August 24, 2010
Internet Users Expect to Find Online Public Databases
When you go online to research your family history in the United States, chances are very good you’ll look for immigration records and other public records that have been made available online. The demand for access to public records has increased significantly through the past several years as the number of online users has grown.
Another factor contributing to the growth of use of online public records databases is the rapid improvement in Web and database technologies. By marrying traditional database systems to Web server applications, both private and public entities have published a veritable glut of public information. And now there is a true demand for public records experts who advise people on how to find, search, and use public information.
These types of third-party resources are still few and far between, but they stand between the consumer and the commercial search tools that have aggregated public databases or access to public databases. The commercial tool vendors purchasing a broad selection of advertising based on people’s names and they compete for your attention (and dollars). Third-party resources strive to help consumers understand what is available online and how to use it.
The global demand for public data is not going away. Many nations outside the United States are working hard to bring their own public records online. Soon the day may come when you can search your family history from America to Europe to Asia, following the generations as they move across the globe and come together in the great melting pots of history. We stand at the brink of the dawn of a new age.
We still need to work out privacy issues, however. While the idea of tracking down your living cousins may seem interesting and romantic, the problem is that in order for you to find their information online that information has to be available to everyone else, too. Governments still need to work out methods for granting limited access to data for people with more than a casual interest in or need to know what is in the public database.