APG Open Records Summary

One of Several Posts about Open Government Laws and Genealogy

The Association of Professional Genealogists position paper on open records contains the following summary:

• No proof that open records significantly contribute to ID theft or terrorism.
• ID thieves rarely use public records, relying instead on stolen or fraudulent data.
• Public benefits of access to records far outweighs their threat.
• Open records allow genealogists and others to do their jobs.

The APG paper recognizes that certified copies of vital records need not be made available to the public, but that non-certified informational copies are sufficient for public purposes.

The APG calls on the private sector and government to do a better job protecting confidential information.

I agree with the the APG paper.

APG Pushes for Open Records

One of Several Posts about Open Government Laws and Genealogy


Coincident with our series of posts about open government records, the Association of Professional Genealogists has released a position paper entitled "The Case for Open Records." Appropriately, it was a project of APG's Sunshine state [Florida] chapter.

Last Friday, APG issued a press release about the position paper, which has also been endorsed by the National Genealogical Society, The Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

I'll have more on the position paper later this week.

Note: Mention of this APG press release and position paper first appeared in DearMyrtle's blog, on Friday, March 21, 2008.