Family History Society Fees

[Dorset Girl]

Hi ppls|wave|
This is just a general question about what some of you may pay in fees for research at a FHS. If you pay an annual fee to belong to a society, do you then pay another fee at the centre to do general research on the computer, and a different fee if you access online programmes? What is the fee and is it a blanket fee per day or per hour?
I have only had experience of research this way in W Australia so just wondered how the rest of the societies in the UK worked?
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks, Marion

[Sue Mackay]

Glamorgan FHS offers free lookups in its databases for members and free use of its research centre. Visitors can use the research centre for a nominal fee.

[Geoffers]

The Norfolk Family History Society has its own library. Being a charity it cannot charge members for access to its facilities. The library has a help team who will lookup items (three times per year) for members who cannot get to the library.

[Neil Wilson]

Same basically applies for Chesterfield, although we charge an entrance fee to cover the cost of the hall, teas, coffee, biscuits and when we have a speaker.
New members normally receive a small taster from the records of what we have to offer for their research, not too much, we not going to give it to them on a plate.

[Dorset Girl]

Many thanks to you all - I was just trying to find out how ours compared to the UK ones. Ours charges an annual fee of $45 but each time you go to the centre you pay an hourly amount as well for researching on the computer (via cd's they hold) and a slightly higher hourly amount for researching on the net via the genealogy programmes they belong to. I just wondered if this was standard in the UK - they are wondering why they membership is reducing despite the fact there appears to be more of an interest in genealogy nowadays than in the past few years. I wondered if people were put off by the "extra charges".
Thanks, Marion

[Waitabit]

I just wondered if this was standard in the UK - they are wondering why they membership is reducing despite the fact there appears to be more of an interest in genealogy nowadays than in the past few years. I wondered if people were put off by the "extra charges".
Thanks, Marion

You'd better believe it Marion. When you no longer work & need several bus changes to get to the "Genealogical society" every cent counts.

[delphine]

This probably is not the time to mention that in England pensioners get free local bus travel .... Devon FHS has a very good resource centre which is free to members and available for a daily charge to non-members.

[Mary Anne]

Ditto, here in Canada (free stuff with society membershisp, not, alas, free bus service! :()

Membership usually includes access to the society's library and whatever subscriptions the library may have. Also free access to online databases developed by the society (for example, British Isles Family History's Middlemore Home Children database) , although these are generally made available free to the general public. Most will also have volunteers answer simple queries at no charge.

Some societies (like Ontario Genealogical Society) will charge for local research conducted by specific request for someone who is not a member.

Our Ottawa Pubilc Library also has various subscriptions to online databases and CDs and for the use of these, they make no charge. You don't even have to have a library card.

Methinks your society may wish to review its position...

Mary Anne

[Waitabit]

In the defence of our Genealogical Society, with the money from memberships, they do a great deal of super work with it. they obtain records some of us would otherwise never see, the transcribe early local records to be made available & preserve all if this data for future generations.
the volunteers who work there are very helpful & try to make people comfortable with their research,( at least this was all true when I was last able to go). I displayed a little sour grapes in my earlier post, probable frustration that I couldn't get there. However I now drive again but am not happy to leave my Husband for too long. He is so NOT interested in F.History.

However we in Sth. Aust. have a beautiful State Library with F.H. centre. also a State Records centre which has recently moved just across the paddock from me * also has data available online, if you know where to look.

Who can forget the Archive centre for all things 'Maritime' which sadly for me has moved from easy reach into the city, at least we have it.

