To meet the growing demand for genealogy information, three of Scotland's largest archives will join together to create the world's first one-stop personal history centre. The family records website Scotland's People, the National Archives of Scotland, and the Court of the Lord Lyon (which deals with Scottish heraldry and coats of arms) have begun to join millions of records in one digital archive.
The three organizations have also pledged to establish a new walk-in campus by 2006 for their Scottish Family History service, which will help both tourists and Scots to find out more about their pasts.
The walk-in centre will be based around the General Register House and New Register House buildings in Edinburgh and will offer access to the archive and specialist advisers. Although many searches will have to be paid for, some information, such as surname searches, will be free.
You can read more about this story in the (Glasgow and Edinburgh) Sunday Herald web site.
