There’s good news and bad news for genealogists.
First, the good news.
The Toronto Public Library has extended its free at-home access to Ancestry beyond the original April 30 deadline. The library now says Ancestry will be available at home while the branches remain closed.
Other libraries are following suit. For example, Vancouver and Calgary public libraries have extended their at-home access to Ancestry until May 31. The Halifax Public Library is making Ancestry available from home “during COVID-19 related Library closures,” suggesting the free access won’t be over soon.
In Kitchener, Ontario, the library says it will remain closed up to and including June 30, but makes no specific mention about the access deadline for Ancestry.
For a partial list of libraries, see the blog post, Free at-home access to Ancestry’s Library edition — Update 3.
There are likely more libraries offering the at-home access to Ancestry. If unsure, send your local library an email to find out.
So, what’s the bad news?
It may be a longer than we had hoped before our libraries re-open.
If social distancing is the price for free at-home access to Ancestry, it’s higher than any of us ever expected or wanted to pay.
Be well. Stay safe. And research your family history.
Thanks – I’ll check with our consortium on Monday and see if they too will be extending the free access to Ancestry at home. Will let you know 🙂
It took six weeks, but I finished the 2 dozen books I borrowed on the last day our library in Chilliwack, BC, was open. Now I’ll have to spend ALL MY TIME doing genealogy haha.