Ulster Historical Foundation puts up its prices

Chris Paton · Post by **Chris Paton** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:08 pm

The UHF has increased its prices as of 1st February 2008. A birth marriage or death entry now costs £7, or £5 if you are a guild member (£30 annually).

What you get for your money is a search field initially for just a name and a year. So you type in William Smith, and loads of possible William Smiths in either Antrim or Down come up, but no further info to narrow down which might be yours. You pay your £7, then get the chance to look up five different William Smith entries - but only after you have paid the money do you get the chance to try and narrow it down. If you are lucky to find your William on the first go, the credit is not transferable. You then get an unreferenced transcript for your money.

Compare that with Scotland's People where for £1.20, you can search and access the original digitised document, from a completely open search screen. Scotland's people is not a charitable organisation however, as with UHF, so that may be an unfair comparison. The English Federation of Family History Societies is, however, and their Family History Online database allows you to look up transcribed records for 8 pence each.

Chris

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:54 am

Hello Chris,

Any organisation that feels the need to prop up its image by stacking its presidential posts with Nobility and the Knighted is unlikely to have any real affinity to the needs of ordinary people.

http://www.ancestryireland.com/index.php?aboutus

Their concept of a non profit making charity doesn’t seem to fit with my concept of one. Who are the beneficiaries of the charity?

Alan

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:53 pm

Chris

You alluded a while back that PRONI may be in the process of providing a similar sort of service to Scotlands People is this likely to happen in the near future?

Chris Paton · Post by **Chris Paton** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:59 pm

I have not heard anything on this in a while, just that about six months ago there were various parties going for the tender, including Scotland's People, but I've heard nothing since. I'd say we're still a couple of years away, and I have no idea what the final presentation may look like.

It is worth bearing in mind that indexes for Northern Irish births can be consulted at GROS Edinburgh, from 1922 to 1985 or so, which can then be ordered up from Belfast online through the GRO website for NI.

Chris

scotmum · Post by **scotmum** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:40 pm

Chris

Don't know if it is still the case (I sent an email and have had no reply yet), but whilst the price and 'up to five records from one set' that you describe in your first post is the wording on UHF's front webpage, if you then put in a name search and make as if to purchase, the price says £5 (£3 non members) per record!

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:06 pm

Hi All

Ouch !5£ per record!

That is way too much for anyone with Scottish blood in them.

It seems to me that they would get more people, and therefore more money spent on the site, if they brought their prices down.

I have probably spent a lot of money on SP over the last few years, but because it isn't that expensive when you are using it, you don't notice it as much.

Regards

Chris Paton · Post by **Chris Paton** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:10 pm

Looks like there has been some movement with the UHF and the IFHF.

There is a new UHF records site now up and running at http://antrimdown.brsgenealogy.com/ , as part of the IFHF sites, and the UHF records are now 5 Euros each (just under four pounds Sterling). The IFHF used to charge ten Euros per record, and the UHF charged £7 per record, so it looks like they are finally beginning to listen to their critics. I wrote a piece in last month's Your Family Tree magazine criticising the high costs of Irish records, and the head of the UHF has come back this month in the magazine to state the usual "we don't receive public funding" line, but there was no mention of a price drop, so this seems to have come out of the blue. About time, though still too expensive for what you get, and still suffering from the same poor search interface system shared by all the IFHF sites. But progress nonetheless...

Post by **paddyscar** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:51 pm

That's interesting Chris! Perhaps the reduction in cost may lead to some increase in usership, and with that, the recognition that they must have better searching tools. At least a move in the right direction,

Frances

scotmum · Post by **scotmum** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:41 pm

But remember, you used to get up to 5 records of one name for your money but now you just get 1 (albeit at a lower cost). So, to get 5 of one name is now more expensive on UHF site.

One good point in their favour, though, is that the free index search now shows the father's name free, so can help narrow searches a bit.