LDS discontinuing microfilm rentals

[dmt1955]

https://www.lds.org/callings/temple-and ... g=eng&_r=1

FYI.....as of 9/1/2017.......

UGH
Donna

[adelfio]

Thank you Donna for the information should be nice to have all the records online

Marty

[dmt1955]

marty, i agree that it will be much easier to have the records online....however, for those of us, whose ancestry is ONLY on microfilm, it brings my research to a screeching halt.

would have appreciated more time and notice....if i ruled the world.....lol

donna

[adelfio]

Which will be nice is having the records of pre-1866 online time for a trip to Italy Donna

Marty

[dmt1955]

oh indeed... a trip to the motherland...to do research...from your lips to god's ears, marty.
hopefully sooner than later,
donna

[Biff83]

I personally find the termination of microfilm rental troubling. Assuming that all records could be digitized, a herculean task if it's to be completed by 2020, will these newly digitized records be available online to everyone from any computer or will there be restricted access limited to only an approved LDS facility? For the past 5 years since all local LDS churches no longer offer microfilm viewing, I have been using the genealogy room of the main branch of our local library system which receives, stores and returns microfilms to help folks trace their Italian roots. The local library branch is not and will not be an LDS approved location which leaves the only options 125 miles away. Although I've completed checking the microfilms relative to my paternal and maternal Italian ancestors, I'm going to see if I can secure copies of the current microfilms on a permanent loan basis so they remain at the local library in perpetuum.

From what I've learned from a couple of genealogists who frequent the Salt Lake facility, "disastrous" changes are taking place in Salt Lake with library materials disappearing and being inaccessible because they're in the perpetual process of being digitized while the powers that be are converting operation into a "genealogy Disney World" for the uninitiated.

I don't know how the Antenati site is progressing with adding online records; it might be the only hope.

Biff

[dmt1955]

biff,
as a volunteer at my local family history center (fhc), we retain the capability for viewing rental micro film/fiche.

my fhc director was unaware of the article. apparently many other directors were also as the article was mistakenly published before it was supposed to be made public. she found out that salt lake city was inundated with calls and emails about this and they were trying to get out from under their shock to make some decisions. she was told that any rental films that are in possession by the deadline can stay at the location. however, those films/fiches can be called back to salt lake city at any time - whether they are extended or short-term rental, and that this fine print has always been so. it sounded as if once all films are digitized all films will be called backed to their vault. that was her take.

donna

[ms_mary58]

I was at my local FHC today, and the director came in and made that announcement, then emailed the info to several local professional genealogists. Then the phone begun to ring with irate people. I would image that they are getting many calls in Salt Lake City as well.

[VotM]

I personally find the termination of microfilm rental troubling. Assuming that all records could be digitized, a herculean task if it's to be completed by 2020, will these newly digitized records be available online to everyone from any computer or will there be restricted access limited to only an approved LDS facility?

Not as Herculean a task as you might think(*). For italy, at least, many of the collections have already been digitized; however, there remain rights issues which prevent these collections from being brought online -- even when restricted to Family History Centers. So while I agree that the termination of microfilm rental is troubling, I think the main question LDS needs to answer -- and so far has remained quiet on -- is whether 9/1/2017 also marks a change in their rights to display these digitized collections.

(*) If you look "under the hood" at a Catalog web page -- that is, look at the HTML source -- you will see that most collections which show a microfilm reel icon have a "digital_film_no" field containing a numeric value and a "digital_film_rights" field saying "NO_ACC". This means the microfilm has been digitized but is not being made available online.

[michelecrescenzo]

The issue of publication rights may explain my question. I am a volunteer indexer for familysearch.org, and while I know most of the records I personally need are not indexed, my project choices never include records from those regions. So maybe this is why are they not being indexed?

[mjclayton1]

Last week I got a good dose of info from the head guy at one of the FHCs in CA. First off, apparently, this quick turnover (announcement) by the LDS that microfilm would no longer be available starting in September is somehow tied to Kodak getting out of the microfilm business. An unprofitable venture for them (although if the film already exists, not sure what their ongoing stake in the whole affair is).

Anyway, I was told that there are about 2.4 million FHC/LDS microfilm reels. At this juncture, there are 1.5 million scans completed (reconciles with what the link in this string says). The remaining 900,000 will be scanned on a priority/demand basis, i.e., based on how often the film has historically been ordered (also noted in the link).

This person also indicated that the LDS had recently bought machines such that they’ve increased scanning capacity by 50% and that they’re now running three (3) shifts per day instead of one (1). These scanning machines are modern and need less "human interaction" (loading film, etc., is, of course, integral). Scan quality is also good (remains to be seen).

You've all read the anticipated 2020 completion date for all scanning. What you may not know is that without these changes and accelerated timeline, etc., all scanning was scheduled to be completed in 2030. Ouch.

For most of us, I'd think the trade-off (short term inconvenience of film being unavailable) is worth it. At most, you'll only have to wait 3 years for your records of choice to be online. All of them. IMO, that's priceless.

What's also happening is that LDS attorneys are constantly contacting those countries and municipalities that hold rights that say access can only be had to film/online records thru the FHC sites themselves. It sounded like that, in time, that sort of thing (access limitations) would also someday go the way of the dinosaur, too.

Some may disagree (and strongly so), but, all in all, this is very good news to me.

[VotM]

In the long term, if LDS has the leverage to expand the access rights -- or even substitute the word "online" for "film" in the current restriction to provide certain records only thru the FHC sites themselves -- this will be good news. In the near term, however, there is likely to be an access gap where the rights holders choose to retain the language limiting access to their records to film even though such access is no longer viable for the FamilySearch user community at large.

The question that remains unaddressed, then, is how long is the access gap likely to be? If the gap length is a few months to a couple years, good; if it's indefinite, this is very bad news.

[VotM]

This person also indicated that the LDS had recently bought machines such that they’ve increased scanning capacity by 50% and that they’re now running three (3) shifts per day instead of one (1). These scanning machines are modern and need less "human interaction" (loading film, etc., is, of course, integral). Scan quality is also good (remains to be seen).

In the brief time that some of these images were available for viewing last year, the scan quality seemed to be very good. One notable exception was on a film (Cefalù Nati 1828-1832; microfilm #1538737) where two high speed horizontal blurs represented a gap of hundreds of film records (i.e., all records after entry #684 for 1830 and before entry #242 for 1831). I filed a report on this gap; time will tell if the film was scheduled for re-scanning.

[jecullen3]

I think having the records online is far superior to microfilm - if indeed they can get all records digitized in time - and provided they do not limit access to the images. However, none of the records that I need are indexed. And each time I check the indexing projects, the towns I need are still not on the list. That is far more frustrating to me.

[mjclayton1]

Except for the purists out there, I don't think anyone would disagree with your online vs. microfilm sentiment, jecullen3. One wonders just how comprehensive the town list(s) ultimately will prove to be. Surely not all, as WWII, for example, had to have impacted certain communities (sadly). I do hope your desired records are still forthcoming.