The Massachusetts Genealogical Council was established to monitor legislative activity pertaining to genealogical and historical research and to provide educational seminars on genealogy topics. Our legislative monitoring activity looks both at issues within Massachusetts and at issues outside Massachusetts that affect local genealogists. Our Civil Records Co-Directors divide their workload in this way: Massachusetts and Federal. Both sides of the equation promise an interesting year.

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All Americans have rights to access information kept by local, state, and federal governments. These rights are important to the functioning of a democracy. They permit all citizens to watch the work that government does on their behalf.

 

For genealogists and historians and journalists, those access rights are central to our work. MGC keeps one eye focused on the importance of our work and our access.