contact: secretary@sgni.net
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contact: secretary@sgni.net |
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| PROPOSED CLOSURE OF PRONI Between September 2010 and May 2011 |
SGNI letter Mr Nelson McCausland
MLA 21st September 2009 Dear Minister Proposed Closure of Public Record Office of Northern Ireland September 2010 - May 2011 On behalf of the Society of Genealogists Northern Ireland I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms at the proposed closure of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) from September 2010 to May 2011. We believe that this is an inordinately long period of closure of such a vital resource and far exceeds the length of time taken by comparable institutions to move to new premises. Genealogical tourism plays, we believe, a major part in attracting tourists here from the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as other parts of the UK. They very often visit Northern Ireland only because of the family history research which has been undertaken by Members of this Society and other professional genealogists during the very months when PRONI is proposing to close. Furthermore, this proposed closure would effectively shut down genealogy in Northern Ireland for almost a year resulting in loss of earnings to the individuals involved, loss of credibility amongst anglophone genealogists around the world and deal a significant blow to the reputation and standing of Northern Ireland as a venue for genealogical research. We believe this proposed closure is a fundamental error. We do not believe it is necessary and are writing to similar institutions in the UK and the Republic to ascertain their experiences in similar moves and the services they continued to provide throughout the process. We urge you to consider Northern Ireland’s best interests and to immediately put in place procedures requiring PRONI to maintain its services in the lead up to and during the transfer to new premises. Yours sincerely Heather Flanders cc: Mr Paul Sweeney,
Permanent Secretary, Department of Culture Arts and Leisure |