though the secret that they were going to charge for the service was going to be a major shock,still no doubt it will be online one day.

[Aulus]

That's a real shame and a bit of a concern.

They surely wouldn't have got to the point of moving the go-live date back a couple of weeks if they weren't close and just ironing out the last few issues, so I wonder if something bigger (i.e. bureaucratic or legal) has come up, which has blocked the project going live.

Complete speculation on my part, but the revelation that the GRO had been operating outside the law by charging for unsuccessful matches of checking points on bmd certificates comes to mind.  Essex Council's lawyers might have decided they should check that the ERO is allowed to charge for access to its collections. Though of course parish records are only deposited, they don't belong to the Council, so there could be another obstacle there, if a diocese is unhappy. Though you'd have thought they would have checked with the diocese(s) before even starting. 

They were too close to launch for it to be something like a budget freeze has prevented them buying the server/diskspace needed.

Pure speculation of course ...

Or maybe somebody at the ERO was supposed to be updating the web page in preparation for going live next week, but accidentally restored an old version of the page?  <wishful thinking>

If someone's going in person to ERO soon it would be interesting to hear what they have to say.  An in-person response is likely to get more than email enquiry, even if it's only in the way of "I can't tell you more" sort of gestures!!

[Lisajj]

Or maybe they've been relying on volunteers to do the work and its taking longer than expected?
Although I would agree with Aulus that its probably something "bigger"

Or maybe they are doing a "deal" with Ancestry or FindMyPast perhaps???

[coombs]

Some lines will have to remain on the backburner until I next visit Southend or Chelmsford RO.

[findem]

I must admit that although I wasn't relishing having to pay to view (yes I know I'm tight) I was looking forward to being able at last to confirm a marriage in St Peter ad Vincular, Coggeshall PRs.  Also a baptism for the same family in the Non Com registers which the ERO have plans to put online at a later date.  I'm hoping the online version might be a bit easier to to decipher than that on film at the ERO, I remember checking that same film on a UK visit many years ago, in parts it was a pig of a thing to decipher.

In the end though I agree with Diblet, I would prefer they iron out any bugs first.

Regards

[ribbo39]

Hi all,
As an interested member with ancestors in the Essex area I was naturally excited when I came upon this post.
I wrote to the Essex RO and below is their reply;

"Thank you for your message.
We apologize for the delay in introducing this service.  There were a number of technical hurdles which have taken longer to clear than we had expected.  To avoid further disappointment we are not currently publicizing a launch date, but we expect the system to go live within a few weeks.  The most likely date is 7 November.
 
Essex Record Office
Wharf Road
Chelmsford
CM2 6YT
UK
 
Essex County Council | telephone: + 44 (0)1245 244644 | fax: + 44 (0)1245 244655 | email: ero.enquiry[at]essex.gov.uk | web:  www.essex.gov.uk/ero
 
The Record Office searchroom will be closed for stocktaking from 28 November until 10 December inclusive.
 
If you would like to subscribe to the Essex Record Office's monthly e-bulletin, please e-mail marilyn.hawkes[at]essex.gov.uk and type 'e-bulletin subscription' in the subject line."
(replace [at] with @)

I thought you would all like to see the update.

Alan
 

[findem]

Thanks Alan

Regards,

[julianb]

Thanks, Alan, for sharing the e-bulletin info

JULIAN