Unlocking History: Malta’s National Archives Partners With Ancestry For Free Genealogical Research
The National Archives of Malta and the company Ancestry have signed a collaboration agreement that will enable the National Archives to offer free access to genealogical research in one of the world’s largest genealogy databases.
The signing ceremony of this agreement was held in the presence of the Minister for National Heritage, Owen Bonnici.
He stated that this agreement would make it easier to construct one’s family tree through free access to the National Archives of Malta for the Ancestry global database, which currently contains 40 billion records from 80 countries.
Minister Bonnici congratulated the National Archives for offering a high-quality service in genealogical research and expressed his hope that this service would continue to expand and strengthen the National Archives’ contribution to preserving national memory.
The National Archivist, Dr. Charles Farrugia, explained how four years ago, the National Archives acquired the Ġuljana Letard Ciantar. The Ġuljana is a fundamental tool in genealogical research, consisting of a collection of notes on births, marriages, and deaths.
He explained that initially, the National Archives began the necessary work of conservation, preservation, and cataloguing of this collection, which was then made available for research.
He continued to explain that during this time, the National Archives began discussions with Ancestry, one of the world’s largest companies in the genealogical field, on how to develop access and use of these documents.
This company, which is registered in Malta, already has agreements with several leading National Archives, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Australia, and others.
The agreement signed this morning will lead to Ancestry creating a digital copy of the Ġuljana Letard Ciantar and an index at its own expense, which will be passed on to the National Archives while the Ġuljana remains the property of the Archives.
This agreement will bring a number of benefits, including including the Ġuljana in a global genealogical research structure.
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