TNA digitization plans

TNA gives some clues about its digitization plans in a news release today that summarizes questions and answers from a June public meeting:

• "[W]e plan to make other records ... such as RG 4 [nonconformist registers] and PROB 6 [PCC admons] ... available online within the next couple of years."
• "The new digitisation programme is expected to take five years to complete. We have recently issued our next batch of digitisation packages for potential partners [link to list of packages]. We will publicise the timetable more widely. The amount of notice given will largely depend on how long it takes for a commercial partner to be appointed for each package, and how long it then takes for the partner to carry out the digitisation."

The linked page lists seven packages of records for which TNA is "currently inviting proposals" for "commercial digitisation ... under the Licensed Internet Associateship programme":

• births, marriages, and deaths;
• immigration;
• Irish records;
• Chelsea pensioners;
• death duty registers;
• census maps; and
• officers papers, 1914-1939.

Under each package is a list of the records to be included, with more information on each one in a linked PDF file.