The Bexley Times features NWKFHS. Kent County Council Libraries could be privatised. The Archives and Records Association and findmypast to publish school registers.

Bexley Times. Read the interview with Society President David Cufley that appeared in the 19th September issue.

The Bexley Times featured the Society Library and some of the volunteers who help visitors and Members. Bexley Times Interview

Kent Libraries could be one of the front line services to be privatised or run by other organisations in shake-up by Kent County Council. 

Libraries could be among the first wave of services the Kent County Council intends include in a “market review” under a three-year plan which will get under way next month (October 2013). This could have huge implications for Libraries and Local Archives in Kent, affecting our Society, Members use of Library and of course other FHS in Kent.  See Kent Online for more details.

The Archives and Records Association (UK & Ireland)  - ARA -  has signed a deal with  brightsolid to publish on-line millions of school records from England and Wales.

A new National Digitisation Consortium of 120 some 120 English and Welsh archives and schools working together to  offer records for digitisation. The school registers are from 1870 - 1914 school registers. Once they have been scanned and transcribed by brightsolid, they will be available  on-line on findmypast.co.uk. ARA See also SOG News

North West Kent Family History Society and Research Service. The National Archives and The Records and Archives Association (ARA) new campaign.

North West Kent Family History Society and Research Service.

 

The NWKFHS Library and Research Centre located at The KCC Library, Summerhouse Drive, Joydens Wood Estate, Bexley, DA5 2EE open every Wednesday, 10am-4pm and is open to all, Members and non members.

 

The Society has its own room, separate from the main library, where the complete Society collection of books and other reference material is now available on open shelves. This includes microfiche, data CD's.   Much of this material is available for loan to members of the Society. We have computers with internet access, this includes Ancestry and other on-line genealogical databases. 

 

Volunteers are on hand to advise and help. Refreshments are available, there are toilets in the building, and as we're on the ground floor wheelchair access is no problem.

 

The Society also runs workshops for Members (£5 donation). If you have ancestors and family who came from or lived in the NW Kent and parts of SE London that were formerly part of Kent it may be worth your while to see what the Society has available.

 

For more details about the Library and to see the catalologue see NWKFHS Library

 

Details about the Workshops that are available to Members only can be found at Workshops

 

If you can not make it to the Library you could consiser using the Society's Research Service. It is open to Member and non members of the Society. You can find full details at  Research Details

 

The National Archives and The Records and Archives Association (ARA) have announced that they are  launching a new campaign this year, for the promotion of archives across the country.

This is a successor to the Archive Awareness Campaign (AAC), it is hoped to increase public awareness of the archive sector. It is intended to raise the profile of national institutions, local authority record offices, universities, community and private archives. It will highlight the benefits archives bring to communities, the impact they can have on peoples’ lives and seek to encourage a wide range of people to connect with their local history and culture. Source FFHS