Register House and SP Search Rooms

[anne_p]

Has anyone been to the Scotlands People centre at Register House recently?
I was last there in Oct (I think) but I booked a seat for yesterday.

It's all changed.!
No longer the old style search facility.
It's the same online SP site that they have now.

To access any records, it's  done via your  usual online acct.
If you don't have one, they set it up for you.

You can still access any record without charge,  but it will only appear in your "saved searches" or "saved images "if you download them
It still costs the usual 6 credits for this facility.

Otherwise, it costs 1 credit to print a document.

However, rather than having to purchase credits in batches of  30 for £7.30 you can credit your acct with any amount that you wish
It can be enough to cover any printing and, of course,  any unused credits are held on your online acct as usual

[dowdstree]

Thanks anne_p for posting this information. They kept that one quiet.

I have not visited since middle of last year and am thinking about going again soon.

From memory it used to cost around 50p or so to print a document. If it now costs 1 credit that is £2.50. That's quite a price hike.

Am I correct in assuming that there is still the £15.00 charge for booking your seat and using their computers? Hope they have upgraded them while they were at it.

Dorrie

[hurworth]

Isn't 10 credits £2.50, so 1 credit is 25p?

Is there still a daily charge?

[anne_p]

Yes, it still costs £15 for a full day at the centre.
They have Credit/Debit card facilities now too.

It's still those old style PCs with wonky keybords and mouse, but the  old search programme is now defunct.

There is no limit to the number of searches or docs that can be viewed but, don't download them into your acct or they charge the 6 credits.

I can't remember the names of the 2 search rooms, but the smaller one that was housed in the separate building ( where the tea room is) has closed.
They have transferred to the Mathieson Dome, which means both search rooms are together, and separated by one door.
The Dome Room was baltic when I walked through.

By my calculation, 1 credit is about 25 p but, hey, it is good quality, heavy duty paper that they had.

25p is still cheaper than the SP centre at the Mitchell Library.
They charge 30p
LOL


NB
I use both The Mitchell and Register House quite often but, I noticed the same recurring theme yesterday.
In my searches, I viewed at least 10 that  apparently had an RCE attached.
There were no RCE stamps on any of the docs that I looked at but, the "1 Correction" link appeared at the top of the page
I clicked to see what it was and in EVERY case, the RCE had been added to the wrong Birth, Death or Marriage page.
It didn't relate yo anything on the page.

Oddly, in reverse, I have been in contact with SP 3 times since Nov because my doc had a stamp but no RCE link !

Was it like this before? Or has something happened since the whole site had that big change?

[Forfarian]

Yes, it still costs £15 for a full day at the centre.
They have Credit/Debit card facilities now too.

It's been possible to use a credit card in the search rooms for years. What's new is that you can now book a seat online using your card.

I can't remember the names of the 2 search rooms, but the smaller one that was housed in the separate building ( where the tea room is) has closed.

The Dundas Room has been closed - I gather that it's going to be the nerve centre of the 2021 census. That's the one that used to be called the East Search Room. The even smaller West Search Room in New Register House, and the still smaller South Search Room, which was upstairs in the Library, were closed years ago, as was the Dome Search Room in New Register House.

They have transferred to the Mathieson Dome, which means both search rooms are together, and separated by one door.

The Matheson Dome is the one with the exhibition space. Then at the other end of the corridor there's the Reid Room, which is large, rectangular and rather stuffy. Then the stairwell up to the Historic Search Room, and finally the Adam Dome, which is indeed chilly, but I find it much pleasanter and more comfortable than the Reid Room.

By my calculation, 1 credit is about 25 p but, hey, it is good quality, heavy duty paper that they had.

I agree. (It's exactly 25p.)

I use both The Mitchell and Register House quite often but, I noticed the same recurring theme yesterday.
In my searches, I viewed at least 10 that  apparently had an RCE attached.
There were no RCE stamps on any of the docs that I looked at but, the "1 Correction" link appeared at the top of the page
I clicked to see what it was and in EVERY case, the RCE had been added to the wrong Birth, Death or Marriage page.
It didn't relate yo anything on the page.
Oddly, in reverse, I have been in contact with SP 3 times since Nov because my doc had a stamp but no RCE link !
Was it like this before? Or has something happened since the whole site had that big change?

I think there is a new problem with this.

[dowdstree]

Oh dear sorry I must have been having a "junior" senior moment as I do know that 25p per credit is the correct answer 

Like Forfarian I find the Reid Room rather claustrophobic and although the Adam Dome can be chilly it gives you more space to work.

Many thanks again for your info Anne_p

Dorri

[Genetrix]

I'm hoping to visit Register House in Edinburgh later this year.  Since we'll be using computers to search, are we still limited to the dates, i.e. 100 years for births, 75 for marriages and 50 for deaths?
For instance, will I be able to view a birth certificate in 1920?

Thanks for your help.

[Forfarian]

I'm hoping to visit Register House in Edinburgh later this year.  Since we'll be using computers to search, are we still limited to the dates, i.e. 100 years for births, 75 for marriages and 50 for deaths?
For instance, will I be able to view a birth certificate in 1920?

No, the limits don't apply. You will be able to view a 1920 birth certificate. However you are not allowed to print off or save a certificate later than the cut-off dates. You can view it and make notes.

[rosie17]

Thanks for the update Anne 

Rosie