Family tree chop

SIR – The National Archives provide a wonderful research facility to members of the public, but from next Monday they are discontinuing the self-service camera stations and printing facilities (paid for at point of use), to be replaced by (free) electronic image transfer. The idea is that people will make copies via their own printers once they get home.

This change has a number of adverse effects. During the course of their visit, users won’t be able to shuffle through the prints that they have just made. This particularly affects family tree research.

More importantly the changes discriminate against the elderly, who may be less computer-savvy, and the lower-paid, who may not be able to afford the necessary equipment.

This change seems to have been poorly thought through. James Young

Hampton, Middlesex