Saturday 14 May 2016

TROVE newspapers database will add no more content

This is a story with a few weeks history under its belt already in Australia, but for those outside the continent who may not be aware, the National Library of Australia's world envied TROVE database (http://trove.nla.gov.au), which provides free access to Australian newspaper content (amongst other materials), is currently facing a major budget crisis, due to Australian government cuts to funding. Potential job losses are to come, and no further content is to be added to the site for the foreseeable future. For more on the story, visit http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-12/future-of-national-librarys-trove-online-database-in-doubt/7242182 and http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-05/national-library-trove-project-not-funded-to-add-to-collection/7377634.

TROVE is a world class resource - when family historians beyond Australia are asked to name a database from down under, it is usually the one that most folk will name first. The Australian government has clearly taken leave of its senses. Here's hoping they have a change of heart, and very soon, before they let one of their most prized international collections fall to ruin.


Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts Monday 17th May - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

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