The New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) proposes changes to how researchers can use public records held at the municipal archives, including the city’s birth, marriage, and death records before 1925.
D. Joshua Taylor, president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, wrote in an email message to society members and followers:
“In short, DORIS is adding language that limits your ability to share these documents with others and prohibits the use of these public records for educational, scholarly, non-profit, or media purposes without a paid license.
“The impact of these changes for researchers, genealogists, historians, and others is immense. You can learn more about these changes and their direct impact on you at nygbs.org/access-alert.
“From that page, you can learn how to add your voice to this conversation before October 23, 2020, by submitting your personal comments, signing a public comment, participating in the public hearing, and/or sharing this news with others.
“We need your voice to affirm that public records created by taxpayer funds remain freely accessible.”
Judy G. Russell puts the issue into perspective in the excellent article on her blog, The Legal Genealogist. “If I’m writing a book, and want to incorporate 100 certificates, I’d have to pay at least $1,500 extra for the privilege of using certificates I’ve already paid to get copies of.”
Ms. Russell explains step by step what people can do about the proposed changes. She writes, “Tell your friends, your colleagues and anybody you can think of who cares about keeping public records public.”
