On New Year’s Eve Library and Archives Canada posted “While all services (including those delivered in person) remain unchanged for the moment, LAC will continue to monitor the pandemic situation closely, and clients should be aware that some adjustments may eventually be required based on directives and advice from public health authorities.”

Throughout the pandemic, LAC has been ultra-cautious. As a result, clients have been missing research opportunities that they might have had — say if the organization was part of the private sector with income depending on the service supplied.

In deciding on “adjustments” LAC, and other Federal GLAM organizations, should look at the overall risk for a visitor, and an employee, including the risk on the journey to work on public transit and in day-to-day life in the community.

Happy New Year

Some major events we already know about in 2022 promise just that.

1. Release of the 1921 census of England and Wales on 6 January.
2. Release of RAF operational record books on Ancestry, likely in January.
3. Rootstech, 3-5 March
4. US 1950 census becoming available in April.
5. OGS Conference, 24-26 June.

I’ve already noted the program of Legacy Family Tree Webinars  throughout the year.

Also a year of monthly webinars from OGS.

Resolve to take advantage. That’s a resolution you can keep.

Diss Express: 1956-1970, 1992, 1999
New Milton Advertiser: 1932-1958
Railway News: 1864-1918
Ulster Echo:  1874-1890, 1897-1908
Cork Weekly News: 1883-1923
Liverpool Journal of Commerce: 1861-1862, 1864-1867, 1869, 1871, 1890-1891, 1897, 1899-1905
Newark Advertiser: 1862, 1864-1865, 1868-1869, 1871, 1876, 1878-1891, 1897, 1904-1905, 1908-1909, 1911, 1914, 1917, 1958, 1963, 1966-1968
Irish Weekly and Ulster Examiner: 1891-1899, 1901-1926
Western People: 1889-1891, 1893-1912
Bromley & West Kent Mercury: 1919-1950
India: 1890-1921
South London Mail: 1888-1906

The schedule of Family Tree Webinars presentations is out.

As usual, there are many to choose from, all free if you watch them live or within a week of the live presentation.  You can reserve your space, and record it in your calendar so you don’t forget, from the listing at https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/?list_view=true&multiple=true

There are new initiatives too!

If you subscribe you have access to all these, some extras, the whole back catalog, and the handouts.

Thanks to Gail Roger for the idea.

A bonus NFB classic

Weather permitting, here’s some inspiration to get out and enjoy the season.

While walking in England I passed a small churchyard with a Commonwealth War Graves Commission sign at the entrance. The iconic CWGC headstone was near the front to the left of the path, on the other side was a war memorial. Two names at the bottom stopped me short — Pvt F John Lush and Pvt A William Lush, both of the 60th Battalion Canadians.

Were they brothers? Why were they on a Hampshire war memorial?

CWGC records soon provided the answer.

The government press release Canada welcomes the most immigrants in a single year in its history — Government reaches target of 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021 — is good news.

Being permanent residents, rather than the immigrants of 1913,  it could be even better news than “Surpassing the previous record from 1913, this is the most newcomers in a year in Canadian history” might imply.

Given political niceties, I’m not surprised to see “With the significant exception of Indigenous people, all Canadians originally come from somewhere else,” ignoring the widely accepted African origin of all homo sapiens.