Free remote access to Ancestry Library Edition to end from 31 December

Free remote access to Ancestry Library Edition will end on 31 December 2021.

When the coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020, Ancestry, one of the world’s largest commercial family history websites, began offering free remote access to its Library Edition.

This allows members of participating public libraries to access Ancestry from home, instead of on a library computer.

In a statement on its website, Ancestry’s partner, publishing company ProQuest, said: “After nearly 2 years of temporary remote access, Ancestry has made the difficult decision to end it. Remote access for Ancestry Library Edition will no longer be available after December 31, 2021.”

An Ancestry spokesperson said: “While we are delighted that ProQuest were able to offer remote access to ALE to libraries affected by site closures during the nationwide lockdown… This was always intended to be a temporary solution to allow library users to continue accessing Ancestry while library services were closed and physical access to libraries was not possible. We’re pleased that Ancestry Library Edition continues to be available to access, for free, in libraries throughout the UK.”