There may exist a confusion of terms regarding who does and doesn't permit inspection of public records, and what records are actually expected to be protected and guarded against casual treatment regarding the general public; It is not a matter of entitlement for the general citizenry, common sense dictates the coverage in some cases that others may consider within the "public domain." Consider the following description of just one area of responsibility: The person responsible within the organization, the county clerk, is held accountable for all records on file. A physical inventory of all documented material is reassigned at the time of change of authortiy, the installation of a newly elected clerk, holding that person now accountable for all documented materials. Considering this who is going to issue and act upon a simple request to anyone merely concerned about lineage? Not most assistant clerks; nor most sheriffs; nor most county commissioners, surely, but especially not the person held accountable for the particular document. If a request is accompanied by a certification, endorsed by a recognized legal authority, denoting a legal requirement whereby your desired record(s) will be accounted for responsibly, returned in a timely fashion that is a different can 'o worms - a request that possibly can be granted, records transmitted and so forth. In other words, have your attorney go down to the court house and sign out for the stuff you need. He's recognized as accountable, legally. It would be a brief span of time before these records would pass on into the mist were they not controlled as they are currently.....the payroll required to duplicate, further process requests for documents would be too costly for those departments to justify.....hence, the problems encountered.... Jim Sullivan To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html.