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Millions of public records that give a unique insight into island life will be made available online as part of a long awaited digitisation project.
Papers on file at the Greffe, parish churches, as well as Occupation ID cards and conveyances will be accessible through the subscription-based Findmypast website.
The company will send two full time staff members to the island and recruit others to help.
The main focus of the work will be the key records for family history research: births, marriages and deaths recorded at the Greffe, and baptisms, marriages and burials recorded in parish church registers.
Other complimentary records will also be digitised, including documents from the German Occupation and conveyancing documents.
The digitisation of records has been a major focus for the Priaulx Library since Chief Executive Steve Foote took up his post in 2022.
“This project obviously has potentially enormous importance for people with Guernsey connections seeking more insight and information about relatives but it also has a wider, equally strong relevance, in helping to highlight our island on an international level.”
A steering group with members from the Priaulx, Island Archives, the Church of England, La Societe Guernesiaise and the Gruff oversee the project. The contract was signed after a tender process last year.
Vikki Hart, Island Archivist, said: “Guernsey has previously fallen behind other jurisdictions in digitising its records, and this opportunity is an excellent chance for us to catch up. It will make our records more accessible, especially to researchers not able to visit the different archives in person. These are popular records for viewing and are therefore handled frequently, so digitisation will help us to preserve the original records and make decisions around conservation. We are all very excited to be working with Findmypast on this project.”
Mary McKee, UK Archives Manager at Findmypast, said: “We’re delighted to be working with our new partners to digitise this important collection and enable families across the globe to discover their Guernsey roots. These records tell the stories of thousands of people – from intimate family moments to the major events that shaped lives and communities – and we’re excited to bring these to light.
"We’re looking for some local support to help with the digitisation process, so please do get in touch if you have a passion for the island’s history and broadening public access.”
Data protection considerations will limit the project to records created a certain number of years ago.
All of the scanning work will be carried out on-island at the Priaulx Library, Island Archives and Greffe. This is expected to take six months and the first records will be uploaded within a year.
The records will be free to access through computers at the Greffe, Priaulx and Island Archives, but anyone using the Findmypast service will have to pay their fee.
There is no upfront cost for Guernsey, a spokesperson confirmed, and the Steering Group will receive royalties based on how frequently the records are accessed. The island retains the IP of the records.
The original records will continue to be preserved at the various archives.
Pictured top: Steve Foote, Priaulx Library Chief Executive.
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