Transcribed census pages on local site

[guybrush]

There's a website for an village fairly local to me and they have transcriptions of the census pages for that area on the site. Do you think they have just used census pages on Ancestry or the like and copied them (which I think is against Ancestry's T&Cs) or have they managed to get them another way?

Reason being, it's nice of them to do it and was wondering if other people would be allowed to do it for other places.

[Olde Crone Holden]

guybrush

I know of quite a few local sites who have local transcriptions.

They have not been "lifted" from any existing website, but have been transcribed from original County copies of various census, which have always been available in the relevant CRO. They presumably have the relevant permission from ONS, who nominally own all census material.

OC

[guybrush]

Ah right. Thanks.

I was thinking it might be nice of start transcribing my home town's censuses. Shame I have to it at the records office. I wouldn't mind if I could do it from home.

Oh well.

[Guy]

guybrush

I know of quite a few local sites who have local transcriptions.

They have not been "lifted" from any existing website, but have been transcribed from original County copies of various census, which have always been available in the relevant CRO. They presumably have the relevant permission from ONS, who nominally own all census material.

OC

No permission has to be sought from the ONS for transcriptions of census material over 125 years old.
This covers most census.
Later census records come under Public Records and as such are covered by the waiver of Crown Copyright, so again no permission is required to transcribe or re-publish such material.
Cheers
Guy

[Guy]

Ah right. Thanks.

I was thinking it might be nice of start transcribing my home town's censuses. Shame I have to it at the records office. I wouldn't mind if I could do it from home.

Oh well.

You can do it from home, simply purchase the relevant microfiche or microfilm of the census returns from the National Archives Reprographics Dept. and start transcribing.
Cheers
Guy

[Janet in Yorkshire]

According to the local county archivist for East Yorkshire, the data on the census returns is public information. Anyone can transcribe, reproduce and publish that information, in their own format.
What one is NOT allowed to do, without permission, is to reproduce the original census sheet images.
It is the format that is copyright, NOT the data it contains.

We transcribed each census for our village and make booklets, which we sold for church funds.

Jay

[Olde Crone Holden]

Guy

I wasn't sure if census material is copyright or not - thankyou.

OC

[guybrush]

That's very interesting. Thanks everyone.

I used to run a community website for Christchurch but it ended up being too much work to run and not many people seemed to care it existed. I've been trying to come up with something else to put on it so this is certainly something I can do. I've already got some oldish photos and stuff so it'll be an interesting project.

Guy, when you say I can order the microfiche, is this on CD or original microfiche? As I seem to have mislayed my microfiche reader. I think it fell behind the sofa.

Also any idea of the costs involved?

Cheers

Guybrush

[Guy]

According to the local county archivist for East Yorkshire, the data on the census returns is public information. Anyone can transcribe, reproduce and publish that information, in their own format.
What one is NOT allowed to do, without permission, is to reproduce the original census sheet images.
It is the format that is copyright, NOT the data it contains.

We transcribed each census for our village and make booklets, which we sold for church funds.

Jay

That might be the view of the local county archivist but it is not the legal position, no matter how much emphasis is put on words. ;)

Crown Copyright only lasts 125 years from when the record was created.

That means that the forms if created over 125 years ago which all the census enumerator's returns (1801 to 1881) were are totally out of copyright.
The more recent enumerator's returns (1891-1901) are covered by the waiver.
The following categories of material are covered by the waiver:
1. Primary and secondary legislation
2. Explanatory Notes to legislation
3. Government press notices
4. Published papers of a scientific, technical or medical nature
5. Unpublished public records
6. Government forms
7. Government consultative documents
8. Government documents featured on official departmental websites except where expressly indicated on the website in question
9. Headline statistics
10. Text of ministerial speeches and articles
11. Typographical arrangement

You may re-use waiver material free of charge without requiring a formal licence provided that it is:

* acknowledged
* not used in a misleading way
* reproduced accurately and kept up to date


The 1911 census is in a different position the schedules are covered by the waiver therefore are out of copyright.
The words were written by our individual ancestors who were not in the employ of the government and are therefore their copyright.
This means that the words are copyright of our ancestors heirs for a period of 50 or 70 years after the death of that said ancestor due to changes in copyright duration. This changed in 1988.

As a rough guide if he/she died before 1938 the copyright has expired.
Cheers
Guy

PS microfiche means microfiche not CD. ;)
PPS Take a look at

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/census/1911census.htm

The National Archives tried to prevent me using the census images on this page but they backed down when I proved it was perfectly legal.

[guybrush]

Thanks Guy. Very interesting.

I'll get the site written and then I'll look into this a bit further. I think the best thing is to get a group of locals together to get the work done. There are around 6000 individuals on each census in Christchurch which I think it a bit much for me alone.

I'll probably create a database with an easy access input form for starters and go from there.

Many thanks to all.

Guybrush

[Richard in Perth]

The National Archives tried to prevent me using the census images on this page but they backed down when I proved it was perfectly legal.

ooh-err - they should have known better by now than to mess with you, Guy :D