Well done DEVON, I like how it's never sold out to big 'gatherer' companies, tho' it does get hard when looking for the Gt'GTs from here.

|cheers| actually I'll have a coffee, that was a big burst for so early in the AM

Loving the Pearly tint :)

[Dorset Girl]

Thank you for all of those comments and information - I shall wait until the subject of dwindling membership is brought up again (as it will be sooner or later) and see if they understand. Every time there is a reduction in profits for a "service" (whether it is a private company or a corporation) the immediate reaction is to put up the price - there are only so many pounds/dollars in people's pockets and any increase will further reduce profits. Charitable organisations face the same issues so to me lessening the charges would increase memberships - which would overcome the dwindling income! It seems simple in theory - whether they will take notice is another matter - I shall keep my fingers crossed as I would hate to see them in trouble.
Again - thanks for all of your time.
Marion

[somanyrellies]

Clwyd FHS (North Wales) charges £10 per couple, (mr & mrs somanyrellies). Includes free access to the Resource Centre and access to all information on file and on computer.

There is a small charge for making photocopies.

I'm a new member and only made one visit so far.|wave|

[malcolm]

The Norfolk Family History Society has its own library. Being a charity it cannot charge members for access to its facilities.

Interesting, the Oxfordshire FHS reading of the situation is that we cannot (as a Registered Charity) charge members and non-members differently. Use of our research centre is free but we 'suggest' that a £1 donation would be welcome from non-members.

Malcolm.

[birdsedge]

Thank you for all of those comments and information - I shall wait until the subject of dwindling membership is brought up again (as it will be sooner or later) and see if they understand. Every time there is a reduction in profits for a "service" (whether it is a private company or a corporation) the immediate reaction is to put up the price - there are only so many pounds/dollars in people's pockets and any increase will further reduce profits.
Marion

My problem is that my family members are scattered across the UK so I'd need to be a member of FHS's in Yorkshire (Huddersfield, Barnsley and Sheffield), Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Stafforshire, Somerset, Oxfordshire, Lancashire Nottinghamshire and Flintshire. (In some cases just to solve one particular problem.) I just plain can't afford that and I can't do the travelling either. I neither have the time, money nor physical stamina.

Are there any reciprocal arrangements between FHSs? If I join my local one (Huddersfield) will that get me any concessions with any of the others? I'm always really happy to help others with local knowledge in my area.

[Ladkyis]

If you can only join one then I suggest that you join the one that will cover the most ancestors. Most societies produce a journal three or four times a year and they have sevices available for helping members who live too far away to travel to meetings.
Bo-Peep - our administrator here on British-Genealogy is setting up members only sections for Family History Societies so we are hoping that a lot of Societies will take advantage of the space to make more things available to their members.
FH societies have so much to offer researchers but at the moment I think they are seeing the internet as the enemy and trying to find ways to defeat it when what they should be doing is seeing it as something that is here to stay and looking for ways to make it work for them.
I would love to start an internet branch of my local society and do things like beginners sessions and local interest sessions. I digress, I'm sorry.
Join a society and if they don't seem very helpful then don't continue as a member, find another one that is helpful.

[Neil Wilson]

A few societies do exchange magazines, so for example Hudderfield and Chesterfield FHS do. I belong to Chesterfield and have the Huddersfield ones out on loan to do some research in that area. I think you will find that societies might do an occasional look up from non members for a donation or even free.
Pick out the one that will benefit you the most or just join your local one, you never know that might have the records you need anyway.

[birdsedge]

If you can only join one then I suggest that you join the one that will cover the most ancestors.<snip useful stuff>

My ancestors are so scattered that there isn't one that's any better than any of the others, so maybe joining a local one makes sense, either Barnsley or Huddersfield, I guess.

[Sue Mackay]

Are there any reciprocal arrangements between FHSs? If I join my local one (Huddersfield) will that get me any concessions with any of the others? I'm always really happy to help others with local knowledge in my area.

Choose a Society that participates in the FFHS exchange journal scheme. Glamorgan FHS exchanges journals with 70 UK based Societies and 30 overseas Societies, and local members can borrow these journals on a library lending system. Admittedly some Societies have pulled out of the scheme because of postage costs and the difficulty of storing the journals locally, which I think is a shame. Older copies of exchange journals are usually sold off for pennies at the Society Open Day.